INNISFAIL – The CP Holiday Train is returning to Innisfail.
Local residents, families and visitors can see the festive holiday train when it makes a stop downtown at the junction of 50th Street and 52nd Avenue on Dec. 7.
The train is expected to arrive at 1:15 p.m., with the festive event, featuring Canadian artists Scott Helman and Madeline Merlo, taking place between 1:25 and 1:55 p.m.
This year, the CP Holiday Train will have a special guest from Innisfail aboard as it passes through the area.
Eleven-year-old Jude Barker, a Grade 6 student at Innisfail Middle School (IMS), was the grand winner of the Canadian Pacific (CP) rail safety poster contest at the school, which ran from Nov.13 to 22.
“I’m really proud of myself and happy,” said Barker of being chosen for the grand prize.
His poster depicted a CP train on a rail track with the caption, “Go near a track, you may not come back.”
“It was supposed to look like it was coming towards you,” said Barker. “Making sure that you move and feel like that’s not a good place to be, on the tracks in front of the train.
“It was supposed to be a point of view. It would look like you were there,” he added, noting the important message the poster contest shared.
“A lot of people have been reported on the tracks and it’s not safe,” said Barker.
He is looking forward to his ride on the CP Holiday Train.
“Just going around Alberta and visiting places and being with my family on the train,” said Barker.
Clark Peters, the principal at IMS, said there were many good entries in the rail safety poster contest.
“There were five winners in total, with four runners-up and Jude Barker being our grand prize winner,” said Peters. “The CP police brought this (idea) to us.
“When you look at all the entrants, there’s some really great work,” he added.
Now in its 21st year, the CP Holiday Train helps raise money and food donations for food banks across Canada every year.
“Since the program started in 1999, we’ve raised about $15.8 million and 4.5 million pounds of food for community food banks along the CP network,” said Andy Cummings, spokesman with CP.
“Everything donated stays locally; we don’t take anything with us. When you give in Innisfail your local food shelf has a table set up, you make your donation there, you enjoy the show and everything stays locally to help your neighbours in need. That’s true in every community,” he added.
“It’s a critical part of the holiday train. We like to see that aspect of neighbours helping neighbours. That’s what the holiday train is all about,” Cummings concluded.
