Premier Ball arrives in Dildo, but no sign of Jimmy Kimmel

After days of teasing the townsfolk of Dildo, late night host Jimmy Kimmel further fuelled the anticipation on Wednesday night by telling the citizens, "I'll see you tomorrow for the big vote."

But did he mean in person or via another video chat?

By Thursday evening, there was no sign of the comedian but the province's premier, Dwight Ball, had arrived, tweeting a photo with the line "I'm here in Dildo where are YOU @jimmykimmel??" at roughly 8:30 p.m.

The "Kimmel for Mayor" running gagstarted on his show Aug. 8 when he said he learned of the town's unique name and announced he wanted to be mayor of it.

"I was alerted to the existence of a place, maybe a magical place.It's a real place in Newfoundland, Canada," Kimmel said at the time.

That same week, he dialed in a crew of people who live in Dildo, the small Newfoundland town about an hour's drive outside St. John's,to talk about thetown's origins, as well as to announce he wanted to be itsnew mayor.

Ever since then, Kimmel's apparent appreciation of the town, and his mayoral aspirations,has continued and people have been wondering if or when the Hollywood star would land in Dildo.

Rumours were swirling about an event at the Society of United Fishermen Lodge in Dildo on Thursday night, complete with fireworks. On Thursday morning, in the steep hills above the town, a giant white letter D in the same style as the famous Hollywood sign could be spotted from the ground. Bylate afternoon, the sign was complete.

On Wednesday night, Kimmel spoke to a room full of his "supporters" at the Dildo Brewery.

"I believe in building a better Dildo for everyone, and No. 2, I believe in buying a round of drinks for everyone in the bar," he said to raucous cheers."And by the way, if I'm mayor there's more drinks to come."

While speculation was rampant that Kimmel would be in Dildo on Thursday, tickets are sold out for a Jimmy Kimmel Livetaping on Thursday in Los Angeles with guests in studio. It tapes at 4:30 p.m. PT 9 p.m. in Newfoundland.

Damon for mayor?

During Wednesday's show, Kimmelalso addressed the latest twist in the saga a faction of people holding signs championing hislongtime nemesis, Matt Damon, for mayor.

"You can't have a dildo running Dildo," he said."How dare they bring him into this? I thought Canadians were supposed to be nice."

Kimmel first came onto the story after a segment aired on NTV with reporter Amanda Mews.

Earlier this week, Mews headed to Los Angeles "in search of Jimmy Kimmel." On Wednesday night, she made her American network TV debut by doing a press conference with Kimmel to close out his 11-minute Dildo segment.

The running segment has been positive for the town, which has been inundated with tourists and media from the beginning. Business owners have told CBC News they've seen a huge bump in sales since Kimmel announced his mayoral bid.

Trish Smith has beenselling T-shirts by the water, some of which say, "There's a little Dildo in everyone."

"To me, it's great," she said."We live in a community called Dildo, and as such you have to expect there's going to be so much ribbing and poking fun."

Of course, Kimmel cannot actually become mayor of the town for a multitude of reasons chief among them being the fact that Dildo is not an incorporated town, and thereforedoes not have a mayor.

Kimmel noted the final decision will happen Thursday night, when the seven members of the ruling local service district will decide whether or not he can become their leader.

Another candidate emerges

Meanwhile, a third person declared themselves for the satiricalrace.

She's not a celebrity, nor a politician but she is a character.

"Jimmy, you have competition. Look me up. My name is Sharon Cole," she told CBC News from the waterfront in Dildo on Thursday.

Cole said the race needs a strong female candidate, and she's thrusting herself forward for public service.

"I'd make sure Dildo stays as a traditional Newfoundland community, and I would make sure that all the people's voices are heard and we drink more beer than you can make in a year.

"But what happens in Dildo, stays in Dildo."

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