ESTEVAN — The CPKC Holiday Train rolled through southeast Saskatchewan on Sunday, with stops in North Portal, Estevan and Weyburn.
The colourful, lit-up symbol of the holidays, the six-car Holiday express train that entertained the southeast was the U.S. version, which crossed into Canada from the U.S. at North Portal on Sunday.
Country music singers Dallas Smith and Mackenzie Porter were the performers this year. Smith is well-known to Estevan fans, as he played before thousands of people at Affinity Place in September 2022 after Estevan won the SiriusXM Music Towns competition.
Smith and Porter played Christmas carols and their own hits for several hundred people who gathered at the Estevan location. Many brought non-perishable food and monetary donations for the Estevan Salvation Army's food bank, which was on location supplying guests with hot chocolate. The Salvation Army collected 585 pounds of food and raised $553 in donations.
Estevan Mayor Roy Ludwig and Souris-Moose Mountain MP Robert Kitchen addressed the crowd during the event, wishing everyone a happy holiday and encouraging people to support local food banks.
CPKC also made a $4,500 donation to the Estevan Salvation Army's food bank during the concert. They donate to local food shelves at each community.
The train pulled into Estevan at 3 p.m., with a performance from 3:15-3:45 p.m. The show was east of the CPKC station off of Seventh Street with the train's entertainment stage facing north.
The train also stopped in North Portal earlier on Sunday. The show was followed by a community potluck in the village community hall.
After stopping in Estevan, the train arrived at Weyburn for another 30-minute performance.
Since its inception in 1999, the CPKC Holiday Train has raised more than $22.5 million and collected more than five million pounds of food for community food banks across North America. This year was the 25th anniversary of the traditional Christmas train tour.
