CPKC holiday train brings magical experience to Shuswap; next stop Kamloops

The annual CPKC Holiday Train has been chugging through the southern BC Interior this week with dazzling lights and music played by iconic Canadian band Barenaked Ladies.

Sicamous resident Joy Daniels captured footage of the festive train with its clanking bell and the band singing when it stopped in Sicamous yesterday, Dec. 17.

The crowd is heard cheering and the train is seen moving on into the darkness lit up with Christmas lights.

“It was an awesome night, the vibe was exciting,” Daniels said. “There were sparkling balloons and hot chocolate for the children. The Barenaked Ladies put on a great show. The band looked so happy to be here.”

Every year the decorated train makes 196 stops across six provinces and 13 U.S. states, bringing festive musical performances to each community and raising money for food banks.

Since 1999, the initiative has donated more than $26 million dollars and 5.4 million pounds of food to food banks in Canada and the US.

The train has made stops from Golden to Notch Hill and is making its way through Chase, Kamloops, Savona and Ashcroft this evening, Dec. 18.

The train stops in Kamloops from 5 to 5:30 p.m. on the north side of the Sandman Centre parking lot on Lorne Street downtown, and people are encouraged to drop off a food donation on site.

The train’s last BC stop is in Lytton on Dec. 19 before it continues south across the border.

Go here for a full list of holiday train stops.