CALEB NICKERSON
BRISTOL Feb. 6, 2019
Residents of Bristol will be on the lookout for film crews in their community next week, as the CBC comedy show Still Standing is arriving in town to tape an upcoming episode.
The series follows comedian Jonny Harris (best-known for his role in Murdoch Mysteries) as he treks around small-town Canada, touring communities that are struggling but “still standing” to meet locals and discover hidden gems.
This isn’t their first time in the Pontiac, as Fort Coulonge was featured on an episode back in 2016.
“We were looking for a town in Quebec with a survival story and came across Bristol,” the show’s executive producer Anne Francis wrote in an email. “Bristol’s history is rich in dance halls and resources and now it’s in a state of transition – we love visiting towns that are working to redefine themselves. We’ll be visiting some of the area’s entrepreneurs who are working hard to win back Bristol’s destination status and we are very excited about it.”
After a week of touring the area, Harris will perform a stand-up show for the community, interspersed with some local flavour. The show will take place at the Jack Graham Community Centre on Feb. 16 at 6:30 p.m. and is first-come, first-serve.
At the municipal meeting on Monday night, council members were excited for the exposure, but unsure of the exact shooting schedule for the week.
Councillor Greg Graham said they were in contact with representatives from the show around the end of the summer, and had a producer from the show scout the area in early January.
The crew will have a local guide them around to experience all that the municipality has to offer, and councillors said that the community has been buzzing with excitement in the last few days.
The show’s publicist, Tanya Koivusalo, wrote in an email that filming will take place from Feb. 12-16 and the episode will air as part of the show’s fifth season later this year on CBC Television and free online through their new streaming service, Gem.
