EVENTS
Get on board for 2009!
Yulee Railroad Days consists of a number of events put on by different organizers, including historical organizations, rail fans, sporting groups, and municipalities. Over the course of eight years beginning in 2004, it will grow across North Florida to become Florida's first "linear festival." The sweep of the event from Fernandina to Cedar Key echoes the track of David Levy Yulee's Florida Railroad and includes many of the towns that came to life because of it or other rail lines. Each and every one is an important part of our history and deserves to celebrate!
There is no limit on the number of events in any area, so feel free to start your own, even if something is already going on in your town. Events may take place at any time during
Yulee Railroad Days 2009: Wednesday, May 27 -
Sunday, June 7, 2009. Choose the time that works best for you.
Sent your events schedule to:
dentonph@bellsouth.net
to be included on our page below and in our printable "schedule" page.
2009 Yulee Railroad Days Events:
- 9am: Parade Float Contest at Rec Field
- 9am on: Live entertainment
- 10am: Patriotic Parade
- 11am, 12 noon, 1pm: Cannon Blasts at the Civil War re-enactors' camp
- 2:00pm: Flag ceremony in honor of D-Day
- 2:00-4:30pm: Gospel Sing at the historic Bethlehem Presbyterian Church
- 4:30-10pm: Bo Diddley Evening at the Depot-All Star Open Microphone
Be sure to visit The Old Depot Railroad Museum,
the WWII Museum and the antique locomotive!
Callahan
The 4th Annual Railroad Days Festival will be celebrated at the historic Train Depot (1880s).
It is being hosted by the West Nassau Historical Society: http://www.wnhsfl.org
Yulee's train first came through Callahan in 1856.
The dates for 2009 will be March 27th & 28th - mark your calendars now!
- 1:45pm: Liz Mobley, Railroad Days entertainment coordinator - singing of our national anthem and other crowd favorites. Gary Baker and the Carrie Williams-Jan Peterson duo will follow Mobley.
- 4pm: Folk singer 'Mrs. Kate' Carpenter along with area country group, the Chris Tyler Band.
- 4:30pm: singer John Crisp
- 5pm: Callahan Male Chorus
- 5:30pm: Ray Williams
- 6pm: Brunswick Cloggers
- 6:45pm: John Crisp
- 7:15pm: Liz Mobley will return with encore performances
- 7:45pm: Randall Smith
- 8:15pm: Steve Branch
- 8:45pm: Liz Mobley and Ray Williams will perform Friday night’s finale together
- 1:45pm: Liz Mobley singing our national anthem
- 2pm: The Coastal Blues Band
- 3pm: Stephanie Branch
- 3:30pm: John Crisp
- 4pm: Randall Smith
- 4:30pm: Ray Williams
- 5pm: The Gospel Sheppard Group
- 5:30pm: Liz Mobley
- 6pm: Lead singer Chris Tyler and his Band from Jacksonville
For more info on Mrs. Kate, visit her website http://www.mrskate.com.
For the inside scoop about the Chris Tyler Band, go to
http://www.christylermusic.com.
For additional details on the 2009 Railroad Days Festival, call John Hendricks with the West Nassau Historical Society at 904-879-3406.
Gainesville
HISTORIC HAILE HOMESTEAD
Railroads, Planters & Farmers Tours
Saturday, June 6, 10:00am - 2:00pm
Sunday, June 7, 12:00 Noon to 4:00pm
- Reduced admission: $3 per adult, under 12 free
- To celebrate Yulee Railroad Days, tours will focus on the importance of the railroads to planters and farmers in the 1800s.
MATHESON MUSEUM TRAIN SHOW
Ocala Model Railroaders
513 E. University Avenue
Fri, Sat, June 5, 6, 9:30am - 4:30pm
Sun, June 7, 1 - 5pm
Unit Trains and Historic Passenger Trains of the 1930s to 2008
Admission: Adults $3, Children 12 and under $1
Historic Preservation Society
Featuring two large operating modular railroads in N and HO Scale, a demonstration layout with 6 popular Model Railroad scales
FREE ADMISSION - SPECIAL EVENT: RAILROADS OF ALACHUA COUNTY
Wed, June 3, 7:00pm:
Multi-media program by Harold R. McGee
For information contact, Harold R. McGee: 352-378-7557
Homosassa
Saturday, June 6
10am - 3pm
WHERE: Yulee Sugar Mills Ruins Historic State Park and the Old Printing Museum/
Museum Cafe, CR 490/Yulee Drive, Homosassa
DIRECTIONS: Take US Highway 19 to the Town of Homosassa. Take CR 490 (Yulee
Road) west 2.5 miles to the Park and Museum
The Day-Long Events include:
- Chauffer’s Cottage Historic Marker Presentation Ceremony
- Musical performances by the Cool Corporate Cats with Special Guests
- Cane Grinding Demonstrations
- Ranger Leroy Smith’s Sweet & Sour interpretation
- David Levy Yulee Interpretive Displays
For more information, call 352-795-0208
What Can We Do?
Railroads, local and Florida history, children's events, how the area was settled and developed, what it was like in the 1800s. Yulee Railroad Days is about all this and more. If your organization wants to get involved, but doesn't know how, here are some ideas that you could try:
Event with a local history or cultural theme
Natural attractions of the area
Event on use of Rails-to-Trails parkways
Exhibit on genealogy, inviting people to learn about their local history
Model railroad exhibit
Art project with a railroad theme, program at a community center or library, which could gather oral histories related to railroad themes. Contact senior centers, etc.
Exhibit on native plants to show what train passengers would have seen as they crossed the state
Tour of historic buildings
Prepare a display of books with railroad themes.
Feature story hours for youngsters with railroad books, songs. photo exhibit of trains or an exhibit of railroad-related collections. Businesses could feature railroad toys (Thomas the Tank Engine, for instance) in their store windows and display space.
Railroad Honor Roll: In a central location in the community, ask people to list the names of family members who have worked for a railroad, along with dates, type of job, name of railroad companies, and contact information
Day care center, plan a little parade with tricycles and scooters pretending to be a choo-choo.
"Railroad Picture Treasure hunt." Distribute disposable cameras and ask youngsters to take pictures of railroad tracks, railroad signs, buildings, etc. (This could work in neighborhoods near an old train station or in small towns.) Display the photos in the library or town hall. Theaters could feature a railroad film that weekend.
Grocery store to sponsor a coloring contest. Print up a page with a train to color, and give each kid a sticker with a train image on it when they turn in their picture. Have a display area for pictures with a poster about the event at the front of the store.
Docents pose outside the Historic Haile Homestead in Gainesville, which conducted special tours highlighting excerpts from Serena Haile's journal describing the effect the railroad had on the family.
Historian Harold McGee, right, poses with a member of the Ocala Model Railroaders and Historic Preservation Society, which exhibited its impressive model RR display at the Matheson Museum in Gainesville. The Matheson featured its own railroad exhibits and conducted tours of the Matheson House during the weekend, as well as hosting the YRRD Opening Reception.
Santa Fe Community College's David Campus in Archer was the site of the opening reception for Yulee Railroad Days in Archer on Friday. Designs created by the SFCC Graphic Design Technology Students were displayed. Adam Booth and Brandy Hall portrayed the title characters in a reading of Sarah Bewley's play "David and Nancy Yulee" during the Archer Opening.
Saturday, visitors at the Cotton Club/Blue Note Restoration Project enjoyed barbecued chicken and ribs in the shade of a magnificent oak tree that sits next to the former venue for "Chitlin Circuit" blues and jazz musicians.
Friends of the Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail and the Florida Track Club hosted a 10k run out and back from Boulware Springs on Saturday morning. There were 250 runners from as far away as Norway who participated in the Grand Prix event.
The Yulee Days in Archer Festival on Saturday attracted vendors, reenactors, and lots of political candidates who were eager to enjoy the oldest celebration of David Levy Yulee and his Florida Railroad. The Archer Historical Society Museum in the Old Depot was open and served as the state for music acts all day. The Walk Through Time featured demonstrations of how early settlers and Native Americans live in 19th Century North Florida. "Mrs. Yulee" and her husband were on hand to chat with visitors. The Horse Power Parade lived up to its name. Reeactors from the Civil War Encampment fired the cannon three times in front of the historic Kasicky house.
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Copyright © 2006 Archer Historical Society, Inc.
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