“There’s nothing to do in my home town,” you think to yourself, unsure how to fill the days when friends and family visit. But a new series using Terre Haute, Indiana, as its backdrop wants to show you how wrong you are.
“The Haute” asks viewers to go on a guided tour of the city and surrounding Vigo County to see all the arts, history, industry and culture the area has to offer.
The first episode, which premiered in January of this year, takes host Lynn Hughes around the Vigo County Courthouse for a lesson on the building’s history, both housed inside and the building itself.
Since then, the show has gone to locales like the Swope Art Museum and the Wabash River waterfront.
Production on the series started in spring and early summer of 2017, when the pilot was developed to gain support for the project. That’s about the same time when Hughes came on board. She has a background as a reporter, so she figured the show was a natural fit.
“Promoting Terre Haute and all the hidden gems that we have here in the Wabash Valley is something that I’m very passionate about,” Hughes said.
Host Lynn Hughes (left) takes flight from the Terre Haute Regional Airport with pilot Laurence Cross. (Photo: The Haute / YouTube)
Considering the show’s production value and use of drone shots and time lapse, you wouldn’t know the team is fairly small: there’s host Hughes, two others who work on the videos and another person to administer the website.
However, the series is just one arm of The Haute Initiative, a group dedicated to providing information on the life and tourism in Terre Haute and Vigo County. And on top of that, Executive Director Mark Gibson and his team previously produced the documentary “The Story of Terre Haute,” which retraces the city’s history and puts an eye to its future.
For now, the Haute Initiative’s effort is an independent one. Gibson told Indiana Public Media, “Neither the city nor the county is supporting the initiative, but we’re hoping to bring them on board at some point.”
As far as future episodes go, Gibson said he has a schedule for the rest of the year; but he isn’t revealing any details just yet. But for now, the show is seeing considerable success, with each episode seeing views in the tens of thousands on Facebook.
“We want to shine a bright light on the many assets that we have in this community,” Hughes said, “and The Haute is a great vehicle to use to achieve that goal.”
You can catch up with The Haute on the show’s website before new episodes drop every other Friday.
WATCH: "Hometown - A Journey Through Terre Haute, IN" (via WTIU / PBS Passport)
