The reality TV series 'Full Steam' is including a stop in Portage la Prairie this summer.

"It's a French Canadian television series that has completed one season of filming, and it's very similar to the amazing race, except it's a journey by train," says Portage Regional Economic Development Executive Director Vern May. "It starts in Nova Scotia and over the course of the summer it ends up in Vancouver with few stops along the way with adventures to complete. What's very exciting about the series is the stop before us is Niagra Falls, and the stop after is Prince George, British Columbia. So we're going to be the prairie representation of the whole series, which is very exciting."

May says they'll be filming here at the end of the July and he's very excited the town has an opportunity to play host.

May feels the show's stop in Portage could be great for the city. (File photo)

"We heard directly from the show's producers and what they were looking for was some support that helps cover off their cost of productions, specifically hotels and rental cars while they're in the area," says May. "So it's really a win-win because we've got this opportunity for national exposure on television through the French language network UNIS but also the sponsorship dollars that we're putting in get reinvested back into Portage through the money they spend locally over the course of those few days."

May says there's an open casting call just went out for teams to participate, and he wanted to make sure local people were aware they can sign up.

"They're looking for teams that include a youth, and an adult relative to participate on this journey and it sounds like it's going to be a pretty exciting show."

He feels this is a quick win for the City of Portage, and he's hopeful council will agree and add some support for the project.

Here's what you need to know about the competition:
- Teams of two are to be made up of one youth aged 8-12 and an adult relative (parent, grandparent, aunt/uncle)
- The journey begins in Nova Scotia and wraps up in Vancouver.
- The series will be shot in two blocks of time June 25 - July 6 and July 23 - August 12
- Applications are open right now until April 23.

Here's a link to the application.