Worth the trip: Of trains, trout and church breakfasts

By WANDA WAYFARER

June is a busy month for most anybody. High school graduations and weddings take place throughout the month. Parties are planned, tents are rented and food is prepared for the special occasions.

This weekend, you must enjoy yourself before that crazy hustle and bustle starts. And what better way for you to enjoy your weekend than by hitting a parade or two, having dinner and breakfast with a hundred or more people from your town or taking a legendary train excursion.

The Little Engine That Could, or at least a life-size replica of the storybook hero, will be taking passengers Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 8 through June 10. The train will begin its tour on the tracks behind Main Street in Honesdale, PA. The Little Engine That Could believed that it could overcome the obstacle of pulling a train up a hill when no other engine would. With the famous line, “I think I can, I think I can,” The Little Engine That Could will pull passengers along the tracks this weekend. On Friday, trips start at 11:00 a.m. and run to 3:00 p.m. with rail excursions taking place on every hour in between.

The event, put on by The Wayne County Chamber of Commerce, expects to draw crowds in the thousands. The price of the trip is $15 per ticket and includes the ride, activities and pictures with the characters from the storybook. For more information or to book a ride, call The Wayne County Chamber of Commerce at 570/253-1960.

Saturday is always a day for running around and getting things done that you would not normally be able to finish during the week. This Saturday, do something different; get yourself into a fishy situation.

In Livingston Manor at 1:00 p.m. is the fourth annual Trout Parade. The parade features a celebration of the arts and ecology. The wonderful thing about the parade is that everybody becomes a character in the parade. Hundreds of onlookers dress in costume. Fish, bugs and other aquatic-themed costumes line the street.

The day starts at 11:30 a.m. with the First Annual Trout 5K Run, and the opening of a market featuring locally grown food and local crafts and music by the Bio-Diesel String Band. At 1:00 p.m. the Hungry March Band will lead off a fish-themed parade of floats, a Giant Johnny Darling and other puppets, costumed marchers, musicians like the Mountaintones and even a children’s group of “small fries.”

Following the parade, the procession will make its way to Renaissance Park, where the festivities will continue to the accompaniment of live music by the Vantwistics and MazMyth.

You will want to get to Livingston Manor early so that you are ensured a decent parking spot. All the festivities and performances are free to the public. So come in your wackiest and scaliest costume and enjoy the day. For more information visit www.livingstonmanor.org and follow your way to the trout page.

If being around seafood all morning has not ruined your appetite, you will want to attend the benefit at the Shohola Volunteer Fire Department on Route 434 in Shohola, PA for Emily Grimm. Emily, 14, a student at Eldred Central School, was diagnosed with a rare neuromuscular disease known as myofibrillar myopathy, and there is currently no cure.

The benefit will have tons of great food including baked ziti, salad, bread, sausage and peppers and fettuccini with garlic and oil. Not only will there be tons of food, there will also be soda, beer and wine for purchase. Rollo, the legendary one-man band, will be on hand to play some great old and new favorites for dancing. Cost for admission is only $10 per person and tickets can be purchased at the door.

At the fundraiser there will also be door prizes, a 50/50 and some really great raffles that include a 27-inch TV and two box tickets to see Bob Dylan perform at Bethel Woods Performing Arts Center.

This event will show you what community is all about: pulling together for the betterment of others. For more information call 845/252-6787.

If all this talk about food is making you hungry, you will have to hit the St. Jacobi Lutheran Church breakfast in Shohola, PA on Sunday morning from 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Let me tell you, these people can cook! The breakfast includes home-baked coffee cakes as well as scrambled eggs, eggs cooked to order, home fries, sausage, apple pancakes and regular pancakes. Coffee and tea are included with your breakfast. The cost for the entire breakfast is only $6 for adults and $3 for children. Remember to bring your appetite.

St. Jacobi’s is located off Route 434 in Shohola. For more information on this delicious breakfast opportunity, call 845/856-8912.

After breakfast, you must make your way up river to Callicoon, NY to the 11th annual Tractor Parade. The parade starts at noon and features over 200 tractors. Tractors, new and old, big and small, pass by onlookers on Lower Main Street below the railroad tracks. Some tractors date back to the early 1900s. For more information see page 7C.

Make sure that you find the time to enjoy all the area has to offer. There is no time for you to let all these wonderful events chug on by.