Issue 23 / Q1 / 2024
A MESSAGE FROM LEADERSHIP
O
n a cold mid-January night, as snowflakes fell gently to the ground and the smell of bonfires and roasting marshmallows filled the air, hundreds of people gathered in a small park along the Detroit Riverfront. A sevenfoot-tall chimney made of ice stood tall in front of the crowd. Torches were lit, and the ice came to life with fire. As flames and sparks reached high into the night sky, it cast a warm glow over the crowd. There was cheering and applause. Kids stood with their mouths agape at the unforgettable sight before them. This was the scene at the Fire & Ice Festival, part of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy’s Winter at Valade series. If you were able to join us, you know it was a great party. We like parties, and we’re really good at hosting them. But we don’t put this much work into our programming just because it’s fun. Winter can be a tough season. Winter in Detroit can be particularly difficult. December is exciting because it leads up to the holidays and some vacation for the kids. When January hits, it’s back to work, the sky turns gray for weeks at a time, and it can get discouraging. You see less of your friends and family and many people fall into depression or cycles of loneliness.
That’s where we show up. Several years ago, community members started encouraging the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy to do programs in the winter. We sent our Senior Director of Programs and Public Spaces, Rachel Frierson, to Montreal to see how Canada celebrates winter. As we learned about how different cities bring people together when the weather turns cold, we knew we needed to provide more opportunities to people here in Detroit. Winter at Valade looks like a few weekends of great parties (and I can assure you that these are great parties). But it’s about more than that. It’s about giving people something free and fun to do so that they don’t spend all weekend on the couch in front of the television. The Detroit Riverfront is a place where kids and adults can make new friends and get some exercise while doing it. It’s about community, and reminding us that we’re all in this together, we’re all still here, and it won’t stay cold and dark forever. Spring is just around the corner. The Detroit Riverfront brings us together. When we’re together, we can get through anything.
Mark Wallace President & CEO