On early Monday evening, train horns took the place of sleigh bells as huge throngs in Wauwatosa greeted the festive Canadian Pacific Holiday Train, which made a stop in the city’s Village area.
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The train, decked out in colorful holiday lights, rolled into Wauwatosa at about 4 p.m. and stopped for about 45 minutes on the railroad tracks near the Harts Mills Lot. One of the train’s cars transformed into a makeshift stage, with doors folding out on each side to create platforms.
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A pair of young performers – award-winning Canadian country singer Tenille Townes and New Jersey native Breland, who mixes hip-hop and country – entertained the crowd.
Townes, 29, who recently became the first performer to earn a fifth consecutive Female Artist of the Year nod from the Canadian Country Music Association, bounded onto the stage to a roar of approval from the all-ages crowd. As she broke into the first notes of her hit “Somebody’s Daughter,” Townes waved and smiled at a group of young girls standing along the tracks with their mother, which left them starstruck for a moment before they jumped and yelled with joy.
In addition to their own material, Townes and Breland also performed classic holiday selections in rock ‘n’ roll style, the last of which drew Santa to the stage.
The Holiday Train made stops in Sturtevant and Caledonia on Sunday. The Wauwatosa visit was first on the itinerary on Monday, with additional stops later in the night in Hartland, Oconomowoc, Watertown and Columbus.
Planned stops on Tuesday include Portage, Wisconsin Dells, Mauston, Tomah, Sparta and La Crosse.
The Holiday Train’s appearances are aimed at raising money and donations for community food banks. At the Wauwatosa stop, Canadian Pacific presented a check for $7,000 to Tosa Cares, a nonprofit food pantry organized and operated by a group of community volunteers.
