10th Annual Festival of Trains in Traverse City

One of Northern Michigan’s most popular holiday attractions, the History Center of Traverse City’s Festival of Trains, opens Saturday, Dec. 15, through Tues., January 1, 2013 at the History Center of Traverse City, 322 Sixth Street, in Traverse City.

The popular "Thomas the Tank Engine" interactive cab returns to this year's festival. The Cho-Cho Café features homemade soups, baked goods and beverages. A swap meet for model engines, cars and accessories is open to the public on Saturday, Dec. 15th and Sunday, Dec. 16th.

The Festival of Trains is presented by the Northern Michigan Railroad Club in collaboration with the History Center of Traverse City.

Hours for the festival are Monday-Saturday, 10am-7pm and Sunday noon-4pm. Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, the trains run from 10am-4pm. The festival is closed Christmas Day.

The best time to enjoy the show is weekdays before Christmas during the week of Dec. 17th-21st when Santa visits nightly from 5-7pm.

$5 Per Guest, children 4 and under are free. A family pass for $30 offers unlimited visits to the festival.

The Festival of Trains is a major fundraiser for the History Center of Traverse City, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving, promoting and presenting the history of Traverse City and the Grand Traverse region.