(The following article by Gabe Wollenburg was posted on the Oconomowoc Focus website on December 1.)
OCONOMOWOC, Wisc. — When the Canadian Pacific Railroad Holiday Train rolls into town Dec. 10, the stop will mean more than just a photo op and a few holiday snapshots – especially for those who might be relying on the Oconomowoc Food Pantry for assistance this holiday season.
The train is part of an ongoing hunger awareness campaign run by the Canadian Pacific Railway since 1999. With the train, decorated with thousands of Christmas lights, CPR hopes to raise awareness of the issue of hunger prevalent in all communities and to raise funds and food for each of the local food banks or pantries were the train stops.
Prior to the train’s stop in Oconomowoc, area residents are asked to drop off food for the Oconomowoc Food Pantry at the following locations: YMCA at Pabst Farms, Silver Eagle, the Oconomowoc Chamber of Commerce, the city’s Park, Recreation and Forestry Department, Kmart, Lorleberg’s True Value, Impact School, Snyder Insurance, Sentry Foods and First Bank Oconomowoc.
Residents can also bring food donations to the Oconomowoc Focus office, where donations will be met with matching funds as part of the newspaper’s Yule Feed Families food drive.
Lake Country Publications, the publisher of the Oconomowoc Focus, will match donations by giving 40 cents for every food item and 70 cents for every dollar donated to the Yule Feed drive.
Donations can be dropped or mailed to the Oconomowoc Focus, 108 N. Main St., Oconomowoc, WI 53066. The Focus office is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, but call ahead if you’ve got a donation so we can be sure to help you. Donations are being accepted until Dec. 17.
Food items that are needed include cereal, pancake mix, syrup, canned soup, tuna fish, canned fruits, canned vegetables, Jell-O, macaroni and cheese, complete meals which include meat, peanut butter and jelly, dried milk and juice.
In exchange for your support and donations, the Canadian Pacific Railroad has also lined up a little evening’s entertainment for those willing to come meet the train.
Those lined up on the north side of the tracks will be treated to holiday performances by Canadian music producer Randall Prescott, country singer Tracey Brown and the Ennis Sisters, a trio from Newfoundland.
The lighted Holiday Train is scheduled to stop near the Main Street Depot at 4:55 p.m., with the show beginning immediately. The train will leave Oconomowoc at approximately 5:30 p.m.
The train stop isn’t the end of Oconomowoc’s holiday festivities planned for Dec. 10. Following the Holiday Train’s show, Santa Claus will lead revelers to the Village Green for the city’s annual tree lighting ceremony.
For more information about the Holiday Train’s stop in Oconomowoc, call the Oconomowoc Area Chamber of Commerce office at (262) 567-2666. For more information about the train’s route, visit www.cpr.ca.