This year, Santa Claus is leaving his sleigh at the North Pole and coming to town early on a train. Five local communities will celebrate “Christmas in a Small Town” on Saturday, December 5, 2009, when Santa and his friends arrive aboard a special train provided by Steamtown National Historic Site.
Now in its twelfth year, the “Christmas in a Small Town” celebration, also known as the Santa Train, is a project of the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority. The event draws large crowds of excited families to the restored train stations in the towns of the mid and upper Lackawanna Valley. It has become a tradition and a day to celebrate the heritage of Northeastern Pennsylvania!
The Santa Train will arrive at the train station in each community at the following times:
10:30 a.m. – Carbondale Train Station, River St., Carbondale
11:35 a.m. - Archbald Train Station, Pike St., Archbald
12:20 p.m. – Jessup Train Station, Church St., Jessup
1:00 p.m. – Olyphant Train Station, Lackawanna Ave., Olyphant
1:45 p.m. – Dickson City Train Station, Boulevard Ave., Dickson City
Families are encouraged to assemble at the communities’ train stations to welcome Santa as the train pulls into town. At each stop, Santa and his friends will greet all of the children, hearing their lists for special Christmas wishes. After the visit with Santa, families enjoy refreshments, live entertainment, and special activities. The Valley View Marching Band performs at the Archbald and Jessup train stations, greeting Santa with holiday music and entertaining the crowd. The Santa Train and its crew will be available for photo opportunities while at each station.
All activities are free. Train rides for the public are not available at this event.
“Christmas in a Small Town” is sponsored by the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority in partnership with Steamtown National Historic Site, the Delaware and Lackawanna Railroad, Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority, with special thanks to the City of Carbondale, the Carbondale Business Association, Archbald Borough, Jessup Borough, Jessup 21st Century, Olyphant, Dickson City, the Lackawanna Historical Society, the Lackawanna County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Propst Transportation, Quinn’s Market, First Liberty Bank, and Old Forge Bank.
The Spring Symposium is a daylong professional enhancement workshop that will introduce effective grant seeking strategies for staff and volunteers at cultural, environmental, and heritage sites. Topics will include effective grant seeking strategies, how to increase odds of success, and the use of online tools to research and identify eligible government and private funding sources.
The booklet is available at no charge. You can get one at the 
As the first step in this exciting project, LHVA has begun the process of selecting a consultant. A Request for Proposals (RFP) was issued on February 13, 2009, and the announcement of the RFP was sent to more than 50 planning, engineering, and landscape design firms. A mandatory pre-bid meeting for all interested firms was held on February 25, attracting a variety of firm representatives who expressed interest in the project. All proposals were submitted on March 4, 2009. LHVA will select and engage a firm to begin work on the project by early April.