February is often considered the month of love and since Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, Grove Farm wishes to celebrate such a special occasion with “Tren Del Amor” on Friday.
“It’s a great family event,” said Chris Link, owner of Link’s DJ Production which is setting up the event. “We do this laser light show to let people know about Grove Farm. We’re trying to make it nice and safe for the community and the kids to ride. All the little kids ride the train and learn the history of Grove Farm.”
Festivities run 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. featuring train ride on Hawaii’s oldest locomotive “Paulo,” also known as “The Train of Love.” The event will also feature a laser light show, music, live entertainment and food booths.
“It was a dream of Ms. Maple Wilcox to restore the train so the people of Kauai can see what the trains are like,” said Johnson. “It’s the only place on Hawaii where original trains are running on the same railways by the company that ran them when they were hauling sugar cane.”
Music and multicolored lights will envelope the train and track as it travels across the old employee parking lot on Holeka Road across from the old sugar mill. The trees surrounding the train will also be wrapped in lights for guests to enjoy. During the last festival on Jan, 4, over 600 people enjoyed the festivities and 800 train rides were given. This year, organizers are expecting over 1,000 people for the celebration.
Guests are welcome to enjoy the rain rides as many times as they wish.
The free event is open to the public, however donations for Grove Farm will also be accepted.
“We have donation bottles all around and donations will go to the train,” Link said. “We use proceeds to make the train better and get the tracks down.”
DJ Production features this train ride once a month in agreement with Grove Farm. It has been working with Scott Johnson, stream engine operator for Grove Farm, to make the celebration a success.
“It’s an awesome opportunity. It actually started as a way to make it up to the community for the Halloween train night (which was rained out),” said Johnson. “The whole point of it is to show people the history that Grove Farm has been preserving for Kauai and the world.”
