The North Pole Express will run for the fourth year on Saturday, Dec. 3, starting off from the Greenbush train station and proceeding to the North Pole. The community looks forward to stepping into the holiday spirit with the annual tradition of the North Pole Express. Volunteers will read the Christmas classic The Polar Express to local youth aboard the train.

At $20 a ticket, the money raised will go to the Scituate High school Opportunities and Resources for Education (SHORE) and Community of Resources for Special Education (CORSE) foundations which both seek to provide funding for the best possible opportunities for Scituate students.

The train ride is infamous among Scituate youth, who look forward to the festive occasion each year. The North Pole Express brings all parts of the community together – from women who volunteer to direct and oversee to high school students who dress up as elves and hand out goodies to the young families nestled in the red booths of the commuter rail. Senior Sara Cox, who volunteered last year, said, “It was a rewarding experience to be a part of the Polar Express and to see all the little kids’ faces getting into the holiday spirit with their friends and family.”

In prior years SHORE ran the event along with the Scituate Town Library but this year CORSE is involved and both SHORE and CORSE are focused on making the event a success as it was in past years.

The event was formerly known as “The Polar Express” but changed this year to The North Pole Express. SHORE member Susan Shillue said, “There are some lawsuits pending because different organizations are using the name Polar Express. We thought it would be more appropriate to change the name.”

The changed name will not change the charm of the event however; word is spreading of the event and high school students are beginning to sign up for volunteering positions.

Anyone interested in volunteering for the event can pick up paperwork at the SHS Main Office or if you’re just interested in finding out more about this tradition you can log on to scituatenorthpoleexpress.com