(The Canadian Pacific Railway issued the following news release on December 1.)
CALGARY — Canadian Pacific Railway’s Holiday Train takes its rolling display of festive lights and music on the road starting Dec. 6 to help raise awareness of the issue of hunger and to increase donations to food banks.
Two trains, each illuminated by thousands of Christmas lights, will visit more than 50 Canadian communities, staging special on-train concerts to raise money and support for the thousands of Canadians who turn to food banks each month.
One train starts its Canadian journey in Streetsville, Ont. on Dec.6 and visits southwestern Ontario communities before crossing the border into the United States. The second train launches in Ste Therese, Que. on the same day and will travel approximately 5,000 km through southeast and northern Ontario before entering western Canada where it will finish its journey on Dec.20 at Port Moody, B.C.
Well-known Holiday Train entertainers will team up with some exciting new talent this year to provide live holiday music at event stops. Tom Wilson and Kelly Prescott will join Clint and Bob Moffatt and Tracey Brown and Randall Prescott to entertain crowds from the train’s stage car in southern Ontario. Tom Jackson, Beverley Mahood, Amanda Stott and Brad Johner will perform at all other Canadian shows.
The Canadian Association of Food Banks has reported continuing strong demand for food bank services this year in both big cities and small towns. Parents, children and the working poor are among the 800,000 people who turn to food banks for help each month.
CPR will donate roughly $225,000 to local food banks in Canada and the United States in addition to the food and money collected along the route. Holiday Train sponsors, including GE, IMC Global, Hudson’s Bay Company and Consolidated Fastfrate, will also make major contributions.
The Holiday Train program has helped raise 166 tons of food and $1.3 million for North American food banks since its launch in 1999.
How to help
Bring cash or non-perishable food items to any Holiday Train event, or make a cash donation to the Holiday Train account at any BMO Bank of Montreal branch.
For more information
Visit CPR’s interactive Holiday Train website at www.cpr.ca/go/holidaytrain for information on event locations, start times and news from along the route.
Canadian Pacific Railway is Canada’s first transcontinental railway and is the only transcontinental carrier with direct service to the U.S. Eastern Seaboard. CPR’s 14,000-mile network serves the principal centres of Canada, from Montreal to Vancouver, and the U.S. Northeast and Midwest regions. Its track feeds directly into the Chicago hub from the East and West coasts. Alliances with other carriers extend CPR’s market reach beyond its own network and into the major business centres of Mexico.
Contacts:
General information:
CPR Community Connect Line
1-800-766-7912