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Maggie’s Diner, which is situated in the downtown core of High River, served as one of the main sets for the show for seven years, but was completely devastated in the flood.

“We’re still a number of weeks away, I’m not sure if it’ll be a month, it’s really hard to say. We’re hoping that in the next couple of episodes we’ll be able to get back there,” said Randall.

Since the set was inaccessible, writers for the show had to adapt on the fly and change story lines in order to suit the recent situation.

“As head of the writers department I will tell you it was a bit of a shuffle. It’s the year that Lou buys Maggie’s. It was a huge thing for the show because we had intended on being there even more (than usual),” said Conkie. “We still have Lou working at Maggie’s but we talk about it rather than see it.”

The event was pulled together in a matter of two and a half short weeks and tickets sold out literally over night.

“We sold 1000 tickets within 24 hours all over Canada and even in parts of the States,” said Heather Conkie, executive producer for the show. “People are coming from all over and the line keeps getting bigger and bigger.”

The event hosted a number of bands, including Calgary based band the Rustic Brothers, singer Tom Jackson and the Honeybadgers, which has many of the crewmembers as the musicians.

A live auction also took place to help raise funds, and items such as outfits worn by cast members, autographed merchandise, WestJet and Delta Hotel getaways were sold to fans with all proceeds going towards the town.

The item with the highest bid, a tour of the ranch set in Millarville for six people sold for an incredible $10,000.

The cast and crew of Heartland wanted to lend a hand to the town of High River in the best way they could since the town and the show have a long history together.

Gordon Imlach, series publicist, mentioned that cast and crew had been in High River only two days prior to the flood.

“We were just sick to our stomachs when we heard, and so the first thing we thought was, ‘we have to do a fundraiser,’” said Imlach.

The support the show has offered for the town of High River was far from unnoticed at the event. Mayor Emile Blokland shared some of his experiences of the flood and shared great thanks to all those supporting the town.

“I really want to thank all of you people that are here today. Thank you for coming out and giving the Town of High River the support that we need. Yes money is important, but we also need that emotional support. And seeing all you folks out here today and seeing you supporting this means a great deal to all of us in High River,” said Blokland.

The fundraising event raised more than $65,000 but a final dollar amount has yet to be confirmed.