Fort Frances seeks HGTV Hometown Takeover
Fort Frances is vying for a community transformation.
A bid has been filed to be part of HGTV’s new Hometown Takeover Canada series that airs next fall.
The series is based on a similar one that focuses on small communities in the United States and has aired the past three seasons.
Kaleb (KAY-leb) Firth says HGTV is now looking for a small community in Canada, and feels Fort Frances would make a great fit.
“We have a lot of different people groups in our community. We have a lot of opportunities. We’re kind of on the upswing. We have young leadership both at the council and in the business sector independently, and I just thought this is a great chance to potentially bring Fort Frances to the spotlight nationally,” says Firth.
The first phase involved completed a 40 question application that requested information about the community, its movers and shakers and the impact that the HGTV program could have.
Firth says a request came back for a video showcasing the community.
“We had lots of contributions from digital creators in Fort Frances and the surrounding area. We received a lot of pictures and testimonials,” says Firth.
We sent all of our collaborations to an outfit and they just kind of polished it up. Then we put it together with a script that Jonathan Price contributed to and we really liked how it turned out.”
HGTV is expected to select its preferred community later this year.
Firth says if Fort Frances is successful, it will not be profiled in just a single episode.
“This isn’t just where they come into the town for a week or two and they shoot some clips and they’re out,” says Firth.
“This is a progressional series. So they would basically be moving their contractors in, their designers, their production team, the videographers. And this would definitely put whichever community is picked across the country, not just a highlight, it would definitely put their community on the map.
“And from what I’ve seen with the past towns in the states that they’ve picked, it’s not just like a one-off. They get a lot of spin-off energy in the future. There’s more investment. Tthere’s more tourism. It really like rejuvenates and sparks the future for that community and almost puts them on a different trajectory. And that’s kind of the aim that you’re trying to do here.”
Firth says the community’s application has already sparked alot of interest and what the potential could be even if Fort Frances does not make the cut.
“We have to be confident in ourselves and we have to be able to communicate all the great things that Fort Francess has to offer.”
“Look at Scott Street. We’ve got, I think it’s 12 or 13 vacancies, and I think that it’s time to start thinking creatively and start thinking in a unified way to start filling those vacancies.”
HGTV intends to start production of its new series in the spring, with the first episodes airing that fall.
