Peterborough and the Kawarthas has hit the national stage. In an upcoming episode of The Amazing Race Canada, you’ll recognize some local scenery, organizations, businesses, and people as teams continue their race to the finish line.
The episode, which marks the first time the show has come to the region in its 12 seasons of filming, will air on Tuesday, August 11 at 9 p.m. on CTV and stream on Crave the following day.
Based on the long-running American series, The Amazing Race Canada follows 10 pairs of loved ones as they travel across the country to gather clues and compete in challenges along the way. With pairs of racers eliminated after almost every leg of the race, the winner of the 10th and final leg will receive $250,000 in cash, a round-the-world trip from Expedia, and other prizes.
Produced by Insight Productions and Bell Media, The Amazing Race Canada is hosted by Jon Montgomery, a Canadian skeleton racer who won a gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia. He has earned two Canadian Screen Awards for hosting the reality game show throughout the 12 seasons.
The season premiered on July 7 with racers beginning in Whistler before hitting the slopes in Kelowna, diving into the rodeo in Falkland, contributing to wildfire restoration efforts in Jasper, learning an elaborate disco routine in Montréal, and more.
In the fifth episode of the 12th season, titled “We Got The Beaver,” the remaining eight teams arrive in Toronto where they encounter a “u-turn” — a strategic twist where racers vote on which competing team will be forced to complete both tasks of a “detour.” Normally in a detour, a team chooses to complete only one of the two tasks, each of which has its own pros and cons.
Teams will then begin their exploration of Peterborough and the Kawarthas with a three-part challenge inspired by classic Canadian cottage games including ladder toss.
The episode’s detour will take place at the world-class Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough, where teams will chose between participating in a challenge that requires them to pay attention to detail inside the museum or a challenge that tests their paddling skills on Little Lake — with the team u-turned earlier in the episode having to complete both challenges.
Contestants will then head to the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre in Peterborough County to help care for rescued snapping turtles before travelling to Bobcaygeon, where teams will be delivering iconic snacks including butter tarts and ice cream to destinations around the village.
Promotional photos for the episode also show stops at City Hall and Rogers Cove in Peterborough, Kawartha Dairy in Bobcaygeon, and what appears to be Burleigh Falls.
The local leg of the race comes to an end as racers hurry to the “pit stop” at Lock 31 on the historic Trent-Severn Waterway in Buckhorn, where Montgomery and former Curve Lake First Nation Chief Keith Knott will greet them. The last team to arrive at the destination may be eliminated from the show.
Filming for the season took place between April and May this year, with people posting photos on social media revealing some of the locations in Peterborough and the Kawarthas.
In May, kawarthaNOW learned local tourism officials were sworn to secrecy about the episode. On Wednesday (July 29), the secret was officially revealed on social media and Bell Media released episode details and promotional photos.
