By Brenda Erdahl
The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train returns to Central Minnesota this year with stops in Buffalo and Annandale on Wednesday, Dec. 13th.
The 1,000-foot train with hundreds of thousands of LED lights is scheduled to arrive at 5:45 at the 5th Street NE railway crossing in Buffalo. At 7:15 p.m. it will arrive at Downtown Park in Annandale near the Harris Street West railway crossing. Sometime between 6:30 and 7:15 p.m. it will pass through Maple Lake. For those wanting to catch a glimpse of the bedazzling locomotive, First Street on the south end of the Maple Lake Community Park is a good place to do it.
This is the CP Holiday Train’s 25th year of touring. Throughout the holiday season it makes stops at large and small communities across the United States and Canada supporting the local food shelves by raising money, food, and awareness for food insecurity.
While it’s a sight all on its own as it trundles across the country with its 14 brightly lit rail cars, each decorated with illuminated holiday designs, it’s the show that will really fill your cup with holiday spirit. At 6 p.m. in Buffalo and 7:30 p.m. in Annandale, the train will open its side doors to a musical stage fit for a star – or two stars in this case.
Dallas Smith, a three-time Canadian Country Music Awards winner for Entertainer of the Year, is teaming up with MacKenzie Porter, a 15-time CCMA nominee to deliver a toe-tapping Holiday concert that is sure to warm the heart even if it’s a cold night outdoors. But the real heart of the Holiday Train isn’t the lights or the music. Its true purpose is to fight hunger.
A family watches as the CP Holiday Train passes through Maple Lake on its way to Annandale last year. Sometime between 6:30 and 7:15 p.m. on Dec. 13th, the train will pass through Maple Lake. For those wanting to catch a glimpse of the bedazzling locomotive, First Street on the south end of the Maple Lake Community Park is a good place to do it.