Through the week of Dec. 16 to 21, Very Merry Entertainment conducted the filming of their new Hallmark rom-com movie “Christmas at the Zoo.” The crew of about 35 members brought together a new sense of community throughout downtown Libertyville, hiring extras and taking over local businesses for filming. These locations include local coffee shops like the well-known Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters and Dunkin’, as well as to clothing stores like Blu Violet Boutique.
The producers of Very Merry Entertainment also requested for certain public sidewalks to be taken over for the creation of the film. Parking in front of the small businesses used in the production of the film was prohibited as well, causing a pause in the activity of local establishments. These locations include the walkways of Cook Ave. and the entirety of Broadway St. until Dec. 21.
Much of the filming of “Christmas at the Zoo” has taken place inside of Conscious Cup, where the small business was taken over throughout the course of filming. Its sign will be recognized in the credits, and the owners will be accommodated for the service of lending their establishment. The official Libertyville sign will also be used in the credits of the film, giving appreciation to local businesses and officials who gave permission to Verry Merry Entertainment to film in downtown.
“The owners of [Conscious Cup] see it as a good thing,” Hailey Berg, a manager of Conscious Cup said. “The owner here is also [going to] be compensated, and we like the liveliness this movie is bringing.”
Local business owners seem to welcome the attention that the filming brings to the small town, stating that it may bring more commerce and activity to the core community.
“They are just showcasing local businesses, [and] I think this downtown area in general is really cute and picturesque,” Berg said. “And I know that there’s more and more small businesses popping up here. So I think that’s something they definitely have in mind as well.”
Stacie Nevins is the owner of another small thriving business in Libertyville, the Blu Violet Boutique, and feels that this filming will increase foot traffic all around downtown.
“I think it will draw some attention,” Nevins said. “I think people will like to come and watch and see, because there was one filmed last year, sometime down, farther down, and people [liked] to go. I mean, we even walked down to watch.” Nevins thinks that the attention will generate traffic in the area and potentially increase the business of the local clothing store, and other businesses will likely see an uptick as well.
“We’re not worried about [the filming] necessarily. I think it’s an exciting thing for downtown,” Nevins said. “Overall, it’s [going to] draw people to be like, oh, Libertyville downtown is so cute. Let’s go down there.”
Whether the filming of the rom-com explodes foot traffic in certain areas of Libertyville or takes away from the activity of downtown, this kind of experience in Libertyville only happens once in a while, and this small town is excited to be put in the spotlight through the hosting of this film.
