CPKC Holiday Train Returns to Central Minnesota Today with Music, Lights, and Food Bank Support

Orginally Posted: October 10th, 2025

(KNSI) – All aboard! The Canadian Pacific Kansas City Holiday Train is chugging back to Minnesota in December with 20 scheduled stops across the state as part of its annual tour to support local food banks.

The festive locomotive is on track to make three stops in the area on Monday, December 15th. It will pull into Buffalo at 6:00 p.m. at the 5th Street NE railway crossing, Annandale at 7:30 p.m. on the west side of Downtown Park over the Harris Street West railway crossing, and Eden Valley at the State Street railroad crossing, also known as State Highway 22, at 9:00 p.m. Performers scheduled for central Minnesota are Lanco and Tiera Kennedy.

Additional Minnesota stops include Glenwood, Alexandria, Detroit Lakes, and more.

Decorated with hundreds of thousands of LED lights, the train pulls into each town with professional musicians and Santa Claus on board to play a free concert right from a car that turns into a stage. The shows are free to attend, and CPKC asks attendees to bring cash or non-perishable food donations if they are able. Local food shelves will set up collection stations at each event, with all donations staying in the community. The group also presents a check to the local food shelf at each stop.

See the full schedule here.

Since its first journey in 1999, the CPKC Holiday Train has raised more than $24.3 million and collected approximately 5.3 million pounds of food for community food banks. This marks the train’s 27th year of operation, and organizers say there’s no sign of it running out of steam anytime soon.

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