The Borough of Northampton celebrated Christmas in April this year, as filming for Daniel Roebuck’s upcoming film “Saint Nick of Bethlehem” transformed the area into a winter wonderland.
Filming took place at Alliance Fire Company on Washington Avenue in Northampton on Monday and Tuesday of both this week and last, as they are closed to the public on those days.
The community was invited to come out last Tuesday evening for the filming of a large crowd scene, and they did not disappoint. Many came out in their Christmas best to be part of the Christmas spirit and hopefully appear in the scene.
A used car lot was also constructed as a set where filming took place earlier this week and will wrap on Friday night. The car lot, located on Cherryville Road, was so convincing that people were stopping by to look around at the cars, said Tammy Roebuck, one of the producers of the film and Daniel Roebuck’s wife.
“We couldn’t make our movies on such a small budget that we have without the generosity of the business owners of the Lehigh Valley, and of course, the residents that come out to either be in the movie or come out to support us, and that’s why we continue to make movies in the Lehigh Valley, and we plan on several more in the near future,” said Tammy.
“Saint Nick of Bethlehem,” inspired by the life of Allen Smith, will tentatively be released in November or December of this year.
“Our goal is to have it in theatres for the holidays,” said Tammy.
Smith, a resident of Osceola Mills, has donned the big guy’s red suit since 2014 to provide holiday cheer and generosity to children, adults, geriatric nursing homes and other facilities in central Pennsylvania, estimating that he sees 2,000 people per Christmas season. After the sudden passing of his son in 2019, Smith has said that his devotion to being Santa’s helper was strengthened by being able to give the love he has for his son to other children and receive it in return.
A city-wide wrap party and Christmas Bazaar for the film will take place on Sunday, April 28 from 1 to 6 p.m. at the Best Western Lehigh Valley Hotel and Conference Center, located at 300 Gateway Dr., Bethlehem. The event is open to the public and tickets may be purchased at achannelofpeace.org or at the door. Swag bags will be given to the first 100 registered guests.
The wrap party and post-production fundraiser will include an opportunity to meet Daniel Roebuck in his Santa suit, meet and greets, autographs and photo-ops with the cast, vendors and Christmas crafters, a Christmas cookie contest, silent auction and more.
