Porter County filmed for role in movie
By Amy Lavalley Post-Tribune correspondent February 10, 2012 3:46PM
Kevin Pazour, executive director of Porter County Museum, (left, foreground) speaks about the museum's former life as a jail while Candy Yurcak, Lori Cravens and Logan Moeller set up to film an interview with Pazour at the Porter County Museum in Valparaiso, Ind. Friday February 10, 2012. The crew with Preserving the Historic Road is filming along Lincolnway in Valparaiso as part of an IMAX movie about Indiana's roads. | Stephanie Dowell~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: March 12, 2012 8:04AM
VALPARAISO — Coming soon to the big, big screen: U.S. 12, Lakefront Drive in Beverly Shores, and Lincolnway, part of the historic Lincoln Highway, as it goes through downtown Valparaiso.
A film crew spent part of Friday filming in Valparaiso and, in addition to shots of Lincolnway, interviewed Mayor Jon Costas, Clerk-Treasurer Sharon Swihart, and Kevin Pazour, director of the Porter County Museum of History.
The crew filmed U.S. 12 and Lakefront Drive on Thursday, all part of an IMAX movie project on historic roads in the state. Porter County is one of 22 counties being featured in the flick, which will have its premiere Sept. 21 in Indianapolis, during the Preserving the Historic Road national conference.
“The movie is to answer the question why preserving historic roads matters,” said Candy Yurcak, chairwoman of the movie night committee for the conference. Because Indianapolis is hosting the conference, “we decided we could highlight our state, which we’re very proud of, in this movie.”
Letters went out to all the tourism bureaus in the state, asking what was important about their county and its roads. The top 22 counties — including Porter — made the cut for the movie, which will be about 90 minutes long.
“We looked for the passion of that county,” Yurcak said, adding any information that doesn’t make it into the movie could be used by local tourism bureaus. The film crew will come back over the summer to get additional footage.
It was an honor for Porter County to be selected for the movie, said Ken Kosky, promotions director for Indiana Dunes Tourism, adding he hopes to eventually screen the film at the Portage 16 IMAX or at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center.
“The movie itself is just one more way Indiana Dunes Tourism can showcase Indiana dunes country,” Kosky said, adding the movie will show all that the county has to offer, as well as serving as a “great marketing tool” for the Tourism Bureau.
The dunes are one of the state’s top attractions, drawing people from across the country and the globe, Kosky said, and the county is worth highlighting in the film.
“I think we have a great attraction, and that’s why we attracted them,” he said.
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