Independence spruces up square for Hallmark movie production

Production started this week on Hallmark’s newest movie , "Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story."

“I just really enjoyed it so much, and to see all the people,” said Maxine Hahs, Independence resident. “They were so busy and it was a fun time.”

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Hahs was downtown over the weekend and spotted crews on their first day of filming in downtown Independence.

The Independence Square Association scheduled its Christmas light installation two to three months early to accommodate the movie.

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The city of Independence is dedicating operations crews to blocking roadways when needed and performing its quarterly square clean-up a tad early.

Operations manager Zan McKinny said roadblocks will happen occasionally over the next few weeks.

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"It may mean that you have to drive a little bit around," McKinny said. "Take an extra block here or there to get to where you want to go, but at the end of the day, it’s worth trying to make everything safer for everybody. Whether it be the traveling public, people walking or film crews in this case."

Independence Square Association executive director Jeff Rogers said the town usually celebrates Christmas in July with sales throughout the square and charitable events, but this year’s movie production is an added layer of holiday cheer.

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“It's kind of that sense of community and one of the reasons it makes sense to film here," Rogers said. “Because we do have that small town community that gathers together even though we are part of a larger city.”

If you would like to participate in the city’s Christmas in July celebration, you can click here for the schedule of events.

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