July 19, 2007 - Grand Canyon Railway is calling all charities aboard The Polar Express™
WILLIAMS, AZ. - Grand Canyon Railway is opening up tickets for its annual The Polar Express™ charity train to charities across Arizona. All charities will have the opportunity for tickets aboard this year’s The Polar Express™ via a simple application process.
Non-profits that participated in the 2006 The Polar Express™ charity train include: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Flagstaff, Flagstaff Community Toys for Tots, Northland Hospice and Palliative Care, Kinship Kare of Northern Arizona, Killip Chess Power at Killip Elementary School (FUSD), the Kiwanis Club of Williams and the Marines Army Navy Air Force (M.A.N.A.) Support Network.
“Our charity train program celebrates the true spirit of Christmas. It is a privilege to provide children and families that do not have the means an opportunity to enjoy the magic of the Polar Express, and we look forward to this year’s event,” said W. David Chambers, president of Grand Canyon Railway.
Grand Canyon Railway is dedicating its 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8 The Polar Express™ train to charity tickets. Non-profits interested in applying can download The Polar Express™ charity train ticket application at www.thetrain.com/polarexpress. Charities applying must be able to travel on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2007. Applications must be submitted by Aug. 31, 2007.
Each non-profit is required to provide information about its mission, the people it serves and why it deserves tickets aboard The Polar Express™ charity train. The committee encourages non-profits to request a modest bank of tickets to be given directly to the children and families it serves. Charity tickets are not available for silent auction items.
This is the seventh year that Grand Canyon Railway will bring the magic of the classic children's book by Chris Van Allsburg to life. What began as a weekend adventure with 5,600 people has grown into one of Arizona’s most treasured holiday traditions with more than 70,000 people traveling aboard Polar Express in 2006.
Grand Canyon Railway’s 2007 Polar Express Season kicks off Nov. 8 and continues on evenings into January. The round trip journey is a little more than an hour in length. Most evenings, Grand Canyon Railway offers two Polar Express trains, with one departing Williams Depot at 6:30 p.m. and a second train departing at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $26 for adults and $14 for children. Special The Polar Express packages, which include The Polar Express™ train trip, one night at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel and dinner and breakfast at the Railway’s restaurant are available at $289 weekday and $309 for weekend and December travel dates (for 2 adults and 2 children, prices are based on adult double occupancy and do not include tax).
Grand Canyon Railway operates daily train service between Williams, Ariz., and the Grand Canyon. The Railway offers five distinct classes of service, as well as money-saving packages featuring the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel in Williams. Overnight stays at the Grand Canyon also can be included in the packages. Grand Canyon Railway is an authorized concessioner of the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service. For more information, visit www.thetrain.com or call 1-800-THE-TRAIN (1-800-843-8724).
The Grand Canyon Railway is operated by Xanterra Parks & Resorts.
Xanterra Parks & Resorts® (consisting of Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Inc., Grand Canyon Railway, L.L.C., Grand Canyon Railway Hotel, L.L.C., and Xanterra South Rim, L.L.C.) operates lodges, restaurants and other concessions at national parks and state parks and resorts. Xanterra Parks & Resorts is the country's largest park concessioner. Xanterra operates concessions in the following locations: Yellowstone, the North Rim of Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Crater Lake, Death Valley, Rocky Mountain and Petrified Forest National Parks, and Mount Rushmore National Memorial; and at the Silverado Resort in Napa, Calif.; Gideon Putnam Resort and Spa in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. and eight Ohio State Parks. Its affiliate Xanterra South Rim, L.L.C. operates concessions at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Xanterra’s Grand Canyon Railway affiliates own and operate the Grand Canyon Railway and Hotel in Williams, Ariz.
Long committed to the preservation and protection of the environment, Ecologix, Xanterra Parks & Resorts' environmental program, includes a variety of proactive environmental stewardship programs in each location. Xanterra has been repeatedly recognized for its environmental leadership in the hospitality industry and is the recipient of many honors, including major awards from the U.S. Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, Travel Industry Association, Colorado Department of Public Health, State of Arizona, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and Utah Department of Environmental Quality.
For more information about Xanterra, links to individual properties and reservations numbers, visit www.xanterra.com.
Xanterra Parks & Resorts
6312 S. Fiddlers Green Circle
Suite 600 North
Greenwood Village, Co 80111
