Summer Moon Festival features two movies highlighting Ohio's space exploration heritage

WAPAKONETA, OH (WLIO) - Wapakoneta's annual Summer Moon Festival brought the stories of Ohio astronauts to the silver screen.

The Wapa Theatre held a special double feature for festivalgoers on Friday night. Before the showing, there was a special VIP meet and greet with people from behind the scenes of each movie. 

One of the films, "Cradle of Astronauts," tells the story of the director's father, Bill Hinsch, who was selected to paint a mural honoring Ohio's space pioneers in the Ohio Statehouse Rotunda. The work-in-progress documentary also aims to educate people about the 26 Ohio natives who have been to space. 

"I don't think there's as much of awareness about this as you would expect, and not just about Ohio and the astronauts. Just like in the general population in this country. They aren't as knowledgeable on historical figures in our past, in our legacy of the US, as you would think or expect. And compared to other countries of the same population, they probably know more about our history than we do," said the film's director, Alex Hinsch. 

The other movie, "One Small Visit," tells the true story of an immigrant family that was driving through Wapakoneta on their way to Celina and decided to stop at the home of the Armstrong's just months after the moon landing and found the family to be more than welcoming. 

"I went with my mom, knocked, and they were gracious. Viola Armstrong got us inside, and we had a short visit with her and Stephen, and later on Neil comes down, he was at the home. They had no fear of us, and we had a wonderful, wonderful time with them. And then Neil started talking; my mother asked questions, 'Did you see the pyramids?" You know, it was like we were talking to just an average person," recalled Nirmala Abraham, who is depicted in the film. 

The Summer Moon Festival continues through Sunday. Saturday's events include the Moon Market, Weiner Dog Races, astronaut autograph signings, and more. You can find the full schedule here.