The Box Car Stage & Lawn is the perfect "performance-in-the-park" venue for virtually any kind of performance; whether it's a movie at dusk on a summer night, a battle of the bands, a dance or chamber orchestra recital, theater troupe or a wedding or awards ceremony of some kind, the Box Car Stage is the perfect setting. Chairs can be set across the lawn under the beautiful New Mexico skies and the natural shade provided by EXPO's old-growth oak trees, or partially or fully tented with plenty of room left over for vendors, information booths, dedicated children's play areas--you name it: the Box Car Stage & Lawn area is one of the most useful, naturally beautiful outdoor venues you'll find at EXPO, and it can be paired with Block 1 of Avenue of the Governors and/or the Administration Building Lawn should more space be required. The Box Car Stage gets its name from the French Gratitude Box Cars--original and restored replica--that serve as an onstage backdrop. At the end of World War II, the French government sent a single boxcar filled with gifts to each for the 48 continental United States as a show of thanks for our soldiers' efforts in ending the war. New Mexico is one of just a handful of states that still possesses its original Gratitude Box Car, and it's right here at EXPO.