The Frederik Meijer Gardens Christmas and Holiday Traditions Around the World event in Grand Rapids celebrates international Christmas and winter holiday traditions with more than 300,000 lights, horse-drawn carriage rides, caroling, more than 40 Christmas trees, and displays decorated in themes from various countries around the world. The event runs from mid-November through early January each year.
Tip Up Town USA, held in Houghton Lake on the last two weekends in January each year, has celebrated ice fishing and winter sports for more than 40 years. As Michigan's largest winter festival, Tip Up Town draws thousands of visitors from all around Michigan and the Midwest. Guest enjoy ice fishing contests, parades, ice and snow sculptures, beverage tents, live music, games and more.
The I-500 Snowmobile Race is like NASCAR on ice. During this 8-hour race, snowmobile riders race around the one-mile oval track, reaching speeds of up to 100 mph on the straightaways. The race is held each year in February in Sault Ste. Marie, with time trials held the week before the race. The 40th running of the I-500 Snowmobile Race takes place in 2011.
The U.P. 200 and Midnight Run Sled Dog Races, held in Michigan's upper peninsula in February, attract more than 30 mush teams and thousands of spectators from across the country. The U.P. 200, an Iditarod qualifying event, follows a 240-mile course round trip from Marquette, along the shores of Lake Superior and over challenging terrain, including plowed secondary roads, overland trails and hills. The 89-mile Midnight Run starts from Gwinn and runs overnight to finish in Munising.
