PREPARE TO BLAST OFF TO WINTER FUN! NEW ATTRACTIONS TAKE CENTER STAGE AT DETROIT’S WINTER BLAST FEBRUARY 8-10, 2008

Metro Detroit’s premier winter festival features new layout wine tasting

DETROIT – Friday, February 8-10, downtown Detroit will transform into a winter wonderland as Detroit’s Winter Blast returns to Campus Martius Park. Festival-goers will enjoy a variety of fun winter family activities, dining, music and other cool experiences, making winter in downtown a blast.

This year, the Winter Blast will have a new, condensed layout, and will bring back all of its signature winter programming, while adding many new attractions.

“We’ve gone above and beyond this year to make sure that Winter Blast offers the best in outdoor entertaining,” said Jon Witz, event producer. “Winter Blast is a celebration of the season, the City of Detroit and the people of the metropolitan area.”

The most recent additions to the festival line-up include:

• Winter Blast Red and White-Out: Visitors to the festival can join local high school color guards and flag corps in a pep rally to support the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday, February 10. Festival patrons wearing red and white clothing or Red Wings attire could be selected to win a trip for two to a special tropical destination. Other lucky winners will receive many great prizes, including:
- An all expense paid trip to Chicago to see the Red Wings take on the Blackhawks at the United Center;
-  A trip to the Caribbean;
- Little Caesars HOT-N-READY® pizza for a year;
- Tickets to Detroit Red versus Anaheim game, a limo ride to the game and food and beverages at the Joe;
- Red Wings jerseys and more.

• Quicken Loans Ice Garden: Spirit of the D: As a highlight to Detroit’s impeccable attributes, the Quicken Loans Ice Garden presents beautiful, hand designed ice sculptures showcasing the five coolest things about Detroit in ice, as promoted and highlighted by the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau - including cars, sports, music, gaming and culture.

• Winter Wine Tasting: Held at Enoteca Campo Marzio, the vibrant wine bar in downtown Detroit, libation aficionados can compare and contrast wines from South America, Italy and Australia.

Wine flights offered in conjunction with the festival include:

South America $9.00
2006 Calina Reserve Carmenere, Maule Valley
2005 Haras De Pirque Cabernet Sauvignon "Estate", Maipo Valley
2006 Paul Hobbs "El Felino" Malbec, Argentina: Mendoza

Italy $12.00
2006 Tormaresca Red, Puglia
2006 Antinori Santa Cristina Chianti, Toscana
2004 Masi Campofiorin Ripasso, Veneto

Australia $15.00
2006 Yalumba "Y Series" Shiraz-Viognier, Australia: South Australia
2005 Jim Barry "Cover Drive" Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra
2004 Rosemount Show Reserve GSM "Mclaren Vale"

• Detroit Marriott Hotel’s THAWed in Bed: It’s time to defrost and warm up in a bed…with a local celebrity! Detroit Marriott Hotel will recreate a signature guest room featuring a king size bed, flat screen TV, bed stand and room service for a celebrity to benefit The Heat And Warmth Fund (THAW). THAW, a nonprofit organization, improves the quality of life in Michigan by providing low-income families with energy assistance during a crisis and by advocating for long-term solutions to energy issues that affect the poor. Local celebrities will be on hand for meet and greets while accepting donations all day long. As an extra benefit, $10 from every hotel bill from anyone who decides to stay the night at Detroit’s Marriot Hotel will be donated to THAW. A complete list of celebrity participants will be announced Monday before the festival.

• New Meijer Family Fun Zone: Winter Blast is featuring its best line-up of children’s activities ever at the New Meijer Family Fun Zone. Activities include sand art, face painting, a prize wheel, chance to win High School Musical on Ice tickets and an opportunity to enter your valentines name to win a $10 Meijer Gift Card. In addition, a green screen photo station will allow festival patrons to take pictures in front of a winter themed backdrop.

Make-a-Hat and Winter Blast Crafts make memorable souvenirs as parents and kids can create their own hats and little marshmallow caricatures on tiny sleds to commemorate this year’s Winter Blast. Entertainment on the Meijer stage include:
- High School Musical Karaoke
- Musical Spoon Fun by Spoonman
- Radio Disney Detour
- Rosco the Clown
- A ventriloquist
- Magic and juggling and much more

• InsideOut Detroit Poetry Showcase/InsideOut Detroit Citywide Poets in Performance: Also at Spirit of the D, the Inside Out Detroit Poetry Showcase invites young creative lyrists, ages 12-23, to showoff their word skills. Performances starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

• Winter Blast Film Festival: For the first time ever, independent filmmakers will have the opportunity to spotlight their films before Winter Blast patrons. The Winter Blast Film Festival celebrates Michigan filmmakers, as well as films about Michigan. The event will feature a variety of movies across an expansive number of genera, including documentary, feature, short, music video, animation and experimental. Attendees can also enjoy ßappearances by select film writers and producers.

• Detroit’s Electronic Music Festival: For the first time ever, Winter Blast patrons will receive a two-day preview of the 2008 Detroit’s Electronic Music Festival (Movement 08’), featuring a few gems from Detroit’s thriving electronic music scene. A high-energy celebration that will showcase up-and-coming local DJs and producers, this sneak peek will bring yet another level of culture and fun to an already stellar event which highlights Detroit’s beautiful downtown atmosphere and entertainment assets.

• Fastest Race Dogs to ever attend Winter Blast: While watching the dog sledding exhibitions at Winter Blast, spectators should pay close attention this year as some of the fastest sled dogs will roar through the festival at full velocity. Avalanche Kennels, located in Indian River, Michigan, have trained and raced Alaskan Husky Pointer Crosses for the past 27 years, placing no less than third in every consecutive race since 2005. Sledder Jane Schram of Avalanche Kennels has won numerous races that rank her as a top dog sledding team, including the Drummond Island Siberian Husky Sled Dog Race (2000 – 2007) and the Tahquamenon Country Sled Dog Race (2007).

Favorite winter-themed activities from previous years will be back for the public to enjoy. The entertainment districts will feature marshmallow roasting, ice skating, professional and amateur ice skating sponsored by Charter One Bank, snowboarding exhibitions, ice sculptures, dog sledding, snowshoeing and food from 20 restaurants and caterers. In addition, live music from more than 60 bands on four stages will compliment the special family-oriented activities. All Winter Blast concerts are FREE.

Returning to the festival are the wildly popular 200-ft. long michigan.org Snow Slide and DTE Energy Comfort Zones that promise heat every 150-ft. In its second year, the Pure Michigan exhibit located in the Compuware Atrium, will again feature activities, tourism exhibits and talent from across the state.

Activities for this year’s Winter Blast can’t be covered all in one day and The People Mover is back with a great offer: Purchase a “Blast Pass” and take unlimited rides on the Detroit People Mover to the festival for a special, low price of $3 from Friday, February 8 through Sunday, February 10. People mover stations are located steps from the Detroit Winter Blast stages, tents, activities and parking. Blast Passes are available online only though Monday, February 4 at www.thepeoplemover.com.

Detroit’s Winter Blast is produced by Jonathan Witz, President of Jonathan Witz & Associates. For additional information on Detroit’s Winter Blast visit www.winterblast.com or call 313.963.8418.

Originally created as the backdrop for Super Bowl XL, Winter Blast attracted more than 200,000 people for its debut in 2005 and 1.2 million Detroiters and visitors during Super Bowl XL weekend in 2006. Last year, the festival was attended by more than 450,000 people. Winter Blast is Detroit’s celebration of winter experiences, dining, music and family fun to be held in downtown Detroit’s Campus Martius from, Friday, February 8-Sunday, February 10. The three-day festival will be open from 11 a.m. – Midnight on Friday, 10 a.m. – Midnight on Saturday and 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. on Sunday. For additional public information, visit www.winterblast.com or call (313) 963-8418.