Scenes of Ephrata were used as establishing shots in several Hallmark Christmas movies this year, mayor Ralph Mowen said in a council meeting Monday.
The establishing shots are mainly from East Main Street in downtown Ephrata.
Mowen said they were used in films titled “The Santa Stakeout,” “Christmas in Harmony,” Christmas Sail" and “Coyote Creek Christmas.” (A fifth title from Mowen's statement couldn't be verified on Hallmark's website.)
None of the aforementioned movies take place in Ephrata; the shots are used to set the mood in the film.
Lancaster County may have been featured in another Hallmark Channel movie, too: "The Boyfriends of Christmas Past" may have featured an establishing shot of downtown Lititz.
Conversation about Ephrata's appearance in that film followed an Instagram post from the Lititz Historical Foundation. The group confirmed that the shot was of Lititz, but didn't confirm the movie in which it was used.
After that post, a Hallmark representative reached by email on Oct. 25 said they couldn't provide info on stock footage used in specific movies.
