(Posted 10:30 a.m., Sept. 15)
Local X-Filers flock to South Fallingbrook intersection to celebrate series anniversary
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online

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

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.)

Visit www.orleansonline.ca's main page