Nelsonites line up to welcome CP Holiday Train
By Nelson Daily Staff
More than a thousand of country music enthusiasts braved wet, wintry weather to welcome recording stars Terri Clark and Dallas Smith during the bi-annual visit of the CP Holiday Train Thursday on the rail tracks near Lakeside Park.
Clark and Smith provided the entertainment as Nelsonites surrounded the 1,000-foot Holiday Train for the fifth time in nine years.
The last time the Holiday Train stopped in Nelson was in 2017, as well as 2015, 2013 and 2011. Prior to the Nelson performance, the CP Holiday Train stopped in Castlegar and Creston.
Nelson Mayor John Dooley, along with Nelson-Creston NDP MLA Michelle Mungall, welcomed to the entertainers and crew to the Heritage City.
Nelson Salvation Army staff watched as spectators filled bins with non-perishable items for the local food bank and Christmas hampers.
The Nelson Salvation Army was presented with a cheque for $8,000. Since the inception of the CP Holiday Train back in 1999, more $15.8 million and 4.5 million pounds of food for North American food banks.
Everything raised in each community stays in that community, and CP additionally makes donations at each stop. All the money raised stays in the community.
Spectators lined the intersection of Second Street and Gordon Road as well as the Nelson Bridge and entrance to Lakeside Park.
The Holiday Train is about 1,000 feet in length with 14 brightly decorated rail cars. Each car is decorated with hundreds of thousands of technology-leading LED lights and holiday designs.
The CP Holiday Train ventures back to Radium Hot Springs and Golden Saturday before heading through the North Okanagan and Thompson regions.
The CP Holiday Train continues its trek down the Fraser Canyon before concluding shows in the Fraser Valley.
The Holiday Train, with its 14 brightly decorated rail cars, cruised slowly along the tracks near Lakeside Park.
Spectators arrived early to get a good spot to watch the Holiday Train and listen to entertainers.
