All Aboard The Polar Express!
This week on Business Over Breakfast we were joined by Steve Maciel from Blackstone Valley Tourism Council.
Blackstone Valley Tourism Council is the exclusive presenter of the Polar Express in Rhode Island and this year is their 21st season! Grab your Golden Ticket, leave from the Woonsocket train station and go for a 2-hour train ride that will take you north into Massachusetts. From the moment you step foot on the train, it’s a “magical experience” Steve shared, who also happens to be the trainmaster.
The Polar Express experience is just like the story itself. Everything is decorated for the holidays, each train has its own name, and entertainers run the show with Christmas carols, coloring books, and hot chocolate. Santa even walks through the train and once the train ride is over you can get a picture with him which kids love.
“It’s definitely something that has a story that needs to be told.”
Blackstone Valley Tourism council works to help end hunger and to create food security in Rhode Island. Over the years they have worked charity events to help the food banks and the food pantries but they have come to the realization that we need to go beyond charity and we need to jump right into addressing the root cause of hunger and poverty by helping to improve the local economy. And that’s exactly what The Polar Express is doing! Bringing in people to Woonsocket and having them be a part of the local community.
In addition to The Polar Express, Blackstone Valley is known for “Zap” where thousands of volunteers line up the shores of the Blackstone River and remove tons of debris from what used to be considered one of the most polluted rivers in the world. But the job has only just begun! They continue to celebrate with new clean-ups and initiatives and the water will eventually one day become swimmable and fishable according to Steve. Next year is the 50th anniversary of this cleanup and they will be celebrating Zap 50 at Slater Mill next September.
Steve also shared with us his experience with the 1 of 52 Hunger Network. In this network, you become 1 of 52 others in your community, each representing one week of the year, who has agreed to take some form of action in that week to help end hunger. To learn more about the 1 of 52 Hunger Network visit their website here.
“And once again, our hospitality, tourism industries are most likely to hire people from hunger and poverty. So if we strengthen these industries, it's going to make a huge impact on our local economy and on people's lives.”
To learn more about Blackstone Valley Tourism and to purchase your ticket for the Polar Express visit their website here!
Each week on Business Over Breakfast, marketing experts Lori and Ben are joined by Rhode Island entrepreneurs who are living their dream of owning and running a business. If you’re a Rhode Island business owner and want to share your story please contact danielle@visualthrive.com and visit ShopLocalRhodeIsland to learn about other small businesses.
