Story and Photos by Keri Porter
Detriot SnowFest was held recently at the Holly Oaks Offroad Park in Holly, Michigan; while the event didn’t boast much snow and was affectionately nick-named the MudFest, the response to the event was overwhelming!
Holly Oaks ORV Park is a small park within an hour of the metro Detroit area. It is a collaboration between the Oakland County Parks and Recreation, Michigan DNR, and a group of volunteers that help maintain the obstacles and trails in the park. Holly Oaks consisted of only 120 acres until they recently opened an additional 120 acres for use. It’s a great place to test your vehicle and skills before heading out of town on an epic adventure. 
SnowFest is a sister festival to a well-known event in our area, Detroit 4Fest. Four years ago, event coordinators were expecting maybe 300-500 attendees for the inaugural event but nearly tripled ticket sales within the last 48 hours leading up to the event. Tickets were only $25, including a day in the park, access to truck and trailer parking if needed, vendor village, and a warm lunch provided by the presenting sponsor, Dana Corp. With 1700 attendees, and over 600 vehicles present, the event was very active. Although attendance was much higher than expected, the volunteers from the Michigan Jeep Babes were on top of managing the gate and traffic all day.
After SnowFest, I reached out to Tom Zielinski, event coordinator and owner of Z Performance, and asked him to sit down and talk with me about SnowFest, 4Fest, and what’s to come. 
ME: How did the 4Fest events come about?
TOM: We got into the event business more than 20 years ago. At the time, we owned a couple of powersports dealerships and decided to create our own events rather than sponsor events that we weren’t really pleased with. Detroit 4Fest was the first 4Fest event and was created as an experiment to see how Holly Oaks ORV Park would work with a large crowd. Jeep brand immediately saw the value in what we were planning and joined us the first year as our title. Jeep brand has been by our side every step of the way supporting off-road adventure across the country. We were involved with the park years before it opened to the public. That led to our existing relationship with Oakland County and the DNR. Corporate events, learning off-road, new vehicle media, and launch programs have become a big part of our business.
ME: How many years have you been hosting 4Fest events?
TOM: This will be year 5 for Detroit 4Fest. Our other 4Fest events have grown from that. We will soon announce an amazing event at Mid America Outdoors in partnership with Ultra4, Nitro Circus, Nitro Rallycross, and others. It is so rewarding to be involved with Jason Robinett and his team, as well as Travis Pastrana and the Nitro crew. We have produced Minnesota 4Fest alongside Nitro Rallycross for the last two years, and this will be a giant step forward for 4Fest Events.
ME: What genre of motorsports do the 4Fest events cater to?
TOM: Great question…….. The obvious answer is off-roaders, but we have gone far beyond that now. Race fans, action sports fans, and tens of thousands of curious people who may have just bought a Wrangler, Bronco, 4Runner, or SxS and are brand new to the adventure lifestyle are a big part of everything we do. The addition of the Ultra4 exhibition race last year at Detroit 4Fest demonstrated how engaged that fan base is, and we will expand on that in a pretty big way this year. 
ME: What do the 4Fest events offer to the attendees?
TOM: First and foremost is a genuine off-road adventure. None of us are fans of “cars on carpets” or parking lot events to showcase vehicles built to be in the dirt. We love dirt, and we make sure that every event we produce has that as the focus. We love the adventure lifestyle community and embrace veterans and beginners to join in. Add an amazing vendor village that offers all the latest gear and hardware, racing, off-road 101 training, demonstrations, and chats with leadership from around the motorsports world, and it makes for an entertaining weekend. As a board member at Tread Lightly!, it has been a major focus to educate people on responsible use of our lands across the country. Simple things like cleaning up and using tools like OnX Offroad to stay on the trail and find adventures around them simpler. Did I mention food? At every event, we have some of the best regional food trucks ready to serve great food.
ME: How has the event grown in just the five years since its inception?
TOM: Detroit 4Fest started as an experiment. We thought if a few hundred people showed up, it would be a fantastic success. When over 1000 attendees showed up the first year, we knew we were on the right path. Since then, our partnerships with Nitro Rallycross, Ultra4, Tread Lightly!, and others have allowed for some amazing growth and opportunities to bring this idea to locations around the country.
ME: What do you see coming for the future of 4Fest events?
TOM: We take each year as it comes, but we have set goals to expand in the western part of the U.S. and continue to forge relationships with great event teams like Mid America Outdoors. There is an appetite for events offering multiple events and activities each weekend. We have believed in this concept for years and will expand 4Fest Events with that in mind. We will continue working closely with Tread Lightly! to responsibly protect the fun and adventure. 
The 4Fest events are expanding for 2023, including an event at MidAmerica in Jay, Oklahoma, the weekend of June 14th – 18th. Dates for the Detroit 4Fest are September 8th – 10th and Texas 4Fest December 1st – 3rd, with dates for the Minnesota 4Fest TBD. Keep your eyes peeled because there just may be an event popping up near you! You can find the information for all of the 4Fest events at www.4festevents.com.
