The anticipation leading into the holidays is officially on, and there’s no better way to ring in the most wonderful time of the year than by sitting with your loved ones watching Hallmark Channel‘s beloved Countdown to Christmas programming event.
While TV’s number one source for holiday viewing — which kicked off last Friday (October 20) — has a lot in store for its cult following this upcoming season, its latest offering is a little different than the others. Mystic Christmas, which aired on Saturday (October 28) takes place in the real-life town with missions and traditions that you can actually enjoy if you ever make your way to the Northeast.
Mystic Christmas follows Juniper Jones (played by Jessy Shram), a world traveling marine veterinarian who isn’t afraid of anything except getting stuck in one place. When a favor for her college roommate brings her to the seafaring town of Mystic, Connecticut during the holidays, Juniper is happy to visit a new place and take a temporary position at the Marine Mammal Rehabilitation Center and Aquarium. Here she works to help a seal named Peppermint (whose real name is Cork) get released back into the wild.
In between her work, Juniper explores Mystic and finds herself smitten with the town, its people, and much to her dismay, the owner of the pizza shop, Sawyer, who she had spent a romantic night with years prior. After an awkward reunion, Juniper and Sawyer (played by Chandler Massey) agree to move forward and forget about their past but their spark is ignited once again. There’s a ticking clock on their romance since Juniper is only in Mystic temporarily and Sawyer insists, he’s too entrenched in his hometown to leave (even at the expense of some of his own life dreams).
While Juniper continues to insist she has no plans to stay, the interns Juniper oversees and Sawyer himself entrench Juniper in the community, and she finds herself catching the holiday spirit. Juniper in the community, and initially thought she wanted out of life may have changed. Juniper realizes that what she initially though she wanted out of life may have changed, and she even inspires Sawyer to go after the life he’s always dreamt of. Meanwhile, Sawyer (and the rest of Mystic) will show Juniper what it feels like to really belong to a community.
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Celeb Secrets had the opportunity to visit the town of Mystic for its premiere event on Friday (October 27), where we found ourselves immersed in the quaint community that’s filled with family, tradition, community — and most of all — passion for rescuing and rehabilitating stranded and sick marine mammals.
We kicked off the afternoon by visiting the Mystic Aquarium for a discussion with Director Marlo Hunter, Producer Andrew Gernhard, Chief Zoological Officer, Animal Rescue Program at Mystic Aquarium and other local key playmakers to learn more about how Mystic Christmas came to life along with some behind-the-scenes secrets from what it was really like filming with the town’s beloved seal, Cork, who plays “Peppermint” in the movie.
We then headed over to Mystic Cinemas inside Olde Mystic Village to watch the flick. The iconic shopping center — where a lot of filming took place — was bustling with good vibes and Christmas decorations to match as locals, cast, crew and other VIPs were beaming with excitement to see the finished product before airing on the Hallmark Channel the following day. Cork even made an appearance by walking the red carpet moments before the lights dimmed, which was truly an unforgettable moment.
Paying homage all of Mystic’s iconic restaurants, points of interest, small businesses and traditions that were featured in the film (yes, Juniper and Sawyer even went to the legendary boat parade), Hallmark hosted a post-party reception back at the Aquarium where we were able to check out some of the local animals that are on display, listen live music from a violinist and enjoy bites from Mango’s Woodfire Pizza Co., Sift Bake Shop and Abbot’s Lobster in the Rough. It was the perfect way to end the evening, as it gave a realistic, personal touch that is often overlooked in holiday movies.
You can watch Mystic Christmas all season long during Countdown to Christmas, which runs through December 31 on Hallmark Channel.
