The Charlevoix Venetian Festival had a new addition this year- trains from Castle Farms! We set up on the grass down by the marina and interactive fountain. There was something for everyone- G-scale model engines, wooden train tables, Thomas trains, and kid steam trains. We even had giant jenga!
The little ones loved the wooden train tables where they could push tiny trains around on built in tracks. Preschoolers had fun riding the Thomas trains on the 4 tracks all by themselves. The older kids had a blast on the kid steam trains, which are hand pedal powered. For those who couldn’t quite crank the pedals we helped out with a little extra assistance.
At the entrance to the free riding train area was a donation box for the Charlevoix Area Food Pantry. We really appreciated the donations and we were able to raise almost one thousand dollars!
The train area was designed by Richard Mueller and built and manned by Castle staff Walter and Casey. They got quite a workout that week, running trains Tuesday through Saturday from 1pm to 9pm. “My Fitbit almost exploded!” says Casey.
All of the trains we had set up at the Venetian Festival can be found at the Castle with the exception of the kid steam trains. We have multiple Thomas trains set up in the covered Rose Pavilion, right next to the Model Railroad. Of course the model trains are a fan favorite at the Castle, where we have over 72 G, N, and HO scale engines running. The trains are all different designs, some as traditional as the Pere Marquette all the way to fanciful bugs and butterflies. The train tables are usually located indoors in the King’s Gallery and are a great stop during a tour.
We bring the kid steam trains out for special occasions like our annual Train Wonderland coming up on December 3 and 4, 2016. We will also be adding our train display to this year’s Apple Fest in October!
Do you love trains? Join our Train Club! One young visitor was so excited by our Venetian display that he immediately got involved in the club and is busy earning points towards his badge colors. Email our Train Engineer Walter for more information at Trains@CastleFarms.com.