Richmond, BC – The City of Richmond, the real life setting for the fictional town of Storybrooke, is paying tribute to the producers, cast and crew of this acclaimed television series, Once Upon A Time, as its nears the end of its seven season run.
“Once Upon a Time entertained television audiences for seven highly successful seasons,” said Mayor Malcolm Brodie. “It also produced millions of dollars of economic impact for our local and provincial economy and it raised the international profile of Richmond. Tourists from around the world have visited historic Steveston Village to see the real life setting for Storybrooke. We’re pleased to offer our congratulations and thanks to the producers, cast and crew as they conclude the series’ successful run”
Since 2011, the streets of historic Steveston Village as well as many popular local businesses and tourism sites have regularly been transformed overnight to become Storybrooke scenes – Granny’s Café, Storybrooke Post Office, Storybrooke Country Bread, Mr. Gold Pawnbroker and Antiquities Dealer and more. Some of the Storybrooke set signage will be left set up over the March 30 to April 1 long-weekend for fans to enjoy.
An economic impact study completed for The Motion Picture Association of Canada this year found that over its seven seasons Once Upon A Timeproduction was responsible for 7,727 full time equivalent jobs and was responsible for $382.4 million in direct production expenditure in British Columbia. The series was also a strong tourist attraction, with many visitors to Tourism Richmond’s tourism information centre in Steveston Village, reporting they had come specifically to visit Storybrooke.
With series production recently returning to Steveston to shoot scenes for the series’ final episodes, Mayor Brodie visited the set earlier today to declare March 29 as Once Upon A Time Day in Richmond. Brodie, who was featured in the show’s season 1 DVD bonus section as the “real Mayor of Storybrooke,” thanked the producers, cast and crew for their contributions to the community.
Richmond prides itself as a film friendly community and has set new records for filming over the past three years. More than 200 days of filming activity took place in both 2016 and 2017.
In recent years, major motion pictures such as Deadpool, War for the Planet of the Apes and Godzilla undertook extended shooting in Richmond. Numerous TV series, including Once Upon A Time, Supernatural and The Magicians also regularly film in Richmond. For more information see the Richmond Film Office’s recently released 2017 annual report at: www.richmond.ca/agendafiles/Open_PRCS_3-27-2018.pdf