Celebrate the season of renewed learning at the second annual Colors of Chautauqua learning festival at the Chautauqua Institute in New York. A mere two hours away from Cleveland, Chautauqua is the perfect escape during a crisp fall weekend. Classes, tours, lectures and other events are scheduled in Chautauqua County through November.
What to expect? The Chautauqua Institution was born in the late 19th century when people were looking for lifelong learning opportunities and assembled at lakeside summer resorts. The first Chautauqua was organized in 1874 by a Methodist minister and businessman on the shores of Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New York.
Artists, writers, and philosophers were involved in the Chautauqua Movement, reawakening of the mind, body, and spirit. At one point there were several hundred lifelong learning centers in the United States, but most of them are gone, and only three, including Ohio’s Lakeside, have been in continuous operation. Theodore Roosevelt said that Chautauqua is “the most American thing in America.”
During the Fall, the entire county around the Lake gets involved in the fun. Visitors can be part of the festivals in area towns, including the Silver Creek Festival of Grapes, the Fredonia Red, White, and blues Festival, and the Busti Apple Festival. The Chautauqua Institution offers plain air painting, leaf printing, and sculpture. Culinary classes include local foods, beer brewing, and preserving a fall harvest.
You can enjoy the Quilting Festival at Chautauqua Institution, historic cemetery tours, vineyard tours, and a 5-course gourmet dinner. The Roger Tory Peterson Institute offers two natural adventure tours with tips on identifying native birds, wildflowers and trees and a lesson on the natural history of the Chautauqua-Allegheny region.
Clear freshwater lakes, Amish communities, quaint villages, and vineyards compliment the colors of fall. “With the Colors of Chautauqua, we are striving to broaden the leisure learning experience for visitors beyond the nine week program season at Chautauqua Institution,” said Andrew Nixon, Executive Director at the Chautauqua County Visitors Bureau. “The Colors of Chautauqua is a collection of several dozen classes, tours, dinners, tastings, and hands-on work experiences meant to entertain while engaging the mind in a new way.” Find a bed and breakfast, pack up the car, and discover something new during a weekend escape to New York.
Descriptions of all the workshops offered during the Colors of Chautauqua can be found on the Chautauqua County Visitors’ Bureau website at http://tourchautauqua.com/colors-of-chautauqua.aspx or call 1-866-908-4569.
Claudia Taller is the author of Ohio’s Lake Erie Wineries and has been a Cool Cleveland contributor for many years. She helps writers and other creative people discover possibilities for their lives through Igniting Possibilities events, including Word Lovers retreats. She has written articles for numerous publications over the last decade and blogs at http://ClaudiaTallerMusings.blogspot.com. Her book can be purchased at http://OhioLakeErieWineries.blogspot.com and makes a perfect gift for history buffs and wine lovers.