ONEONTA _ It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
A weekend storm provided a wintery atmosphere for the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train as it rolled into Oneonta on Sunday afternoon to help stock up local food pantries.
The train made a 45-minute stop at the Gas Avenue railroad crossing and its passengers, Colin Linden, Ennis and Tracey Brown, performed country, folk, rock and traditional Christmas carols for more than 300 Oneonta area residents.
Two brightly lit CP Holiday Trains are making stops in about 100 communities in the United States and Canada.
You never know what to expect in the towns along the way, said Linden, a Juno-award winning blues guitarist.
"You stop there. You don't know if anybody is going to be there," Linden said from a rail car used as a stage. "We're really glad you're here."
Many of the children in the audience, including 6-year-old Brittany Kropp, frolicked in the fluffy snow.
Kropp tossed snowballs against a light pole, as her siblings, Alissa, 4, and Tyler, 11/2, watched the show.
"I think it's a good thing," said their mother, Lori Kropp. "We come every year."
It was the first time at the Holiday Train for Bob Miller and Flora Beth Cunningham, who
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marveled at the old-time coaches and glowing freight cars.
"I think I may want to get into model railroading," Miller said.
Opportunities for Otsego, which runs a local food bank, was collecting food donations.
"It helps people remember what the holidays are all about, especially with the cost of food these days," Cunningham said. "I think a lot has to be said for Canadian Pacific."
Carrie Hewlett, of Otego, watched the concert with a group of friends and her 4-year-old son, Richard Brennan.
"We've been here every year," Hewlett said.
The food collected stays in the community and that's one of the great things about the tradition, she said.
Brennan said his favorite part of the concert was seeing the brightly lit train.
This is the ninth year that CP's Holiday trains have traveled across the U.S. and Canada. During that time, the railroad has helped generate nearly 1.6 million pounds of food donations and raised $3 million for local charities, according to CP officials.
The performers are all well-known in Canada. In addition to Linden's status as a Juno Award-winner, which is the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy Award, Brown is a member of the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame and is in her seventh year on the Holiday Train. Ennis is a duo of two sisters from Newfoundland who perform Celtic and folk music.
The train that stopped in Oneonta came from Binghamton and was headed to Cobleskill and points north.
