MUSCATINE, Iowa – The Canadian Pacific (CP) Holiday Train will be back to the rails for the 2023 holiday season, and will be rolling into Muscatine on December 3. The train is scheduled to arrive in Muscatine at 7:30 p.m. with the event performance from 7:45-8:15 p.m.
The Canadian Pacific (CP) Holiday Train will be making its first cross-continent tour in three years, following virtual concerts in the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021. The train will again raise money, food and awareness for local food banks in communities along the CP network.
The arrival of the Holiday Train draws thousands to Downtown Muscatine to watch as 14 railroad cars all decked out in a festive glow travel downriver and stops inside Riverside Park. Many food pantries in the Muscatine area have benefited from the donations of money and food items dropped off as the train arrives. And then there is the festive music that accompanies an all too brief stage show. The last time the Holiday Train visited Muscatine was in 2018.
"I'm grateful to the CP team members who adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic to deliver two exceptional virtual Holiday Train shows and to all those who continued to donate while we kept community members safe," said Keith Creel, CP's President and Chief Executive Officer.
"The Holiday Train is all about families and communities coming together to celebrate the season and help those in need,” Creel said. “We are excited to be back out on the rails and in our communities, taking these two beautiful trains across our network and sharing the joy that comes with gathering in the spirit of giving."
The arrival of the Holiday Train is a much-anticipated event for communities along the CP network, and live music is essential to the CP Holiday Train experience. Calgary country star Lindsay Ell and the vocal trio of Texas Hill (Craig Wayne Boyd, Adam Wakefield, and Casey James) will be the featured entertainment during the Muscatine stop.
Holiday Train shows are free to attend. CP asks attendees to bring a cash or non-perishable food donation if they are able. Collection stations will be set up during the Muscatine stop, with all donations staying in the community to help people in need. Because local food banks buy food at a discount, cash donations can go further than food donations to help those in need.
The Salvation Army is the designated organization to receive the donations during the Muscatine stop.
Since its inception in 1999, the CP Holiday Train has raised $21 million and collected five million pounds of food for community food banks along CP's network. CP will again donate to all food banks that would ordinarily benefit from a Holiday Train stop, including those that typically receive the train in alternating years.
CP Press Release