Community Corner
Fire & Ice Festival Begins: Here's What You'll Need to Know
Ice, Ice Baby: Plenty of frigid (and fiery) fun planned this weekend at Fire & Ice Festival.
Cool ice and colorful fireworks await Rochester-area spectators this weekend as the 2014 Fire & Ice Festival gets under way Friday in downtown Rochester.
The festivities kick off 5 p.m. Friday with the RAYA Spaghetti Dinner at the Rochester Fire Department, with a simultaneous food truck rally at E. Third and Main streets and TasteFest and beer tent at E. Third and Water streets.
Families can enjoy cool fun with ice skating or tube sledding at E. Third and Water streets, then warm up with marshmallow roasting at E. Third and Main.
Throughout the festival, ice sculptures will be on display. You can view a map of sculpture locations here.
Couples can enjoy a romantic winter night with carriage rides beginning at 6 p.m., which should end just in time to catch a spectacular fireworks show at 8 p.m.
Festivities wrap up at about 9 p.m. Friday and resume at 10 a.m. Saturday. You can check the full schedule of events for the weekend on the flyer posted above.
Parking
Downtown parking will be in high demand, but the good news is you won't have to mess with any of that. Shuttle parking for the Fire & Ice Festival is available at the Buffalo Wild Wings Rochester Hills location at 1234 Walton Road, East of Livernois.Parking and shuttle service to downtown Rochester is free of charge. Shuttles will continuously run between Buffalo Wild Wings and downtown Rochester. The designated pick-up and drop-off location in downtown Rochester will be at E. Fourth and East St. Times the shuttle will run is below.
Friday, Jan. 24: Shuttle begins at 6 p.m.
Last pick-up in downtown Rochester at 9 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 25: Shuttle begins at 10 a.m.
Last pick-up in downtown Rochester at 9 p.m.
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Sunday, Jan. 26: Shuttle begins at 10 p.m.
Last pick-up in downtown Rochester at 4 p.m.
Chill at the Mills 5K
New this year is the Chill at the Mills 5K, presented by the Brooksie Way. This race steps off at 9 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 26. Check the race website for registration and course information.Pet Adoptions
The Oakland County Animal Control will be offering dogs and cats for adoption. Cats aren't big fans of cold weather, but several dogs will be on display and available for cuddling and adoption. Cat adoptions are $50.50 and dog adoptions are $136.50. All pets come spayed or neutered and are up to date on shots and medical needs. Check our story about the pet adoptions for more information.Ice Sculptures
Ice sculptures will be on display throughout downtown—at 40 different locations. If you need some help navigating it all, here's a map.If you want to catch some live carving demonstrations, there are three demos planned:
- 6-8 p.m. Friday at 400 Water St.
- Noon-2 p.m. Saturday at 146 Main St.
- 4-6 p.m. Saturday at 308 1/2 Main St.
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