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Fifty days ago the all-volunteer Holiday Express set out to celebrate its 25th anniversary by performing and spreading the season’s cheer at a record breaking 100 events.

On Christmas Eve that mission was accomplished when the team landed at St. John’s Soup Kitchen in Newark.

Founded by restaurateur Tim McLoone, Holiday Express is comprised of 2,500 volunteers [known as elves] and 150 musicians who served over 27,000 people and delivered more than 17,000 meals in 49 days.

On Saturday, over 500 people, including working poor families and the homeless, attended a holiday celebration at Trinity Episcopal Church on Asbury Avenue.

Guests were met on the rainy cool morning with a cup of soup and once inside there were ornament making and face painting stations for kids of all ages as the 20-piece band played.

McLoone’s Robinson’s Ale House, located on the Asbury Park Boardwalk, donated the food and their staff volunteered to serve the brunch fare. In the midst, many danced and sang along as a festive cheer filled the room.

Once the meal was finished, guests were led into the church where bags of fruit, donated by Sickles Market in Little Silver, and duffle bags filled with gifts, toys, and toiletries were distributed. And on the way out the door, the youngest among the crowd were able to hand pick a last minute gift.  

“To our friends & family, thank you for your support and for helping Holiday Express deliver the gift of human kindness for 25 years,” the team wrote on their Facebook page Sunday. “May the season warm your soul, bring love to your heart, good health to your body, peace to your home and everything life has to offer.”

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