New Additions to Botanical Gardens Train Show!

Now celebrating its 25th year this wonderful family holiday excursion grew even nicer with the addition of two new replicas to the magnificent display. Our family has made it a tradition for several years now to include a visit the New York Botanical Garden’s (NYBG) “Holiday Train Show” as one of the starters to our Christmas celebrations. Running from November 19 through January 16, 2017, it is a wonderful way to unwind from the stress and hectic pace during the crush of holiday preparations.

Train2At the NYBG you will see enchanting model trains zip through a display of 150 landmarks, all under the twinkling glow of the immense glass structure of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. What is so amazing about the structures on display is that they are all created from plant parts such as berries, pine cones, leaves and seeds. Visitors will marvel at G-scale locomotives humming along among familiar sights such as the Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty, and Rockefeller Center on nearly a half-mile of track. This year’s Show features the first roller coaster, the Coney Island Cyclone, as well as Coney Island’s Wonder Wheel and Elephantine Colossus; a new replica of the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge; and a new book, ‘The Holiday Train Show: A City Within a City.’  Both the roller coaster and Ferris wheel move as if in motion with riders on board its miniature world. It is a magical setting for both adults and children alike.  Guests are welcome to stroll through the magnificent Conservatory building, through various garden settings and then on to the twinkling exhibits and displays.  The display is bigger than ever, and more tracks and 3,000 sq ft of expanded exhibition space. This miniature wonderland has rivers, rustic bridges, wooded mountains, waterfalls cascading into flower creeks, forest tunnels, replicas of historic New York landmarks and a glittering, child-high Manhattan skyline. This installation is the work of Designer Paul Busse and his team at Applied Imagination. Paul’s reputation as a designer of wondrous landscapes built around trains and structures made from plant parts took off when he mounted the first Holiday Train Show® for The NYBG in 1992. Since then, he has produced special exhibits for many other venues around the country; his current work can be viewed at: appliedimagination.biz  There are renditions of the American Museum of National History’s Rose Center for Earth and Space, home of the Hayden Planetarium, and four structures listed in NYC’s Historic House Trust.  There are four dining venues at the NYBG, including the Bavarian-themed Frosty’s Schnapps Haus and the Gingerbread Café featuring food trucks and a children’s gingerbread play house, coloring, and cookie-decorating activities. Be sure to visit The Garden Shop for unique and original gifts for those hard to shop for people on your gift giving list! Explore a winter wonderland across our 250 acres with special tours, cappela performances, Winter Harmonies Concerts, a poetry reading with recently named NYBG poet laureate, Billy Collins, and activities for kids.

The NYBG is located in the Bronx, New York and is a museum of plants and gardens. It is located at the Bronx River Parkway (Exit 7W) and Fordham Road. It is open year round with fabulous presentations every season.  They are closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. For more information about their programs, events and exhibits call them at 718 817-8700 or visit their website at www.nybg.org  Advance timed tickets are strongly recommended and are available at nybg.org. Discounts available for groups of 15 or more; contact Group Tours at 718.817.8687. For more information, please visit their Web site at nybg.org or call 718.817.8700.