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Gracepoint revealed at last; Oak Bay gala offers early peek

It didn’t take long for the hometown crowd to give Gracepoint a big thumbs-up at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel on Wednesday night.

It didn’t take long for the hometown crowd to give Gracepoint a big thumbs-up at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel on Wednesday night.

It began when dramatic opening shots of crashing surf and digitally enhanced cliffs towering over Island View Beach segued to close-ups of Oak Bay Village, which masquerades as fictional Gracepoint’s main street. 

That was enough to get nearly 150 viewers cheering and applauding during a sneak peek at the first episode of Fox network’s 10-episode series about a coastal California town rocked by a young boy’s murder.

Everyone else will get a chance to see the show tonight on Fox in the U.S. and GlobalTV in Canada at 9. “The whole community has been so excited by this. It’s been like a long marriage for me,” said Victoria film commissioner Kathleen Gilbert. The series took Greater Victoria by storm when it filmed here from January to May with a cast headed by David Tennant, Anna Gunn and Nick Nolte.

Guests paid $89 apiece for Wednesday night’s Fox-sanctioned event.

“It just showcases Oak Bay, Victoria and Sidney so beautifully, almost to the point it’s distracting because you want to watch all the local things,” said Michelle Le Sage, general manager of the hotel that became a magnet for cast and crew. “I feel like we’ve been such a part of this from the beginning, so it’s exciting to have the preview here.”

Noting he doesn’t usually watch murder mysteries, Brian Globus said he was impressed, and not just because he was a camera assistant.

“It was pretty gripping,” he said, adding he was particularly struck by the Island’s visual impact.

Oak Bay Mayor Nils Jensen, Gracepoint unit manager Paul Rayman and production designer David Wilson, who fielded questions after the viewing, were among guests welcomed by hotel owners Kevin and Shawna Walker.

Partial proceeds from the gala, which included a reception and three-course dinner, benefited Vancouver Island South Film and Media Commission and the David Foster Foundation.

Locals who scored gigs as extras or crew members and stargazers who followed film crews around town are organizing private viewing parties tonight.

Public options include events in Oak Bay and Sidney, which hosted the waterfront Gracepoint police station. The Sidney event, at 8 tonight, is an admission-by-donation fundraiser at Mary Winspear Centre.

“It’s a good opportunity for us to just come together and recognize ourselves,” said Julie Coward of Holy Cow Communications, the Sidney business co-hosting the event.

Oak Bay Village Improvement Association has organized a fundraiser at Oak Bay United Church tonight at 6 to help Oak Bay Fire Department buy a Jaws of Life device. The $25 tickets are available at Athlone Travel.

An unofficial free-admission event is being held at 6 p.m. at Yates Street Taphouse, where Gracepoint will be shown on 24 screens, and Oak Bay Beach Hotel’s Kate’s Cafe will have a 6 p.m. screening. It will host showings of the entire series.

mreid@timescolonist.com