Families have seasonal fun at Southfield Winter Fest

SOUTHFIELD — Southfield families enjoyed an afternoon of winter fun during Winter Fest Feb. 1 at the Southfield Sports Arena, located at 26000 Evergreen Road.

Activities at the family-friendly event included ice skating, roasting marshmallows, a horse-drawn carriage, a rock climbing wall and snowshoeing. In addition to the activities, the Southfield Public Library, Southfield Police Department and other local organizations had booths with community resources and crafts.

Southfield Parks and Recreation programmer Cathy Fresia said this event is always fun for the community.

“We’re out here celebrating winter on a nice, sunny day,” she said. “It couldn’t get any better.”

Fresia said events like Winter Fest encourage people to get outside and interact with the community during the cold winter months.

Southfield Public Library outreach librarian Kelly Rembert was at the library’s booth during Winter Fest. She said having a booth at the event allows the library to inform the community about its programming.

Rembert said Winter Fest brings the community together.

“I love seeing people from all backgrounds, ages and cultures come together to have fun,” she said.

Karla Northern and her sons, Lucious and Lukas, were roasting marshmallows at Winter Fest. They said they were enjoying themselves.

“I wanted to relax and roast some marshmallows,” Lucious said.

This year was the first time Yvanna Marlin-Guanga, John Guanga and their daughter, Valerie Guanga, had been to Southfield’s Winter Fest. Marlin-Guanga said she and Guanga were looking for things to do during the winter with their daughter.

“It’s something to do that burns off energy while letting us explore Southfield,” she said. “It’s a win-win.”

Marlin-Guanga said the three of them were excited to take a horse-drawn carriage ride that afternoon.