Reserve your time slot by ordering advance tickets online at Eiteljorg.org/JingleRails

INDIANAPOLIS – Advance tickets are available now for the Eiteljorg Museum’s popular annual holiday model train display, Jingle Rails: The Great Western Adventure, open from Nov. 21 to Jan. 18. Because of social distancing requirements, Jingle Rails tickets are timed to allow for limited capacity, and visitors must reserve tickets online at Eiteljorg.org/Jingle Rails.

Presented by Fifth Third Bank, Jingle Rails, now in its 11^th year, features nine G-scale model trains that ramble past whimsical reproductions of the landmarks of the American West and the skyline of downtown Indianapolis. The trains chug along 1,200 feet of track, winding through tunnels and over trestles, passing miniatures of Monument Circle, Lucas Oil Stadium, Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon and other iconic sites, each crafted out of all-natural materials such as bark, tree roots, pine cones, acorns, seed pods and honeycomb. And for fans who missed visiting the Indiana State Fair or the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in person in 2020, both are recreated as scenes in this year’s Jingle Rails.

For the safety of visitors, each group visiting Jingle Rails must reserve their entrance time slot in advance when ordering tickets online. Timed tickets are available in 15-minute increments, with the last entrance at 4:45 p.m. each day. So that families and groups can maintain social distancing while inside Jingle Rails, a one-way path is marked to guide visitors to and through the attraction.

“We are pleased again to present Jingle Rails this year, with some slight adjustments for visitor safety,” Eiteljorg President and CEO John Vanausdall said. “Its appeal is multigenerational: Children love model trains, and parents and grandparents enjoy seeing the representations of national parks that may remind them of a favorite family vacation out West. But in the moment, people love creating family holiday memories.”

The creative team at Applied Imagination in Alexandria, Ky. – a botanical architecture firm led by Paul Busse  – designed and built Jingle Rails and its additions. This year, two favorite backdrops return:  the Indiana State Fair, featuring the Ferris wheel and Coliseum, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, featuring the Grandstands, Pagoda, Yard of Bricks, Hall of Fame Museum and Goodyear Blimp above, with authentic sounds of the Speedway. During the 10-week run of Jingle Rails, a hard-working group of volunteers who are model-train enthusiasts ensure the electric trains run smoothly and answer visitors’ questions.

One of the most affordable local holiday attractions, Jingle Rails is $15 for adults and $8 for youth ages 5 to 17. Children ages 4 and under are free. Eiteljorg Museum members automatically have free admission but also must reserve their visit times in advance at Eiteljorg.org/JingleRails. Those with free passes or corporate passes should call ahead to 317.636.9378 or email mhincks@eiteljorg.com to schedule their time slots. Access Pass holders can purchase their regular $2 tickets on the museum website, but they must present a valid Access Pass in person at the museum’s Guest Services desk for those tickets to be accepted.

Admission to Jingle Rails between Nov. 21 and Jan. 18 also provides admission to the rest of the museum at no additional charge. The Eiteljorg’s other exhibition galleries do not have timed entry, and visitors can experience them at their leisure before or after seeing Jingle Rails.  Exhibitions open during the holiday season include Quilts: Uncovering Women’s Stories, through Jan. 3, Please Touch: The Sculptures of Michael Naranjo, through Feb. 7, and Powerful Women: Contemporary Art from the Eiteljorg Collection, through March 21.  The Eiteljorg’s Western art galleries and Native American galleries also are open. The Frank and Katrina Basile Museum Store is open during regular museum hours, and the Museum Café is available until 3 p.m. each day with a limited menu.  (The children’s discovery area on the lower level, the R.B. Annis Western Family Experience, is temporarily closed.)

The Eiteljorg Museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, and free parking is available in the White River State Park underground garage. Upon entering, all visitors must receive a non-invasive temperature check, sanitize their hands, wear face masks and socially distance inside the building, per state and local health requirements. For details, visit Eiteljorg.org/ReOpen. Since there is not a coatroom or coat check and Eiteljorg staff cannot hold items for visitors, the museum suggests visitors leave coats in their locked vehicles or carry their coats with them during their visit.

Jingle Rails: The Great Western Adventure is presented by Fifth Third Bank and is sponsored by Katz Sapper & Miller, One America, the Kortepeter family, The Sunrise Foundation (a fund of the Indianapolis Foundation) and Boot Barn.

Since it first delighted visitors at the Eiteljorg in 2010, Jingle Rails: The Great Western Adventure has received national acclaim and has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, USA Today and more.

About the Eiteljorg Museum
For more than 31 years, the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in White River State Park in downtown Indianapolis has inspired an appreciation and understanding of the art, history and cultures of the American West and the Indigenous peoples of North America. Located on the Central Canal at 500 West Washington St., the Eiteljorg Museum was named one of the USA Today Readers’ Choice 10 Best Indiana Attractions.

VIDEO:  For video of the Jingle Rails trains, visit this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHV8ynzkGLY.
Video is courtesy of WFYI Productions.

Media Contacts:
Bryan Corbin
Public Relations Manager
317.275.1315
bcorbin@eiteljorg.com

Bert Beiswanger
Director of Marketing and Communications
317.275.1317
bbeiswanger@eiteljorg.com

Hyacinth Rucker
Digital Marketing Manager
317.275.1388
hrucker@eiteljorg.com