In a comedic Hot Ones styled interview, kids from Airdrie will be enduring bursts of sweet and sour candies while engaging in insightful discussion.
Sarah Parker, a local Airdrie content creator was selected to receive $12,000 in production funding to be part of the Telus STORYHIVE Video Podcast program.
With a background in early learning childcare and child counselling, Parker is acutely aware of the funny and genuine comments kids make. Her background combined with her and her husbands’ love of the show Hot Ones, resulted in the creation of Sour Chat Kids, a show where kids interview kids while eating sour candies.
Parker described their home studio as the set of "The Film Labs" with Mitchell George. The walls are painted bright green, a sign displays their logo, and a table is set up with five sour candies.
Filming begins at the end of May while the show officially airs on TELUS Optik TV and online platforms in the spring of 2025.
Guests are lined up for each episode, and Parker made sure to keep their lineup, as well as their crew, completely local.
“We're getting a young girl that is part of a boxing gym here in Airdrie and she's actually done really, really well for herself,” Parker said. “In her episode, we're going to be talking about what boxing does for her and how she helps out in the community through her gym and the confidence that it builds for her.”
Another contestant on the show is actually Parker’s niece who, she said, is big into Airdrie’s film industry.
“She was actually on 'The Film Labs' and she's been in a couple STORYHIVE Productions,” Parker said. “She loves being in front of the camera, so her episode is going to be geared towards film in Airdrie and behind the scenes of making a movie and stuff like that.”
Once they wrap up with their first season of Sour Chat Kids, Parker hopes they get renewed for another season, potentially featuring some adults from within and beyond Airdrie’s community.
Parker hopes the locally focused project encourages other Airdrie content creators to reach out and apply for grants.
“I would like the arts community in Airdrie to grow a little bit,” she said. “It seems pretty small at the moment for how big our city is. So I'm really hoping that this reaches our community and allows them to branch out, be creative, and connect with other people that have similar interests and values and create their own kind of stuff.”
The funding and community support from STORYHIVE Productions will help Parker develop her project. Parker will receive training and distribution on Telus Optik TV, Stream+ and STORYHIVE’s YouTube channel.
Erin Shaw, a STORYHIVE spokesperson, said Parker’s show concept is exactly the innovative content Telus wants to fund.
“It's uplifting,” she said. “It puts kids at the centre and it's hyper-local content, and that's what we're all about.”
The hope is that by creating locally reflective content, TELUS helps to build stronger and more connected communities.
“The idea is that we really want to uplift creators who haven't had access to the Canadian broadcasting system before,” Shaw said, adding they hope to provide a platform to the average person.
Telus STORYHIVE has supported over 1,200 screen-based projects since 2013, with over 148,000 hours of training and one-on-one mentorship across B.C. and Alberta.
Shaw added they had over 600 applications for this program, and Parker was one of 71 selected.
After working on several STORYHIVE productions, Parker knew to approach Telus about funding her own project. She said it’s all about looking for available grants and applying to as many as are applicable.
Her love for content creation sprouted from growing up watching and renting every movie from her mother’s video store in Crossfield.
Her mom’s video store was featured in the movie "Brokeback Mountain," and, at the time, Parker got to meet Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger, something she said sparked her fascination with the film industry.
“It was just one of the most magical experiences of my life,” Parker said.
More information on TELUS STORYHIVE can be found at storyhive.com.
