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Telkwa to be featured on CBC show

A CBC show that tries to find the humour in small towns will be shining a light on Telkwa next week.
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Canadian comedian Jonny Harris performs his stand-up act in front of an audience. Harris is the host of the CBC show Still Standing

A CBC show that tries to find the humour in small towns will be shining a light on Telkwa next week.

Still Standing,  hosted by Canadian comedian Jonny Harris (from the show Murdoch Mysteries), tries to get to the heart of a community through interviews with locals.

“We have been combing the country for really unique places with unique stories and a really beautiful background. We want to go off the beaten path,” said Maureen Riley, the supervising producer with the show.

“Telkwa was on our list of places to look into and it’s certainly beautiful and certainly unique. We’ve found some unique stories there, so it’s perfect.”

The crew, along with Harris, will be filming in Telkwa from April 15-19. They will be checking out the sights and have already lined up interviews with nine locals they will visit.

“We’re going to talk to them about the history of the place and see what makes them unique and part of a community,” said Riley.

“It’s just such a beautiful part of the country. We saw the Telkwa video that was produced on [the] tourism page and it’s gorgeous, why wouldn’t we shoot there?”

According to Mayor Darcy Repen, it’s an opportunity to show Canada what Telkwa is about.

“I hope their image of Telkwa and the way we’re represented is that we’re a really up and coming community. One that really has some amazing assets in terms of both locals, but especially our community,” said Repen.

“I think Telkwa is a very unique and cool community in the North in terms of the people that make up our population.”

Repen also hopes it will help boost the local economy.

“Hopefully it will draw a bit of extra interest in terms of the tourism industry, people coming to visit and just realizing that it’s a great option to live and maybe open a business,” he said.

Harris, who is originally from a small town in Newfoundland, will also be performing a free stand-up comedy show at the community hall on April 19 at 6 p.m.

Once they are done filming in Telkwa, the crew will move on to Skidegate on Haida Gwaii.

“We’re getting to the heart of the place. It’s really the people that we’re meeting,” added Riley.

They have already shot the first season of Still Standing which will air in June and features small towns such as Buxton, Ontario, Manitou, Manitoba and Coal Mine, Alberta.

If you would like to be interviewed or know someone that would, call the village office at 250-846-5212 or email info@telkwa.com.