The people of Oil Springs make their small screen debut Aug. 11.
Last year, the crew from the new CBC show called Still Standing came to the community to tape a show. Each week, the program showcases a small but once great town which have now fallen on hard times. Comedian Johnny Harris gets to know the people and then creates a stand up routine about them. The show contains segments of people Harris has talked to and then his observations about the community.
The program was expected to begin airing in the winter but is just now on the air. The show about Oil Springs will air Aug. 11 at 9:30 pm but Oil Springs residents will get a sneak peak of the show Aug. 5.
Jennifer Turk says the CBC has given the town permission to hold a screening of Still Standing. It will be at 7 pm at the Youth Centre in Oil Springs.
Turk says people are anxious to see it. “We’ve had people asking when it was going to be on,” she says. “Of course, we didn’t know any particulars because it is not us looking after it.”
So when CBC contacted the village office with the date the episode would be aired, Turk asked it they could show the residents before it hit the airwaves.
The CBC said yes with a few conditions. “The CBC is okay with us having a sneak peak, but they don’t want it going anywhere else.”
And Turk says already has had a look at the show. “It was pretty good; I was pretty impressed,” she says. For Turk, it was interesting to see how many people have life-long ties to the oil industry and how many families date back to the original oil boom.
“It’s a funny (show) but it is a serious funny. It certainly puts Oil Springs on the map.”
Turk says everyone is invited to the free pre-screening Aug. 5. For a brief preview you can go to http://www.cbc.ca/stillstanding/videos/first-look-the-oil-springs-hair-salon
