Passengers are lining up to get on board this passenger train

NEWS RELEASE

COALITION FOR ALGOMA
PASSENGER TRAINS

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Passengers are lining up to get on board this passenger train

Anniversary celebrations begin on the Algoma Central Railway passenger train this September 22: People are climbing on board

The Coalition for Algoma Passenger Trains (CAPT) is sponsoring the 5th annual Group of Seven and Glenn Gould Train Event.

The Event begins on board the ACR passenger train as it pulls out of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario on September 22.

The 2012 Train Event marks the 94th anniversary of the Group of Seven painting up the Algoma Central Railway line.

Workshops, presentations, live music, food and, of course, train rides will celebrate the anniversary.

2012 is also the 80th anniversary of the birth of Glenn Gould, the internationally renowned Canadian pianist who used Wawa as a secret retreat.

The Train Event includes a one-day and a two-day option.

The two-day event has sold out.

The one-day option occurs on September 22 and sees participants traveling by train from Sault Ste. Marie to Searchmont Resort.

There they will hear a presentation on artist, Tom Thomson, who is credited as the inspiration behind the formation of the Group of Seven.

After a hot lunch, participants will take part in workshops, which range from sketchbook journaling, acrylic painting on panels, Anishinaabe art, geo-caching and nature walks to canoe paddle carving and photography.

Refreshments and live music will end the day.

Participants return to the city by bus.

The two-day option, September 22-23, builds on the one-day event.

Two-day participants will leave Searchmont by coach after the lunch, and travel north along Lake Superior’s magnificent eastern coast to Wawa.

Dinner will be at Rock Island Lodge at the mouth of the Michipicoten River, and following dinner there will be a presentation on the influence of the North Country on the music of Glenn Gould.

In the morning, participants will follow in the footsteps of Gould, visiting the beautiful areas around Wawa that so inspired the pianist.

At noon, participants will board the ACR southbound train for Sault Ste Marie and head down into Group of Seven country.

A live commentary will describe Group of Seven painting sites along the ACR line as the train passes.

The Coalition for Algoma Passenger Trains sponsors the Train Event as a means to get passengers, albeit briefly, back on to the passenger train.

Participants will have an enjoyable experience and hopefully become advocates for passenger train travel.

They will gain appreciation for the historical significance of the Algoma Central Railway and the Algoma Highlands through which the train travels.

Tickets for the one-day event, Searchmont Resort:

• $65 train and bus ride, lunch, workshop, music
• $55 lunch, workshop, music (own transportation)

Tickets for two-day event, Searchmont and Wawa: have been sold out.

There is a wait-list.

Tickets can be obtained at the Art Gallery of Algoma or the Box Office in the Station Mall.

For more information, visit groupofseventrainevent.ca or call Carly Breckenridge at (705) 949-2301 ext. 4236

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