Montrealers welcomed the holiday season with the CP Holiday Train.
After a two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canadian Pacific (CP) Holiday Train made its stop in Montreal-West. Hundreds of people were in attendance waiting for its arrival.
The train started its tour on Nov. 23 in Maine. The Holiday Train will bring holiday cheer to six Canadian provinces and eight states around the United States.
Did you know that the purpose of the Holiday Train is to raise awareness about food insecurity across Canada and the United States? The train also raises the importance of being involved in your local community.
On Sunday, when the Holiday Train was scheduled to arrive in the city, it was a dark and rainy night. However, no one in attendance seemed to care as people were happy to wait to get dazzled by the lights of the Holiday Train.
The train was scheduled to arrive at 6:45 p.m. but ended up making an appearance shortly after 7 in Montreal-West. As soon as the train arrived, a Christmas concert played out of one of the train cars.
The rain didn’t stop the crowd from taking pictures in front of the train, from a safe distance of course.
Each train car was adorned with a different decorative festive design, which included traditional decorations of snowmen and Santa Claus. However, what was truly interesting was that one of the train cars had a hockey theme. As the lights flickered, the message “She shoots, she scores!” appeared.
After the free Christmas concert ended, the train made its way to its second stop in Beaconsfield.
According to CP’s website, this year will mark CP’s 24th year of collecting food for different food banks all across Canada and the United States. CP began its initiative back in 1999 and since then has raised more than $21 million and donated more than five million pounds of food.
Onlookers were welcome to bring non-perishable food to donate while the train was stopped in the area. Various Quebec organizations were involved with the event, one of them being Moisson Montreal. They have been involved with the event for the past 20 years.
The train will also make stops in Calgary on Dec. 11, and a final show in Port Coquitlam, B.C., on Dec. 18.
If you happen to attend one of the CP Holiday Train events, please remember to bring along a food donation. In this holiday season, we need to help one another and come together as a community.
ALL PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE CP HOLIDAY TRAIN. BY DALIA NARDOLILLO/THE CONCORDIAN
