Snuggle up with some holiday cheer as OnMilwaukee shares stories of everything merry and bright in the spirit of the season.
The OnMilwaukee Ho Ho Holiday Guide is brought to you by Harley-Davidson Museum and MolsonCoors.
After two years stuck in the train shed due to the pandemic, the Canadian Pacific (CP) Holiday Train returned to the rails in 2022 to bring joy to folks along the route and raise money and food for local food banks. The revived tradition continues this year on Sunday, Dec. 8.
The bedazzled train will arrive at Wauwatosa’s Harwood Avenue crossing at 4:15 p.m. (departing at 4:45), after having stopped at Caledonia’s 11402 County Road G crossing the night before at 8:15 p.m. The festive freighter will also be at the Sturtevant Amtrak station on Saturday, Dec. 7, at 7 p.m.
The Lone Bellow and Tiera Kennedy will provide the musical entertainment at all three stops.
“The Holiday Train Stop is one of Wauwatosa’s favorite seasonal traditions,” said Chris Barlow, Executive Director of the Wauwatosa Village Business Improvement District. “And this year, families can enjoy the Wauwatosa Holiday Market as they’re waiting for the train to arrive. It’s a truly special holiday experience that also helps those in need in our community.”
The holiday market will take place in the parking lot just south of the tracks. It opens at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 6.
There is no charge to attend the shows, which last about 30 minutes and start about 15 minutes after the train’s arrival time.
However, CP Rail 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
• Local Girl Scouts will be moving through the crowd collecting donations
Since the Holiday Train took to the tracks in 1999, it has raised more than $24 million and collected more than 5 million pounds of food for food pantries in the U.S. and Canada.
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.
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 be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
