ARNPRIOR – Arnprior is slowly gaining a reputation as Hollywood North East, with a specialty in holiday movies.

Downtown Arnprior will step in as the backdrop for the movie Christmas Wheels which will be filming in town later this week. Filming will close certain roads to traffic.

The section of road between Elgin and Madawaska streets will be closed from 7 a.m. Wednesday (July 22) until Friday (July 24) at midnight.

All business will remain open and pedestrian traffic will not be affected.

The move follows Ashley who returns to her small town to help her family at Christmas after learning her uncle Tony broke his leg.

When arriving home, she’s disappointed to learn her deceased mom’s antique care was sold and goes on a hunt to find the car before Christmas in order to use it for a traditional Christmas charity drive.

Residents are able to watch the filming taking place, but are asked to maintain physical distancing, follow instructions provided by the production company and keep quiet while on the set.

In mid-September, 2019 a movie company filmed scenes in Arnprior for a rom-com called Turkey Drop. Disney star Olivia Holt played the main role of a person who gets dumped over Thanksgiving Weekend. Several residents had the opportunity to play extras for a scene involving a 10-km charity run through downtown Arnprior.

Early last March, various locations around the Ottawa Valley were used for the filming of a Mel Gibson Christmas movie titled Fatman. Filming was done in Carp at the Diefenbunker Cold War Museum where co-star Walton Goggins filmed scenes at the Diefenbunker which stood in as a shooting range. Scenes were also filmed in the Lanark County area.