Christmas decorations go up early in Cedartown
Santa Claus isn’t comi ng i n September t o Cedartown, but it might feel like he is through this and the coming months as decorations went up early for the forthcoming holiday season.
During the past week, lights, banners and garlands around the light poles were put in place by the Cedartown Fire Department to help out with production of the television show “Hap and Leonard,” set to use the area in the filming for the upcoming third season of the Sundance TV series.
Set in a fictional locale of Grovetown, Texas during the holiday season in 1989, the show asked the city if they were willing to help out by getting out the holiday trappings early, and Cedartown was only happy to oblige.
Sharif Salama, the assistant location director for the show working for AMC Networks, provided thanks to the audience just ahead of the start of the Polk County Commis- sion’s special session on Aug. 30 to thank everyone for celebrating the holidays for an extra three months.
“We’ve been worki ng with t he City of Cedartown to do something that’s pretty extraordinary,” Salama said. “The experience I’ve had over the last few days has been uncanny, it’s been extraordinary... they’re making me look really good because everyone has been so cooperative and my superiors now think I’m the golden child.”
This is not Cedartown’s first brush with the film industry. Back in 2011, a Billy Bob Thornton-pro- duced movie, “Jayne Mansfield’s Car” transformed downtown Cedartown into a 1960s version of itself. Film crews were in Cedartown in 2015, shooting a trailer for a featurelength film project called “Black Mountain.” Also in 2015, local lawyer and filmmaker Bill Lundy produced independent film “A Larger Life,” drawing heavily on local Cedartown landmarks and locations.
No detailed plans for a schedule of shooting for the series as of yet on the corner featuring the former soda fountain and coffee shop at West Avenue and Main Street.
The show will also film at other locations in Northwest Georgia, but Cedartown will be used at different times over the course of three months, according to a press release from the city.
Downtown merchants will have a chance to meet members of the art department and location scouting crew this week, as they will be personally stopping by and visiting with each business owner to discuss decoration ideas.
“Residents and business owners in Cedartown are so friendly and willing to work with anyone, especially when it brings attention to our town that we all love,” Fann said. “We encourage everyone to enjoy this ear- ly start to the holidays, share the news with their friends and family, and be proud of Cedartown. We all know it’s a beautiful place and obviously, other folks are noticing that as well.”
Editor Kevin Myrick and the City of Cedartown’s Aimee Madden cwwontributed to this report.