Chautauqua Institution

CHQ Mystic Heart: Kainat Felicia Norton & Muinuddin Charles Smith
2025-08-04 07:45 (America/New_York) | Presbyterian Chapel
: Kainat Felicia Norton and Muinuddin Charles Smith are senior Sufi teachers, retreat guides, and interfaith ministers within the Inayati Sufi Order. Together they founded and facilitate the Light of Guidance Center for Sufi Studies in New York City. Charles teaches leadership and sustainability studies at Hofstra University and Felicia teaches at the United Nations International School. They are married and live in New York City. Felicia has been touring the solo dance/theatre piece ‘NOOR’, depicting the life of Noor Inayat Khan, Sufi WW2 heroine, in London, Edinburgh, UK, France, and NYC. Together Felicia and Charles co-authored the book, ‘An Emerald Earth–Cultivating a Natural Spirituality and Serving Creative Beauty in Our World.’ Their book offers basic practices, poetry, and wisdom teachings from the Sufi tradition with the theme of joining inner cultivation and sacred ecology. They travel and offer retreats and workshops throughout the US, Canada, Asia, and Europe.

CLSC Vigil Ceremony
2025-08-03 21:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy

FLOW
2025-08-03 21:00 | Chautauqua Cinema, Chautauqua Cinema
This Latvian Oscar Winner for Best Animated Feature follows a courageous cat after his home is devastated by a great flood. Teaming up with a capybara, a lemur, a bird, and a dog they must rely on trust, courage, and wits to survive the perils of a newly aquatic planet. “A film full of wonders but not a single word of dialogue.” -Cath Clarke, Guardian
“Dreamy, epic, perilous and very beautiful.” -Ty Burr, Washington Post “Poignant, unique, absolutely gorgeous, and a must-see.” -Kristy Puchko, Mashable (PG, 84m)

Laufey: A Night at the Symphony with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra
2025-08-03 19:30 | Amphitheater, Amphitheater
“As a musician, my goal is to bring jazz and classical music to my generation through a more accessible road,” declares the composer, singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Laufey (pronounced lay-vay). The LA-based, Icelandic-Chinese artist’s trailblazing approach paid off, as she is now the top streaming jazz artist in the world with an audience of over 15M across all socials.
Inspired by jazz greats and classical masters while possessing a point of view that could only be conveyed by a 21st century twenty-something, Laufey’s GRAMMY-winning second album Bewitched is a reflection on “the magic and luster unique to youthful love.” Her self-assured musicianship and deeply felt lyrics takes the idea of “classic” music and humanize it, giving her music a relatability to the next generation. “There are very few examples of artists who are on stage with an orchestra one day and making TikToks the next,” she notes dryly. Laufey’s straddling of those two worlds has put her in a singular place across music.

Sacred Song Service - Celebrating the CLSC
2025-08-03 18:00 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy

SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D'ETAT
2025-08-03 17:30 | Chautauqua Cinema, Chautauqua Cinema
United Nations, 1960: the Global South ignites a political earthquake, jazz musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach crash the Security Council, Nikita Khrushchev bangs his shoe, and the U.S. State Department sends Louis Armstrong to Congo to deflect attention from a CIA-backed coup. Director Johan Grimonprez’s magnificent essay film captures the moment when African politics and American jazz collided. “A mind-blowingly rich tapestry of research, music, and the jazziest history lesson imaginable, with freewheeling beats and riffs echoing into today with urgent purpose.” -Tomris Laffly, Harper’s Bazaar “Riveting and propulsive!” -Lovia Gyarkye,Hollywood Reporter (NR, 150m)

Hebrew Congregation, Shirley Lazarus Sunday Evening Lecture Series
2025-08-03 17:00 | Smith Wilkes Hall, Smith Wilkes Hall

Palestine Park Tour
2025-08-03 17:00 | Palestine Park, Palestine Park
“A Journey Through the Holy Land in the times of Jesus”

Orientation for New Chautauquans
2025-08-03 16:30 | Hultquist 101, Hultquist 101
Join us for lemonade and cookies at the Orientation for New Chautauquans, where we warmly welcome you to our vibrant community. This event is designed to acquaint you with the rich history, diverse programs, and unique experiences that Chautauqua has to offer. Meet fellow newcomers, engage with staff, and learn about the array of cultural, educational, and recreational opportunities available. Whether you’re here for a day, a week, or the entire season, this orientation will help you make the most of your visit and feel right at home.

Church of the Wild
2025-08-03 16:00 | Outdoor Classroom
Kriss Young Miller and her husband Gary manage the Quaker House. Kriss is a 2022 graduate of Earlham School of Religion with her Master of Arts in Peace and Social Transformation. Kriss is currently a student of Victoria Loorz in the Seminary of the Wild Earth at the Center for Wild Spirituality. She has completed Wild Church Leadership training and is deeply grateful for the opportunity to work to build connections with Chautauquans in the sacred wild.

Marita Golden and Valerie C. Woods
2025-08-03 15:30 | Hall of Philosophy, Hall of Philosophy
Chautauqua Writers’ Center Faculty Reading — Week Seven — Featuring Marita Golden (Prose) and Valerie C. Woods (Writing for TV/Film)
Marita Golden is an award-winning author of over twenty works of fiction and nonfiction. Her books include the novels The Wide Circumference of Love, and After, and the memoirs Migrations of the Heart, Saving Our Sons, and Don’t Play in the Sun: One Woman’s Journey Through the Color Complex. Her most recent work of nonfiction is The New Black Woman: Loves Herself, Has Boundaries, Heals Every Day, a sequel to her book The Strong Black Woman: How a Myth Endangers the Physical and Mental Health of Black Women. In February 2025, Mango Publishing released How To Become A Black Writer: Creating and Honoring Black Stories That Matter.
She is the recipient of many awards including the Writers for Writers Award presented by Barnes & Noble and Poets and Writers, an award from the Authors Guild, and the Fiction Award for her novel After awarded by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. She has lectured and read from her work internationally. She has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, been featured as a question on Jeopardy, and is a two-time NAACP Image Award nominee. She has been frequently interviewed on NPR.
Co-founder and President Emerita of the Zora Neale Hurston/ Richard Wright Foundation, Marita Golden is a veteran teacher of writing. She taught at the University of Lagos, in Nigeria and has served as a member of the faculties of the MFA Graduate Creative Writing Programs at George Mason University and Virginia Commonwealth University and in the MA Creative Writing Program at John Hopkins University. She has served as a Distinguished Writer in Residence at the University of the District of Columbia. As a literary consultant, she offers writing workshops, coaching, and manuscript evaluation services.
Valerie C. Woods is the Emmy winning Co-Executive Producer/writer for the Disney+ series The Crossover (2023). She was also a Co-Executive Producer/writer for the AppleTV+ mini-series, The Big Cigar (May 2024) and Co-Executive Producer/writer on Season 2 of the Netflix drama series Sweet Magnolias (2021-22). She also worked in the same position for Season 4 (2018-2019) of the critically acclaimed television drama series Queen Sugar, airing on Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). Ms. Woods is in development, through her MCV Productions banner, on the television adaptation of A Cowboy to Remember, the Cowboys of California trilogy of novels by Rebekah Weatherspoon. Also in development is a television adaptation based on Wrapped in Rainbows – The Life of Zora Neale Hurston, the award-winning biography written by Valerie Boyd.
