Detroit — After a snowfall that stuck, Detroiters took advantage of winter games and activities at the riverfront Sunday.

The Fire and Ice Festival at Robert Valade Park attracted families, especially those who are fans of the animated kids’ movie “Frozen.” Elsa, one of its main characters, visited the park Sunday afternoon.

Johnathan Schultz of Detroit, 45, was strolling his 6-month-old baby while his 4-year-old daughter Norah, who’s a “Frozen fanatic,” was blowing off steam with winter activities until she could meet Elsa.

“She was pretty hyped for it. … People are always complaining that it’s cold, I personally love the cold,” Schultz said.

“She didn’t want to sit in the ice throne. I think the ice throne was a little intimidating for her 4-year-old brain, but mom sat in the ice throne so we got a winning pic out of that.”

The Fire and Ice Festival was named after “A Song of Ice and Fire,” the book series that inspired “Game of Thrones.” The festival also featured ice sculpting, medieval strolling performers who held adventure quests for families, activities like inflatable ax throwing and sledding, live bands and items from local vendors.

Jodi Arka of Allen Park, 38, brought her 5-year-old twins, 8-year-old and 3-year-old to the festival. She wanted to get the kids out of the house during the winter season. They played inflatable basketball, throwing basketballs at multiple rims.

“We went to Atwater (Brewery), had lunch and then let them play the games in the park, check out the ice sculptures,” Arka said.

Roslyn Wiseman of Detroit, 53, was with her 3-year-old granddaughter and husband who she watched sled down a hill at the park. Her granddaughter and other girls were able to take pictures with Elsa.

“We wanted to bring the baby out so that she could sled, to get her in some participation in some cold weather fun,” Wiseman said. “I like to do things in the city, so when I see something pop up in the city we try to make it down.”

Darcie Burton of Detroit was cuddling up with her 8-month-old boy at a giant fireplace. Her 3-year-old daughter loves Elsa which was the selling point for making it out to Sunday’s event.

“We like that there’s snow on the ground,” Burton said. “We were a little bit bummed out that nobody was here a few weeks ago when it first snowed but now that it’s after the holidays, this is a great place to go.”

Until Feb. 23, parkgoers will find winter games, sledding, fireplaces, Fireside Fridays with karaoke and Self Care Sundays featuring mindfulness classes as part of Winter at Valade Park.

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The Detroit Pistons have been one of the league’s brightest teams for nearly a month. They added to their in-season turnaround with another victory on Saturday night.

The Pistons defeated the Toronto Raptors at Little Caesars Arena, 123-114. With the win, the Pistons are back above .500 at 20-19, cracking the 20-win threshold for the first time since 2021-22 — with 43 games still on the schedule. They’ve won six of seven games and nine of their past 11. (It was also their fifth straight win over the Raptors.)

Cade Cunningham secured his seventh triple-double of the season with 22 points, 17 assists (one shy of his career-high) and 10 rebounds. Tim Hardaway Jr. finished with a season-high 27 points, shooting 9-for-12 overall and 7-for-8 from 3, and Tobias Harris added 17 points and seven rebounds.

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The Pistons led by 13 in the first quarter, but it was otherwise a close game for most of the night. Toronto tied the game at 32 by the end of the first, and there were 16 lead changes and 10 ties. Even though the Pistons shot 52.4% overall and 57.6% from 3, the Raptors kept within distance by scoring 23 points off 17 Pistons turnovers.

With under five minutes remaining and trailing by two, Toronto’s Jacob Poeltl and RJ Barrett missed a pair of free throws apiece on back-to-back possessions. Cunningham then gave the Pistons a 113-109 cushion with a midrange jumper.

With 2:31 left, a dunk from Jalen Duren extended their lead to six, and Malik Beasley’s 3-point dagger with 1:44 on the clock pushed the lead to 118-111, virtually clinching the win.

Hardaway erupts in return

The Pistons’ certainly missed Hardaway’s scoring punch on Thursday, when they just couldn’t muster enough offense during a home loss to the Golden State Warriors. He put together one of his best performances of the season during his return Saturday. 

Hardaway was on fire from the jump, knocking down all three of his 3-point attempts in the opening quarter, and two within the opening minutes. He hit two more in the closing minutes of the second half, helping the Pistons regain the lead after a Raptors push made them face their first deficit of the night, 56-54, with 2:44 to play until halftime. 

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The third period was his strongest — he knocked down all four of his attempts, including two 3-pointers, for 11 points in the quarter. He gave the Pistons the lead twice early in the third with his sixth 3-pointer, and a strong drive through contact that created an opportunity for a three-point play. 

It was his second time in three games scoring at least 26 points, and his seven made 3-pointers were a season-high. 

Bickerstaff donates to Los Angeles fire victims

Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff opened his pregame press conference with words of support for the victims of the fires in Los Angeles that struck the Palisades, among other areas. He matched his words with his actions, as well. 

He agreed to donate $500 toward relief efforts for every assist the Pistons tallied on Saturday. Throughout the game, the Pistons displayed a QR code for NBA Cares on the video board at center court, directing fans toward resources such as American Red Cross and World Central Kitchen. 

“I just wanted to take some time to acknowledge what’s going on in the Los Angeles area, and the families and people and how they’re impacted,” Bickerstaff said. “I was moved to this reading some stuff that JJ Redick was going through, Steve Kerr’s family and community is going through, and I just want to make sure we take this time to find a way to support one another the best way we possibly can. The people that are going through these things, how all of us can do something, no matter what it is, to just reach out and help humanity at this point.”

Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on X @omarisankofa.