INDIANA DUNES NATIONAL PARK: Octave Chanute, the renowned civil engineer and flight pioneer, is known by many in Northwest Indiana as the region's icon of innovation. Now, a feature documentary is telling the story of the influential flight pioneer whose experiments in the Indiana Dunes propelled the development of the airplane to new heights. Indiana Dunes National Park will host the national premiere of the film, Octave Chanute: Patron Saint of Flight, on Sunday, Feb. 16, at 2:00 pm at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center.
At 2:00 pm, Chanute biographer, Simine Short, will give a brief talk and introduce filmmaker Paul Nelson before the screening. The hour-long film tells the story of the French immigrant who eventually earned wealth and admiration as a high-profile civil engineer before pursuing the study of heavier than air flight. The documentary provides insight on Chanute's groundbreaking flight experiments on the southern shore of Lake Michigan and Chanute's complicated relationship with the Wright Brothers. “These sites that are located right on the lake in Northwest Indiana should be revered in the same way that Kitty Hawk, North Carolina is for flight enthusiasts," said Paul Nelson, the film's director. “It's just another aspect that makes the Indiana Dunes so special."
After the screening, viewers can partake in a Q&A session with Short and Nelson and also connect with others interested in aviation, Octave Chanute and Region history. Light refreshments will be provided.
Funding for the Chanute video was provided in part by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Indiana Department of Natural Resources Lake Michigan Coastal Program. The Indiana Arts Commission, South Shore Arts, Indiana Humanities, The National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, The Anderson Foundation and Indiana Dunes Tourism.
The Indiana Dunes Visitor Center is located at 1215 North State Road 49, about one mile north of Interstate 94. For more information on this or other programs at Indiana Dunes National Park, call 219-395-1882 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/indu and our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/IndianaDunesNPS.
www.nps.gov
Indiana Dunes National Park is one of 419 units of the National Park System ranging from Yellowstone to the Statue of Liberty. Located in Northwest Indiana, the park includes 15 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and 15,000 acres of biodiverse beaches, woods, prairies, and marshes. Up to 3 million visitors come to the Indiana Dunes each year.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
