CFJC File Photo

By Victor Kaisar

Holiday Train

CPKC Holiday Train to make annual Kamloops stop Wednesday

Dec 17, 2024 | 4:26 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) Holiday Train will roll into Kamloops for its annual stop near Sandman Centre this Wednesday (Dec. 18) evening.

This year’s edition of the holiday tradition will feature a half-hour live concert by Magic! and Sofia Camara, starting at 5:00 p.m.

“The train lands at 4:30 p.m., so before that we are selling hot dogs and hot chocolate and this year, come early, we’ve got these LED headbands for the kids and these glasses so I think people are really going to like it,” Kamloops Food Bank Executive Director Bernadette Siracky said.

“It’s the Wednesday before school ends, so its easy to pick up the kids and head right down, because if you come around 3:30 p.m., we’ll have Brendan Methot who will be playing prior to the train arriving.”

Speaking on CFJC Midday, Siracky says to carpool or use transit, if possible, as the event is always well attended.

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“It’s just so beautiful. You have kids on their parents shoulders. It is just so, so much fun,” she said. “We’ll have some entertainment and build community spirit.”

Amid all of the lights and the spectacle, the CPKC Holiday Train is also a fundraiser for food banks. Siracky says Kamloopsians have been known to be generous with their food and cash donations.

“Everybody hears these messages. The numbers are going up, the need is grand. We all know this,” Siracky said. “I think at this time of year people reserve judgement more than any other time. They just let it go and say ‘I’m going to give’ and that is the way we should be all year round.”

“I always say to people give, be so grateful that you can.”

The CPKC Holiday Train will also make stops in Chase, Savona, and Ashcroft on Wednesday. It’ll stop in the Salmon Arm area on Tuesday and in Lytton on Thursday as it works its way toward Vancouver.

You can find a full schedule for the 2024 CPKC Holiday Train here.