CPKC Holiday Train rolls into Revelstoke

The Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) Holiday Train rolled into town Friday, Dec. 15 for an afternoon of free live music, fires, hot dogs and hot drinks to celebrate $10,000 donated to Community Connections Revelstoke Society (CCRS) food bank. 

Attendees enjoyed hot chocolate and coffee provided by Tim Hortons and Starbucks and hotdogs by donation prepared by the Revelstoke Fire Rescue Services. Donations for the CCRS food bank helps support a community service seeing higher than average demand as cost of living in Revelstoke rises.

Musicians Kiesza and Tyler Shaw performed on the stage car a list of seasonal songs and original work for a collection of attendees as folks lined up to take pictures with the light murals along the side of the train.

Ann Swakowski said she’s seen almost every Holiday Train in its 25 years of operation. Visiting from Vernon, Swakowski was thrilled to hear she wouldn’t be missing the train in her travels.

“This is the start of the holidays for me,” Swakowski told Revelstoke Mountaineer. “This is the start of winter.”

CPKC Kevin Hrysak, Director of Heritage Operations presented Revelstoke Mayor Gary Sulz and CCRS staff Hannah Whitney and Deborah Hogan with a cheque for the donation between performances. 

“This is you,” Hrysak told the crowd. “This is your community that you’re supporting through these events.”

Whitney told Revelstoke Mountaineer community donations added up to over $2,600 and 320 lbs of food on top of the $10,000 donated by CPKC. The money is “the most we have ever raised at the event in donations.”