Carol Capobianco is Editorial Content Manager at The New York Botanical Garden.
As a kid growing up, just a few blocks from here, the only time I got to see model trains in action was occasionally during the holidays when the boy in the apartment across the hall would invite my three sisters and me to see—briefly and no touching allowed—his miniature landscape all set up with little people and trees and trains that could be glimpsed as they made their way around make-believe villages. I was younger and shorter and had to stand on tiptoe to try to get the full effect of this tabletop other world. Regardless, I always got a sense of something fun and magical happening.
My husband confirmed this. One of three boys and with a slew of neighborhood buddies, he talks of spending hours during the holidays watching and playing with model trains, moving around at will the tiny figures and buildings and ice rinks and track segments within the diminutive fake-snow-covered scenery.
Not until I was an adult did I have the chance to be immersed in the enchanting atmosphere that is so reminiscent of this childhood memory, thanks to the Botanical Garden’s Holiday Train Show. I’ve come back to see the show several times over the years and with family members both young and old.
There is something indescribable, something that makes your heart jump a beat, when you enter the Holiday Train Show and are immediately surrounded by twinkling lights, soft whistles, and tracks that wind around waterfalls and across overhead bridges and past magnificent replicas of New York landmarks. On closer inspection, you see that each of these 140 or so buildings is made from parts of plants! And as you bend down to investigate further, all of a sudden you glimpse a train approaching and stand back to watch the scene in awe. You look around and are beckoned by other vignettes; it keeps going. You are transported.
The Holiday Train Showhas gained wild popularity in its 17 years. Now that I work at the Garden, I have the benefit of seeing the show even during lunch breaks. My favorite time of day, though, is at dusk, when the show is especially charming and festive. This year the Garden will be open an extra hour on select days so you can enjoy the show well into the evening.
There is plenty to do, too, if you’d like to spend an entire day at the Garden: Gingerbread Adventures in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden; The Little Engine That Could™ puppet theater performance and a visit by Thomas the Tank Engine™ both later in the run; lunch and snacks at our two cafes, and holiday gift-getting at Shop in the Garden.
Stevenson Swanson is Associate Director of Public Relations at The New York Botanical Garden.
30 Rockefeller Center in the Holiday Train Show
Of the more than 175 New York landmarks in this year’s Holiday Train Show®, it’s particularly appropriate that Rockefeller Center’s soaring Art Deco skyscraper and other well-known features are included in NYBG’s annual display of building replicas made of bark, leaves, and natural materials. More than 200 years ago, a botanist-physician named David Hosack established one of America’s first public botanical gardens on Rockefeller Center’s site, cultivating rare and important plants on land that is now home to America’s most famous cluster of skyscrapers, shops, galleries, and, during the holidays, a towering, glittering Christmas tree overlooking the bustling plaza.
Dr. Hosack’s life and the story of his pioneering botanical garden are the subject of American Eden: David Hosack, Botany, and Medicine in the Garden of the Early Republic, by Victoria Johnson, which was a non-fiction finalist for this year’s National Book Award and was recently named one of 2018’s 100 most notable books by The New York Times Book Review.
Born in colonial New York City in 1769, Hosack came of age as the young United States began to establish itself. “It fell to Hosack’s generation to build the civic institutions that would guarantee the future health and prosperity of the Republic,” writes Johnson, a Hunter College professor who conducted much of the research for her book at NYBG’s LuEsther T. Mertz Library and William and Lynda Steere Herbarium, both of which have important collections of original Hosack material, including some of his preserved plant specimens.
This season’s Holiday Train Show® is on view through January 18, but Evergreen Express continues to provide seasonal family fun in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden through January 24. Kids pass through station stops during their visit, each featuring a unique and educational activity designed to explore the world of evergreens.
In the cozy Discovery Center Depot, children make their own herbarium pressings of a conifer specimen and craft a miniature scented sachet to take home. The Adventure Garden is full of trails that guide children through the trees and shrubs of winter.
There is an outdoor puppet theater available for children, and on weekends and school holidays, kids can create a train puppet inspired by master puppeteer Ralph Lee and join a musical marching parade.
Evergreen Express takes place Tuesdays through Sundays in the Adventure Garden, from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. on weekdays and Sundays, and from 1:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.
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All Aboard with Thomas & Friends™ mini-performances continue through January 24 as well, so plan a family excursion to NYBG in the next couple of weeks for winter fun!
Happy holidays, everyone—it may not feel much like winter out there today, but the trees are still dressed for the season. From our Instagram feed Wednesday morning, the sketched silhouettes of trees in a drift of fog. Don’t forget to follow us there, where you’ll see highlights small and large from throughout the Garden and our exhibitions!
Heads up that we’re closed today, but we’ll reopen tomorrow for a three-day weekend (that includes Monday) of Holiday Train Show fun. Enjoy your day off!
While the Garden will be closed for Christmas on Friday, December 25, NYBG reopens this Saturday for a three-day weekend chock full of Holiday Train Show activities ranging from a cappella singers to holiday film screenings and more. Once the feasting is done with, and the presents are put away, you deserve a little fresh air—and NYBG is just the place.
Because of the warm weather we’ve been having, you’ll find the Garden an interesting mix of fall and winter, with the trees already dressed for the season and the lawns still boasting the emerald green of late summer. Take advantage of the comfortable temperatures with several of our outdoor tours, including Winter Wonderland Trees and the weekly Saturday bird walk.
It’s going to be a fun and relaxing weekend here at the Garden—I hope you’ll join us!
As we celebrate the peak of the holiday season at the Garden, we thought it appropriate to ring in the winter solstice (it’s actually Tuesday, December 22, but who’s counting?) with a weekend performance suited to the nostalgic sights and sounds of the season. And what better group to fit the bill than an ensemble of cellos, violins, and flutes?
This Sunday, December 20, sit for a performance of selections by Bach, Vivaldi, and Handel during the last of Le Train Bleu’s 2015 Winter Harmonies concerts. With Ransom Wilson at the helm, you can be sure of a rousing take on these classic compositions. And it’s not just for adults, either—the ensemble set aside time for a kid-friendly performance at 2 p.m. that features introductions to each of the instruments being played. At 4 p.m., they’ll return with a concert geared toward adults. Learn more here, and don’t forget to grab these special tickets.
The Holiday Train Show continues throughout the month and into January, and because it’s late December, we’ll be open this coming Monday to accommodate everyone who’s out and about during this beautiful time of year. As a reminder to everyone out there who’s planning on joining us for Bar Car Nights, our events for this weekend—December 18 and 19 respectively—are both sold out as of today, so don’t sleep too long on tickets to upcoming nights!
It’s going to be a musical spectacle of a weekend, of that much I’m more than sure. See everything that’s happening below.
The grounds may be growing cooler as we near the start of winter, but that can only mean the art and music of the Garden are all the more present. Throughout the Holiday Train Show, NYBG plays host not only to a much-loved poetry walk and reading, but a series of classical concerts that define the sounds of the season.
The verse of Billy Collins, former U.S. Poet Laureate and a fixture in the lyric history of New York, returns to the Garden this year during our Holiday Train Show, filling the Perennial Garden and its surroundings with the poetry of our city, our landscapes, and the singular experience of living in the five boroughs. You can find his poetry boards on display throughout December and January. But if you’re looking for a more intimate experience, be sure to get seats for Collins’ live reading—here at NYBG’s Ross Hall—on Saturday, December 12.
Happy Thanksgiving from NYBG! We will be closed on Thursday, November 26, in observance of the holiday—but we will be open this Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and for regular hours on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.—so consider walking off all that stuffing with a fall family outing to the Garden!
Admire the crisp autumn landscape, check out the Holiday Train Show®—newly opened in our Haupt Conservatory and bigger than ever before—and don’t miss out on this year’s kiku display in the Bourke-Sullivan Display House of the Nolen Greenhouses. These chrysanthemums will only be up until next Monday, November 29, so time is running out!
View the full schedule of weekend programs and tours below, and we’ll see you in the Garden.
With the holidays upon us and the New Year just around the corner, the Holiday Train Show begins the next season of winter fun on January 3 when All Aboard with Thomas & Friends™ pulls into the station! Everyone’s favorite train comes to life as Thomas and Driver Sam star in these fun-filled, sing-along, mini-performances each day at various times through January 25. Be sure to bring your camera for a photo-op with Thomas, or purchase a souvenir photo from our professional photographers.
Check the full schedule of upcoming performances, including special 9 a.m. Members-only performances on select dates. MasterCard cardholders can also enjoy priority VIP seating on January 4 & 11!
When purchasing your ticket, please be sure to select the All-Garden Passticket option that specifies All Aboard with Thomas & Friends Mini-Performance & All-Garden Pass. All Aboard with Thomas & Friends™ includes access to the Holiday Train Show through January 19. Thomas tickets purchased for January 23 through 29 include access to Wild Medicine in the Tropics. While there is no additional cost for the mini-performance, this is the only ticket type that allows access to All Aboard with Thomas & Friends™.
Tomorrow afternoon, join us in welcoming former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins to NYBG for a special reading of his most beloved works. Visitors to the Garden have enjoyed his poems that line the Holiday Poetry Walk, inspired by trains, winter, and New York. Tickets are still available, so plan your weekend at NYBG and come enjoy the Holiday Train Show alongside beautiful poetry.
The Holiday Train Show continues this weekend with holiday guides, live a cappella, and screenings of your favorite holiday- and train-related films. Other programs this weekend include a special in-depth tour of the latest exhibition in the LuEsther T. Mertz Library, Flora Illustrata: A Celebration of Botanical Masterworks. These treasures from the Library’s Rare Book and other Collections span centuries, so come explore botanical history with an expert guide. Or you can be an expert for a day and join professionals and aficionados alike for this Saturday’s Annual Winter Bird Count to learn about bird conservation and population health while observing the Garden’s birds. Keep reading to get the full details on this weekend’s programs at NYBG!
Carol Capobianco is Editorial Content Manager at The New York Botanical Garden.
