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About
Zuzu: All Grown Up – The Foundation of It’s a Wonderful Life Festival
In this special episode of Zuzu: All Grown Up, Karolyn Grimes and Dr. Chris Brunell explore the origins and legacy of the beloved It’s a Wonderful Life Festival in Seneca Falls, New York—a town many believe inspired Bedford Falls itself.
Now more than two decades strong, the festival continues to unite cast members, fans, and a close-knit community each year in celebration of the film’s timeless message. Guests Fran Barbieri, Fr. Jim Fennessy, Michael J. Mirras, and Laura Jacuzzo join to share the incredible journey behind this cherished event and how it keeps the spirit of It’s a Wonderful Life alive for generations to come.
THE SENECA FALLS MUSEUM & TOURISM CENTER
TOO MANY COINCIDENCES TO IGNORE...
SENECA FALLS, NY
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Was the Upstate New York village of Seneca Falls Frank Capra's inspiration for the design of Bedford Falls in It's a Wonderful Life?
Karolyn Grimes, the actress who played Zuzu—one of the children of George and Mary Bailey (James Stewart and Donna Reed)—in the American movie classic, thinks it was.
“When I came around the corner and saw [Seneca Falls’] Main Street, I gasped and said, ‘This is Bedford Falls!’” Grimes recalled. She then saw the steel bridge that crosses over the canal: “It is nearly a replica of the same bridge that George Bailey had grown up with all his life.”
