Dashboards and Saddlebags the Destination Magazine™ Issue 029 August 2013 | Page 24
Film Junkies Guide to North Carolina
Lake Lure
J
ohnny lifting Baby out of the
water. Baby’s bridge. The resort
staff dancing to Motown and
blue-eyed soul. All of these are
memorable moments from Dirty
Dancing. The gorgeous setting for
this iconic film from the 1980’s
homage to the 1960’s—is still
attracting film junkies in the new
millennium.
Beautiful Lake Lure has provided a
backdrop for a few other films over
the years, including Firestarter and
A Breed Apart, but it will forever be
viewed as Kellerman’s, the Catskills
resort where the aptly nicknamed
Frances “Baby” Houseman (Jennifer
Grey) comes of age, drawn by the
swivel-hipped magnetism of Johnny
Castle (Patrick Swayze). Film junkies can relive it all thanks to Lake
Lure Tours, which has hosted over
200,000 passengers since 1994. The
tour will take you past several locations, point out shots, and share a
few stories from the film. However,
don’t look for the Kellerman Hotel,
which is actually the Mountain
Lake Hotel in Pembroke, Virginia
but that’s another book. All of the
ballroom and dirty dancing scenes
with Johnny and the hotel staff
were done in the gym of the old
Camp Chimney Rock, which has
unfortunately been claimed by fire.
Part of the floor, however, was used
in the lobby of the Esmeralda Inn.
But even though no buildings
survive, the spirit of Dirty Dancing
lives on.
Don’t miss all the family-oriented
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attractions offered at Lake Lure.
You’ll have the time of your life.
Credits
Dirty Dancing ( 1987); A Breed Apart
(1984); Firestarter (1984)
“The most comprehensive way to learn
where movies were made in North Carolina.”
--Lawrence Toppman, Charlotte Observer
The 160-plus entries in this travel
guide are arranged geographically
and include information about what
movies and television series were
filmed at each site.
Available through
Amazon
barnes & noble
Google Books
www.FilmJunkiesGuide.com Page 24
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