Grapevine CVB's 'Would-be Train Robbers' to debut during Main Street Days

Nine-foot animatronic would-be train robbers Nat Barrett and Willy Majors are installed in the Grapevine Historic Cotton Belt Tower.

Nine-foot animatronic would-be train robbers Nat Barrett and Willy Majors are installed in the tower.

Nine-foot animatronic would-be train robbers Nat Barrett and Willy Majors are installed in the tower.

Nine-foot animatronic would-be train robbers Nat Barrett and Willy Majors are installed in the tower.

Nine-foot animatronic would-be train robbers Nat Barrett and Willy Majors are installed in the Grapevine Historic Cotton Belt Tower.

Nine-foot animatronic would-be train robbers Nat Barrett and Willy Majors are installed in the tower.

But caught up in the confrontation, both would-be train robbers will miss the train and the chance to ease their financial woes. So they will attempt another train heist at 6 p.m.

Nine-foot animatronic characters Majors and Barrett, whose stories of financial woe and train heist aspiration were dreamed up by CVB Director Paul W. McCallum, will make their debut Friday at the start of the 28th Annual Main Street Days running May 18–20.

Just before noon and 6 p.m. daily, the two will emerge from the glockenspiel clock tower platform of the two-story, nearly 40,000-square-foot Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau headquarters and museum complex.

"They will engage in a little skirmish that will end up with a gunfight," said Barry Lewis, CVB's director of marketing. "Neither one of them will actually get a shot off that kills anybody, but you will never know who gets the winning shot off."

The scenario will play out randomly each time. However, the moral of the story will remain the same: Crime doesn't pay. The animatronic figures were installed in the glockenspiel clock tower last week. The figures and tower cost the CVB about $161,500 paid from revenues collected from the city's hotel occupancy tax.

The inaugural performance of the gun fighters will follow the 10:30 a.m. grand opening of the CVB's new home at 636 South Main St. The building houses the CVB offices, the new Grapevine Visitors Center, meeting rooms, and small retail and museum spaces.

The National Watercolor Society Traveling Exhibition's 30 national award-winning watercolor paintings will be the first art show on display inside the new CVB building. The show will also feature 15 Plein Air award-winning paintings from an art contest hosted by the nonprofit Grapevine Art Project.

The 28th Annual Main Street Days will feature arts and crafts, carnival rides, a grilling competition, live entertainment, drinks and food, including a competition among nine area pizzerias.

"It is just a great time to check out the clock tower, come down and have a meal ... and see what happens with the would-be train robbers," Lewis said.

For more information, visit www.grapevinetexasusa.com/mainstreetdays.