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Ford bringing free, 10-day Winter Festival to Michigan Central Station in Detroit

Fest features 3D light show, activities for all ages

Michigan Central Station (Amber Ainsworth/WDIV)

DETROIT – Work at Michigan Central Station won't be completed for several years, but Ford is already using the historic train depot as a place to bring the community together.

A free, 10-day Winter Festival featuring art and live music will be held outside the building in Corktown beginning Jan. 18.

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Ford planned the event in conjunction with the dates of the North American International Auto Show at Cobo.

The highlight of the festival will be a 3D light show projected onto the 18-story structure, which is getting new life. The show will include images of the station's glory days, its revitalization and its future.

Ford is planning on creating a campus that will consist of about 1.2 million square feet of property in Corktown. The mixed-use space will feature office space, retail space and residential housing.

The light show will play three times an hour, and the building will serve as a backdrop for local artists' work between those times.

The festival will also include graffiti painting, live performances, s’mores, food trucks and beverage stations, ice carving, vendor booths, kids' activities and a Michigan Central Station history and artifacts exhibition curated by the Detroit Historical Society.

Related: A brief history of Michigan Central Station

The festival will be from Jan. 18-27. It runs from 5:30-10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and from 5:30-9 p.m. from Sunday through Thursday. It will run until 10 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 20.