SEQUIM — The city’s sunshiny reputation and its quaint downtown has won Washington State Lottery’s attention.
A film production crew will close the eastbound lane of about a block of East Washington Street Thursday to use a 20-year-old retail shop as a TV commercial backdrop.
Another of two funny and quirky commercials will be shot Friday in the backyard of an East Sequim home.
The lottery promotional commercial shot in front of Pondicherri, an imports and linen shop at 119 E. Washington St., will involve birds on a wire and what they are known to drop on cars — a fun new way to pick your lottery numbers.
“We are going to bring in birds and will even have a pigeon handler,” said Dave Drummond, location manager for Oh Hello Productions of Seattle.
The second commercial involves a man dressed in Velcro and a trampoline — another interesting way to pick your numbers.
“I knocked on 20-some doors and actually got into eight to 10 of them,” he said, declining to identify the location of the home because he had not yet cleared it with the owner.
He then narrowed the list to three, and then the one.
“It’s just a classic Sequim home with a nice backyard,” Drummond said, adding it was northeast of downtown.
Drummond stressed that businesses on East Washington Street will all remain open during the Thursday downtown street production.
Pondicherri was chosen for its beautiful storefront and display window, Drummond said, and Ta ma’ra J Elliott was elated to hear the news from Drummond on Friday — so much so she has scheduled a holiday open house from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Friday at the shop to celebrate with visitors, friends and customers.
“They wanted a location that feels like Sequim, kind of upper scale and quaint,” Elliott said with a smile.
“We are so fortunate.”
The commercial fronting Pondicherri will be shot from 7 a.m. 6 p.m. Thursday on East Washington Street between Sequim Avenue and Sunnyside Avenue. For most of the day, eastbound traffic on East Washington Street will be diverted into the center turn lane.
Traffic will be stopped for short intermittent periods that will mean delays to drivers, said Barbara Hanna, city of Sequim communications and marketing director.
“There will be limited pedestrian sidewalk access on the south side of East Washington from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.,” Hanna said.
There will be no parking on the south side of East Washington between Sequim Avenue and the midpoint crosswalk, she said.
There will be reduced parking on the north side of East Washington Avenue between Sequim Avenue and the mid-point crosswalk.
Hanna said Oh Hello Productions is working closely with the Sequim Police and Planning departments to ensure a smooth and successful day of filming.
The city will be reimbursed by the production company, she said, for costs that include police and other personnel assisting with intermittent traffic control for vehicles and pedestrians during the commercial filming.
Drummond already personally contacted many surrounding businesses and put out written notice to downtown merchants saying, “We’re going to be filming in your neighborhood. . . . We are very excited to feature downtown Sequim in our ads and hope you are, too!
“We sincerely appreciate the opportunity to film in your neighborhood, and hope to work closely with residents to identify and solve any issues that may arise.”
________
Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.