Scenes from the Silver Screen

Finding Scenes from the Silver Screen

By Tim Johnson

Amongst rolling hills near Campbellford, a stroll across the grounds at Westben is a soothing experience. The Barn, silent on this quiet morning, is a place where musicians entertain appreciative crowds, many music-lovers often dancing onto the lawn outside. The curving natural amphitheatre, the green meadows, and so many chirping birds, plus the old tractor now idle out by the parking lot, all create a sense of peace. But for one afternoon, a few years back, this was Camp Rock.

“The kids had to practice running down the meadow and through the side doors—they were all excited,” says Westben co-founder Donna Bennett. The property was featured in Camp Rock, the 2008 Disney Channel film, starring now-superstars Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas, and Bennett remembers that they had about 60 young, local extras participating, ranging in age from about seven years old up to teenagers. “It sure was fun to have the whole crew here,” adds Westben co-founder Brian Finley, noting that he even managed to get his son into the shot.

In the film, the Barn serves as the exterior for Camp Rock Theater, with most of the action actually taking place on a sound stage purpose-built to resemble it. But it’s just one of the places across Northumberland County that serves as a silver screen stand-in—from an idyllic but sinister town in New England, to a 1980s all-American main street, to the Ohio home of a bumbling favourite son. Here are three other places you may recognize from your last trip to the cinema (or from last night’s stream on Netflix).

Downtown Port Hope (It and It Chapter Two)

In his writing, uber-bestselling novelist Stephen King returns again and again to Derry, a fictional town in Maine. But in these two recent films, based on King’s work, Port Hope is actually home to Pennywise, that evil clown that lives in the sewers (and the band of brave kids that battle him). So many downtown spots appear on screen (from the Capitol Theatre to the Hotel Carlyle) that the local tourism board has even created a self-guided walking tour to revisit these buildings in person—if you dare. (Footnote: if you look up the Wikipedia page for Derry, the aerial shot is actually Port Hope.)

Downtown Cobourg (Pixels)

Watch just a little of this 2015 Adam Sandler movie, and you’ll recognize a lot of Cobourg. In the opening scenes, set firmly in the 1980s, the childhood versions of the two main characters (their grown-up counterparts played by Kevin James, and Sandler) ride their banana-seat bikes furiously from their suburban homes to a brand-new downtown arcade. But while you won’t find the Video Dreams Factory anywhere in town, take a walk down Queen St. and everything will look rather familiar, including the “Plaza Theater,” actually the Park Theatre, just a few blocks east of Victoria Hall, the town’s stately, neoclassical town hall.

Queen Street, Walton Street, Port Hope (Tommy Boy)

A much-beloved 1995 comedy starring the late Chris Farley and his frequent foil, David Spade, this film follows the story of a likeable but spoiled son returning to a blue-collar town in Ohio to take over the family business. But walk up Queen St. in Port Hope, and you won’t find any sign announcing “Welcome to Sandusky: Population 29,764”—it was added for the movie, but everything else, including a series of fine, red-brick buildings, remains to this day. Turn the corner, and you’ll see Sandusky’s main street—actually Walton St., right in the heart of town—today lined with charming shops and great restaurants.

If you’re arriving from Toronto by car, and want to do this as a road trip:

Stop first in Port Hope. Park near the Hotel Carlyle (featured in It and It Chapter Two). Then walk down the hill, past the town hall, another featured building, and up Queen St. toward Walton St., where you will recognize Sandusky from Tommy Boy.

Head east along Highway 2 to Cobourg, and park near Victoria Hall. A walk down Queen St. to the east will retrace those opening scenes from Pixels, although you’ll need to use your imagination to go all the way back to the 1980s.

And finally, leave the 401, taking Highway 30 to the north, a lovely drive through rolling farm fields, toward Campbellford. Follow signs to Westben (stand-in for Camp Rock). If possible, schedule your visit around one of their concerts, which take place in the Barn, on the amphitheatre, or even intimate shows with just one musician, around a campfire.