A generous, welcoming community
Still Standing casts its gaze on Tignish
As a researcher for CBC Television’s hit show, Still Standing, David Kerr said he was struck by the generosity of the residents of Tignish when he first visited the community last month. “Everyone in town has a story about a time that a benefit was held for a friend or neighbour in need. That spirit of giving isn’t something you find everywhere, and it speaks to the strength of this community.”
Kerr is back again, this time with the star of the show, Jonny Harris, and the rest of the crew, preparing for a live show Sunday evening at the Tignish Parish Centre.
Harris plays Cons. George Crabtree on CBC’s “The Murdoch Mysteries.”
“What we found right at the beginning of researching the show was a real generosity of spirit and a willingness to welcome us into the community,” he said. “Now that we’re shooting the show, it’s no different.”
The show searches out residents who make their community tick, and then comedian Jonny Harris weaves their stories into the live show.
Kerr said the people they’ve met so far have been amazing. The live show and the advance taping will be blended into a show for Season 4 of “Still Standing,” expected to be aired next summer. “The episode will be beautiful,” Kerr promises. “So many people in town take on four or five different jobs, so many people in town told us about the fundraising that goes on, etc. From that you get a sense of a town of people who aren’t afraid of hard work and who look out for each other,” observed Kerr, but he said one of the biggest surprises was the beauty of the landscape.
“It’s possible nobody brought that up on the phone since they are so used to it,” he supposed.
The number and size of the co-ops in Tignish was also a surprise, he suggested. “There’s no way of talking about Tignish and not calling attention to its many co-ops. Similarly, you can’t introduce people to Tignish without telling them about its world-class fishing industry, culture, and history,” he said.
Kerr said it’s purely by coincidence that the swearing in of Prince Edward Island’s new Lieutenant-Governor, Antoinette Perry from Tignish, is taking place in the community during filming. How that event might factor in the CBC show has not been finalized, but he admitted it’s a unique angle. What’s not so much a coincidence is a Fall Harvest Festival. Kerr said the town was planning a festival anyway, so blending it in with the filming provides the crew with a community event to include.
“It should be a lot of fun.” The festival is planned for Saturday afternoon in the Bicentennial Park.
Then on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. “Still Standing” hosts a live show at the Parish Centre. Doors open at 6 p.m. Attendance is free on a first come, first seated basis. Sharing the stage with Harris will be fellow standup comedians Fraser Young, Graham Chittenden and Steve Dylan.