Published on Oct 16, 2020

16 Unusual Anecdotes about the Eastern Townships

Sometimes we think we know a person, and then we learn a detail about their life that will totally surprise us. Well, the same is true for the Eastern Townships. You think you know your region? Here are 16 facts that might really astonish you!

  1. With its thirty or so residents, Saint-Benoît-du-Lac, where you can find the famous abbey, is the smallest municipality of Quebec.

  2. Johnny Depp was in North Hatley to work on the movie Secret Window. It came out in 2004. The J.B. LeBaron general store served as the setting for the restaurant in the movie.

  3. Did you ever have the impression that the road you’re on is going up, whereas it’s actually going down? This optic illusion, known as a “magnetic hill,” is a phenomenon you can experience by going to Chartierville.

  4. Nicole Kidman and Anthony Hopkins worked on the movie The Human Stain in North Hatley. It was shown on the screen in 2003. Nicole Kidman stayed at the Manoir Hovey’s Treetops Suites.

  5. Roy Dupuis acted opposite Susan Sarandon in Emotional Arithmetic, in 2006. The film was shot in part on a farm located on Chemin des Pères, in Magog, and in an Austin convenience store.
  1. The emus of Vignoble de La Bauge, in Brigham, are not just an attraction for children, they also protect the vines by eating Japanese beetles that attack the plantation.

  2. The setting for Inspector Armand Gamache’s investigations—notably, the village of Three Pines—of famous author Louise Penny’s novels, is largely inspired by the town of Knowlton and its whereabouts.

  3. The 2016 movie, Shut In, starring Naomie Watts was filmed in the Sutton region.

  4. There’s a farm in South-Stukely that produces duck eggs, or, as they say in French “œufs de canes.” But why is the farm called “À la canne blanche” you ask? In English, the farm’s name translates as “At the white cane!” You see, the owners, Maryse Sauvé and Daniel Bonin, are both blind.

  5. For a couple of years, the world-famous group Arcade Fire, used to own a small church in East-Farnham. They even recorded two albums there.
  1. Adèle’s videoclip Hello by Xavier Dolan, was filmed in Dunham, in 2015.

  2. The television series l’Heure bleue, broadcast on TVA, was filmed in Cowansville.

  3. Part of the movie Pawn Sacrifice (2013), starring Tobey Maguire and Liev Schreiber, was filmed at the hotel Le Principal, in Granby.

  4. There’s a field filled with posts on Route 206, in St-Malo (in the MRC of Coaticook). They were supposed to be used to grow hop, but the project fell through. However, the posts are still standing!

  5. The St-Venant-de-Paquette church can welcome 400 people, but the town only has about a hundred residents. They regularly present exhibitions and performances here.

  6. The television series Yamaska, broadcast on TVA, was mostly filmed in different rooms of the Cégep de Granby, and in the Granby downtown area.

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