Traverse City’s Festival of Trains is going ahead despite the closure this week of the Traverse City History Center.
The History Center manages the festival every year for the Northern Michigan Railroad Club. Executive Director MaddieLundy said that won’t change this year.
“By the end of this week, we’ll have all the contracts signed," said Lundy. "The festival of trains will still be going on in the same location it’s always been, which is a good thing because everybody loves that.”
The closure of the History Center comes after months of negotiations with the city, which owns the Carnegie building. The center says it can no longer afford to maintain the 111-year-old building.
It remains to be seen whether the center will stay or find a new home elsewhere.
The train festival draws as many as 10,000 people every year to see model trains at the Carnegie Library building. This year’s festival comes as the History Center plots a future course that may mean leaving the building.