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Showing posts with label Saskatchewan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Saskatchewan. Show all posts

Tuesday 15 November 2016

Corner Gas Set

Corner Gas Dog River.

Location: Rouleau, Saskatchewan, Canada
Address: 1st Ave. & Weckman Drive
Date: Oct 2014
Website:  www.cornergas.com

  You think there's not a lot goin' on?  Unfortunately, there seems to be even less with each passing year.  As fans of the television show Corner Gas, we are glad that we paid a visit to the town of Rouleau, Saskatchewan when we did.  The show aired from 2004 to 2009 and was very popular all across Canada.  In the summer of 2014 they filmed Corner Gas: The Movie in Rouleau.  We arrived in the fall of 2014 after filming of the movie had finished and before the movie was released.

The Foo Fighters did what they could.

   Many of Rouleau's actual buildings were used for the filming of Corner Gas and make up the fictional town of Dog River.  Just one month before we arrived, the building that was used as the "FOO  MAR  T"  (that's FOOD MARKET with a few letters missing) burnt down.  You can see the damage in the photo above.

The Ruby & Corner Gas

  The FOO  MAR  T isn't the only building that no longer stands in Rouleau.  On November 4th 2016 the long standing set from Corner Gas was torn down.  This building was erected specifically for filming of the show.  It consisted of the gas station that was run by Brent Leroy (Brent Butt) and the Ruby Cafe that was run by Lacey (Gabrielle Miller).  When we visited, the main signs and embellishments had been taken down and all the windows were boarded up. 

Behind the scenes at Corner Gas.

  You could see from the back that this building was never intended for longevity.

Truckers Welcome at Corner Gas.
Sakatchewan is flat.  What do you mean? Like topographically?

  The gas station scenes were filmed on location. You can often see vehicles heading down the road in the background while Brent, Wanda and Hank are having discussions in front of the cash register.  Brent is the owner of Corner Gas and Wanda (Nancy Robertson) works there, or tries not to.  Hank (Fred Ewanuick) just always seems to be hanging around.  Thankfully, there is an actual gas station in town just in case the set fooled a driver into pulling off of the highway.

Entrance to The Ruby.

  When the residents of Dog River are not at Corner Gas they seem to spend all of their time inside the Ruby Cafe.  The show's success comes from its writing. The characters are all likeable and their banter back and forth is hilarious. As the theme song, by Craig Northey of Canadian band The Odds, says
"And that's why you can stay so long where there's not a lot goin' on."


Map of Our World
Corner Gas Set , FOO MAR T

Post # 144

Tuesday 5 April 2016

Downtown Saturday Night

Downtown Saturday Night as the sun starts to set.

Location: Kipling, Saskatchewan, Canada
Address: 6th Avenue
Date: Oct 2014
Website: townofkipling.ca

  The town of Kipling, Saskatchewan has a population of about 1100 people.  According to the town website it was named after author Rudyard Kipling who wrote The Jungle Book.  Being a small town it has a strong sense of community.  A mural by Janet Blackstock is painted on the corner of 6th Ave and Main Street.  It depicts the town coming together on a typical Saturday night.  Children play in the street as the adults gather in groups around their vehicles.  The crowds all seem to be headed towards one building which is painted red like the town's famous paper clip.  The words Downtown Saturday Night are written on the side of the building.  We actually visited Kipling on a Saturday, but needed to be back in Winnipeg, Manitoba that evening.  While we were taking pictures of the mural, the sun was already starting to set and was making quite a glare on the wall.  By the time the sun fully set across the prairies we were already well on our way to Winnipeg.  We may never know what actually happens in Kipling on a Saturday night, once the sun goes down.

Downtown Saturday Night in Kipling.


Map of Our World
Downtown Saturday Night

Post # 105

Wednesday 30 March 2016

World’s Largest Paper Clip

Big Red Paper Clip.

Location: Kipling, Saskatchewan, Canada
Address: Bell Park 6th Avenue
Date: Oct 2014
Website: townofkipling.ca

  The small town of Kipling, Saskatchewan has the world's largest paper clip on display.  The paper clip is over 15 feet tall and and weighs 3043 lbs.  The paper clip represents a series of internet trades that also made it into the Guinness Book of World Records.  When we drove from Regina, Saskatchewan to Winnipeg, Manitoba we specifically detoured in order to check it out.
   It all started in 2005 when Kyle Macdonald traded a red paper clip online for a fish shaped pen.  He then traded the pen for a door knob and so on and so on.  Eventually, he ended up trading a KISS snow globe with actor Corbin Bernsen.  KISS is a band best known for their painted faces, stage pyrotechnics and Gene Simmons' tongue.  Corbin Bernsen is best known for appearing in the Major League movies or as Arnie Becker on the television show L.A. Law. As a result of all this trading Corbin now has a star in front of the giant paper clip.

Kipling's Walk Of Fame.

  The snow globe was traded for a movie role.  This is where the town of Kipling finally became involved.  The movie role was offered online and the town of Kipling traded the house at 503 Main Street.  One of the residents of Kipling acted in Corbin Bernsen's movie Donna On Demand.  The trading was complete and the big red paperclip was erected in Bell Park.  It now joins a long line of world's biggest items that draw tourists like ourselves to small towns like Kipling.  Not many of them can boast such a story as this one red paper clip.

The Bell In Bell Park.

  One question we have is if a paper clip is defined by its shape or its function?  While this giant red steel bar has been bent into the traditional paper clip shape one wonders if it would be capable of actually holding paper.  Aside from the fact it would need giant sized pieces of paper, we wonder who or what would give it that slight bend needed in order to slide some paper into place?

Back of the Paper Clip.


Map of Our World
World’s Largest Paper Clip

Post # 104

Monday 30 November 2015

Rusty The Elephant

Rusty.  Rusty!

Location: Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Address: 2311 12th Ave.
Date: Oct 2014
Website: esask.uregina.ca

  Behind the Regina Public Library near the corners of 12th Avenue and Smith Street stands Rusty.  Rusty is a life sized elephant made out of iron bars.  He was given his appropriate name by some elementary students from a local school.  You would be rusty too if you were made out of metal and left out year round in the rain and snow.  Russell Yurisity is the Saskatchewan artist who created this piece back in 1981.  Poor Rusty is feeling hollow inside since he only consists of a wire frame.  This gives him a sadness, which it could be said that all elephants possess.  His hollow frame also often makes him hard to see depending on what is happening on the street around him. There is still something about elephants, including Rusty, that makes them endearing.  This would explain why Rusty has been a welcome site to Regina visitors for over 30 years now.

We'll call him Rusty.


Map of Our World
Rusty The Elephant

Post # 82