Beloit and Lawrence to Host 2008 Chautauqua

Date: January 15, 2008

TOPEKA – Beloit and Lawrence will be the Kansas host communities for this summer's Bright Dreams, Hard Times: America in the Thirties Chautauqua. The festival of learning will be in Beloit June 11-15 and Lawrence June 18-22. The Bright Dreams, Hard Times: America in the Thirties Chautauqua is a partnership between the Kansas Humanities Council, the Solomon Valley Highway 24 Heritage Alliance, the Lawrence Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Nebraska Humanities Council. The Chautauqua is made possible by We the People, a grant initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The Bright Dreams, Hard Times: America in the Thirties Chautauqua includes first-person portrayals of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Senator Huey Long of Louisiana, Pentecostal leader Aimee Semple McPherson, Harlem Renaissance writer and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston, and humorist Will Rogers. Humanities professionals portray these famous figures of the 1930s under a tent in the city park each evening. Following each evening's presentation, the audience has an opportunity to ask questions of the famous historical figures as well as the scholar who created the portrayal.

This year the Chautauqua also features a Youth Chautauqua Camp. At the five-day camp, young people (grades 4-8) will be historians, researchers, and scriptwriters as they prepare to present their own historical characters on the Sunday night of Chautauqua.

Bright Dreams, Hard Times: America in the Thirties is a three-year Chautauqua. Ottawa and Hesston will host the 2009 event. Colby and Belleville will host Chautauqua in 2010.

From the late 19th century to the first decades of the 20th century, touring Chautauquas combined oratory and lectures about national events with literary readings and musical entertainment that entertained and informed people about political and cultural happenings. For more than 20 years, the Kansas Humanities Council has brought the traditions of the historic Chautauqua to towns and rural communities across the state. Beginning in 1983, KHC revived the Chautauqua movement, and over 50 communities have hosted the contemporary Chautauqua, playing host to the famous and infamous from American history.

The modern-day Chautauqua has a lasting impact on all who attend, observes longtime Chautauquan Fred Krebs, who portrays Huey Long in the upcoming event. "Chautauqua is a moving experience," says Krebs, "because it allows communities to find connections with one another."

For a complete schedule of chautauqua activities, contact KHC at 785/357-0359 or watch for calendars on www.kansashumanities.org.

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