Beneath the flashing red lights of the crossing guard, Hastings residents gathered along the railroad tracks for the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) Holiday Train’s annual performance. The …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
To continue reading, you will need to either log in, using the login form, below, or purchase a new subscription.
If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free website account and connect your subscription to it by clicking here.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |
Beneath the flashing red lights of the crossing guard, Hastings residents gathered along the railroad tracks for the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) Holiday Train’s annual performance. The CPKC Holiday Train celebrated its 26th year this year, raising some $24.3 million and over 5.3 million pounds of food for local food banks in that time.
The CPKC Holiday Train’s long trek across the continental United States and parts of Canada is specifically routed for local food banks where donations can be accepted. Executive Director and CEO of Hastings Family Service (HFC) Amy Sutton along with other HFC workers stood before the HFC van accepting food donations from the crowd. Attendees were encouraged to bring donations for the show which were accepted with the help of boy scout troops 444 and 278.
While the event is an excuse for residents to bring donations to HFC, the train also presented the food shelf with a check for $4,500, an amount that has grown over the years.
“A $4,500 check for a food shelf our size is really substantial,” said Sutton.
The holiday season is always a high tide of need for food shelves and HFC is no different. Events like Gobble Gait and the CPKC Holiday Train help keep shelves full throughout December and beyond.
Second Street was blocked off at Tyler Street as families streamed to find a place along the police line barring residents from getting too close to the tracks. Bundled in snowpants and wrapped in blankets, residents stood in the cold awaiting the train’s arrival as children played in Depot Park.
Just across the railroad tracks at Branchline Church, fires burned in the parking lot as children and adults alike roasted marshmallows and sneaked inside the church to get out of the cold. Branchline Service team member Cindy Kost helped run the event, a monthly service project for the church that opened its doors to those seeking to get out of the cold, in need of bathrooms or quiet rooms for nursing mothers.
“Every year when the train goes by, we said we should have done something,” said Kost, about how the new event got started.
By the time the first lights of the CPKC train could be seen down the tracks, the crowd stretched from past the River Lofts to CPKC Yard Office. The performance opened with country singer Tiera Kennedy, clad in a white cowboy hat, who sang a mix of her own discography along with Christmas songs like Last Christmas before turning the mic over to Sutton and Hastings Mayor Mary Fasbender.
“The best thing about Hastings is that you show up no matter rain or sleet or snow,” said Fasbender to the crowd.
“When we come together as a community and we take care of each other, it makes a big difference,” said Sutton before being presented with the check.
The next performer was the band The Lone Bellow, led by frontman Zach Williams. Again, The Lone Bellow played a mix of their own music along with Christmas classics including singing We Wish You a Merry Christmas with the crowd.
“Since we are all out here together, we might as well sing together,” said Williams.
The CPKC train continued westward stopping at various Twin Cities locations including Union Depot in St. Paul in the following days as it treks through North Dakota, over the Canadian border into Saskatchewan through to the Pacific coast. The train’s final stop this year will be Port Moody in Vancouver on Dec. 20, 2024.
