Holiday Movie Starring Katie Leclerc And Ryan Carnes Wraps Principal Photography In Door County, WI
April 11, 2025 (Door County, WI) - Door County, Wisconsin, is lending its small town charm as the backdrop for a new independent film. A Cherry Pie Christmas (working title) is set during the Christmas holiday season and filmed entirely in Door County, featuring several local Door County communities, venues and local businesses known for their appeal during the holidays.
Starring Katie Leclerc (“Switched at Birth,” “A Very Vermont Christmas”) and Ryan Carnes (“General Hospital,” “Desperate Housewives”), A Cherry Pie Christmas tells the story of an ambitious pastry chef who returns to her small-town roots in Door County, and, over the holidays, needs to decide between her career dreams and her family’s struggling orchard business. The movie is written and directed by John Stimpson (H9 Films), who worked with Leclerc on several other recent holiday romantic comedies, including “A Very Vermont Christmas,” “Letters to Santa,” and “A Cape Cod Christmas.” Producers include Mark Donadio and Miriam Marcus of Moody Independent as well as Staci Griesbach, a Wisconsin native, and Leclerc.
“Door County is the perfect setting for the film with its local traditions and beautiful scenery, rich agricultural history with cherries, commercial fishing, and dairy farming. Together with the importance of family, all of these elements are integral storylines in the film and are also authentic to the Door County community,” said Stimpson. “Everyone throughout the state has been so helpful in getting this off the ground, it’s been a real pleasure to shoot in Wisconsin.”
Destination Door County, Travel Wisconsin, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation have all been important supporters of the production, which wraps today in the area. A release date has yet to be set for the movie.
Jon Jarosh, Chief Communications Officer for Destination Door County, said the local community was eager to support the project. “We had hundreds of folks apply to be volunteer extras during the production process, and businesses and organizations were equally happy to help support the movie by providing props, location assistance, and other things that were needed to assist with the production while filming was being done in Door County,” stated Jarosh. “We look forward to celebrating this movie when it’s released and sharing Door County’s warm holiday spirit with audiences worldwide.”
“A visit to Door County is like walking onto the set of a cozy, romance movie, so it’s truly special to see one filmed here,” said Anne Sayers, Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Tourism. “A Cherry Pie Christmas captures everything that makes Wisconsin a great vacation destination—charming towns, beautiful scenery and welcoming communities. Films like this spark travel through the growing trend of set-jetting. They also generate meaningful economic impact for local communities through the dollars spent on the ground during filming and the employment of Wisconsin residents to help with production.”
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For more information:
Staci Griesbach, Producer, Unit Publicist, stacigriesbach@gmail.com
Jon Jarosh, Destination Door County, jon@doorcounty.com
Deborah Park, Travel Wisconsin, deborah.park@turnerpr.com
View/Download Accompanying Assets, here.
