Making stops in both Lansing and New Albin again this year ...

Residents and visitors of Allamakee County will have two opportunities to see the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train this year, as the holiday spectacle on rails will make its way to northern Iowa Wednesday, December 5 to make a pair of stops within the Allamakee County borders. The Holiday Train will be stopping in Lansing that December 5 afternoon, at approximately 4:50 p.m., and again in New Albin a little over an hour later, at approximately 6:15 p.m.

The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train is adorned with hundreds of thousands of lights and serves as a stage for live musical performances. Both stops are scheduled to include performances by The Trews, the innovative, prolific and electrifying rock music recording artists based out of Hamilton, Ontario, and contemporary rock singer and musician Willy Porter, who has shared world stages with music icons Jeff Beck, Tori Amos and Paul Simon.

The lighted holiday train will be stopping across from the Sports Complex in Lansing located on South Front Street, between North Second Street and Dodge Street. The performances and presentations during the train’s stop in Lansing are scheduled to take place from 5-5:30 p.m. Following the Holiday Train’s departure, Santa Claus will be at the Community Center on Main Street from 5:30-7:30 p.m. to hand out treats to the kids.

The stop in New Albin will take place in the parking lot described as being located adjacent to the railroad tracks along Railroad Street (Highway 26) between Ross Avenue and Oak Street. Performances and presentations are scheduled to take place from 6:30-7 p.m. in New Albin. In conjunction with the arrival of the Holiday Train, hot cocoa will be served and caroling will take place in the downtown gazebo starting at 5:30 p.m. with a Christmas tree lighting ceremony at 6 p.m. Santa Claus will also be present during the festivities in New Albin.

The Lansing and New Albin locations will be among ten stops the train will be making in Iowa this holiday season. Prior to its arrival in Lansing, the train will be stopping in Marquette, and after the New Albin stop the train will depart for its next destination in La Crescent, MN, its final stop for that December 5 date.

The Holiday Train visits will help the community and surrounding area collect food and money for local food pantries. Food and monetary donations collected at the Lansing stop will benefit the Allamakee County Food Shelf and the Lansing Iowa Food Trust (LIFT). The food and money collected at the New Albin stop will be donated to the Way Station in New Albin. All attending either event are asked to bring a donation of non-perishable food items or a monetary donation to the Holiday Train that evening. Canadian Pacific urges those bringing food items to consult their “healthy donations” link on their website at www.cpr.ca/holiday-train/healthy-donations for healthy food donation suggestions. The Holiday Train will be visiting over 150 communities throughout the Midwest and northeast United States this year. Since its inception in 1999, the Holiday Train has raised more than $14.5 million and 4.3 million pounds of food in the U.S. and Canada. Photo courtesy of Canadian Pacific.