The popular Museum Pre-Christmas Gala Dinner will again start the festive season in Cranbrook on Saturday. Nov 26.

The dinners have been held since 1983 and remain the Cranbrook Museum of Rail Travel’s main charitable fundraising event of the year. This year the theme will be ‘Christmas on the Blue Train – a journey through the international tastes of South Africa and its’ Dutch, British, and Indian influences.’

The events will be held in the Royal Alexandra Hall, a centrepiece heritage room at the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel and itself a national heritage award winner. Interested patrons are urged to book early especially if wanting group arrangements.

The plated-service dinner catered by Heidi’s Restaurant, will have nine courses, including a pre-dinner Champagne Reception, and three different wines served with some of the dinner courses. There is a variety of professional entertainment provided between courses. The evening concludes with an after-dinner reception for relaxed conversation over tea and coffee.

Guests may arrive as early as 5:45 p.m., for the pre-dinner reception in the Palm Court, Reception Hall and Entrance Hall where savoury canapes are served, including Biltong, a traditional South African specialty meat cured to taste.

The canapes are accompanied by glass of champagne and a no-host bar serves additional beverages. This reception is great time to meet old and new friends and engage in conversation while awaiting the announcement for the dinner. At 7 p.m. guests are taken into the Royal Alexandra Hall to their tables to begin the multi-course dinner. There are six tables for four and 12 tables for eight, with enough room left for the 1864 Broadwood Grand Piano and a performance area.

The appetizer is served first, which is a ‘Samosa and Konkamer Sambal,’ a savoury stuffed Indian pastry with cucumber relish served along with a glass of South African aperitif wine. The soup course follows and is a Mulligatawny chicken curry soup with added nuts and aromatic spices. Next is the salad course, Kachomber, a chilled tomato and Spanish onion salad with cucumber, and a top-up to your aperitif wine. The palate cleanser ‘coconut and lychee sorbet’ completes the first part of the dinner and a 20-minute break follows to allow patrons to stretch, walk about and visit.

The entree is considered the highlight of the evening and this year it is a roast leg of lamb with Blatjang (chutney) accompanied by Geel Rys (yellow rice) and carrot Bredie (a vegetable dish) served with two glasses of red dinner wine. This is followed by the dessert, a brandy tart. This is an old time favourite with pecans, vanilla, dates and brandy topped with fresh whipped cream, and is served with a glass of dessert wine. A small platter will be brought to each table at the end of the dessert containing a variety of imported cheeses with seasonal fruit to end the dinner.

Guests then leave the Royal Alexandra Hall for the After-Dinner Reception in the Palm Court and Reception Hall where tea (including Roibois tea) and coffee is offered. The whole evening, including entertainment, usually takes about four and a half hours.

Professional entertainment is provided between all of the courses, and due to the wonderful acoustics of the Hall, it adds greatly to the ambience of the evening. The restored 1864 John Broadwood & Sons Concert Grand Piano will be a part of the event, and Museum volunteers dressed in 1912 period ‘Evening Gowns’ will assist the festivities, including a series of draws and door prizes. These types of gowns would have been seen in the Canadian Pacific Railway’s 1906 Royal Alexandra Hotel in Winnipeg, where the hall was the former Grand Cafe.

Treat someone or yourself to a memorable time of great food, great friends, great service and great entertainment. Businesses or family groups may also want to book an entire table for four or eight at special group rate, but early bookings are recommended for groups. The museum makes great effort to accommodate groups as well as recommend places for singles or couples on their own.

The Prestige Hotel (adjacent to the museum) and the CPR House B&B (the former Railway Superintendent’s House in the historic Baker Hill area) are also offering special accommodation packages for out-of-town Gala guests.

The prices for the dinner or brunch include all catering/tips/gratuities, plus a charitable receipt as a donation to the museum’s annual operations.

“The price has not changed this year and this charitable event is very important to the museum funding, so we invite past participants and those new to Cranbrook and region to join us for this memorable evening,” says Corinne Friesen, Gala Dinner Committee Chair.

A brochure and a visual presentation of past galas can also be found on line at:  www.trainsdeluxe.com For more information please phone the Museum at 250-489-3918 or send an email to: [email protected].

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