High Plains Chautauqua to kick off July 31 at Aims Community College Welcome Center
By Dan England
The theme of High Plains Chautauqua is, “Oh, the Places We’ve Been!” based off the famous Dr. Seuss book, the one parents like to give their fledglings as they fly from the nest.
The book signifies a major life change, and it’s appropriate for the event this year as well, and not just because of this year’s exploration theme. For the first time, the event will be indoors.
Chautauquas have been around a long time, probably longer than you think, and the idea was to have performances under a tent. But High Plains took a hard look at that tradition this year and decided to take advantage of its partnership with Aims Community College. Aims built a new building, the Welcome Center, that should be as welcoming as the giant white tent.
High Plains’ audience is older, said Kathryn Broderius, the event’s marketing director, and will benefit from the shorter walk, cooler setting and safe harbor from mosquitoes. The tent and chairs were a huge expense, and there’s nothing in the rule book that says Chautauquas have to be under cover outdoors. Grand Junction’s event is also inside.
“The idea was always a presentation under tents,” she said, “but that started before auditoriums or anything like that.”
High Plains would prefer to focus on the presentations, and those remain traditional: People portray historical figures they’ve researched extensively, so much so that they can answer random questions about their characters’ lives from the audience. They give a one-man (or woman) portrayal, then answer questions as the character and finally answer questions as themselves.
The event, as in year’s past, mixes in well-known figures such as Thomas Jefferson and Robert Ripley (famous for his “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not” cartoons) and lesser-known figures such as Mariano Medina, Mabel Dodge Luhan and Elizabeth Hitchcock Colt. It can sometimes be difficult to match figures portrayed by quality Chautauquans to fit a theme.
“I think we have a high standard,” Broderius said, referring to the well-known status as one of the top Chautauquas in the country. “That limits our options at times. But we have presenters who do a great job. There’s a lot we’ve had in past years.”
The theme, in fact, did limit them in one way: Space exploration is, of course, one of history’s greatest models of pushing our limits, but there weren’t many, if any, Chautauquans who portray the pioneers of space. One reason for that is they’re still alive, so they can still tell their own story: Chautauquans have a preference for portraying those who have passed as a way to remember them. As a way to solve this, High Plains will bring in a real astronaut, Rick Hieb, who will talk about his three space shuttle missions: Hieb isn’t a Chautauquan but he has given guest lectures before: The audience shouldn’t notice much difference.
High Plains puts on a whole week of events that aren’t limited to the evening performances. Even the stars tend to branch out and give presentations during the week, not just during their spotlight show, and other popular Chautauquans, such as Doug Mishler, will give performances outside the evening.
Chautauqua should feel like those in year’s past, other than the fact that the main spotlight is indoors. The Welcome Center has an outdoor patio, and food trucks will be there, accompanied by the traditional live music that previews the evening performances.
“People can still bring a picnic,” Broderius said. “That outdoor feel will still be there.”
Details
When: July 31 through August 4
Where: Aims Community College Welcome Center, 4901 W 20th St.
Cost: Free