CP Holiday Train chugs into Merrickville, Smiths Falls and Perth Nov. 28
The CPKC Holiday Train will be chugging into the area this coming week with several stops in the Lanark, Leeds and Grenville area.
The train will roll into Merrickville from 5 to 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 28. It’ll stop on the south side of the Broadway Street railroad crossing near By Street. It’ll then move on to Smiths Falls (63 Victoria Avenue) from 6:30 to 7 p.m., and Perth (Wilson Street Railway Crossing) from 8 to 8:30 p.m.
The CPKC Holiday Train raises money, food and awareness to support area food banks. Professional musicians play free concerts from the brightly decorated train’s stage. CPKC donates to the local food bank at each stop and encourages all attendees to make a monetary or heart-healthy food donation.
Since its inaugural 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 in Canada and the U.S.
This year, all local stops fill feature performances from country music stars Jade Eagleson and Teigen Gayse.
Eagleson released his debut album in 2020, and has since has earned more than 335 million global streams, 130 million YouTube views and a string of certifications, including four gold and two platinum singles from his first record alone. He now counts five No. 1 hits at Canadian Country Radio. Eagleson opened 2025 with his fourth Juno nomination and was recently named the Canadian Country Music Association’s 2025 Male Artist of the Year, following earlier wins for Album of the Year and Entertainer of the Year.
Teigen Gayse is described as one of the fastest-rising independent artists in the country, having carved out her own space with back-to-back Top 30 radio singles and more than 10 million global streams. Her songs have found a major audience online, drawing more than 48 million views on TikTok. Gayse swept the 2024 B.C. Country Music Awards, winning Female Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year and Interactive Artist of the Year, and was nominated for Breakthrough Artist of the Year by the Canadian Country Music Association.