Santa comes to Sparta Train Station

Sparta – On Saturday, Dec. 1, Santa and Company “G," the 2nd Battalion, 25th Marines arrive at about 3:30 p.m. at the Sparta Train Station where more than 17,000 toys that they brought with them will be loaded onto trucks that head to the Season of Hope Toy Shop at Project Self Sufficiency in Newton.
About 40 artisan vendors will sell their wares inside the Sparta Police Athletic League (PAL) building, which this year is an the official satellite location of the Lake Mohawk German Christmas Market.
Attendees are encouraged to arrive much earlier than 3:30 p.m. as they will need to park at Sparta High School or Sparta Middle School to then take a $2 shuttle bus to the Train Station.
After Santa arrives, there will be opportunity for photos.
There will be K-9s from The Seeing Eye, and the Sparta Historical Society’s Model T will be there on Saturday, Dec. 1, There will also be a visit from Herbie Minor. Friends from LEGOLAND will be at the Train Station on Sunday, Dec. 2, with a LEGO Santa Claus meeting with families from 11:30 a.m. until 3 p.m.
The complete schedule of activities for the Train Station and Lake Mohawk Country Club can be found on the Lake Mohawk German Christmas Market website http://lakemohawkgermanchristmasmarket.com/ and Train Creative website https://www.traincreative.org/.
Attendees are encouraged to bring new, unwrapped toys to donate. Collection bins will be placed around Sparta for families to drop off toys during and leading up the Dec. 1 and Dec. 2 weekend. The Sparta Train Station will also be open from 4-6 p.m. on Nov. 28-30 for toy drop off.
Since 2009, Operation Toy Train has operated a special train in northern New Jersey and southern New York during the first two weekends of December. The train collects more than 20,000 donated toys annually for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Foundation, which redistributes them to underprivileged children. This is the second year that Sparta was selected to be on the route and will be the eighth and final stop on a train that originates in Rochelle Park.
The Sparta Train Station, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2016 with a mission to preserve the Sparta Train Station for the use and enjoyment of future generations. The Sparta Train Station is maintained to house local railroad artifacts and to serve as inspiring backdrop for the creative educational activities. The building is dedicated to William E. Dermody Jr. who inspired others to build, create, and to share that passion with the community. The Sparta Train Station is located at 30 Station Road in Sparta, NJ.
About Lake Mohawk German Christmas Market
The idea of the German themed market was brought to life in 2001 by a group of volunteers desiring to raise funds for local charities by creating a winter festival. Now as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, incorporated in 2017, its mission to give back to the community has not changed.
The Lake Mohawk German Christmas Market has grown to be recognized seventeen years later as one of the top Christmas Markets to attend not only in the State of New Jersey but also nationally.