West Michigan Would Like to Welcome You to the Largest Outdoor Winter Festival in the U.S.
Grand Rapids’ ever-expanding World of Winter Festival features over 130 events & activities (Photo: World of Winter)
Wintertime can feel like a slog, especially once the holidays have come and gone. If you’re not much of a winter sports person, whether we’re talking skiing, snowboarding, ice fishing, or the like, it can be even more of a drag. That’s where winter festivals and carnivals come into play, injecting a bit of brightness into the cold, shortened days of the bitter season.
As far as these frosty affairs go, it doesn’t get much bigger than the weeks-long World of Winter Festival held in West Michigan every January, February, and March. Grand Rapids, Michigan’s second-largest city, has been hosting this icy extravaganza since its inception in 2018, and it has only grown larger over time. The celebration of art and culture is centered in the downtown area and features a bevy of outdoor events, including ice carving demonstrations, scavenger hunts, a silent disco, walking tours, a human Hungry Hungry Hippo tournament, and much more.
It all got started back in 2015 when Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. got together with local businesses to host a simple Valentine’s Day-themed ice sculpture competition, hoping to bring life to the downtown area during the traditionally quiet winter months. The success of that initial iteration of the event eventually helped transform it into the first full-fledged World of Winter Festival, an eight-day extravaganza with additional programming first held in 2018. Two years later, in 2020, WoW expanded into a month-long event, and the following year saw the first out-of-town art installations brought in.
These days, no less than eight (!) weeks of winter fun will do as this grand adventure has turned into the largest outdoor winter festival held anywhere in the nation. Over those two months, Wow brings over 130 events, installations, and programs to downtown Grand Rapids, infusing those dark winter days with tons to do for locals and visitors alike.
The festival takes place all over the city, but there are certainly a handful of hotspots you’ll want to check out. Rosa Parks Circle was the main hub in those early days and remains one of the primary places activities and events are held, but you can also add Ah-Nab-Awen Park, Sixth Street Park, and the G-Rap’s iconic Blue Bridge to the list. There are new things added to the event calendar each year, but also some things that you can count on taking place on an annual basis. Some of these mainstays include the Great Lakes Snow Snake Competition, in which participants build a “snow snake” and then see who can throw theirs the farthest; Noodle Fest, where you can partake in dishes from a variety of vendors; and the not-to-be-missed Fire & Ice show, put on by performers from the Greater Grand Rapids Figure Skating Club.
Another fan favorite that has emerged over time is the annual Winter’s A DRAG! show which features local drag queens and a celebrity appearance from a Ru Paul Drag Race All-Star. The free event includes an afternoon’s worth of performances, food trucks, adult beverages, a photobooth, and an optional but extremely low-cost opportunity to meet and greet each year’s Ru Paul representative. Money raised during the show benefits the AYA Youth Collective, a nonprofit that provides support for young people facing homelessness. Thus, an all-around good time also helps out an all-around good cause.
While there is plenty to keep you busy in terms of the festival itself, downtown Grand Rapids also has a number of fine eateries and drinkeries (this is Beer City, after all!) that are worth checking out during your visit. Here are just a few:
Food —
Stella’s Lounge (juicy burgers & an 80s’ arcade vibe)
Butcher’s Union (gastropub with a meat-tastic menu)
Garage Bar & Grill (popular sports bar just north of downtown)
Drink —
Founders Brewing (home of Midwest favorites All Day IPA & Dirty Bastard)
New Holland Brewing (makers of such selections as Dragon’s Milk & Tangerine Space Machine)
Atwater Brewery (outpost of the Detroit-based brewer known for several award-winning craft beers)
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You’ve got eight whole weeks to get in on the fun, so get planning!
-LTH