Fairytale waves its magic wand for Richmond charities

Walking into Moncton Street off Third Avenue, the buzz of anticipation was virtually reverberating off the asphalt of the Steveston sidewalk and onto the souls of my well-trodden shoes.
The Once Upon A Time — or OUAT as it’s known locally on social media — team was in town, filming the fall season opener of the hit, fairtyale primetime ABC show, and attracting hundreds of fans in the process.
Scores of them were packed onto the street corners, herded behind traffic cones, a few yards away from where a stunt was being filmed outside the Cannery Café, which had been transformed into a pub and beer garden for the show.
Police had blocked off the street as a giant light reflector was manoeuvred into place on Moncton outside the café, while crew and security staff milled around on the street armed with their walkie-talkies and game-faces.
Despite early grumbles from some local residents and businesses about the disruption, few can deny the village lights up, quite literally, when OUAT comes out to play in Steveston, aka Storybrooke.
Least of all, Shirley Hartwell, owner of the Candy Dish on Moncton Street, who has, for almost exactly three years, been collecting a twoonie donation for a simple, little OUAT walking map.
“I think the numbers reflect the reality: on average, every brochure equalled about three people coming to the village and I’ve given out around 2,300, so that equates to just under 7,000 people that have visited Steveston just because of the show,” said Hartwell.
“And that’s just the ones who have come in here, so there are likely thousands more.
“I’d say around 20 per cent of them are from the Lower Mainland; the rest are from around the world. Just the other day, there were people in here from France, New Zealand, Ireland, England, the U.S. and Germany, just because of the show.”
Every cent from the donations over those years, said Hartwell, has directly benefitted local charities and it’s a win-win for all concerned when fans of the show pour into the village.
“When they’re filming, the fans are out there glued to the sets, so they’re not coming in here,” said Hartwell.
“But when there’s a break, or on other days when there’s no filming, many of them are dropping by here and other stores in the village.
“For instance, there’s probably about 200 to 300 extra people in the village today just because they’re filming. They will go buy coffee, visit other stores and come in here and get candy whenever there’s a break.”
Hartwell’s Evil Queen Apple is the biggest seller right now, along with the Snow White Fudge, and she also stocks Frozen fudge, as that Disney character was in the last series.
Another $800 was gifted to the Richmond Food Bank last week, bringing the total raised for local charities in the three years to $4,560 — including $3,200 to the food bank and $1,200 to Hartwell’s “12 days of Christmas” appeal, for which she raised and personally shopped to the value of $100 for 12 chosen charities.
Asked why she devotes so much energy to the cause, Hartwell said she’s just a huge fan of the show and the fundraising was a “little idea that grew into a bigger idea.”
“I get excited every time we raise another $100 for charity,” she said.
“I guess it’s a happy thing; a happy ending to a fairytale.”
Some of the stars of the show even pop in now and again; Henry has frequented in the past and, more recently, Captain Hook in the spring — in costume!
“It was a five-minute break in between filming, I think,” added Hartwell.
“I was sorting some candy on a shelf and I looked up and there was this very handsome man with all the make-up on and such.
“I admit I was a bit flustered and I was trying not to act all fan-like. But I forgot to even ask for a picture!”