Despite the rain Saturday night, thousands of people in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows ventured out to see the CP Holiday train pull into town.
This year Alan Doyle and The Beautiful Band took the stage at both locations to the delight of all those who attended.
“Even in the rain last night it was great,” said Mary Robson, executive director of the Friends In Need Food Bank who was at the Harris Road crossing location in Pitt Meadows.
The Pitt Meadows fire department made a record donation of $4,575.75 to be split between the food bank and the Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows Christmas Hamper Society.
In addition the Pitt Meadows event raised, $1,796.10 and 1042 pounds of non-perishable food items.
In Maple Ridge $3,792.04 was raised and 1975 pounds of food. The Maple Ridge fire department donated $7,090 and CP Rail donated $7,000 at each location.
The Friends In Need Food Bank has received more than $18,000 alone since 2014 when the CP Holiday Train first started making stops in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. And that is not including donations from either of the fire departments.
This year there was a candy cane walk in Maple Ridge.
“(The) Community Living (team) decorated from North all the way down 224th to the tunnel and they decorated the tunnel with battery operated Christmas lights and candy canes that light up,” explained Robson.
People were also able to park in the Fuller Watson lot and the lot at Garden Hill Funeral Chapel that both filled to capacity.
“It was a good night all around. Even with the rain everybody came out,” said Robson.