Festive traveling show to visit Eastern Washington towns

The New Old Time Chautauqua troupe will be visiting local communities this month to provide free shows, parades, and activities.

A “chatauqua” is a traveling show that includes entertainment as well as education in the tradition of the Chautauqua Institute in New York state. The traveling shows flourished from the late 19th until the early 20th century.

“Lectures by author Mark Twain, suffragette Susan B. Anthony, or a production of ‘The Tale of Two Cities’ are the kinds of entertainment one could expect at a chautauqua show,” the troupe’s website says. “Teddy Roosevelt once called the traveling Chautauquas ‘the most American thing in America.’”

Although events and times vary by location, activities at all locations range from parades with jugglers, unicycle riders, dancers, and community participation to workshops on juggling, acrobatics, mask-making, dance and drumming, folk music, magic, and more. Discussions on health, alternate energy, storytelling, and more may be mixed with an hour-long show featuring music, theater, and juggling.

The New Old Time Chautauqua will be in Keller on June 14, Nespelem on June 15, Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park on June 16, Coulee City on June 17, and continue through other Eastern Washington towns throughout the month of June.

More detailed schedules are available at http://www.chautauqua.org as well as at https://www.cct-cbc.com/new-old-time-chautauqua.