Whitefish 'Bachelor' show airs Monday
The episode of “The Bachelor” reality series that showcases Whitefish will air at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 4.
The hit show on ABC kicked off its 17th season this month. This season’s featured bachelor, Sean Lowe, and Lindsay Yenter, one of 24 eligible young women vying for Lowe’s affection, were in Whitefish last October for a couple of days of filming that included country music singer Sarah Darling’s concert, dinners at local restaurants and a trip to Glacier National Park.
The Montana Office of Tourism initially was approached by producers of “The Bachelor” last July, and several tourism groups and Whitefish businesses collaborated to accommodate the entourage.
“The benefit that businesses and the city of Whitefish will receive from ‘The Bachelor’ filming locally will be tremendous in the future,” said Jan Metzmaker, director of the Whitefish Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Having this exposure on national TV to showcase our fall shoulder season is immeasurable.”
Racene Friede, executive director of the Glacier Country Regional Tourism Commission, echoed Metzmaker’s comments, noting the show was a prime opportunity for tourism promoters to showcase the region.
“Having a show of such caliber come to our area allowed us to market some of our outstanding gems — including Whitefish, Glacier National Park and the Blackfeet Nation — and was a chance to introduce our corner of paradise to a large national audience,” Friede said.
Montana Office of Tourism Administrator Jeri Duran said building relationships in the TV and film industry by hosting the Los Angeles-based producers and 110-person crew offered not only the opportunity to showcase Montana’s spectacular setting but also allowed the various tourism partners to show their ability to service large projects and productions.
The Lodge at Whitefish Lake hosted Lowe and 12 bachelorettes for the fifth episode of the season, as well as a romantic one-on-one dinner date near the roaring grand fireplace in the lobby, which was transformed for the romantic shoot. “The Bachelor” touches down via seaplane on Whitefish Lake and the bachelorettes arrive via an original Glacier National Park jammer bus.
Other highlights include Lowe and his date arriving on a mountaintop on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation just outside of East Glacier via helicopter, a special date with two bachelorettes spending the day riding horses through the open range to a romantic picnic at Bar W Guest Ranch, a surprise appearance by Nashville country music star Darling performing live outdoors in downtown Whitefish, and a special group date party for the winners of a wild Montana Relay race at Casey’s Bar & Grill.
The episode concludes with the famous rose ceremony and cocktail party at Grouse Mountain Lodge, where the bachelorettes get their last chance to spend time with the bachelor before he hands out the roses and sends two of the girls home.