Holiday Train returns next week

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This article was published 27/11/2024 (397 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon residents will have a front-row seat to one of the best free shows of the holiday season this year when the CPKC Holiday Train returns to the Wheat City on Dec. 5.

But the company is warning local music lovers not to get taken for a ride when it comes to a few shameless individuals on social media trying to make a dishonest dollar off of what has been a free event for more than two and a half decades.

“The unfortunate thing is that groups are appearing on Facebook claiming to be part of the company and charging a fee for the show,” CPKC media spokesman Terry Cunha said on Tuesday. “There’s just some unscrupulous activity where people are charging tickets to go to the Holiday Train. Please do not pay for anything, please. These are all free. We just want to really stress that for everyone.”

Cunha added the railway company has been sending out messages on social media and in the news media to warn people away from dishonest hucksters trying to scam people.

“We don’t want anyone to think they need to pay a cost when they are free,” he said.

Now in its 26th year of operation, the annual Holiday Train has travelled not only across Canada, but the United States as well. Cunha himself will be in Minneapolis later next month — one among the crew of more than a dozen people working seven-day shifts along the scheduled 167 show stops.

This year’s show includes a pair of talented Canadian musicians — singer and actor Tyler Shaw, who has released several Christmas carol hit singles over the last decade, and Shawnee Kish, a Mohawk singer-songwriter who was most noted as a Juno Award nominee for Contemporary Indigenous Artist of the Year in 2022.

It’s also not uncommon for Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus to show up with the Holiday Train, Cunha said, though he’s not sure they’ll pay a visit to Brandon next week.

“I hope so,” Cunha said with a laugh. “We’ve got a lot of good boys and girls out there. We’ve been very blessed to see both Mr. and Mrs. Claus at some of our shows. But no promises!”

The CPKC Holiday Train will have its first Manitoba show on Dec. 3 in Whitemouth, and its second show the same day in Winnipeg. It will then travel to Portage la Prairie for a 3 p.m. show on Dec. 3, before hitting Carberry at 5:15 p.m. along Fourth Avenue between Main Street and Simcoe Street.

Following the show in Carberry, the Holiday Train is scheduled to stop in Brandon at 7 p.m. along the CPKC tracks, north of Pacific Avenue. Make sure to wear warm clothing as the train may be delayed from show to show.

The CPKC Holiday Train then moves to Virden on Dec. 6 for a show at 10:30 a.m. at Fifth Avenue between Lyons Street and Ashburton Street, before moving on to Saskatchewan.

As part of its holiday tradition, CPKC makes a donation to the local food shelf at each stop it makes and encourages attendees to also donate. As in other years here in Brandon, CPKC has partnered with Samaritan House. Instead of paying a fee for the half-hour show, attendees are asked to bring a non-perishable food item or make a donation to the organization. Since its inception in 1999, the Holiday Train has raised more than $24.3 million and 5.3 million pounds of food for community food banks.

“Our hope for a positive turnout,” Cunha said. “It’s a great cause to help a local organization, and a good way to help our friends and neighbours out.”

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