A Couple of Quick Orders of Business...

First, here is a link to DonorsChoose.org , specifically the Lion Brand Yarn projects underway there, for teachers who are using fiber arts as a teaching tool, and also creating useful finished products.  If you can donate a buck or two, whatever you can afford, you can help them buy materials, such as yarn and needles for their kids.

Second, I do want to give more than a comment notation on the Holiday Train, because Canadian Pacific Railroad has done a lot of good things with this for the last decade, raising something like 4 million dollars and 2 million pounds of food for area food shelves in the markets they service.  Not to mention the fact that IT'S COMING RIGHT FOR US! 

So, here is the dealio on that....ready?

OK

The Holiday Train travels through the northern part of the US and southern Canada.    Yes...it's an actual train.  And it moves.  But it stops long enough for some talented and giving people to get their groove on, and for you to have a reason to put on your coat and mitts and get out of the house.  Entertainers on the train this year include Prescott and Adam Puddington, and special guests Shaun Verreault and Willy Porter (I believe it will be Willy and not Shaun at the Minnesota/North Dakota stops), and it works like this--they pull into town, play about a half-hour show (Right On The Train!  Cuz you're standing in a rail yard, baby!), you hand over your non-perishable food item and/or money to help local food shelves, they say "Thank You!" and then they roll on down the track to the next town. 

So....you're outside in the cold December chill, but, you're helping someone and, there's great live music.  One of those schnapps-laced cocoa opportunities we spoke of...remember?  Schedule below!  (And here is their Facebook info...) Get there about 15 minutes early, because train schedules are, well, train schedules, so they might find themselves sneaking into town a bit earlier than planned, and you don't want to miss anything!

Illinois 
Saturday, December 5 
Gurnee – 5:15 p.m. to 5:45 p.m., Viking Middle School Park, 4460 Old Grand Ave. 

Wisconsin 
Saturday, December 5 
Sturtevant – 7:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., new Amtrak Depot, 9900 E. Exploration Ct. 
Hartland – 9:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., parking lot adjacent to Cottonwood Ave. and Pawling Ave. 

Sunday, December 6 
Portage – 1:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., Amtrak Station, 400 West Oneida St. 
Wisconsin Dells – 3:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Amtrak Depot, 100 La Crosse St. 
Mauston – 4:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Division Street Railroad Crossing 
Sparta – 7:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Corner of S. Water St. and Milwaukee St. (South side of the CP tracks) 
La Crosse – 9:15 p.m. to 9:45 p.m., Amtrak Station, 601 Saint Andrew St. 

Minnesota 
Monday, December 7 
Rochester – 12:45 p.m. to 1:15 p.m., end of 16th Ave. N.W., behind Mickey's Irish Pub, next to the Barlow Hy-Vee grocery store 
Owatonna – 4:45 p.m. to 5:15 p.m., 1145 Park Drive at the rail crossing (Near Owatonna Bus Company) 
Waseca – 7:15 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., 308 South State St. and Highway 13 
Janesville – 9:15 p.m. to 9:45 p.m., 236 Front St. at Veteran's Memorial Park, between Main St. and Craig St. 

Tuesday, December 8 
Tracy – 1:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., 131 Fourth St. at the DM&E Rail Depot near South St. 
South Dakota 
Tuesday, December 8 
Brookings – 5:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., 534 South 22nd Ave., along Orchard Drive 
Huron – 9:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Gate 13 of the State Fairgrounds at the State Fair Race Track 

Minnesota 
Wednesday, December 9 
Springfield – 5:45 p.m. to 6:15 p.m., Springfield Community Center parking lot, 33 South Cass Ave. 
New Ulm – 7:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m., 224 Third St. North, Public Utilities empty lot between German Park and the railroad tracks 

Thursday, December 10 
Austin – 11:15 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., Eighth Avenue Rail crossing (west of the county recycling center) 

Iowa 
Thursday, December 10 
Mason City – 2:45 p.m. to 3:15 p.m., 1200 S. Kentucky Ave. Parking available at the Temple Baptist Church - 1211 S. Kentucky Ave. 
Marquette – 9:45 p.m. to 10:15 p.m., Marina parking lot, north of Lady Luck Casino at Water St. and Highway 76 

Minnesota 
Friday, December 11 
La Crescent – 2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., The Commodore Food & Spirit parking lot, 215 South Chestnut St. 
Winona – 5:15 p.m. to 5:45 p.m., Amtrak Station, 65 East Mark St. 
Wabasha – 7:15 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., Gambie Avenue railroad crossing near Bruegger Park 
Lake City – 9:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Hearth & Home Technologies, 800 West Jefferson St. 

Saturday, December 12 
Hastings – 4:15 p.m. to 4:45 p.m., CP Depot, 500 East Second St. 
Cottage Grove – 5:45 p.m. to 6:15 p.m., West Point Douglas Road, South of Seiben Bridge in front of the Youth Service Bureau 
St. Paul – 7:15 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., Upper level ramp of Central Parking System at Kellogg & Broadway in Lowertown 
Minneapolis (Shoreham) – 9:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., CP Shoreham Yard, 2800 Central Ave. NE 

Monday, December 14 
Loretto – 4:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Hennepin County Road 19 railroad crossing/Chippewa Trail 
Buffalo – 6:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., 612 NE Third Ave., behind McDonald's on Highway 55 
Annandale – 7:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., West side of downtown park over Oak Avenue railroad crossing 
Eden Valley – 9:15 p.m. to 9:45 p.m., Main St. railroad crossing, State Highway 22 
Tuesday, December 15 
Alexandria – 1:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., Eighth Ave. East railroad crossing by Hubbard Feed Mill at 8th & Nokomis 
Detroit Lakes – 4:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Holmes St. railroad crossing near the Holmes Community Center, 826 Summit 
Thief River Falls – 8:15 p.m. to 8:45 p.m., CP Depot/City Hall, 2017 Highway 59 SE 

Wednesday, December 16 
Elbow Lake – 4:45 p.m. to 5:15 p.m., Main Street railroad crossing 

North Dakota 
Wednesday, December 16 
Hankinson – 7:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., American Legion parking lot, 122 1st St. (Main St. railroad crossing north side of track) 
Enderlin – 9:45 p.m. to 10:15 p.m., CP Depot, 101 Harvest Lane 

Thursday, December 17 
Harvey – 4:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., CP Depot, 600 Lincoln Ave. 
Minot – 7:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Main Street railroad crossing 
Carpio – 9:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Main Street railroad crossing