Spread the cheer with SDSRM’s holiday concert

The community is invited to attend an afternoon of music, holiday cheer and nostalgia at the first  annual Trees and Trains Christmas concert and community celebration at the Hill City Center Sunday, Dec.15.

The fundraising event supports the South Dakota State Railroad Museum (SDSRM) and features the New Bower Family Band, James and Frank Van Nuys.

Rick Mills, curator of the SDSRM, is a long-time friend of the family and invited the brothers to put on the show. Frank  has been doing a PowerPoint presentation about their grandmother’s band, the original Bower Family Band, which played in Hermosa and Keystone in the late 1800s.

“We thought it would be of interest to bring to this event,” James said. He will be performing both train-oriented songs as well as Christmas songs. 

“I’ve known Rick for a long time,” James says. “He is such a great guy.” 

James admits he is a huge model railroad fan and “loves the museum.”  

Mills says he has “been looking for a unique concert to celebrate the Christmas season and foster a sense of community by and for the Museum. He said, “James and Frank share my vision.”

The SDSRM does not receive any money from Hill City and keeps its door open by admissions, donations and memberships. Those funds, along with fundraising, helps support  the museum’s operating capital for the year and sustain the programs Mills brings statewide year-round. The SDSRM works with various institutions to help preserve railroad history.

In the month of December it hosts a Trees and Trains event in the museum, with dates that coincide with The 1880 Train schedule. This is an opportunity to tour the museum, get holiday pictures with Santa Claus and enjoy the various Christmas trees local businesses, individuals and community organizations have created.

The SDSRM is a 501(c)3 and all donations to it are tax deductible.

Besides music, community and a touch of history, the afternoon Trees and Trains concert features homemade baked pastries, cookies and other seasonal treats for sale and an opportunity to purchase some donated artwork, all of which benefit the museum, says Mills.

All free will donations for the concert will also benefit the museum. 

“It will be a unique experience for the museum to host these talented artists in Hill City,” Mills said. “In addition to this afternoon of music and humor, all attendees can visit the Trees and Trains exhibit across the street at the  museum for no cost until closing that evening.” 

This concert is co-sponsored by the Hill City Center and the Rapid City, Pierre and  Eastern Railroad.

The fun begins at 1 p.m. at 227 Walnut Avenue in Hill City.