Residents who support the Moose Jaw Co-op's annual 'Good Buy to Hunger' food drive in support of the Moose Jaw & District Food Bank will be entered into a draw to win four tickets for the CPKC Holiday Train's Regina-to-Moose Jaw leg.
Until Dec. 15, anyone who buys a $10 food bag at the Co-op to support the Good Buy to Hunger food drive will be automatically entered to win the four tickets on the Holiday Train.
"I absolutely love the train and what it brings to the communities it rolls through. Pure joy, even in chilly temperatures," said Gabrielle Belanger, a supervisor at the still-newly-merged Canadian Pacific/Kansas City Southern railroad giant. Belanger has been involved in organizing the Holiday Train stop in Moose Jaw since 2008.
"I am always taken back by the support the community has for our Good Buy to Hunger Food Drive. The last 15 years it has grown into record purchases to help those who are (food insecure). We have an amazing community and that’s what makes Moose Jaw so special."
The Good Buy to Hunger food drive began accepting donations on Nov. 18, and will end with a final huge push timed to coincide with the arrival of the CPKC Holiday Train at 7:45 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 18. The Holiday Train doubles as a performance stage and features country musicians MacKenzie Porter and Dallas Smith providing the concert this year, from 8 to 8:30 p.m. at 3 Manitoba Street West.
The ticket giveaway will entitle four lucky people to ride the train on its trip from Regina to Moose Jaw, which will take around an hour.
As he has in the past, Tim Wonsiak, grocery manager at the Co-op Food Store, has volunteered to drive the ticket holders to Regina to catch their train. Wonsiak is the main organizer of the actual Good Buy to Hunger food supply purchases. Working closely with the Food Bank, Wonsiak uses his wholesale connections and experience as grocery manager to maximize the amount provided each year.
"This is the US train visiting this year, and it's actually a privilege to have it stop in Moose Jaw, because normally they'd roll on through," Belanger said. "In the past, we would only get the Holiday Train every other year, but because Moose Jaw does the food drive so well, they added this stop to the event calendar.
"I've actually been able to ride on the train before, and it is just done up in pure class, as you can imagine. It's like stepping back in time, with the rich wood and the brass fixtures and that kind of thing, so it is very cool that way."
Learn more about the Holiday Train at www.cpkcr.com/en/community/HolidayTrain.
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