Choo Choo Bronx

We live in the greatest place in the world. At this point, we should probably require that all of our staff have it tattooed somewhere on their body. We say it all the time but what we experienced this past weekend really blew us away.

New York City is big and has a vast array of offerings. We know that. We know that Manhattan is not the end all be all. While we often explore the island, we do cover the other four boroughs. And this past weekend, we had the chance to go back to the Bronx. As is often the case when we head North, we left the borough already planning our trip back.

As the holiday season winds down, we were invited to check out the Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden. What we even more special is that we had the chance to check out the Bar Car Nights installment of the show.

What this meant is that we enjoyed the show after-hours with ice carving demonstrations under the starlight, pop-up acts by some of NYC’s favorite street performers, and live music set in the warmth of the Pine Tree Café.

As it usually does, the Holiday Train Show got rolling (no pun intended) inside the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory and featured model trains in an epic setting in our favorite city. The trains were crossing the bridges we cross and passing by replicas of New York landmarks made of plant parts such as nuts, bark, leaves and pine cones. The cars were even passing by buildings that are no longer on our streets and gave us the chance to see what we can only read about.

This all happened in true “bar car” fashion where the evening Featured drink specials and a selection of spiked hot beverages. “Spike it how you like it!”

The program starts the second you arrive; whether by car or train, the garden is one of the most magical places in this city. We would argue that even though the winter does not produce the flowers people flock to in other seasons, the snow and holiday decor made it extra special. The kind of special you can’t find in Rockefeller Center or Fifth Avenue. The specialness that is New York. And, we loved every second of it.

While Bar Car Nights are ending soon along with the show, we think you should rearrange your calendar to see what we see. Check out the photos; we hope you’re able to make it this year. If not, plan accordingly for this event as it happens every year. We already made it a New York Events Annual Tradition.

For more information, visit NYBG.com.

@newyorkeventsco