INNISFAIL – It was a stunningly gorgeous pre-winter day in Innisfail on Dec. 13 and the CPKC Holiday Train was on time.
In fact, it was exactly one minute early, arriving at the 50th Street crossing in Innisfail, the first stop of the day's planned trek at 12:54 p.m.
Hundreds of people gave a huge cheer for the train’s near-perfect arrival.
After quick official greetings, 20-year-old singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sofia Camara gave a short but powerful 15-minute performance.
And then came the official welcome from Innisfail-Sylvan Lake MLA Devin Dreeshen, Innisfail mayor Jean Barclay, and a big thank you from Heather Taylor, co-coordinator of the Innisfail and District Food Bank.
The annual CPKC event in Canada and the U.S. is a fundraiser for food banks across its network, and a cheque of $3,500 was presented to Taylor.
Her agency was also supported by 894 pounds of food brought to the event by supportive citizens. The food donations were gathered and delivered to the local food bank by members of the Blair Team at REMAX Real Estate Central Alberta.
“They are almost like family to me, the Blairs are. They will bring it all to the food bank,” said Taylor, noting the festive mood of the crowd amidst the gorgeous weather. “It’s wonderful. We had a great turnout. Everybody is just in a great mood, and that's exactly what we would like to see.”
Attending citizens who came out to see this year’s holiday train also supported the local food bank with an additional $2,471 in donations.
“A very, very special thanks to CPKC, who once again came through our town with this beautiful holiday train and their incredible support year after year for the Innisfail food bank,” said Barclay. “There's so many people that just need a little bit of a hand up this time of year, and it's great to see that support.”
The show went on with a second powerhouse performance from MAGIC!, a Canadian reggae fusion band.
Between songs singer Nasri playfully interacted with the crowd, and the performance came to an end.
The train then made stops in Olds and Didsbury before finishing off the day's planned stops in Airdrie.
