Uniquely Cambridge: Hollywood in Town & A Bookless Library

A couple of items recently caught our eye - both set Cambridge apart.

It has been some time now that Hollywood has looked to Canada to provide sets for their production. Lower labor costs, quality workforce and working environments have drawn American movie makers to the north. Over the years, Vancouver and Toronto have made names for themselves. Now Cambrisdge can also lay claim to be a "Hollywood of Canada".

Three movies premiering in the next few weeks have a local connection: two have scenes filmed in Cambridge and one was filmed at an estate in North Dumfries, reported CBC News.

The one with the biggest Cambridge presence is The Magical Christmas Shoes, which was filmed at Reids Chocolate, Candy and Nut Shop in Galt in August.

Devon Hogue, with Cambridge's economic development office, says that she thinks Cambridge and the surrounding area is perfect for films like this because the area is beautiful, historic and well-preserved.

Director Robert Dunne, originally from  Toronto, speaks to the draw of the area: "They're tapping into this nostalgic feeling of Christmas that many of us have," he said.

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Also, we found it most interesting that Cambridge is the location for Canada's first bookless library.

An old limestone post office has been transformation into a community centre with makerspaces. Featured is something called  Idea Exchange offering public library services, programmes and events, the community centre aims to rethink the format of the traditional library, resulting in it being billed as "Canada's first bookless library".

The Idea Exchange Queen's Square branch has an extensive book collection and is located just across the Grand River.

Photo credits: istockphoto.com; ideasexchange.org