Year 20 for the CP Holiday Train is in full locomotive swing and will be pulling up to Cochrane and blasting Christmas tunes in fundraising fashion for the local food bank on Thursday, Dec. 13 at 2:45 p.m. The locomotive will make a full stop behind the Provincial building, between River Avenue and 4th Street West, whereupon the train car doors will open to the sounds of Canadian rockers, the Sam Roberts Band, as well as country crooners Kelly Prescott and Tracey Brown (mother/daughter duo). After its Cochrane stop, the train will next stop in Morley at 4:15 p.m. to perform once again from 4:25 p.m to 4:45 p.m. This stop will be by the gas station. Music will commence from 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. with spectators encouraged to bring cash and non-perishable food donations to go toward the local food bank – in Cochrane's case, the Activettes. According to Anita McFeeters with the Activettes Food Bank, $4,000 cash was donated by CP Rail in 2016 (as the train alternates stops every second year), $1,117 was raised on location during the stop as well as a truckload of non-perishables. The Activettes view this as a great opportunity to boost Christmas hampers with a goal of $200,000 by the end of this month to go back into the community, toward those in need. Since 1999, the Holiday Train has raised more than $14.5 million and 4.3 million pounds of food for North American food banks – between its Canadian and American routs. Learn more at cpr.ca/holiday-train.
