Holiday train to arrive Dec. 11 at around 4 p.m.

It is quickly becoming a holiday tradition for many Hastings residents.

The Canadian Pacific 2011 Holiday Train will stop in Hastings at about 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11, at the train depot on East Second Street in downtown Hastings.

There will be entertainment, a presentation to the Hastings Family Service food shelf, and an opportunity for the community to continue its support to help end hunger here.

A collection of nonperishable food items for the food shelf will be taken during the stop.

For the 13th year, two specially-decorated freight trains will begin their unique journeys across six Canadian provinces and eight states. The United States Holiday Train begins its journey this Friday, Nov. 25. About 150 cities on both sides of the border will be able to join the Holiday Train spirit, with all food and money raised at each stop staying in that community for local distribution.

Since 1999, the Holiday Trains have raised $5.6 million and collected about 2.5 million pounds of food. Leading the musical message for the United States Holiday Train will be Wisconsin’s Willy Porter.

Porter’s combined experience at both major and independent record labels eventually led him to start his own label, Weasel Records, in December 2005. Since 2005, he has released “Available Light” and “How to Rob A Bank” through this label. His latest project is a unique collaboration with the Carpe Diem String Quartet.

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