For the past 12 years, the city of Lorain’s annual Winterfest event has featured the International Trees and Trains exhibit at Black River Landing, 421 Black River Lane. This year, the exhibit drew record attendees throughout the month, according to Gail Bonsor, chairwoman of the Trees and Trains Committee for Lorain Growth.
For the month of December each year, the landing turns into a train station featuring holiday traditions from around the world. Bonsor said that this year, the event drew well over 4,000 people to Black River Landing throughout the month.
“We’re not done yet, (but) we’re at basically 4,400 people at this time,” Bonsor said on Dec. 29. “That’s pretty good. We had a lot of support this year. The Lorain County Visitors Bureau gave our name to New Day Cleveland, and we were on their site for two different occasions.”
Over the past 12 years, Bonsor said that the event has grown beyond any of her original expectations. Now, the event has a number of train enthusiasts and hobby clubs who have helped expand the event even further.
“When we first started, we were hunting for people to come in,” she said. “We were having trouble getting people to recognize that this was a new event… We’re very fortunate to have people with trains, hobbyists and clubs set up (for us), and also decorate their trees.”
Bonsor said that the original inspiration for the exhibit came from the Lorain Port and Finance Authority, which approached Lorain Growth. The group wanted an event at Black River Landing for the winter, and Bonsor was willing to take the wheel.
“(The landing) was very busy during the summer, but dead during the winter,” Bonsor said. “Because we’re an international city, and because the building was built to become a train station at that time, we decided to do the trees and trains. It’s been a great experience ever since.”
Bonsor said that the reception this year has been resoundingly positive from Lorain citizens. She noted that the exhibit is still looking to expand and change every year, always looking to offer something for everyone.
“We are still building,” she said. “We are much nicer and bigger since the beginning. We rearranged a lot of things to make sure everyone saw the trains and the trees and didn’t focus on one or the other.”
Lorain Growth President Jim Long said that the exhibit has been vital to the continued growth of downtown Lorain. He explained that the popularity of events at Black River Landing boosts the business of the entire area.
“When (businesses) see activity like that, that many people coming downtown, that encourages them,” Long said. “People that used to live in Lorain and live in other states now, they want to know if this is an event every year because they’re going to come to Lorain for Christmas.”
The International Trees and Trains exhibit will return to Black River Landing for Winterfest 2024, currently scheduled for Nov. 29, 2024.
