Holiday Train packs in the crowd; local Salvation Army big winner with $8000 donation from CP
By Brendan Quinn
The CP Holiday Train rolled through the Heritage City last night, and it seems that every child in town was out to see the show.
People of all ages, but especially the younger members of the Nelson community, packed the Lakeside Park railway crossing in anticipation for the arrival of the holiday themed neon locomotive.
Despite a delay experienced while the train was in Castlegar, the CP Holiday Train arrived on time to a tangibly excited crowd. Babies decked out in Santa hats sat on the shoulders of the parents and squealed with approval as the brightly lit vistas of snowmen, elves and Christmas trees rolled slowly past.
The team at Save-On-Foods was on the scene handing out tray after of tray of tasty treats to Nelsonites of all ages, while the warriors of the Salvation Army helped stoke the fires of generosity as they loaded bags of food from big-hearted donors into the backs of their trucks.
“It’s just a wonderful event for the community to come together and celebrate Christmas, and help to get some food to the food bank,” said Major Robin Burrows of the Salvation Army.
Burrows went on to say that the donations from people in Nelson are always fantastic and was quick to thank the local sponsors for their help in making the event a success.
“The response in the past years has been great, nice to have the corporate sponsors here, Save-On-Foods and Juice 103.5 handing out hot chocolate and yeah it’s just a great event.”
This is the 17th year of the CP Holiday Train, which has raised over $10.6 million over that time.
Once the train rattled to a stop, the main boxcar opened and the musical acts kicked off. Kelly Prescott and her band belted out some Christmas tunes, both classic and original, before taking a break for the donation ceremony.
Yvonne Burroughs of the Salvation Army and Mark Jackson of Canadian Pacific took to the stage to announce a donation of $8000 from CP to the Salvation Army. Mayor Deb Kozak was also on hand to thank everyone for their efforts and wish the crowd happy holidays.
“Care for each other, love one another and have fun,” Kozak said to the beaming crowd of Christmas revelers.
Following the short presentation, Jim Cuddy of legendary Canadian rockers Blue Rodeo kept the show going, as the crowd continued to sing along and keep the good vibes flowing.
