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Chautauqua
Each summer this unique event brings historical figures to life and provides a week of educational entertainment for children and adults under the Chautauqua tent.
Visit the Kansas-Nebraska Chautauqua website: click here
March 2010 Youth to play a role in the upcoming Chautauqua
Local youth of all ages in the Columbus and North Platte areas will have a unique opportunity for learning and community involvement as part of the 2010 Kansas-Nebraska Chautauqua, “Bright Dreams, Hard Times: America in the 1930s.”
Scholars will portray 1930s-era historical characters each evening, including Franklin Roosevelt, Aimee Semple McPherson, Zora Neale Hurston, Huey Long, and Will Rogers. During the day, each community will host a variety of events, including adult and youth workshops, “The Dust Bowl” traveling exhibit, and local history programs.
“The centerpiece of Chautauqua is the scholar portrayals each evening under the tent, but the variety of activities that are going on in each community throughout the week are fantastic ways to get people of all ages engaged in the history of the 1930s, and the youth programs in particular allow young people to become engaged with their community as well,” said Kristi Hayek, NHC program officer and Kansas-Nebraska Chautauqua coordinator.
This spring, high school students will have the opportunity to participate in “Iconic Images: Then and Now.” This photo workshop is a precursor to Chautauqua and helps youth gain an appreciation for iconic images from the 1930s. The students then photograph images of their communities that they consider iconic today and share those photos with the community.
Middle school children (grades 4-8) will have the opportunity to become young historians through the Youth Chautauqua Camp, led by Drs. Ann Birney and Joyce Thierer of Ride Into History. From Monday through Friday of Chautauqua week, they will explore and learn how to portray local historical characters from the 1930s and present their portrayals on the Friday evening of Chautauqua before the main tent show begins. Pre-registering for this workshop is required.
There are two workshops for younger children during Chautauqua week. “Dear Eleanor, Dear Michelle,” for elementary students (ages 8 and older), highlights the correspondence that Eleanor Roosevelt had with children nationwide and allows children at this year’s Chautauqua to write to First Lady Michelle Obama. Preschool and lower elementary children will learn about folk tales and create a mural during the “How Butterflies Were Made” workshop to be displayed at the tent during Chautauqua.
The “Bright Dreams, Hard Times” Chautauqua is funded, in part, by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities as part of the NEH’s special “We The People” initiative. For more information, go to the Kansas-Nebraska Chautauqua website, www.knchautauqua.org, or visit the Chautauqua website for each of the Nebraska host communities, www.chautauquacolumbus.com or www.chautauquanorthplatte.com.
November 2009 2010 Chautauqua to visit Columbus and North Platte The Nebraska Humanities Council will present the 2010 Kansas-Nebraska Chautauqua at West Pawnee Park in Columbus June 16-20 and at Cody Park in North Platte June 23-27. It also will visit Colby, Kan., June 2-6 and Belleville, Kan., June 9-13. For the third consecutive year, the theme is “Bright Dreams, Hard Times: America in the Thirties,” with scholars portraying historical characters who helped shape America’s response to the Great Depression, a time of economic collapse, the environmental disaster of the Dust Bowl, and signs of worldwide political unrest. Patrick E. McGinnis will portray Franklin D. Roosevelt, the president of the United States from 1932-1945 and the leader of the New Deal plan to help Americans. McGinnis holds a Ph.D. from Tulane University and is emeritus professor of history at the University of Central Oklahoma. Fred Krebs will portray Huey Long, the Louisiana senator who used force and totalitarian tactics to attempt to bring aid to his constituents. Krebs is professor of history at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kan., and a Chautauquan with 15 different characterizations. Tonia Compton will portray Aimee Semple McPherson, who provided relief to impoverished families in Los Angeles and was a pioneer evangelist and pastor. Compton is a history doctoral candidate at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and holds a master’s degree from Texas A&M. Wanda Schell will portray Zora Neale Hurston, who worked for federal WPA projects collecting folklore and authored works of fiction and non-fiction during the Thirties. Schell is an accomplished actress and writer, as well as a published playwright, singer, storyteller and director. Doug Watson will portray Will Rogers, American humorist, radio and film star, and essayist who commented on American culture and politics. As moderator for each performance, Will Rogers will bring audiences into the Thirties using his authentic American voice. Watson holds a Ph.D. from Texas Tech University and teaches English at Oklahoma Baptist University. The Chautauqua runs Wednesday through Sunday, with a different scholar portraying his or her character each evening. Workshops for adults and children are held during the day. Adult audiences have an opportunity to examine four themes that were important during the Depression era and have particular relevance today: the changing relationship between Americans and their national government; the flowering of artistic and intellectual activity; the role of religion in public life; and the democratization of American culture through radio and sound movies. Middle school students will research and portray local historical figures during the Youth Chautauqua Day Camp, high school students will photograph images in their communities and compare them with photos of the past, children create a colorful mural based on a folktale by Hurston, and youth learn about children who wrote to Eleanor Roosevelt during the Depression and then write a letter to the current first lady. |
Phone 402-474-2131 or e-mail nhc@nebraskahumanities.org. |
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