THE OFFICIAL HEARTLAND BLOG

Today on set, after several lovely warm sunny days, the sky is dark and a fair amount of rain is forecast. So slickers and rain gear will be the fashion apparel du jour as filming this block of the first 2 episodes of Season 5 winds down. Tomorrow will be the last day on camera, just before the Victoria Day long weekend, and then on Tuesday the crew will be back with director Grant Harvey, who has been getting ready to direct episodes 503 and 504!

And when 503 and 504 start filming next week, director Dean Bennett will occupy a room in the Heartland Production Office, where he will start going through the scripts for episodes 505 and 506, which he will direct when the second block is complete!

Meanwhile, downstairs in the production office, editor Ken Filewych has been assembling the footage so far and will be joined by Block 1 director John Fawcett. Together they'll get 501 and 502 near completion. Ken edits every second block of episodes, while Jane Morrison, who starts on Tuesday, handles the other half of the season's shows.

So that's basically how the Heartland Production machine works, and now that it's in full swing it'll continue that way through November, when the last of the 18 episodes are in the proverbial 'can'.

Everyone is really happy with the direction Season 5 is taking. The writing team is knocking off scripts that are fun, engaging, well written, and have everyone thrilled to be working on the series.

I know a lot of you are impatient, wanting to see the new episodes NOW, but when the first one finally premieres in September - believe me - it's gonna be worth the wait!

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Another Set Visit!

Do you remember a few weeks back when a Heartland set visit was put up as a lot on ebay? A family in Paris successfully bid for the package (which included Seasons 1, 2 and 3 on DVD) and they'll be vacationing in Alberta in August, where they'll be given the royal fan treatment.

I write this now because there is another lot with the same set visit and DVD collection to be bid on over at EBay right now!!!!! Heartland has donated the package in aid of Healing Hooves and Women with Eating Disorders.

Healing Hooves is an Equine-Facilitated Counselling program bringing healing, growth, and hope to children, adults, and families in Alberta (healinghooves.ca).

All proceeds from this auction will be used to fund an Equine-Facilitated Counselling group for women who struggle with eating disorders. This group is part of research initiative to explore how horses can help women heal.

If you're thinking of bidding on the set visit, the EBay link can be found here - http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300556724054 . I can guarantee that whoever is the successful bidder will have the time of their life on set. There are 2 days left to bid on the package. Good luck if you bid! Remember, it's for a really good cause.

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This Sunday on Heartland...

So, some of you will undoubtedly recognize the photo accompanying this post as being from the sixth episode of Season 3 - "Growing Pains." That's because a rerun of this episode will air this Sunday (in 3 days) at 7:00pm (7:30pm in Newfoundland) across the full CBC network. Once the Stanley Cup Playoffs end the CBC will get around to rerunning Season 4, to lead up to the premiere of Season 5 in September, but we now know that there won't be a hockey playoff game this Sunday, so you can enjoy a fan favourite - the episode where Amy and Ty become the proud, new parents of an orphaned foal, and the strength of their relationship is put to the test.

Of course it also doesn't hurt that this little cutie is in the episode -

I love him.

I'll also be updating the Calendar on the homepage of the site very soon, adding the complete repeat schedule - including some daytime repeats.

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Cavalia

The fabulous show Cavalia ("A Magical Encounter between Human and Horse") is coming to Calgary and will have an opening night performance next Wednesday. Normand Latourelle, the President and Artistic Director of the company, extended invitations to several cast and crew from Heartland, so Amber, Graham, Chris, Jessica and Gabriel, the writers and producers and two of Heartland's directors will be in attendance, getting dazzled along with the rest of the audience!

To learn more about Cavalia, go to cavalia.net .

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Since Day 1 of filming, Tweets have been coming fast and furious from set. There are interesting bits of news that you can't get anywhere else, so if you aren't following Heartland on Twitter, it's never too late!

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Well, that's all for this week. Watch for a new Spot the Differences puzzle on Monday, and catch Episode 306 - Growing Pains, this Sunday on CBC at 7:00pm.

Have a great long weekend,

Your good ol' Blog Whisperer.