The Boulder, Colorado Chautauqua is the only year-round Chautauqua and the only one whose grounds is free and is open to the public. The Chautauqua Network is an informal alliance of institutions that range from church camps with Chautauqua roots to weeklong revived Chautauqua (examples would be Waxahatchie, Texas and DeFuniak Springs, Florida).

Over 4,000 people gathered for the opening day of the Colorado Chautauqua on July 4, 1898. Boulder civic leaders and Texas educators joined together to create a cultural and educational summer retreat. Today, the Colorado Chautauqua is one of three remaining Chautauquas in the United States and the only site west of the Mississippi River in continuous operation with it original structures intact.

The word Chautaugua is a Native American word that means "a bag tied in the middle," or "two moccasins tied together." The lake on which the original Chautauqua was located in western New York is shaped this way and is the reason it is named Chautauqua.

The site for the Texas-Colorado Chautauqua was chosen especially for its spectacular mountain setting and its health-giving environment. The program is a period of six weeks and is the most comprehensive intellectual retreat ever presented west of the Mississippi River. The Colorado Chautauqua continues to be a retreat experience for respite and enrichment demonstrating the historic Chautauqua ideals of lifelong learning, love of nature, voluntary simplicity, and music, oration and the arts. They continue to host a unique variety of programs for the community and destination visitors with year-round lodging and programming.

The Colorado Chautauqua is said to be an exceptional representative of the Chautauqua Movement and is deemed THE western expression of the Chautauqua Movement making it nationally significant and a National Historic Landmark. It remains a living document of the Movement's ideals of:

• Learning for all
• Uplifting entertainment
• Useful leisure in a natural and inspiring setting

Cottages

The Colorado Chautauqua has hosted visitors wishing to experience the quiet, contemplative beauty of the Park and enjoy the many programs, lectures, concerts and films since 1898. Visitors originally slept in canvas tents with wooden floors. Simple cabins replaced the tents. Over time, those cabins have been renovated into cozy cottages.

There are 39 privately-owned cottages at Chautauqua. Approximately 12 are year-round residences with the remaining privately-owned cottages used throughout the year and especially in summer. Of the 59 CCA-owned cottages, approximately half are rented by CCA to students and other individuals on September to May leases. The balance of these cottages is available for nightly rental.

Special events

The Colorado Chautauqua features venues for both large and small parties that can be privately rented for weddings, small receptions, bar and bat mitzvahs, memorial services as well as for retreats, meetings, and small conferences. For more information call 303-442-3282.

More than half a million people visit Chautauqua annually. Hundreds of performers, modern musical acts and full symphonies have graced the stage of Chautauqua Auditorium. Some of the famous performers have been:

• The silver-tongued orator, William Jennings Bryan
• Noted prohibitionist Reverend, Billy Sunday
• Grandfather of bluegrass Bill Monroe
• Vice President Al Gore
• Reverend Jesse Jackson
• David Byrne, musician
• Indio Girls
• Los Lobos

The Colorado Music Festival educates, entertains and challenges audiences of all ages by presenting classical music performed by extraordinary professional musicians from around the world for six weeks every summer in the Chautauqua Auditorium. For more information call 303-449-1397.

To learn the history of the Colorado Chautauqua take an easy walking tour or join them for a slide show presentation. The tours include a casual walk through the Colorado Chautauqua Association grounds, entering cottages, Community House, Academic Hall, and Auditorium (if they are available). You will learn about Chautauqua's past and present. To make a reservation for a tour or slide shows contact them at 303-952-1633.

Source: The Colorado Chautauqua National Historic Landmark Online

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© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved