CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION

"There's no place like it. No resort. No spa. Not anywhere else in the country, or anywhere in the world – it is at once a summer encampment and a small town, a college campus, an arts colony, a music festival, a religious retreat and the village square – and there's no place – no place – with anything like its history."

David McCullough, historian, author

For nine weeks each year, from late June through late August, the Chautauqua Institution offers an extraordinary blend of programming in the arts, education, religion and recreation. It is at once a community, a renowned center for the performing arts and a resource for the discussion of important issues of our time. A National Historic District, the Institution comprises 750 acres on the shore of Chautauqua Lake and attracts 150,000 visitors during a season of more than 2,000 events.

Originally the Chautauqua Lake Sunday School Assembly, the Institution was founded in 1874 as an educational experiment in out-of-school, vacation learning. Conceived by a pastor, John Heyl Vincent, and businessman and inventor Lewis Miller, the "Chautauqua Idea" was, and is, profound: to make widely available learning that involves the mind, spirit and body, unrestricted by age, topic or discipline, and inspired by a community devoted entirely to the free pursuit of learning. Vincent called it "full-orbed" learning.

The Chautauqua Institution today welcomes prominent lecturers, performers, students, preachers and visitors from all over the world to continue this pursuit of learning and renewal in a dynamic, progressive environment. The preserved Victorian setting provides a welcoming, contemplative atmosphere for the profound conversations that ensue.

Perhaps best recognized for its morning lecture platform, Chautauqua's Amphitheater stage comes alive at 10:45 a.m. each weekday with distinguished scientists, authors, educators, and experts in an impressive array of fields. Over the years, several American presidents have even graced the podium. Each week addresses a specific theme. The 2009 season will examine: Kids!, Explore Our World With National Geographic, State of Mind, Richard Brown and Friends: Movies 101, The Ethics of Capitalism, What Makes Us Moral? An Abrahamic Perspective, Imagine..., CUBA: Enigma and Neighbor, and The History of Liberty.

Three unique partnerships bring special significance to the 2009 season. In Week One (June 29-July 3) on “Kids!” Chautauqua will partner with Sesame Workshop, the non-profit organization behind Sesame Street in the United States and around the world. This leader in early childhood education is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. During Week Two (July 6-10) on “Explore Our World with National Geographic,” Chautauqua partners with National Geographic Society to create a special celebration of our world. Today’s top explorers, filmmakers, scientists and photographers join us with compelling reports from the front lines of exploration so that we might gain a better understanding about the state of our planet, its inhabitants and precious resources, and our shared history – empowering us to make choices that will contribute to a vibrant, diverse and sustainable future. Colonial Williamsburg joins with Chautauqua to present Week Nine (Aug. 24-28) on “The History of Liberty.” In this week we will explore the roots of liberty and examine the historical expressions of this grand idea. We will consider the vision of our nation’s founders and their linkage of liberty to democracy — and our progress in reaching that vision. In cooperation with the visiting Colonial Williamsburg actors we will explore the nation builders’ conversations and debates, and our speakers will discuss what new understandings of liberty and democracy lie before us.

Among the 45 morning lecturers scheduled in 2009 are Gary Knell, president and CEO of Sesame Workshop; Mattias Klum, National Geographic photographer and filmmaker; John J. Ratey MD, associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School; William Niskanen, chairman emeritus and senior economist at Cato Institute; Michael Gazzaniga, director of the SAGE Center for the Study of Mind, UCSB; Richard Brown, NYU film professor famous for his "Movies 101" course; Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind; and journalist Jim Lehrer, in conversation with Colonial Williamsburg actors portraying Jefferson and Lafayette.

Chautauqua’s Department of Religion provides a wide variety of services of worship and programs that express the Institution’s Christian heritage and interfaith commitment. It offers an afternoon Interfaith Lecture Series and additional education programs that probe contemporary religious and theological ideas. The Institution’s Christian tradition continues with ecumenical morning worship services. Among the notable chaplains scheduled for the 2009 season are Jim Wallis, founder and editor of Sojourners magazine, and Otis Moss III, pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. 2009 will also mark the opening of the Everett Jewish Life Center in Chautauqua.

Each year, the Special Studies program offers summer classes for lifelong learners, enrolling 10,000 students annually on subjects ranging from music and dance to computers, tai chi and poetry writing. Hundreds of offerings attract students of all ages and interests, and more than 300 teachers contribute their love of a subject to the chorus of the learned. The 2009 season will offer expanded facilities for Special Studies and other programs at the Turner Community Center where classes will cover such topics as “How to Identify, Value and Sell Antiques,” “Calligraphy,” “History of Jazz – The Modern Era” and “Basics of Investing in Stocks, Bonds, and Mutual Funds.”

From its earliest days to the present, Chautauqua has embraced the recreative experience as an essential ingredient to living well. Modern recreational facilities, including a 36-hole golf course, health and fitness center and pool, offer visitors at Chautauqua physical challenges and exercise. The new Chautauqua Tennis Center, located directly behind the Turner Community Center on Route 394, boasts eight state-of-the-art, fast-dry courts. Using the patented "Hydro-Grid" system, the clay-like playing surface is kept uniformly moist by a sub-surface irrigation system.

2008 saw the opening of Chautauqua’s Golf Learning Center. The 25-acre site features a 350-yard driving range with four target greens and separate tees for instruction and daily practice use. Both of the tees feature grass and artificial turf surfaces. The facility also includes two 6,000-square-foot putting greens; a chipping green complete with fairway, rough and practice bunkers; and three practice holes, ranging in length from 100 to 250 yards.

Chautauqua also offers a variety of activities appealing to young people, including a weekly family entertainment series. A full service library provides computer access, story hours and a well-stocked children’s book collection and archival materials. The Children's School and the Chautauqua Boys' and Girls' Club, considered the oldest summer day camp in the country, contribute to programming for Chautauqua's youth as well. The Youth Activities Center and College Club serve as gathering places with special programs and activities for middle school and high school youth and college-aged young adults.

The Chautauqua season offers an exciting array of programs to suit every taste, producing an “ecstatic mix” of the arts that can be found nowhere else. Each summer, nationally acclaimed actors, singers, dancers and musicians gather to perform with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, Chautauqua Dance program, the Chautauqua Opera Company and the Chautauqua Theater Company. In 2009, performing at the beautiful 269-seat Bratton Theater, Chautauqua Theater Company will present Arcadia by Tom Stoppard, The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams and The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare. Presented in the Art Deco style Norton Hall, the Chautauqua Opera Company celebrates its 80th season this summer with Il Trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi, The Consul by Gian Carlo Menottti, Tosca by Giacomo Puccini and The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan.

Among the many artistic forums offered at Chautauqua, two art galleries feature the works of distinguished contemporary and traditional artists, and the Chautauqua Crafts Alliance will hold two shows on the Institution’s Bestor Plaza – July 10-12 and Aug. 7-9 – featuring works in all media.

This season's popular evening entertainment series at the Institution’s Amphitheater includes such notables as lecturers David McCullough and Ken Burns, and entertainers Garrison Keillor, Josh Turner, Gordon Lightfoot, Cirque Sublime, Sara Evans and The Beach Boys.

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Admission to the grounds is by gate ticket. There is no charge for those 12 and younger or 90 and older, and there are no gate fees on Sundays. Gate tickets cover all events in the 5,000-seat open-air Amphitheater; opera and theater are extra, as are classes. For general information call 1-800-836-ARTS or check the Web site at www.ciweb.org for updated program or other information.