For the first time in years, the CP Holiday Trains will make their way across Ontario next month.
The trains, which are adorned with holiday lights, make stops across Canada bringing live music from inside a car while looking to collect food and raise awareness for local food banks.
There are actually two trains, one which travels across Canada, while a second one mainly makes stops in the U.S. but will spend a couple of days in southern Ontario.
The Canadian train, which will feature performances from Tenille Townes and Aysanbee, will make its first stop in Finch, Ont. on Nov. 28. (Full schedule of stops below.)
It will then work its way to Toronto the next day before it heads north toward Manitoba, with the finals stop in Ontario being on Dec. 3 in Ingolf.
The U.S. train will make its first Canadian stop in Hamilton on Nov. 29, and it will feature performances from Lindsay Ell and Texas Hill.
It will then move on to Milton before circling back toward Detroit, making its last stop in Windsor on Dec. 1 before it departs Canadian soil for south of the border.
The train shows are free although the company asks that attendees bring a non-perishable food items. Over the past two winters, the events were held virtually but they will be on physical tracks this year.
“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,” CP CEO Keith Creel stated.
CP says it has raised over than $21 million and collected 5 million pounds of food for community food banks across North America since 1989, the first year the Holiday Train rolled down the tracks.
CP Holiday Train stops in Ontario (dates and arrival times according to CP’s website):
Nov 28: Finch (2:30 p.m. arrival), Merrickville (4:45 p.m.), Smith Falls (6:20 p.m.), Perth (7:40 p.m.) — Tenille Townes & Aysanbee
Nov 29: Belleville (9:15 a.m.), Trenton (10:45 a.m.), Brighton (11:30 a.m.), Bowmanville (1:45 p.m.), Oshawa (3 p.m.), Toronto (8:15 p.m.) — Tenille Townes & Aysanbee
Milton (4:45 p.m.), Hamilton (7:45 p.m.) — Lindsay Ell & Texas Hill (U.S. train)
Nov. 30: Vaughn (10 a.m.), Barrie (12:15 p.m.), MacTier (2:50 p.m.), Parry Sound (4:15 p.m.), Shawanaga (5:30 p.m.), Rutter (7 p.m.), Sudbury (8:50 p.m.)
Cambridge (4 p.m.), Ayr (5:20 p.m.), Woodstock (6:40 p.m.), London (8:15 p.m.) — Lindsay Ell & Texas Hill (U.S. train)
Dec. 1: Cartier (10:30 a.m.), Chapleau (4 p.m.), White River (8:45 p.m.) — Tenille Townes & Aysanbee
Chatham (2:30 p.m.), Windsor (5:45 p.m.) — Lindsay Ell & Texas Hill (U.S. train)
Dec. 2: Mobart (9 a.m.), Heron Bay (11 a.m.), Marathon (12:20 p.m.), Schreiber (2:45 p.m.), Nipigon (5:30 p.m.), Thunder Bay (8:30 p.m.) — Tenille Townes & Aysanbee
Dec. 3: Ignace (9 a.m.), Dryden (11:30 a.m.), Vermilion Bay (1 p.m.), Kenora (3:20 p.m.), Ingolf (5:20 p.m.) — Tenille Townes & Aysanbee