2005-Event History

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Unique Features:

• Terrible weather washed out tracks both east and west of the city making for the first such event without the Kings arriving by train.

• First event with Santa Claus joining the Kings to the delight of the children who struggled through the storm on their annual pilgramage.

Description of the Day:

The Christmas Train / Tren de Los Tres Reyes wishes to thank all who contributed to the success of the 8th annual event in Tecate, México, on January 9th, 2005. As most of you know, the weather was the worst the event has experienced and the train was unable to operate because of the track being washed out on both approaches to the City. As the critical day drew near, we met with the Staff of the City of Tecate and decided that we simply could not cancel the event. With no effective way of getting out word of a cancellation, the City was certain that the children would come, no matter what.

On Sunday January 9th, it was raining lightly at 7:00 a.m. in Tecate. Some children were already in the covered seating at the baseball stadium. As we were setting up, more children arrived. DIF (Tecate’s Social Services agency) provided these early arrivals with a breakfast of cereal and milk, as we readied the gifts for distribution. By 9:00 a.m., we were ready and so were 2500 children and parents. The 2500 greeted the three Kings and were entertained by the San Diego All Star Clown Club and, to the delight of the children, a participant new to the event, Santa Claus. The old gent was recovered from his marathon travels of two weeks before and ready to put in some quality time with the kids.

By the end of the day, 4,800 children had braved the weather with their parents. That made more than 7200 Tecate residents who came to attend, including every member of the City Council and the heads of each department of the Municipality, an unprecedented showing of official support for the event. Many volunteers like yourself helped to make the children very happy that day. You could see it on each face as a child opened his or her gift bag to discover what was in it, then eagerly shared the discovered delights of the day with family and other kids, as they exited the stadium or headed homeward on the trail along the river park outside.

This event was the best yet for the children, most of whom would have had nothing but another muddy, rainy day without the volunteer’s efforts.