{"id":15544,"date":"2025-11-24T19:58:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T02:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/80-free-polar-express-tickets-given-to-foster-adopt-families\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:48:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:48:13","slug":"80-free-polar-express-tickets-given-to-foster-adopt-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/80-free-polar-express-tickets-given-to-foster-adopt-families\/","title":{"rendered":"80 free Polar Express tickets given to foster-adopt families"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"A
A chef aboard the Polar Express shows Nari Williams, 5, left, and her dad, Bobby Williams, a storybook during Thursday's trip. (Elizabeth Pond\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Each holiday season, the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad provides free Polar Express train tickets to foster-adopt families in La Plata County, giving children the chance to experience holiday magic.<\/p>\n

About 80 free tickets \u2013 enough to fill two coach cars \u2013 were given to foster-adopt families for Thursday\u2019s inaugural Polar Express ride, said railroad General Manager Jeff Johnson.<\/p>\n

Coach tickets for children range from $31.32 to $56.16 during times of peak demand.<\/p>\n

The 65-minute ride features dancing and singing chefs, caroling, cookies, hot chocolate, a visit to the North Pole, and appearances from Polar Express fan favorites like Hero Boy and the Conductor. Santa also visits each train car to deliver sleigh bells and spread holiday cheer.<\/p>\n

\"Classic
Classic characters from The Polar Express perform before Thursday's train took off for the North Pole. (Elizabeth Pond\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Foster-adopt families aren\u2019t the only ones receiving discounted tickets: The Boys and Girls Club of La Plata County also receives low-cost tickets each year, Johnson said.<\/p>\n

He said the railroad is honored to provide free and reduced tickets to local families who might not otherwise experience the ride.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big part of what we like to do to give back to the community,\u201d he said. \u201cThe families have responded well, and we\u2019ve loved having the opportunity to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Katrina Mars rode the train Thursday with four of her six kids: Elissa, 20; Matthew, 14; Emma, 14; and Josh, 13.<\/p>\n

Her two other children \u2013 Kayden, 13, and James, 22 \u2013 stayed behind.<\/p>\n

Matthew, Emma, Josh and Kayden \u2013 all adopted by Mars and dad Dusty through foster care \u2013 have ridden the train for several years in a row. The free tickets are open to any foster or adopted families in La Plata County, including those like the Mars family, who closed their home to placements in 2018.<\/p>\n

\"Emma
Emma Mars, 14, looks at her ticket for the Polar Express while on board Thursday. Pajamas \u2013 like Emma's Stitch outfit \u2013 are encouraged on the ride. (Elizabeth Pond\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cWe\u2019re very thankful for the department and the Durango train for providing (the tickets),\u201d Mars said. \u201cI know that La Plata County works very hard to support their foster and adoptive families, and that\u2019s not always a given in different counties or states. It\u2019s just a treat for us to get to be able to do that, and it\u2019s something that the kids look forward to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emma said her favorite part was the cookies and hot chocolate. Josh liked the decorations, and Matthew enjoyed the dancing chefs.<\/p>\n

\"From
From left, Josh, 13, Matthew, 14, mom Katrina, Elissa, 20, and Emma, 14, gaze at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad train after Thursday's Polar Express ride. (Elizabeth Pond\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

La Plata County foster parents Courtney and Bobby Williams also rode the train Thursday with four of their nine children and their 9-year-old foster child.<\/p>\n

Nari, 5, adopted through foster care, said her favorite part was the cookies. Ezra, 7, also adopted through foster care, said he liked the story \u2013 delivered through speakers and a storybook passed around the train.<\/p>\n

Courtney, who has ridden the train with her children for several years, said the free tickets make the experience possible for a large family.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great to be able to take them all on the train,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd they get so excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their foster child said he had been looking forward to the train ride for two weeks.<\/p>\n

Charmaine Summers, foster care and adoption supervisor for La Plata County Foster Care and Adoption Services, called the free tickets an \u201cincredible token of generosity\u201d from the railroad.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our holiday celebration for our families,\u201d Summers said. \u201cThe families love it.\u201d<\/p>\n

epond@durangoherald.com<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n

\"A
A character onboard Thursday's Polar Express performs for La Plata County foster-adopt families. (Elizabeth Pond\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018It’s a treat for us,\u2019 mom says<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15545,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1767,755,170,28,994],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-15544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-adoption","tag-christmas","tag-durango-and-silverton-narrow-gauge-railroad-co","tag-headlines","tag-trueanthem"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15544"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19713,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15544\/revisions\/19713"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15544"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=15544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}