Photo Katie Roupe

The Fourth of July parade is a long-running Chautauqua Institution tradition. “The parade has been going on at the Children’s School since the beginning of the Children’s School,” said school director Kit Trapasso. “It first took place prior to 1900.” This year, Trapasso will lead the parade in style; he will ride atop an antique fire truck as the parade winds its way from the Children’s School building today at 10 a.m. to the Colonnade, and finally, to the Amphitheater. The week leading up to the parade is traditionally full of Fourth of July activities as Children’s School students prepare for their morning in the spotlight. This week’s theme at Children’s School is “America Celebrates.”

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Stefan Sanderling, music director of Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, is starting this season off with a bang. At 8:15 tonight in the Amphitheater, the audience can expect a mix of epic classics to set the tone for the upcoming season. With an evening that begins with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s historic Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, K.622 in A Major, followed by the popular and renowned suite by Gustav Holst, “The Planets,” the CSO’s 80th anniversary is looking to be a bright one.

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An internationally recognized consultant on early childhood education is wrapping up Chautauqua Institution’s week on “Kids!” by challenging much of what has been said in the four previous morning lectures. Sharon Lynn Kagan wraps up this first week of morning lectures with her talk “From Rhetoric to Reality: Creating an Early Childhood System,” at 10:45 a.m. today in the Amphitheater. The goal of the lecture, she said, was to stress the importance of the audience becoming familiar with the reality of early childhood education in America, and how it compares to programs in other developed countries.

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New grandfather Thomas M. Becker’s face lights up when he talks about his 8-month-old granddaughter, Sophia, whose photographs adorn his office. Becker, president of Chautauqua Institution, will lead a discussion about the joys and struggles of being a grandparent called “What’s a Grandparent to Do?” at 4 p.m. today in the Hall of Philosophy. He said that he knew that being a grandparent had to be a part of “Kids!” week because, like him, Chautauquans are eager to share their experiences.

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