"Explore. Experience. Engage." ~ The Theme for the 22nd Annual Cortland County Chatauqua

This past spring, I received an email from an acquaintance asking me if I would consider taking pictures at this year's 22nd Annual Cortland County Chatauqua Experience. After checking our summer schedules, I agreed to the task. I will readily admit that I was not entirely sure what I was agreeing to, though I had attended a few Chatuaqua events in the distant past. When it rolled around, while it was a busy week to be sure, it was delightful as well.

“Chautauqua” is a Native American (Iroquois) word meaning “a bag tied in the middle” or “two moccasins tied together.” The lake on which the original chautauqua (Chautauqua Institution) was located in western New York is shaped this way and so provided the named to the movement." http://www.chautauqua.com/history_movement.html

Chautauqua (/ʃəˈtɔːkwə/ shə-taw-kwə) was an adult education movement in the United States, highly popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Named after Chautauqua Lake where the first was held, Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua events brought entertainment and culture for the whole community, with speakers, teachers, musicians, entertainers, preachers and specialists of the day. Former US President Theodore Roosevelt was quoted as saying that Chautauqua is "the most American thing in America".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chautauqua

To learn more about the Chatuaqua movement, and what led to its role in Cortland County, please go to this link. I think that you will find it enlightening.

Our five days consisted of enlightening and educational lectures, musical entertainment and enjoyment, good food, and good fellowship. The theme for the week was "Explore; Experience; Engage". The lectures took us from Peru to the former East Prussia; from sustainable farming to the pleasure and wonder of birds; and finally, exposure to many faiths, and forms of contemplation. The week graced us with sun, and torrential rain. It was all wonderful!

The photos below are but a few from our week together.

A wonderful experience for all ~~~~~