Celebrate the holiday with the Lincoln Park Conservatory, 2391 N. Stockton Drive, at the Winter Flower and Train Show starting Saturday, Dec. 12 running through Sunday, Jan. 10, 2009.

There will be several model trains on display, including an old-fashioned steam engine, freight train and trolley. Watch them wind their way through a miniature village set in a field of vibrant red, delicate white and soft pink poinsettias in the Show House of the Lincoln Park Conservatory.

The village, comprised entirely of natural materials including willow, spruce and birch woods, features a variety of Chicago-style homes and famous buildings such as the neighborhood bungalow, Chicago Theatre and Chicago Water Tower Place.

The Winter Flower and Train Show is free and open to all ages.  The Lincoln Park Conservatory is open every day of the year from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Lincoln Park Conservatory is located just five minutes north of downtown. From Lake Shore Drive, exit Fullerton Avenue and travel two blocks west.

From I-94, exit Fullerton Avenue and travel two miles east. The Conservatory is located on the southeast corner of Fullerton and Stockton.

About the Lincoln Park Conservatory

The Lincoln Park Conservatory, owned and operated by the Chicago Park District, was designed by nationally renowned architect of the Victorian era Joseph Lyman Silsbee in collaboration with architect M.E. Bell.

The Conservatory was built in phases between 1890 and 1895, replacing a small greenhouse that dated from the 1870s and was designed both to showcase exotic plants and to grow the thousands of plants needed for use in the parks, which it still does today.

For more information about the Chicago Park District’s more than 7,400 acres of parkland, 552 parks, 26 miles of lakefront, nine museums, two world-class conservatories, 16 historic lagoons, nearly 50 natural areas, thousands of special events, sports and entertaining programs, please visit chicagoparkdistrict.com or contact the Chicago Park District at 312-742-PLAY or 312-747-2001 (TTY).

Want to share your talent? Volunteer in the parks by calling, 312-742-PLAY.