Sartaj Singh
‘An Ice Palace Romance’ helmed by director Shawna Steele is a romantic holiday movie that follows Lori Marshal, a former ice skater and dancer who had a terrible fall in the Olympics and had to leave her passion for news reporting. About to crack a promotion at work, she is sent to report on a skating rink being torn down in her hometown of Greenhill, Michigan. The establishment in question is the Ice Palace, a historical training center for winter sports athletes, one that Lori had trained at herself. She hesitantly accepts the assignment to earn her promotion and heads back to her town.
While working on her story, she runs into a dashing man, Mark, and his daughter Zoe, who is an aspiring skater. Given her past, she can’t help but offer to teach Zoe a few lessons in skating. Little did she know that Mark was the owner of the Ice Palace, and as she rediscovers her love for figure skating while teaching his daughter, a new love burgeons between them. Torn between her work and preventing the fall of something so important for her and the community, Lori makes a difficult choice. As the couple explores the town and the enchanting venue of the Ice Palace, you might ask yourself if the movie’s filming really took place in Michigan, and if not, where is the real-life Ice Palace located?
Where Was An Ice Palace Romance Filmed?
‘An Ice Palace Romance,’ was filmed entirely in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, as opposed to its canonical destination of Greenhill. Principal photography began in late May of 2022 and was wrapped up by early June of the same year. Let’s take a look at the specific locals used to set the scenes for the Hallmark romance.
Ottawa, Ontario
The capital city was used to comprehensively lens all the scenes for ‘An Ice Palace Romance.’ Located in southern Ontario, the metropolis possesses a blend of historic and modern architecture with quaint outcrops in its fringe territories, allowing the filmmakers to find all the locations they needed to tell their tale within the local area. The One 60 business center on 160 Elgin Street, in downtown Ottawa, is featured in the film as a big city backdrop representing the workplace of Lori.
The extremely wide structure rises 94 meters above the ground as the 12th tallest building in the city, kept under that height so as to not overshadow the Peace Tower. Right beside the building, filming took place on 150 Elgin Street and its commercial complex as well. The film crew headed further downtown to the ByWard Market and filmed scenes along 61 York Street. The area is known for its specialty food stores, stylish outlets, and street art, in addition to the Ottawa sign.
The Ice Palace itself was created using the Fred Barrett Arena on 3280 Leitrim Road in Gloucester, just south of the city. Most of the film’s shooting was conducted in the sports facility, which remains pivotal to the movie and its story. The government-owned ice skating rink is usually open for public skating and can be rented for its hall and rink. The arena is named after Frederick William Barrett, a national ice hockey defenceman who played with the Minnesota North Stars and Los Angeles Kings between 1970 and 1984.
An Ice Palace Romance Cast
The holiday romance is headlined by Celeste Desjardins and Marcus Rosner. Marcus is from Edmonton, Alberta, and had previously expressed an interest in working with Desjardins as he considers her an adopted Edmontonian, given that her boyfriend, Leon Draisaitl, is a renowned ice hockey player for the Edmonton Oilers, a team Marcus passionately supports. Marcus Rosner is an actor and producer you may have seen starring in ‘UnREAL’ as Warren Johnson, ‘Arrow’ as Max Fuller, ‘Christmas in Maple Hills’ as Walker Jennings, ‘Coupled Up for Christmas’ as Peter Brooks, and ‘Infidelity in Suburbia’ as Elliot Graverston.
Celeste Desjardins is an actress you may recognize essaying the roles of Avery Gilligan in ‘Fashionably in Love,’ Georgia Jackson in ‘Christmas with the Knightlys,’ Zoey in ‘Picture Perfect Romance,’ and Cali Mills in the TV series, ‘Taken.’ The supporting cast for the movie includes Joey Coleman as Chad Reynolds, Julia Dyan as Susan, Jennie Esnard as Dance Instructor, and Kiril Mitev as Ken.
