A crowd of more than 300 people met the celebrated CP Holiday Train for the fourth time at the corner of 50th St and Fas Gas in Innisfail on Dec. 10 at 2 p.m.
Now in its sixteenth year of rolling across Canada and the United States, the Christmas-themed train came into view and rolled to a stop with a silver-clad car centred on the street.
“The kids were excited to see the train,” said Innisfail mother Kyla Thompson as they waited for it to roll to a stop. “This is the first time we have come down to the train and we enjoyed the afternoon.”
A steady stream of high school students, Innisfailians, and local business people walked to the railroad intersection and listened to recorded Christmas Carols until Roxanne Potvin, a Juno Award-nominated, Montreal-based singer-songwriter, and the Odds, a longtime Vancouver-based power pop rock band were unveiled on the side door stage.
The band started off with Run Run Rudolph and continued to play a mix of Christmas songs and invited audience participation, which the crowd happily agreed to.
“You might know this one,” said the lead singer before launching into the theme song for Corner Gas amid an impromptu sing along. “We recorded this for the TV show more than 10 years ago.”
The Innisfail Rotary Club collected cash donations for the food bank while other volunteers gathered food donations in a van parked by the Fas Gas. Santa Claus and a band of roving elves handed out candy canes to children.
CP spokesperson Jeremy Berry presented a cheque to Innisfail mayor Brian Spiller for $2,500 for the Innisfail food bank on behalf of their employees.
“I think people have donated more than 400 pounds of food to our shelves,” said Dave Hample, food bank volunteer. “We don't have a cash tally, but my wife Maureen was busy tallying the funds. We think it was close to $3,000.”
Since its inception, the holiday train has raised close to $9.5 million and 3.3 million pounds of food during tours across Canada.
The CP Holiday Train will run until Dec. 17 when it will end its 2014 run in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia.
Dave Hample
"I think people have donated more than 400 pounds of food to our shelves."
