Holiday Train returns to Kahnawake

The sharply cold temperatures finally arriving after what had so far been an unseasonably warm November did not deter hundreds of Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) Holiday Train enthusiasts on Sunday night at the Adirondack Junction.

Those in attendance were not just Kahnawa’kehró:non, but also residents of surrounding South Shore communities and Montreal, coming together to take in the amazing spectacle of light and colour on display.

“It’s always good to see so many people come out,” said Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) grand chief Cody Diabo, who was in attendance this year along with MCK council chief Ryan Montour.

Diabo, who before his time as grand chief was himself a Holiday Train regular along with his daughter and his niece, said that seeing so many people come together in the spirit of giving is what the holidays are all about.

According to the Orville Standup Memorial Kateri Food Basket, $1,126.85 in cash donations were given by those in attendance, along with a $4,500 donation from CPKC. Physical goods were also donated to the Food Basket, with volunteers parked right at the entrance to the junction taking the donations as families walked in to see the train.

“It’s always a good thing, getting people to get out, to donate what they can, even if it’s a couple cans or a few dollars,” said Diabo. “It all adds up in the end, and it really makes it special for others who are really in difficult positions and can’t provide the food or the presents that they would like to provide for their own family.”

Along with the brightly adorned CPKC locomotive and railway cars, those at the Adirondack Junction could also enjoy the music of the James Barker Band, Clerel, and the Holiday Train Band, who performed their own original songs along with unavoidable holiday classics like “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”

Speaking of the jolly fellow, Santa also made an appearance at the Junction, taking pictures with kids and adults alike with the help of Kateri Food Basket volunteers, who also handed out hot chocolate and other treats for free.

The CPKC Holiday Train has been in operation for 26 years, rolling across Canada and the United States during the holiday season helping to raise money and donations for food banks along the way. The train has already made its last appearance in Quebec for the year, as it makes its way west for its last stop of the year on December 20 in Port Moody, British Columbia.

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