I’ll Be Watching For The ‘Wonkavator’ Above Waterbury on July 6

How many times have you watched the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory? It's a part of the American fabric, right? I've seen it maybe 1,000 times. If you're a big a fan as I am of the iconic film, and trains, there's a cool event happening next week in Thomaston, Torrington, and Waterbury

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The Railroad Museum of New England in located in Thomaston, and they've come up with some inventive multi-faceted events to get the public interested over the past couple of years. One that's happening on July 6, 2023 is being dubbed 'The Wonka Express'. The Museum has partnered up with Waterbury's Fascia's Chocolates and Torrington's Warner Theatre for this one. Guests will experience Waterbury's Fascia's chocolate factory through a chocolate-making workshop, hop aboard the train for dinner and a train ride to the Warner, where a special screening of Gene Wilder at his best will take place. They've also gone a step further by teasing that each passenger will receive a commemorative chocolate bar, four of which will contain a Golden Ticket that promises an exclusive future chocolate experience.

All I can picture is an Augustus Gloop-ish boy from Waterbury barreling past the poor Fascia's employees and face-planting into the good stuff. I'm also imagining a Wonkavator rocketing out of the roof of the Seth Thomas Clock Factory in Thomaston. Wouldn't it be great if the Wonkavator shot out of that clock tower while the train was pulling back into the museum? Here's the original scene -

"Look Grandpa Joe, Crabby Al's! "

"That's where the old Watertown Drive-In used to be, over there Charlie!"