2018 Meridian Winter Blast Presented By Quicken Loans Attendance Hits 100,000

DETROIT, Jan. 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Organizers of the 2018 Meridian Winter Blast presented by Quicken Loans announced that a projected 100,000 people came to downtown Detroit to enjoy the winter festival, up over 10 percent from 2017, and the highest in the past ten years.

“I am thrilled with how this year’s festival went, especially due to the warmer weather,” said Jon Witz, festival producer. “Our partners help make this possible, and I want to give them a big thanks for all that they do. We brought thousands of people into the city to experience the downtown’s continued transformation and make cherished memories.”

The new additions to the festival were big hits with children and adults, including the City Slopes presented by Boyne Mountain and Boyne Highlands, which attracted nearly 2,000 participants who had the opportunity to learn how to ski and snowboard. Special Olympics of Michigan also had strong participation in the Polar Plunge on Saturday and Sunday, supporting a great cause and donations are expected to hit more than $15,000. An additional $15,000 in revenue and 17,500 pounds of food was donated to Matrix Human Services, making total non-profit contributions generated by the festival to be $30,000.

“We want to thank everyone who came to the festival and donated food items. The dollars are critical, and the food collected will stock an entire storeroom and provide food for those in need in the area,” said Brad Coulter, president of Matrix Human Services.”

Festival attractions had record participation with thousands of people enjoying many activities inside the festival footprint. The Meridian Winter Slide had more than 8,500 riders this year and the MetroPCS Zip Line Adventure saw a big spike with 1,700 riders, the highest number of riders since its debut four years ago.

OUR GENEROUS SPONSORS
Meridian Winter Blast could not happen without the generous support of its sponsors, which include Meridian, Quicken Loans, Bacardi, Bell’s Brewery, Boyne Highlands, Boyne Mountain, Chemical Bank, Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, Light-RX, Marketing Associates, MetroPCS, Michigan Lottery, Pepsi, Redico, Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort, Tito’s Vodka, US Park, The United Way Southeast Michigan, and the Westin Book Cadillac.