Hallmark "Welcome to Valentine"
The Hallmark Channel’s newest movie, “Welcome to Valentine,” premieres on Saturday, February 18, at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central. The movie stars Kathryn Davis and Markian Tarasiuk. But was it really filmed in Valentine, Nebraska, or somewhere else? Read on to learn all about where it was filmed and the cast involved.
‘Welcome to Valentine’ Was Filmed in Kemptville, Ottawa, & Almonte Canada
According to Inside Ottawa Valley, part of the filming for “Welcome to Valentine” happened in the Kemptville region of Ontario in early December. One of the locations was Prescott Street, where production team 1Department Entertainment Services, located in Ottawa, was filming. At the time, the movie was called “Valentine, Nebraska.”
Angel Marie, who was a background actor in the gallery scene of the movie, reached out to Heavy to share that much of the movie was filmed in Ottawa and Almonte.
“All the gallery scenes were on Sparks street, the exterior shots of Olivia walking there is also Sparks,” Marie wrote. “The cafe at the beginning is downtown Ottawa and all the diner scenes were filmed at Bramsoles on Bank Street.”
Marie noted that many exterior shots were filmed in Almonte, including the parade.
On an interesting note, even though “Welcome to Valentine” was filmed in Canada, the town of Valentine, Nebraska, really exists. The YouTube channel Everything About Hallmark talked to a resident in the video below.
According to Inside Ottawa Valley, many local storefronts in Kemptville were decorated for the movie, including some that will be familiar to people from the area, like Bubba & Bugs Coffee Bar, CatherineFit, and Royal LePage Team Realty, Inside Ottaway Valley shared. The production team converted Butler’s Victorian Pantry into a post office and opened a flower store on the sidewalk.
According to the website, during shooting, there were around 50 people working on site, including the production team, cast members, and extras. Kemptville was the location where the scenes where they first arrived in town were filmed.
This was the second time in one week that downtown Kemptville has been utilized as the background for a movie. On Tuesday, November 29, filmmakers from Fireside Pictures were in town to shoot a scene for the film “Christmas By Design.”
Actress Kathryn Davis posted numerous behind-the-scenes pictures on her Instagram.
Director Stefan Brogren shared his excitement about his first Hallmark movie with this series of pictures.
Actor Markian Tarasiuk describes the movie as “When Harry Met Sally, with a Southern American flair.”
He was on the Hallmarkies Podcast talking about the movie and several other topics which had the host cracking up
Meet the Cast for ‘Welcome to Valentine’
Part of the network’s Annual Loveuary Programming Event, “Welcome to Valentine’s” synopsis reads:
It’s a week away from Valentine’s Day and Olivia (Davis) loses both her boyfriend and her job in the same week. Her sister Vanessa (Kara Duncan, “EZRA”), who still lives in their hometown in Nebraska, convinces Olivia to come back home for an extended trip and help get her back on her feet. Olivia’s roommate in New York has a friend, George (Tarasiuk), who’s driving out to Los Angeles and agrees to take Olivisssssa to her destination – which is exactly halfway between New York and California – in exchange for a free night’s stay in her hometown. Olivia, low on cash after her layoff, agrees to take turns driving so he can get to Los Angeles in under five days. The two strangers set out on the open road, both on their way to being who they think they’re supposed to be. When George’s car breaks down mere miles from Olivia’s hometown, he has to stay a few more days in Valentine, Nebraska with Olivia and her sister. After spending so much time together, the two realize that their priorities might have changed and love is what truly matters.
Kathryn Davis is Olivia in the movie. According to her bio, she recently appeared in “Santa’s Got Style,” which aired on UPtv, “Six Degrees of Santa” on Citytv, and “Planes, Trains, and Christmas Trees” on Citytv. Davis has recurring roles in both “The Wedding Planners” and the Netflix original series “Jupiter’s Legacy,” in which he portrayed the superhero Phaseout. According to her bio, she works with Ubisoft on video games. She’s also appeared in “Taken” on NBC, “Departure” and the Hallmark projects “Christmas on 5th Avenue,” “A Christmas Exchange,” and “A Christmas Carousel.”
Markian Tarasiuk (George in the movie) has been in films such as “There’s Someone Inside Your House” (UBCP/ACTRA Awards nomination, Best Supporting Actor) and “Christmas Jars” (Canadian Screen Awards nomination, Best Actor,) according to his bio. His film “Why Can’t My Life Be a Rom Com?” will premiere on E! this year. Tarasiuk has been in many TV shows, including “Surface” on Apple TV+, “Family Law” on The CW, “The Night Agent,” “Virgin River” on Netflix, and “Supernatural” on The CW, as well as several Hallmark Channel original movies. On stage, he appeared in the production of “Sex With Strangers” and in “Billy Elliot, Over the Tavern,” “Vincent River,” and “Footloose.”
Also starring in the movie are:
- Kara Duncan (Vanessa)
- Sophie Bastelle (Tess)
- Baeyen Hoffman (Mickie (M))
- Louise Kerr (Miss Hackey)
- Percy Anane-Dwumfour (Ronald)
- Andrea Davis (Barbara Mae)
- Georgia Chase (Camilla Hollander)
- Peter Haworth (George’s Dad)
- Rachel Sellan (Claire-Ann)
- Sandy Duarte (Boss)
- Simba Yakibonge (Fabio Guy)