PEI Barns

  I spent a few days scouting PEI barns about a year ago. The call had come in from a commercial production house in Toronto asking for someone to travel around the Island looking for the perfect barn to Star in a Frito Lay Potato Chip TV ad. I think we take our gorgeous barns for granted, but they are a huge part of the rural scenery, from Tignish to Souris, and points between. 

The production company was picky and would send me back out on the hunt, from sunrise to sunset, for about three days. I was beginning to lose hope because the perfect barn had to be located next to a vibrant green PEI potato field, and we were well into October.  Most of the potato fields were long harvested or at least turning brown by this date, although I kept the faith.

All of a sudden, as I passed through the quiet and picturesque community of Fredericton, PEI, I caught the view off to the side, as the sun hit in a stunning evening moment. This amazing red barn stood in command of the terrain with a potato field, still green in colour, nearby. I snapped the  beast of a structure from all angles and rushed to the nearest computer to email the shots to the waiting Torontonians. Success, they love it. They’ll be on the first flight into Charlottetown in the morning to start the job. It looks like I was hired. A group of about ten people flew in the next morning and I greeted them equipped with two huge SUV’s and a couple of assisstants. The hotel rooms had also been booked late the night before and now we headed to Fredericton, PEI after a quick coffee stop. The next three days lacked sleep, but pumped a lot of Toronto dollars into the local PEI economy and the people of Fredericton will be talking about those few days for a long time to come. I also know a lot more about PEI’s unique and colourful barns.