Newtown Lions Club is planning a Model Train Show Event to benefit childhood cancer research on Saturday, October 28, from 10 am to 4 pm, at Newtown Community Center, 8 Simpson Street.

Admission is $10 adults, $25 for a family (three or more), $5 ages 5-12, and free age 4 and under.

This new event will feature several different operating model railroads encompassing over 1,700 square feet and including Pizza Box Railroad constructed by one of the club’s own: Lion Paul Arneth.

For the serious and occasional hobbyist there will also be several vendors selling model railroad equipment, accessories, and books on do-it-yourself modeling (DIY) and much more.

There will be door prizes, food trucks, video presentations and lectures on historic area railroads throughout the day. There will also be attractions for the young at heart with Dr Cadabra’s Magic.

Lions Train Show Committee Chair Peter McNulty says childhood cancer is one of the most heart wrenching experiences a family can endure.

“Newtown Lions Club is actively supplying resources to support research for childhood cancer as one of the five major charitable causes the Lions serve,” McNulty added.

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), in the United States in 2023, an estimated 9,910 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed among children from birth to 14 years, and about 1,040 children are expected to die from the disease. The estimated new cancer cases among adolescents and young adults ages 15-39, this year alone in this country, will be greater than 85,000. This amounts to approximately 4.4 percent of all new cancer cases at any age.

NCI notes that while cancer death rates for the age group birth to 14 years have declined by 70 percent from 1970 through 2020, cancer remains the leading cause of death from disease among children. The most common types of cancer diagnosed in children ages 0 to 14 years are leukemias, brain and other central nervous system (CNS) tumors, and lymphomas.