The New Old Time Chautauqua
'Keep the Faith' Tour 2014 July 17-19 in Sandpoint
The New Old Time Chautauqua (NOTC), America’s last and only Circuit Chautauqua, is coming to Sandpoint, Idaho, July 17-19. In addition to a“big show” held at the Panida at 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 19th, several events will be held that are free and open to the community, including workshops, a community potluck, a parade, and community service shows.
The New Old Time Chautauqua designed a museum exhibit that explains in words and photographs how the Circuit Chautauqua movement started, matured, disappeared, and was reborn in the New Old Time Chautauqua. The Bonner County Museum will stay open the night of the Community Potluck at Lakeview Park next to the museum July 17 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at 611 S Ella Ave. in Sandpoint, ID. Phone 208-263-2344 or e-mail [email protected] for more information. Or look up www.bonnercountyhistory.org.
The itinerary includes:
DAY ONE: On Thursday, July 17, the Chautauqua kicks off with a potluck-picnic at 6 p.m. at Lakeview Park. Mayor Carrie Logan will officially open the three days of Sandpoint Chautauqua with a proclamation welcoming Chautauqua back to Sandpoint and encouraging citizens to join in the activities. Everyone in town is invited! Bring food, instruments, a blanket, maybe folding chairs, especially the kids, and a good joke to tell! Listen to band music, strolling musicians and maybe see a few dancing ducks.
DAY TWO: On Friday, July 18, the New Old Time Chautauqua will be conducting community service shows.
DAY THREE: On July 19, meet the New Old Time Chautauqua at the Farmer’s Market at Sandpoint at Farmin Park, where at 12:30 p.m., the troupe performs preview acts of thePanida show. Then, at 1:30 p.m., enjoy a raucous parade led by the marching band, rife with jugglers, stilt-walkers, and dancers. Kids, adults, and groups are welcome to join the performers and the band in the march to City Beach, ending at the Panida – wear a costume or come as you are! It may be hot so bring water. Then, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., join the performers at Farmin Park for free workshops, offered in three consecutive 45-minute sessions. These workshops are geared toward children and adults alike, and accommodate community members of all skill and experience levels. Topics include juggling, magic, history, tap dance, instrument-making, and much more! TheVaudeville Extravaganza is at 8 p.m. at the Panida Theater. Advance tickets cost $15 for adults, and $10 for kids 12 and younger. Purchase tickets at Eve’s Leaves, Eichardt’s Pub & Grill, Winter Ridge Natural Foods, or the CO-OP Country Store. At the door, tickets cost $18 for adults and $12 for kids. Our two-hour variety show offers an evening of delight for the whole family, featuring both locally and internationally acclaimed acts: high-caliber comedy, music, and vaudeville, all accompanied by our rollicking live band! Something for everyone, from age 2 to 102!
THE VAUDEVILLE EXTRAVAGANZA: For over 30 years, the New Old Time Chautauqua has delighted audiences throughout the Pacific Northwest with both locally and internationally acclaimed acts. The variety show is an evening of entertainment and delight for the whole family, and will include a selection of touring talent:
WORKSHOPS: Workshops cover a vast spectrum of subjects, interests, and activities including juggling; magic; clowning; hula hooping; hat tricks; slack line; acrobatics; acro-yoga; bubble blowing; puppet making; mask making; instrument making; tap dancing; soft shoe: a song swap: singing in a “Spontaneous Choir”; playing the ukulele; drumming; learning to make medicines from local plants; the ecology of trees; a personal reflection on the internment of Japanese-Americans during the Second World War and its enduring consequences; an historical perspective of the Chautauqua movement in the US including original speeches from William Jennings Bryan and others; and more. Workshops provide opportunities to play, learn new skills, be creative, have fun, make connections, think, laugh, and grow. They are designed to provide fun for the whole family and to accommodate all levels of skill and experience.
COMMUNITY SERVICE SHOWS: The NOTC spends our second day going to where we are most needed, which in the past has included prisons, detention centers, senior homes, hospitals, and Native American reservations. The NOTC puts on a show free of charge with many of its performers and a full marching band, with the purpose of entertaining and bringing joy to these communities. Depending on the venue, NOTC may also conduct workshops or provide a battalion of volunteers to clean up a park, plant trees, or conduct other projects as needed in the community.
CHAUTAUQUA MUSEUM EXHIBIT: This year is unique in that it is the 100th anniversary of the Chautauqua movement’s arrival in the Tobacco Valley Area. In honor of this anniversary, we have designed an exhibit that explains in words and photographs how the Circuit Chautauqua movement started, matured, disappeared, and was reborn in the New Old Time Chautauqua. The museum exhibit also honors Faith Craig Petric (1915-2013), beloved Chautauquan and renowned folk singer, who attended the original Chautauquas nearly a century ago, and to whom this year’s tour is dedicated.
OUR 2014 TOUR IN HONOR OF FAITH: “Keeping the Faith” The New Old Time Chautauqua “Keep the Faith” Tour 2014 takes place in Idaho and Montana and celebrates the life of beloved Chautauquan and folk singer Faith Craig Petric (1915 – 2013). Utah Phillips called Faith “the Fort Knox of folk music” for the strength of her fearlessness and her extraordinary memory of more than a thousand folk songs. Over the years, Faith was a collaborator with legendary Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, Rosalie Sorrels, Utah Phillips, Frankie Armstrong, and many others. Faith joined the New Old Time Chautauqua for the first time in her late 60’s and traveled on tour every year until age 93. Faith passed away October 24th, 2013. This historic tour returns to her hometown in Orofino, ID, and to the homestead outside of Orofino where she was born. It also returns to communities visited by traveling Chautauquas of the past, as many as 100 years ago. As a girl, Faith attended many of these original traveling Chautauquas, and was inspired by them throughout her life.
A HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUAS: “Chautauqua” was a cultural and social movement that started in the 1870s and flourished until the mid 1920s. During this time, hundreds of touring Circuit Chautauquas presented lectures, dance, music, drama, and other forms of “cultural enrichment.” Theodore Roosevelt once called the Circuit Chautauquas “the most American thing in America.” This form of live entertainment faded during the Great Depression and as a consequence of the growing popularity of radio broadcasts and motion pictures. The New Old Time Chautauqua (NOTC) was founded in 1981 by a group of adventurous performers, health care practitioners, and educators including the Flying Karamazov Brothers and Dr. Patch Adams. The idea was to revive the inspiring Chautauqua spirit and bring live entertainment and educational workshops to diverse rural communities. With the intention of inspiring creativity and supporting community, our traveling troupe partners with local organizations and service groups to present Chautauqua events. We aim to delight, educate, amaze, and provoke the imagination of adults and children alike. The all-volunteer 50+ person troupe has staged 2-6 week summer tours throughout California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Alaska and British Columbia. In Spring 2006, NOTC traveled to New Orleans and the coast of Mississippi bringing free entertainment and friendship to Hurricane Katrina survivors and volunteer relief workers.
LOCAL PARTNERS: With questions or for more information, please contact one of the individuals below.