Winter Classic Park fan festival opens in Chicago to rave reviews

CHICAGO -- For Bernie Baron, it was a great family event.

Baron, 48, of Bergen County, New Jersey, was in Chicago visiting family for the holidays. Stopping by the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic Park fan festival at Millennium Park, which began on Saturday, was part of the trip.
"I'm not sure if it's the first time they've done it here in Chicago, but I think it's great for families," said Baron, who was there with several family members, including his 7-year-old son Ethan. "It's a little cold, but we're bearing it. It's great for the city and for the team to promote the event itself."

The fan festival, which continues Sunday and Monday, is in celebration of the 2019 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic between the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind., on Tuesday (1 p.m. ET; NBC, TVAS, SN). The festival opened on what would have been a perfect day for an outdoor game: cloudy with temperatures around 30 degrees, with a light layer of snow on the ground.
"It's great to see Michigan Avenue alive with the excitement of hockey, the anticipation of the Winter Classic," Blackhawks executive vice president Jay Blunk said. "It's such a privilege to play in this game, but to play at Notre Dame Stadium is just one of the great highlights of the history of the organization. Today we're at the Winter Classic Park, and the NHL has done a tremendous job of bringing this event alive in downtown Chicago. The weather's perfect, a little snow but not too much, and a lot of people are having some fun."
On-site activities included the Honda precision passing hockey challenge, Champion target practice and Discover frozen mini golf. Two former Blackhawks, defenseman Brian Campbell and forward Bryan Bickell, signed autographs near the music stage where Red Carpet Riot, a cover band from Chicago, played through the late morning and early afternoon.
Some fans, like Mark and Amanda McCaul of Boston, were making a quick stop at the festival before enjoying some time in Chicago - - "we just came to see the Stanley Cup and get our picture taken with it," Amanda said.
Others took in more at the festival. Mike Ash, who lives in Crystal Lake, Ill., about 45 miles west of Chicago, was standing in line with friends to get Campbell's autograph.

"It's pretty good, a good layout," said the 29-year-old Ash, who will be going to his fourth outdoor game involving the Blackhawks on Tuesday. "It's a historic setting, so I think it's going to be nice."
Kayla Mahoney, 28, of Boston, walked the festival grounds after arriving in Chicago with a few friends on Saturday morning. She went to the 2016 Bridgestone Winter Classic, when the Montreal Canadiens beat the Bruins 5-1 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
"We figured we had to go to this one too, so we made a trip out of it," Mahoney said. "I think [the game's] going to be crazy. I haven't seen too many Bruins fans, but we'll hold our own."