Farming giant pumpkins and sticking his arm up a bull's butt: Jonny Harris' wildest Still Standing adventures
CBC’s Still Standing begins its tenth season celebrating Canada’s small towns
Jonny Harris, host of CBC series Still Standing has got to be Canada's most beloved traveller. Over the 10 seasons of the popular series, he's travelled to 113 small towns across the country.
"That's a lot," said Jonny when we caught up with him before the launch of Season 10. "We've met so many people." Between Still Standing and his other gig on Murdoch Mysteries, Jonny hasn't had a chance to revisit any of them, but he has plans for an epic road trip sometime soon.
We asked him about his most epic experiences and memories from a decade of crisscrossing Canada.
Has your perception of Canada changed and how?
It's broadened. It's wild to feel like you're acquainted with the whole country simply because it's so geographically vast. Knowing a little about the North and the prairies and having any degree of familiarity with such a vastly large country is a pretty cool thing.
What is the scariest local activity you've ever done?
Parasailing. I've had bees on me. I had my arm up the rectum of a bull in Alberta. Like, up to the shoulder. That was weird.
Watch | Jonny describes his encounter with a bull.
What town has the strangest, most unique building or monument?
I was just out in Windsor, Nova Scotia, where I talked to a guy who grows giant pumpkins. His father was a farmer who genetically engineered giant pumpkins. So to this day, anywhere in the world, you have a giant pumpkin contest. That species, the winner, will be an Atlantic Giant pumpkin whose seed lineage will go back to, Windsor, Nova Scotia.
And in the town square, they have a metal sculpture of one of the pumpkins he grew that's taller than me. And it has a plaque there, but the words are kind of worn off now.
Is there any tasty or epic treat or food that you'd like to go back and try again?
I had raw beluga in Rankin Inlet and raw caribou. The caribou was delicious. The beluga is so tough. They called it 'inuk bubblegum'. There was like some kind of reflex in your throat that's like, no, no, no, that's not supposed to go. That is hard to swallow. Beluga.
Are you the most efficient traveller you know?
No, I'm not. I'm terribly absent-minded and forgetful and it's only getting worse. I may have gone to the front desk to get a new keycard more than anyone else on Earth.
What's the worst thing you forget when you're travelling?
The words to my jokes. I have to memorize all the jokes [for each location] and there's a lot. Usually, I do about 40 minutes. New content for a comedian is always tricky ground.
Watch | Jonny performs in front of a small town audience.
What fascinates you most about small towns that you can't find in a large city?
I love big cities. Then you realize how impersonal they are. They have to be. But in a small town, it's a different sense of community altogether.
I remember we did an episode in Newfoundland and my story producer put his car in the ditch. The car that had been in front of him and the car that had been behind him both stopped and the guys got out and without really even saying hi or acknowledging him, they knew each other.
They had a little chat as they pushed him out of the ditch and got back in their cars and left. There's no question that that's just what you do. Somebody goes in the ditch, you go and push him out.
What are some of your favourite places?
Watch | Jonny talks about his favourite places.
What do the residents tell you about what the show has meant to them?
There's something special about the mission of the show itself. To have a project that is to get up and celebrate something, acknowledge it and show it off a little bit is a cool idea. I didn't come up with the idea, but it's a cool thing to be a part of.
Watch Still Standing on CBC Gem.
Note: answers have been edited for clarity
