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(CP Rail)
Dec. 8-10, 2022

CP Holiday Train to roll through central Alberta this year

Oct 14, 2022 | 12:09 PM

The Canadian Pacific (CP) Holiday Train will return to the rails of central Alberta this season on its first cross-continent tour in three years, following virtual concerts in the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.

Officials say the train will again raise money, food and awareness for local food banks in communities along the CP network. This year’s central Alberta stops include Blackfalds, Lacombe, and Ponoka on Thursday, December 8, and Innisfail, Olds, and Didsbury on Saturday, December 10.

“I’m grateful to the CP team members who adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic to deliver two exceptional virtual Holiday Train shows and to all those who continued to donate while we kept community members safe,” said Keith Creel, CP’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “The Holiday Train is all about families and communities coming together to celebrate the season and help those in need. We are excited to be back out on the rails and in our communities, taking these two beautiful trains across our network and sharing the joy that comes with gathering in the spirit of giving.”

The 2022 tour will launch on Nov. 23 with the Holiday Train’s first-ever Maine shows in Jackman, Brownville Junction and Hermon. Also for the first time, the Holiday Train will host shows on Nov. 24 in Lac-Megantic, Sherbrooke and Farnham, Que.; the first Canadian stops of 2022.

The tour will feature 168 live shows, including Calgary on Dec. 11. A full schedule is available at cpr.ca/holidaytrain.

Live music is essential to the CP Holiday Train experience of course, with this year’s performers to include Alan Doyle, as well as Alberta natives Tenille Townes, Mackenzie Porter and Lindsay Ell, to name a few. Details about this year’s artists and which performers will play which shows are available at cpr.ca/holidaytrain.

Holiday Train shows are free to attend. CP asks attendees, however, to bring a cash or non-perishable food donation if they’re able. Local food shelves will set up collection stations at each event, with all donations made staying with the local food bank to help people in need in the community. Because local food shelves buy food at a discount, cash donations can go further than food donations to help those-in-need, say organizers.

Since the Holiday Train program launched in 1999, officials say it has raised more than $21 million and collected 5 million pounds of food for community food banks across North America.