All aboard: Big changes are ahead for one of State College’s most popular holiday events

Riding the downtown State College Polar Express has been a family-favorite holiday tradition since the 1990s, but this Christmas season will bring some changes to the multi-day event.

For this year’s event — Dec. 7-8 and Dec. 14-15 — Schlow Centre Region Library will not be the starting point for the Polar Express. The event will now be presented by the Downtown State College Improvement District, which has been hard at work ensuring the event still caters to families in the best ways possible, with plenty to enjoy and increased ease of accessibility.

“When the library elected to opt out of Polar Express it gave us reason to rethink the event. How can we provide more activities while maintaining the traditional elements? The one thing that won’t change at all is Santa’s Workshop,” said DSCID Executive Director Rob Schmidt.

Santa’s Workshop, hosted by the Downtown State College Rotary Club, will still take place in the community room at the municipal building and children will still meet and take a photo with Santa before picking out a free toy from the workshop.

Of course, the reading of “The Polar Express” by Chris Van Allsburg will still take place, and showings of “The Polar Express” movie start Saturdays at 10 a.m. and noon and Sundays on 1 p.m. at The State Theatre.

“In addition to the book reading, families will have the opportunity to watch the movie for free at The State Theatre,” Schmidt said. “You can watch the movie anytime, so you can plan it as part of your day or come back on a different day.”

He added: “We have a number of downtown businesses planning fun activities, and the list keeps growing. So our hope is that families will make a day of it, or even multiple days.”

Some of those activities include drop-in workshops at The Makery, free gift wrapping and refreshments at Lions Pride, ornament decorating at Cape Escape, card making and crafts at Doggie’s Pub, hot chocolate and ornament making at Fraser Street Commons and free gift wrapping and kid-friendly gift shopping at Three Little Birds Boutique.

Easier accessibility for families was a big focus for the DSCID as it planned for this year’s event. Now, instead of parking at Schlow Centre Region Library, as families may have done in the past, validated parking is available at Fraser Street Garage. From there, families go downstairs to the DSCID office for parking validation and activity information. A second Polar Express trolley makes it easier for families to get around downtown.

Registration for the event opens on the DSCID website and Eventbrite at 9 a.m. Dec. 3. Advance registrations are encouraged. Registrations can also be made in person at the DSCID office. Unlike in past years, phone registration is unavailable. However, Schmidt assures those who are unable to pre-register for the event can still be accommodated if they walk in to the DSCID office on the mornings of the event.

“I encourage families to make a day of it,” Schmidt said. “We have expanded the activities throughout downtown. Whether it’s watching the movie, enjoying a free kids meal at Jersey Mike’s or a fun activity at The Makery, there is so much to see and do.”

For more information, visit https://www.downtownstatecollege.com/.