(Posted
10:30 a.m., Sept. 15)
Local
X-Filers flock to South Fallingbrook intersection to celebrate
series anniversary
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online
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About 100 fans of the hit TV series The X-Files
made their way to the intersection of Mulder
Avenue and Scully Way on Friday night to mark
the 20th anniversary of the paranormal series.
File photo
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It's
been 11 years since the paranormal drama series The X-Files
went off the air following a successful nine-year run.
On
Friday night, about 100 fans of the critically acclaimed
series gathered behind the South Fallingbrook Community
Centre to mark the 20th anniversary of show's launch with
a viewing of the 2008 movie, X-Files: I Want to Believe.
The
screening had been planned for a grassy area near the
intersection of Scully Way and Mulder Avenue, but it was
moved for safety concerns. That didn't stop fans from
posing for pictures under the street signs with life-size
cutouts of the show's lead characters, Fox Mulder and
Dana Scully, and blow-up aliens.
The
event was organized by local X-File fan Lisa Higgs who
discovered the show as a teenager.
It
was a show that really stood out from anything else out
there in the mid-90s, says Higgs. If
you were a geek, you kind of only had one option, and
that was Star Trek. Then X-Files came along and suddenly
there was this whole other side to being a geek that really
appealed to people."
Scully
Way and Mulder Avenue got their names in 1999. When Claridge
Homes was developing the sub-division, former Claridge
planner Paul Rothwell applied to the former municipality
of Cumberland for a list of posible street names. "Scully"
was one of the names on the list.
"At
the time, I guess, the X-Files was a big hit and I said,
OK, well, there was a name that had been approved, and
"Mulder" was the obvious choice for a street
to go with it," recalls Rothwell.
As
an avid X-File fan, Higgs knew the show's 20th anniversary
was coming up. What better way to celebrate than to have
an event at the intersection that bears the names of the
two lead characters.
Carter
heard about the event through Ottawa native Ainsley Wiggs
who worked as an assistant location manager for the series.
He sent Higgs a video message, which was played before
the movie, and 300 bags of Spitz sunflower seeds which
were Mulder's favourite snack.
Wiggs
also managed to get her hands on two autographed pictures
of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson who played the
two main characters. The photos were auctioned off to
raise money for the Habitat for Humanity project in nearby
Avalon.
Besides
winning the award, Isabella got to perform in front of
her peers and a live TV audience.
"When
I was doing my performance I was very, very nervous, but
looking down at my peers, they had the most proud smiles,"
said Isabella. "I'm
part of their family now, and that's all I ever wanted."
It's
been a dizzying year for the former St. Peter High School
student. After releasing Love Me Like That to rave
reviews she played on the opening bill for Carrie Underwood,
received a Juno Award nomination for Breakthrough Artist
of the Year and was the opening act for Clark during the
Canadian leg of the veteran singer's tour.
It's
a far cry from performing in local senior's homes and
events such as the Orléans Octoberfest and Fallingbrook
Fun Fair with former singing partner and fellow Orléans
native Alex Lacasse.
Isabella
began singing and playing the guitar at age seven. By
the fourth grade she was writing poetry and developing
song lyrics. Her earliest inspiration was Shania Twain.
Her
big break came in 2008 when she won the Rising Star Award
in the Female Open Category of a Blyth, Ontario, arts
festival which garnered the attention of a number of well
known music producers.
After
signing with Sony Music Canada in 2009, Isabella recorded
her first single "Love Me Like That" which broke
the top 100 on the music charts in 2011.
The
former St. Peter High School student moved to Toronto
last year to focus on her music career which has been
nothing short of meteoric.
Her
first headline appearance was at the Calabogie Country
Music Fest in June and this weekend she will be headlining
at the Spencerville Fair.
She's
already writing several new songs and plans to head back
into the studio to begin working on her follow up album.
(This
story was made possible thanks to their generous support
of our local business
partners.)
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