Little Falls is gearing up for a yearlong tribute to its most famous native son, with organizers unveiling plans for Dreams Take Flight 100, a sprawling celebration marking the 100th anniversary of Charles Lindbergh's transatlantic flight. The commemoration, six years in the making, will stretch through 2027 and include everything from a French delegation to new music, public art, and plans to reopen the boyhood home.
A Six-Year Effort Takes Shape
According to WJON, the celebration has been in the making for six years and will bring a delegation from Le Bourget, France, to Little Falls as part of the festivities. Le Bourget has served as Little Falls' sister city since 1987, when the relationship was established during the 60th anniversary of Lindbergh's flight, organized in part by former Lindbergh Museum director Chuck Stone, according to the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame. That bond traces back to the French airfield where Lindbergh's single-engine monoplane, the Spirit of St. Louis, touched down after his historic crossing.
Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island on May 20, 1927, and landed 33 hours and 30 minutes later at Le Bourget Aerodrome near Paris on May 21, completing the first nonstop solo transatlantic flight over roughly 3,600 miles, according to the National Air and Space Museum. The centennial will commemorate that historic crossing in 2027, per event organizer Dreams Take Flight 100.
Music, Theater, and a New Symphony
The celebration will fold in musical and orchestral presentations throughout the coming year, per the WJON report. The Wind Symphony will perform the Lindbergh Jubilee this December at the Gathering of Waters Band Festival, held at Central Lakes College. The celebration will also feature additional musical programming, according to Dreams Take Flight 100.
Theater is also part of the mix, alongside community reads, a parade, and public art displays woven throughout the year, according to WJON.
A Push to Reopen Lindbergh's Boyhood Home
One of the more pressing storylines behind the celebration involves the Lindbergh House and Museum itself. The buildings remain closed but are expected to reopen as part of Dreams Take Flight 100, per WJON, after the Minnesota Historical Society closed the physical buildings to the public following staff layoffs and budget cuts, as reported by MPR News. The outdoor, self-guided grounds have remained open to visitors even with the indoor facility shuttered, and the closure prompted local efforts by the Friends of Lindbergh Heritage to seek a reopening ahead of the 2027 centennial.
The house sits on what remains of a 110-acre family estate along the Mississippi River. To help close funding gaps tied to the site and the broader celebration, Minnesota lawmakers introduced Senate File 3337, seeking $150,000 from the state's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund for the City of Little Falls, according to BillTrack50.
A Community Read and a Two-Day Airport Celebration
A community-wide reading program running from September 2026 to May 2027 will feature Charles A. Lindbergh's book, Lindbergh Looks Back: A Boyhood Reminiscence, hosted by the Friends of Lindbergh Heritage and the Great River Regional Library.
The celebration will close out with a two-day Welcome Home celebration at the Little Falls Airport next August, featuring warbirds, flyovers, plane rides, and an anticipated fly-in, according to WJON. Organizers have also made a Lindbergh 100th anniversary commemorative coin available for purchase at dreamstakeflight100.com, giving supporters a way to help fund the yearlong effort as it builds toward the exact centennial date in 2027.
