Christmas movie hits the ice in Vernon this week

Vernonites have the chance to be in a movie.

“We’re here making a TV movie of the week, it happens to be a Christmas movie. [The] central characters, as you can see, are hockey players,” says Gilles Laplante, a producer of the as yet unnamed film.

“We’re going to be in Vernon for three days here on the ice,” Laplante said Monday at Kal Tire Place, "so we’re shooting all the hockey portions of the movie here.”

Locals answered an open call Monday to be extras in the Christmas movie, and some of them are excited about what it means for the Okanagan.

“It’s spreading out the range of movies that we have in the Okanagan. We have a beautiful place and not many people film movies here, so I think it’s cool that they’re starting to,” said Natalie Roos.

“It’s a beautiful area, so it’s good,” added Talla Caulien-Matheson.

Laplante says most of the movie is being shot in Kelowna, and that he tries to shoot as many of his films as he can in the Okanagan.

“I come to the Okanagan a lot. This is the first movie of the year, but I tend to do about two or three movies a year. I shot a movie here last year in Vernon as well, where we occupied the city streets ... which was super fun,” says Laplante.

He says the Valley is a great place to make movies.

“Vernon is a very open and receptive place to shoot, and the Okanagan as you know is growing, quite remarkably. So there's a lot of infrastructure here, a lot of vendors, various vendors, studios are popping up, so it’s becoming a very popular place to shoot.”

Those hoping to spot a familiar face, or place, in the film will have to wait a while to see it.

The movie is expected to air sometime in the fall.

Christmas Alone Together was shot in downtown Vernon in 2021 and transformed a block of 30th Avenue into a Christmas market complete with fake snow and a horse and carriage, even though it was shot in the middle of summer.