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Would it even be December in Tosa Village without a visit from the CPKC Holiday Train, a festive stop that's become an annual tradition to bring joy to folks along the route and raise money and food for local food banks?
The tradition continues this year on Wednesday, Dec. 10.
The bedazzled train will arrive at Wauwatosa’s Harwood Avenue crossing at 4:15 p.m., but consider arriving early to get a spot.
It will depart at 4:45 and stop in Hartland at the Cottonwood Avenue crossing at 5:45 and Oconomowoc's South Silver Lake Street railway crossing an hour later.
The Holiday Train also calls at Caledonia’s 11402 County Road G crossing the night before (Tuesday, Dec. 9) at 8:15 p.m. after stopping at the Sturtevant Amtrak station at 7.
American Authors and Pynk Beard will provide the musical entertainment at all these stops.
“It wouldn’t be the holidays in Wauwatosa without the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train,” confirms Maria Panno, Executive Director of the Wauwatosa Village Business Improvement District.
“This is a special family experience that brings the magic of the holidays to life for kids and adults alike – all while raising awareness of food insecurity right here in our community, and helping to relieve that at an important time of year.”
There is no charge to attend the shows, which last about 30 minutes.
However, CPKC urges attendees to make a cash or non-perishable food donation if they are able.
Donations of healthy, non-perishable food items and cash will be collected for Tosa Cares food pantry during the event at these sites:
- Harwood Avenue south of the train tracks
- Root Common Park, at the intersection of Harwood and Wauwatosa Avenues
- Intersection of State Street and Wauwatosa Avenue
- Intersection of State Street and Harmonee Avenue
Since the Holiday Train took to the tracks in 1999, it has raised more than $26 million and collected more than 5.4 million pounds of food for food pantries in the U.S. and Canada.
Wauwatosa also celebrates the holiday season with:
• Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony, starting at 5 p.m .on Dec. 3 at the Pocket Park at Harwood and Wauwatosa Avenues.
• Holiday Sip & Strolls from 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 20, and 5-8 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 11.
• Small Business Saturday on Saturday, Nov. 29.
Due to the ongoing flood recovery efforts the annual holiday market will not take place in 2025.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press. A fifth collects Urban Spelunking articles about breweries and maltsters.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has been heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
