Once again Ottawa is the focus of a Hallmark Christmas movie. “Winter Wonderlanes” was filmed at the Orléans Bowling Centre earlier this year. The movie was filmed over a seven-night period, after business hours at the bowling alley. “It was fantastic seeing this place decorated in Christmas decor and seeing the movie magic with their little railroad tracks for their cameras and everything set up,” said Roch Henry, co-owner of the Orléans Bowling Centre. The owners say they’ve had previous smaller scale productions filmed at the bowling centre before but never something as big a movie on the Hallmark Channel. Henry says it’s great that the community gets to see their place on the big screen. “I really loved it because this is where we play bowling every Wednesdays and Mondays,” said Denis St. Georges, a bowler at the Orléans Bowling Centre. “We noticed all the bowling alleys and everything that was familiar to us.” “We saw the Christmas trees and the decorations around,” said Denis. Denis and Joanne St. Georges bowl every week. They say this is part of their lives. “It’s all seniors in the afternoons—seniors 55 and up. So yeah, we have a lot of fun,” said Joanne. Much on the movie’s scenes were filmed at the alley and other various locations across Ottawa. The couple says they were anxious to see the movie. “We made a date to watch it on Friday night, and it was very good,” said Joanne. The movie premiered on Oct. 23.
