When actress Karolyn Grimes (Zuzu Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life) first saw Seneca Falls at night with the snow falling and the holiday lights glittering she exclaimed "I'm in Bedford Falls!"
Frank Capra's granddaughter Monica Capra Hodges attends the event every year along with actress Karolyn Grimes, Jimmy Hawkins, and other original cast members. In 2021, the original 1919 Dodge Brothers touring car that Jimmy Stewart drove in the movie was displayed during the festival.
Frank Capra, the movie's Academy Award-winning director, was reportedly visiting relatives in Auburn, New York, when he stopped in nearby Seneca Falls to get a haircut. The barber who styled his hair recalled Capra asking many questions about the town, including, "What's the story with that bridge?"
The Real Bedford Fall's producers were in need of some footage of the town with snow falling. After spending several days days of shooting with no flurries, night was falling and so were the temperatures. Striking their cameras and equipment they left town. After they had driven about five miles the snow started falling, as if on cue, and they raced back and got some memorable shots.
Every December the It's a Wonderful Life Festival in Seneca Falls, New York attracts thousands of visitors from all over the country to celebrate Frank Capra's iconic motion picture with the original cast members in attendance.