FORKS — The New Old Time Chautauqua is coming to the Forks area this summer, and the Peninsula College branch there is gearing up with a special exhibit on display at the campus beginning Thursday.
The exhibit at the branch at 481 S. Forks Ave. will feature photos, audio and videos to chronicle the history of Circuit Chautauqua, a cultural and social movement that started in upstate New York in the 1870s and flourished until the mid-1920s.
The History of Circuit Chautauqua Exhibit will be launched with a special presentation by the group’s director, Paul Magid, at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Magid is also a founding member of the Flying Karamazov Brothers juggling group and a historian.
The free presentation will be on the Peninsula College Forks campus and will include refreshments available by donation, with proceeds benefiting the Rainforest Council for the Arts, which is co-sponsoring the exhibit.
During its heyday, hundreds of touring Chautauquas presented lectures, dance, music and dramas.
This form of live entertainment faded with the growing popularity of radio and motion pictures, but Teddy Roosevelt once called the traveling Chautauquas “the most American thing in America.”
The New Old Time Chautauqua follows in the footsteps of those turn-of-the-century personalities.
This summer, the group will tour state parks, and the communities of Forks and La Push have been chosen as partners when the troupe comes to Bogachiel State Park from July 24-27.
The festivities will include parades, workshops, performances and shared meals in different venues in La Push, Forks and at Bogachiel State Park, 5 miles south of Forks.
For more information about the exhibit or presentation, contact Peninsula College Forks at 360-374-3223 or email dscannell@pencol.edu.
For information on the New Old Time Chautauqua, visit www.chautauqua.org.
