Clayton in Running for "Lovetown USA" Title

The Town of Clayton, already boasting a national reputation for affordability and quality of schools, is in the running for yet another national accolade--the title of "Lovetown, USA."

BBC Worldwide Productions and OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network, are joining forces to find a "storybook" American town to be the setting for a new, unscripted television series about finding the love of your life, and Clayton is one of the towns being considered.

Casting Producer Sherry Calhoun said a production team is close to narrowing possible sites down to a top ten, but they need to know if the towns have single residents "who are looking for love," an essential item for a program about matchmaking. The town selected must show it has "a large pool of singles to jump on board and take part in this ground-breaking community endeavor."

"We definitely need the singles in your town to let us know," Calhoun said. "We're on a tight time frame, and we need to move quickly. We need to get the enthusiasm going."

Residents in Clayton who might be interested in participating in the new reality program are being asked to complete a "Lovetown USA Application" and forward it to the production team. Applications in PDF format can be obtained on the town's Facebook page at Town of Clayton, NC or by clicking here. Printed copies are available at the Town Hall front desk.

"We'll be taking over one whole town for the biggest dating challenge in TV history," the producers said in a casting announcement published in Variety magazine. "Over 30 days, an expert team of matchmakers will guide the quest for love, examining the effects it can have on the DNA of one American community."

Calhoun said producers will decide on their top ten soon "and then we'll come and meet some of the residents, and see the sights." Then, the list will be pared to three and another team will visit to make a more thorough assessment before "Lovetown, USA" is chosen. She said Clayton's beauty, size and strong sense of community makes it attractive for the show.

Izzie Pick Ashcroft, Jane Tranter, Rob Bagshaw, Charlie Debevoise and Mark Hickman will be the new show's executive producers.

Among other things, the application asks questions about dating history, religious faith, drinking habits, television watching, body art and piercings, occupation and "fun facts." It also asks about the "personality" of the town and what makes it special, along with questions about its most romantic places and current "hot topics." But, perhaps the most important question is this one: "Why do you think your town would be the BEST TOWN IN THE COUNTRY for OWN to select to find love?"

Clayton has built a reputation as a progressive community in recent years, partly due to its continued aggressive community-building despite the recent economic downturn. The town earned a boost to its credit rating two years ago while other towns its size were in financial stress; continued with several large planned projects despite the economic downturn, including a new Law Enforcement Center, new Clayton Community Center, a massive infrastructure project and three new parks over the last couple of years and recently earned a ranking in the nation's top ten for affordability and quality of schools by BusinessWeek magazine, one of the world's leading business publications.