Polar Express

It is never too early to think about Christmas and the holidays and this last week of June is no exception with the launch Monday of ticket sales aboard the 2017 Polar Express via the V&T Railway.

Merry Christmas, Happy Chaunukah, and a very blessed holidays to you, Carson City. I’m hoping your out of town friends and family made it safely, winter storms are known to wreak havoc on travel. Be safe out there as you finish last minute errands and finish up your shopping. Enjoy Carson City this weekend: you’ll find some fun things to do with the kids, family and friends on this list, so read on.

SATURDAY: First Night of Chanukah, Christmas Eve

• Nevada Artists Association Art Exhibit featuring Jenny Schnabel at the Carson Visitor Center (8am-6pm)

The winter solstice is today: the shortest day and longest night of the year. I’m always happy to hear that because it means longer days are on their way. The holiday frenzy continues, so don’t miss out on those pictures with Santa. Red’s Old 395 will send you off with a complementary 4”x6” photo, and Santa’s Village at the Carson Mall is open all day. See what the great folks of the Carson Visitor Bureau and Nevada Day, LLC are up to at their open house today; from here on out you’ll find all the fun stuff from the Nevada Day Trading Post inside our Visitor’s Center.

For the sixth consecutive year, The Polar Express holiday train rides on the historic Virginia & Truckee Railroad have sold out. More than 15,000 passengers secured rides on the only train in Northern Nevada that visits the North Pole.

The Virginia & Truckee Railroad has partnered with an architectural design class at Truckee Meadows Community College for a conceptual redesign of the V&T’s depot in Carson City. The project provided an opportunity for 16 students to take their imaginations inside the classroom out to the community – in this case for ideas to transform the current depot into a memorable train station.

Students at CHS are always on the move in many mighty ways. With the holidays approaching, Carson High School students are the next generation of kids standing up for a truth they believe in instead of ignoring the challenges they see before them.

With Thanksgiving just one week away, it’s hard not to get excited: food, friends, family, and a long weekend. In the meantime, stay busy with something fun to do right here in our valley. Natalie Blaver invites you to sing along with karaoke at Living the Good Life. It’s adults only for ‘round the world’ trivia night at the Carson Library with Geeks Who Drink Trivia. The colorful Nevada character, Alexander Parker Crittenden, is subject of tonight’s lecture at the Nevada State Museum. All aboard the Polar Express.

A month from its inaugural ride, The Polar Express is on its way to selling out with over 50 percent of tickets sold for the 2016 season. Secure tickets now to ensure children have a chance to experience holiday magic firsthand with rides scheduled Nov. 17 – Dec. 23 on the Virginia & Truckee Railroad.

Children of all ages are welcome on a special train ride from Ely, Nev. to the North Pole on the Nevada Northern Railway's Polar Express this Christmas season. Hot chocolate and cookies are served while listening to the Polar Express story and music from the Polar Express soundtrack.

This entertaining holiday experience has been voted as the “Best Special Event in Rural Nevada” by readers of Nevada Magazine three years in a row.

Tickets for the Virginia & Truckee Railroad’s wildly popular holiday adventure to the North Pole via The Polar Express train will go on sale starting Friday, Aug. 19 at 6 a.m.

High stakes Wild West melodrama and action-packed adventure are on the menu Saturday, Aug. 13, Saturday, Sept. 10 and Saturday, Oct. 8 as passengers board V&T Railroad “Train to Danger” dinner tour. Directed by Carla Wilson and written by John Burkhart, “Train to Danger” tells the story of railroad heiresses, the Pullman sisters, as they are stranded in a snowstorm in Hidden Gulch.

It’s Christmas in March for Tyler Smith, the winner of The Polar Express Ticket Giveaway for tickets to the opening weekend of The Polar Express Train Ride on the historic Virginia & Truckee Railroad this 2016 season.

For the past month V&T conducted surveys for customer feedback about their experience with the railroad. Each survey participant was entered in a giveaway to win four coach tickets to the highly anticipated opening weekend of holiday train, Nov. 17-20.

Cafe at Adele’s welcomes the musical stylings of jazz vocalist Sherre Carne’s accompanied by keyboardist Jimmy Vermilion, beginning at 9:30 p.m., in the lounge on New Year’s Eve.

“We always have such a wonderful welcoming of the New Year and we are happy to have Sherre sing us into it,” said Chef Charlie Abowd.

UPDATE SATURDAY: The Polar Express is back up and running and will run on its regular rides this weekend through Tuesday night, said Candy Duncan, spokeswoman for the V&T.
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UPDATE 11:05PM: All passengers, including Santa Claus and helpers, have been safely removed from the disabled V&T train Friday night and were taken by shuttle buses to the Carson City depot. The train stalled north of Linehan Road in Lyon County. Carson City dispatch received the call at 9:20pm that the train was disabled with more than 240 passengers. There were no injuries and the passengers were in good spirits, said Sgt. Scott McDaniel.
A diesel engine pushed the disabled train and passenger cars back to the Carson City depot.

For a few hours one day each year, children of all ages are offered the opportunity to immerse themselves in the full spirit of the season, when Cafe at Adele’s hosts Cookies with Santa, a benefit event that combines all the best aspects of good cheer with helping to provide gifts for area children.

The Polar Express on the historic Virginia & Truckee Railroad has sold out for the fifth consecutive year, with more than 15,000 passengers securing rides to the North Pole.

A wait list sign-up is available online here that could offer a last chance to ride the Polar Express in 2015. Tickets for next year’s holiday train go on sale in August 2016.

The Polar Express takes its first trip of the season today, and I hope you got your tickets. The annual event always sells out. Check here for ticket information; you may get lucky. Take the kids to the Carson City Library for weekly story time and check out CCAI’s Industrial Art Exhibit while you’re there. Today is the last day it will be on display. Hear stories of Old Virginia City at the Gold Hill Hotel. Or take a trip to the Nevada State Museum: the bombing of a Basque village during the Spanish Civil War and the affect it had on the United States is the topic of this month’s Francis Humphry lecture.
THURSDAY:

• American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout: Take a One Day Stand Against Tobacco at Western Nevada College (college campus is smoke-free for the day)
• ’Lines and Fields: Abstract Narrative Paintings’ by Liz Penniman at the Western Nevada College Main Gallery in the Bristlecone Building

We have plenty of things to look forward to this weekend: Mary Poppins' final shows, the annual Craft Fair at Carson High, the opening of the Polar Express. Just don’t forget that fun can be had every day in Carson City. Tonight, enjoy line dancing at Carson Lanes. Ladies enjoy pool and drink specials at the Ormsby Club. The ever-popular Geeks Who Drink trivia game makes its weekly appearance at Lake Tahoe Brewing Co. And Living the Good Life is proud to bring Liam Kyle Cahill to the stage as part of his acoustic folk rock ‘Turkey Tour.’

WEDNESDAY:

• ’Divergence’ by artist Katie Lewis at the CCAI Gallery in the Courthouse: 885 E. Musser (8am-5pm)
• Nevada Artists Association Art Exhibit featuring Anna Louise Darden and Photography by Chas. H. McDonnell, III at the Carson Visitor Center (8am-5pm)

All aboard, Carson City. The Polar Express returns to the Virginia and Truckee Thursday. This annual tradition features hot chocolate, caroling, and a read-along of Chris Van Allsburg's Christmas story, in addition to a visit to Santa at the North Pole.

The Nevada Northern Railway Museum transforms into Chris Van Allsburg’s classic children’s book, The Polar Express, this Christmas season.

Children of all ages are welcome on a special ride from Ely, Nev. to the North Pole. Hot chocolate and cookies are served while listening to the Polar Express story and music from the Polar Express soundtrack.

Santa’s helpers are on board, and Santa Claus awaits the train’s arrival at the North Pole, where he presents children with the special gift of a silver bell.

Two weeks before The Polar Express takes its first ride from Carson City to the completely reimagined North Pole aboard the Virginia and Truckee Railroad 88 percent of tickets have already been sold.

A testament to the popularity of the Polar Express — the train ride has completely sold out each of the previous four years — now’s the time to secure tickets so the kids aren’t disappointed.

Tickets to board The Polar Express train ride via the Virginia & Truckee Railroad, the annual Carson City family holiday tradition, go on sale online beginning August 20.

Now in its fifth season, the all-ages holiday train will depart Carson City for a series of one-hour round-trip journeys to the magical North Pole.

Plan a date night on a wine train or enjoy the steam-rolling melodrama “Run to the Roundhouse Nellie” with a barbecue this summer aboard the historic Virginia & Truckee Railroad, Nevada’s window seat into the 1860s Comstock-era.

When the whistle blows Memorial Day weekend it will be full steam ahead this summer aboard the historic Virginia & Truckee Railroad, Nevada's authentic train ride through the 1860s Comstock-era Wild West.

Thanks to big hearts and the spirit of giving, the fifth annual Cookies with Santa, a benefit for Ron Wood Family Resource Center’s holiday fund, takes place Saturday, Dec. 13 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Café at Adele’s.
Children of all ages are invited to enjoy complimentary hot cider, hot chocolate, coffee and cookies, visit with and have their picture taken with Santa, while helping provide Christmas for children in need.

It's a Holiday Treat for all: A feast of seasonal and holiday entertainment in many styles. The Carson City Symphony presents the 31st annual Holiday Treat concert on Sunday, December 14, 4 p.m., at the Bob Boldrick Theater in the Carson City Community Center, 851 E. William Street.

This week's It's Your City is with Carson City Mayor Bob Crowell. Before providing an update on the Board of Supervisors, Crowell takes time to update citizens about local happenings including the Dec. 3 open house and ribbon cutting at the Nevada Humane Society Carson Shelter. The event begins at 4:30 p.m. at 3770 Butti Way. The public is invited.

Only 660 tickets remain for the family favorite trip to the North Pole aboard the 2014 Polar Express train, Nov. 20 to Dec. 22, 2014. Select coach seats aboard the all-ages holiday train into a winter wonderland and the world of imagination.

Because of the demand, more trips and passenger cars were added to the month-long event, which has consistently sold out since debuting four years ago and is expected to draw record numbers again this holiday season. Last year more than 16,000 passengers rode the train.

Less than two months from departure, tickets aboard the 2014 Polar Express train are on the fast track countdown, with 60 percent of the coach seats and 91 percent of the VIP Parlor Car seats sold. Even with the addition of more trips and passenger cars, the month-long event has consistently sold out since debuting four years ago and is expected to draw record numbers again this holiday season.

Tickets for the 2014 season of the Polar Express aboard the historic Virginia and Truckee Railroad are now on sale. The perennial holiday favorite all-ages train ride from the frosty Northern Nevada landscape to the North Pole, will run from Nov. 20 to Dec. 22. The hour long V&T diesel train ride includes a keepsake silver bell, hot chocolate and cookies, entertainment and a reading of The Polar Express.