Chautauqua...Wonderful!

How do we describe the Chautauqua Institute??? Well...how about sleep away camp for adults who like to learn; or maybe, a visit to times gone by; or how about, a vacation for all six of our senses. It's really all of these. There are intellectual, spiritual, physical, and artistic opportunities every day.



Our Fort Wayne friends, Maureen and Alan Grinsfelder and Micky and Sherwin Kepes were there for the week - and it was National Geographic week, but more about that later. We began by meeting them for dinner at a local restaurant and then going into the Institute for a concert.

This is the main square - Bestor Plaza - and the Library at the end. This calm quiet place was filled with children playing with frizbees, people on bicycles, and sort of a town square level of activity - and no cars.

We walked to the Amphitheater, the location of this evenings concert. We thoroughly enjoyed the Louisana Repertory Jazz Ensemble. They performed older jazz pieces in the original form. What an amazing group of musicians...! The night before the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra performed Haydn, Peck, and Borodin and later in the week the place was going to rock for a Josh Turner concert.

National Geographic week featured morning lectures by NG staff. We heard Mattias Klum speak about "Being There." He's a photographer, filmmaker, lecturer, and proponent of understanding the subtle relevance of all of God's creatures. He showed photos (do you love the lioness on her back) and told stories about his experiences working for National Geographic. His sense of humor, descriptive way with words, and casual agility on the stage brought his stories to life. We just didn't want the lecture to end. We took off immediately to catch a brown bag lecture on the porch of Alumni Hall. Philip Gerard spoke about creative reseach. He's the prose writer in residence this season. He was fascinating as he spoke about his years as a reporter and how he "acquired" some of his information. Basically, it comes down to never accepting "no" as a final answer.

See the banners hanging from the porch. The one on the left says "The aim of education is character. 1907." Love it!

The is the Athenaeum Hotel. It faces the lake. There was an Elderhostel group there this week and this is where they resided.

Later that day we took this photo with Maureen and Al. They took us to see the pretty garden around this house.

This is the other view of Bestor Plaza. I was standing in front of the Library with the Colonnade behind me. There was a craft show this weekend. You can see the booths lining the Plaza. I spoke with some of the vendors. Most were teachers of their craft. (Did I mention that there are music and art and dance programs here as well as day camp for the little ones?)

We spent the afternnoon walking around and discovering Chautauqua Institute. We did go to see the mock-up of the Mars Rover and Ed went to walk on the National Geographic World Map and then we stopped at the Hall of Philosophy for "A Forum on Central Asia" with Scholar in Residence S. Frederick Starr.

I ended the day (it was Friday) by attending the Kabbalat Shabbat service with Maureen and the Kepes. It was outdoors near the shore, and it was a nice way to welcome the sabbath. Ed and Alan took a bicycle tour of the village.

We finished our day having dinner at the condo the Grinsfelders and Kepes were sharing. That's me on the porch. Finnegan had spent 2 days in Happy Tails Kennel and we were off to pick him up. He came back to us very tired...it's hard work managing a whole group of dogs...but none the worse for wear.

We spent some time photographing the Chautauqua Institute. It's a Victorian village and feels like we've taken a step back in time.

This is along the waterfront. Lawn bowlers and beautiful old buildings, cyclists, and children and boats and a beach.

Some of the buildings are "Hall of ...." and this is where themes and learning and events take place. There are private homes, hotels, inns, condos...everything.

And so ended our day at the Institute. We tried to immerse ourselves in the Chautauqua experience, and I think we succeeded. We loved every minute of it and being with good friends made it even better. Do we want to return? You betcha!