Holiday Train Rolls into 26th Year
CP-Holiday-Train Photo from CPKC.png
By Jo Boxwell
The 2024 Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) Holiday Train will spend one month touring the US and Canada, making more than 160 stops to spread holiday cheer, share live music and collect donations for community food banks. The 14 rail cars are a total of 1,000 feet long and are lit up and decorated for the festive season.
Donations
According to the CPKC website, the holiday train has raised over $24.3 million and 5.3 million pounds of food since the initiative began in 1999.
Shuswap non-profits supported by this year’s train include the Salvation Army Care and Share Centre (Canoe and Salmon Arm), the Chase Christmas Hamper Society, Sorrento Food Bank (Notch Hill) and Eagle Valley Community Support Society (Sicamous). There will be locations at the train stops to make food and cash donations.
Performers & Community Events
Holiday train concerts are free to watch, but audience members are asked to please bring a food bank donation. For the concerts happening in BC this year, the performers will be Magic! and Sofia Camara.
Magic! is a Canadian reggae fusion band from Toronto who have spent more than a decade performing together. They achieved international success with their hit “Rude” back in 2014. Their latest album, “Inner Love Energy” was released in April.
Sofia Camera is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Toronto. She built a dedicated online following by sharing covers on TikTok and YouTube. Her latest single is “Who Do I Call Now? (Hellbent),” which has been streamed more than 16 million times.
When the train rolls into Notch Hill, there will be fires to keep warm and hot chocolate served in front of the hall. Check out the Notch Hill School House Gingerbread Contest and Christmas Market, open from 6pm - 9pm, before the train arrives.
Past CPKC Holiday Train event
Photo Credit: Jerre Paquette
Shuswap Schedule
The 2024 CPKC Holiday Train will be making the following stops:
Dec. 17, 17:15 - 17:45, Sicamous (Hwy 1 & Silver Sand Rd)
Dec. 17, 18:45 - 19:15, Canoe (50 St & Canoe Beach Dr)
Dec. 17, 20:00 - 20:30, Salmon Arm (51 Lakeshore Dr NE)
Dec. 17, 21:30 - 22:00, Notch Hill (1639 Notch Hill Rd)
Dec. 18, 14:45 - 15:15, Chase (Shuswap Ave & Ash Dr)
Use the hashtag #CPKCholidaytrain to follow the train on social media.
