Holiday Train makes the season bright

It seems that everyone planning holiday events wants to sneak theirs in as soon as the calendar reads “December.”  What that means is that the first weekend is loaded with an avalanche of holiday events – craft fairs, cookie walks, concerts, city and village tree lightings and breakfasts with Santa fill church halls and community centers with festive sounds and sights.

If you only have time for one event, you might want to make it Hartland’s Holiday Lights from 4:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday with its sackful of fun and festive activities for the whole family.

The evening starts at 4:30 p.m. with caroling and tree lighting at the Village Center at North Avenue and East Capitol Drive plus the Festival of Trees Raffle.

Throughout the evening downtown Hartland shops will be offering pictures with Santa, Secret Santa shopping for kids, ornament making, cookie decorating and caroling. Visitors will also be able to make greeting cards for charity and hop on the free trolley rides throughout downtown. Barbecued food, hot dogs, baked goods and hot chocolate will be available for purchase.

But Hartland Lights saves the best for last. At around 9:30 p.m., the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train, a holiday spectacle with its hundreds of twinkling lights, chugs into Hartland at the tracks at 301 Pawling Ave. (Cottonwood and Pawling). The train is making only 130 stops through the United States so this is truly a special event. A half-hour of musical entertainment will be presented from the box car. If you bring a food donation for the food pantry you’ll get free popcorn. Don’t forget your food and/or monetary donation as the goal is to collect $12,000 and thousands of pounds of food.

Hartland Lights is a great way to make your season bright