Jane Fonda & Robert Redford Trotting To Florence Colorado

Jane Fonda and Robert Redford  are coming to Florence. Florence Colorado. Not Italy.

I obviously have a modest blog that focuses primarily on our fair burg. And you'd think I'd be among the first to know. Nope. I just found out today.

My first reaction when I was told was, that it was hilarious because on the days they are scheduled to be here, I will be working at ye olde antiques shop on Florence's Main Street. And a few of my of my co-workers will be out of town on long-ago scheduled vacations, leaving me and another co-worker to take care of business.

I called my co-worker to tell her the news and she was like, "Yeah."

I was like: "Don't you think there will be 50,000 or so extra people in town gawking and we'll be a bit overwhelmed?"

She didn't seem to care on way or the other. "I really don't care. I'm not the kind of person who cares if Elvis is in the building," she said.

Well, I wasn't worried about Elvis or even Jane and Robert. I was slightly concerned that with crowds of extra folks, we'd be running our geriatric feet off trying to sell beverages, antiques and collectibles.

For those of you who don't live in Florence, there are several festivals and happenings of note. But the biggest is Pioneer Days, complete with a parade and Junktique, an open-air market. Pioneer Days, Sept. 17 to 19 this year, usually fills the town to capacity even without a few movie stars in the mix.

Jane and Robert, reportedly will start filming during Pioneer Days and will be either in the parade or filming against the backdrop of it. Other scenes will also be shot in Florence.

They will be filming the eagerly-awaited Netflix film, Our Souls At Night, by the late Kent Haruf, a superb Colorado author.

Florence will be the fictional town of Holt, Colorado as depicted in the novel.

Florence apparently was chosen because of its small-town charm.

I've only been living in Florence for four years, but I can attest to its charm. Not just its outdoor art and architecture, but the charm of its people.

I do believe the producers of, Our Souls At Night, have chosen wisely. And I'll be watching from the antiques shop to see the reception the stars get. And I bet it will be very similar to the welcome that everyone gets in Florence--small-town friendliness at its best.