Hi and welcome to my first “official” post on ivesceneitonhallmark.com.  I’m glad you’re here!  To get things rolling, I thought I’d talk a bit about film production in Canada.

Most people don’t realize it, but much of our entertainment is filmed in what has become known as ‘Hollywood North’.  While my blog will focus on locations from Hallmark movies and series, it is worth mentioning that many of the television shows and blockbuster movies we watch have been filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia.  There are several reasons for this, but tax incentives and the favorable exchange rate are at the top of that list.

Vancouver has become a major player in the movie making business.  Renowned movie maker Kenny Ortega called Vancouver “The New Hollywood” earlier this summer in an interview with the Canadian Post.   In another 2016 article, reporter Ian Bailey introduces us to ‘pop-up studios’ and talks about the shortage of production space in Vancouver. There’s no doubt about it; filming in Canada is hot, and there is no chance of it letting up anytime soon.

If you are a fan of the Hallmark Channel, chances are you too have seen Vancouver on film.  The majority of what we watch on the network has been shot there, including hit shows like When Calls The Heart and Cedar Cove.  Chesapeake Shores is filmed in and around Victoria, which is located on Vancouver Island.  Jewel’s Fixer Upper Mystery movie series films there as well.  Fan favorites like the Aurora Teagarden, Garage Sale Mystery, Hailey Dean, Murder She Baked, and Signed, Sealed, Delivered series are all made in Vancouver.   And then there are the movies; Christmas, Valentine’s, Spring Fling, June Weddings, Summer Nights, Fall Harvest, all of which lead back to the Countdown to Christmas.  It’s a year-round production, and no one does it like Hallmark.  I read that Hallmark will produce 90 movies in 2017…that is some serious Hallmarking!!!

While Vancouver hosts a lot movie-making by the big-name studios, I’ve recognized many outlying areas on my big screen while watching the Hallmark Channel.  There’s Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Abbotsford, Aldergrove, Squamish, and Langley, which I personally refer to as the Hallmark capitol of filming locations.  And there is Fort Langley, the perfect “Small Town, USA”, which is always hosting a film crew.  Fort Langley played Cedar Cove and shows up regularly in Hallmark movies & series, including the Garage Sale Mystery franchise.  Ever since I decided to start this blog, I have been researching and visiting locations in these areas.  I cannot wait to share them with you!

In the coming months, I will bring you locations from our favorite Hallmark movies & series including Murder She Baked, Aurora Teagarden, Garage Sale Mystery, When Calls the Heart, Wedding Bells, Moonlight in Vermont, Perfect Catch, The Wedding March, Home for Christmas Day, Appetite For Love, Finding Father Christmas, A Bride for Christmas, At Home in Mitford, Every Christmas Has A Story, Love At First Bark, Summer in the City, and so many, many more!  And then there’s a personal favorite, All of My Heart.  I am very excited to share locations from this movie, including locations from the sequel, which wraps today!!!  And word on the screen is All of My Heart 2 will air October 7th.

My good friend Lindsay has been writing about film locations for over a decade right here.  This past May, I wrote a guest post on her blog, featuring that gorgeous farmhouse from All of My Heart.  I enjoyed the process and it was so well received that I decided to start my own blog focusing on Hallmark locations in the Vancouver area.  There are a lot of Hallmark fans out there who share my interest and I am excited to blend my passion for film locations with my love for Hallmark movies.

Thank you for coming along on this journey,

Kerry