GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The third annual World of Winter Festival is hosting an event Sunday that will have people feeling nostalgic for their childhood. The Human Hungry Hungry Hippos Tournament on Ice gives players the chance to bring the four colored hippos who try to eat all of the marbles first to life.
The lifesize version of the game allows teams made up of children and adults to compete against each other to try to "eat" all of the balls as they slide across the ice in tubes, capturing the balls with laundry baskets.
The event is Sunday, Feb. 9 at Rosa Parks Circle from 12:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Registration is now closed, however, an event organizer, Samantha Suarez, encourages people to watch the tournament and enjoy the outdoors. There will also be food trucks on site.
The World of Winter Festival has been offering events throughout Grand Rapids since Jan. 17, spanning from disco to snowshoeing. The festival is organized by Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. It concludes on Feb. 16 with an ice sculpture walking tour.
Suarez said the festival has been great so far.
"I've seen hundreds of people downtown at one time like other past events. When it's winter, sometimes it's hard to find the motivation to come outside, and our goal is to give you a reason to do that," she said.
There are multiple events on Valentine's Day weekend such as Love on Ice at Rosa Parks Circle on Friday, Feb. 14, Paint the Park also at Rosa Parks Circle on Saturday, Feb. 15 and the conclusion of the festival on Feb. 16 with the Ice Sculpture Walking Tour.
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