Leslie Goddard as Amelia Earhart
Chautauqua History Alive Festival Comes to A-B Tech June 20–23
President Theodore Roosevelt is said to have called it “the most American thing in America,” yet many people today may not recognize the term Chautauqua. An adult education movement popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Chautauqua brought speakers, teachers, musicians, and entertainers to communities across the United States. It got its name from the Finger Lakes region of New York where it began.
Buncombe County’s own Chautauqua History Alive Festival traditionally features actors portraying famous historic personalities. The event was jeopardized this year when funding cuts in the Buncombe County Public Library system forced it to withdraw support after faithfully sponsoring the series for the past 15 years.
“Thankfully, a small group of people joined together to save the longstanding series by forming the Save Our Chautauqua Committee,” says Ed Sheary, the library’s former director. “We’ve got to raise more money and sell out the house or it won’t be able to continue next year.”
This year’s event, titled “American Adventures. Explore. Dream. Discover,” will be held June 20–23 at A-B Tech’s Ferguson Auditorium. The Save Our Chautauqua Committee formed a coalition with the Greenville Chautauqua Society, which enlists the performers and works with Buncombe on the local event.
The lineup includes portrayals of author Mark Twain; aviator Amelia Earhart; Matthew Henson, the African-American explorer who codiscovered the North Pole; and Wernher von Braun, the German immigrant and rocket scientist who took America to the moon.
Tickets are $5 each night and all performances are at 7 p.m. To help the Save Our Chautauqua Committee, visit greenvillechautauqua.org/june-festival/buncombe_chautauqua.
