WEST POINT — The Prairie Arts Festival features dozens of food vendors and hundreds of booths featuring art, clothing and furniture for sale. Still, there”s something about the train ride that makes it stand alone from the rest of the events.
A staple of the Prairie Arts Festival since it started in 1978, the train ride, which features four to five cars pulled by a tractor, takes kids and their parents around the entire perimeter of the festival in downtown West Point.
It”s one of the only interactive elements of the Prairie Arts Festival. Tractor drivers encourage kids to “blow the whistle” around each turn of the 10-15 minute ride as they point, wave and alert their parents of what they must see next.
“They get to hollering and screaming every time they see something,” said West Point native, Deandra Young, who rode the train with his four children during the festival Saturday. “My little boy wants to jump out every time he sees something he wants.”
At 1 p.m. Saturday, more than 300 people had ridden the train. It”s a fan favorite, evidenced by the steady line of 40 or so people waiting for the next ride.
“I like the colors,” 6-year-old Lydia Davis said. “I like to ride because we have fun. We get to see it all.”
“The best thing is to feel the wind in my hair,” said 7-year-old Brianna Strong.
The average wait is 20-30 minutes, usually more than enough time for a 5-year-old to get antsy or bored. Still, kids are nearly silent, anxiously awaiting their turn.
“Yeah (laughing), it”s hard to keep kids still for that long,” Young said. “They mention riding the train before we get out here. It”s something they all look forward to.”
For families that attend Prairie Arts Festival each year, the train ride, along with activities like face painting and eating snow cones, is a must-do.
“Even this little boy that was about 12, a little while ago he was like ”Dad, I got to ride it,”” said Prairie Arts Festival volunteer Kathryn Cooper. “I thought he was kidding, but he was serious. You don”t really think about traditions for kids so young, but it is. I know my daughter loves it.”
Adults enjoy the train ride as much as their kids, if for nothing else than to continue a childhood tradition of their own.
Young, who grew up with six brothers not more than a year apart, was 8 years old when he came to the Prairie Arts Festival for the first time. He rode the train then and has each time he”s been back.
As a boy, he said the common fascination with trains and trucks made him look forward to returning to Prairie Arts Festival just to ride the train.
“If it”s not raining, I”m riding it every year,” he said. “Growing up, me and all my brothers wanted to ride the train. I”ve been bringing my kids here together for three years now and it”s great to see them get as much joy out of it as I did.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.