Experience Planner
Plan your perfect Chautauqua visit.
To plan your day, week or season at Chautauqua, select the dates of your visit below and choose your interests. Our experience planner will then provide personalized recommendations to make your time with us as rewarding as possible. We hope to see you soon!
Explore the events and destinations listed on our website and click the "star image" to save your favorites and create your Chautauqua itinerary.
Explore events and destinations here. Use the "star" to save your favorites to create your itinerary.
@ 1:00 pm - 1:15 pm
English Lawn Bowling Tips
Episcopal Holy Eucharist
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Song, Prayer, Communion & Meditation.
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United Church of Christ Worship Service
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Episcopal Holy Eucharist
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The Rev. Natalie Hanson
The Rev. Natalie Hanson has been a longtime presence at Chautauqua; with her husband, the Rev. James Paul Womack, pastor of Hurlbut Memorial Community United Methodist Church, she has co-hosted the United Methodist Missionary Vacation Home at Chautauqua for several years. Hanson has also served Chautauqua as interim senior pastor in 2022, crafting, planning and evaluating worship services alongside members of the Department of Religion.
She is a clergy member of the United Methodist Church, now retired after 40 years of ministry. Much of that ministry was focused in urban parishes, with eight years serving as a District Superintendent in the Western, then Upper New York Annual Conference. On behalf of the Conference and as an adjunct for Wesley Seminary’s Course of Study, Hanson for several years taught classes on preaching and worship development. She was also Co-Convener and worship developer for the NE Jurisdiction’s Clergywomen’s Convocation. Hanson was educated at Wesleyan University and the Harvard Divinity School.
This program is made possible by Week One Presenting Sponsor Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, AHN Westfield Memorial, and HealthNow Administrative Services. This program is also made possible by the generous support of The Samuel M. and Mary E. Hazlett Memorial Fund.
August 16 @ 12:00 pm Week Eight (August 15–22)
Week Eight: Reimagined Food Festival
Week Eight: Reimagined Food Festival
Savor a week of elevated culinary experiences with our reimagined Food Festival. With only 80 packages per week, enjoy intimate moments across the grounds, from two Masters Series classes and five Bestor Plaza demos to a lively Weekly Feast of Friends. Your package also includes a Premium Chef’s Dinner, family‑friendly Feast on Film, a Craft Beverage Tasting and the flavor‑packed Taste Caravan featuring five lunches and two dinners. Cap your experience off with the high‑energy Battle of the Bites and the celebratory Taste of Chautauqua.
Package includes:
2 Master Series Classes
Sunday Feast with Friends Ticket
1 Premium Chef’s Dinner
Feast on Film Event
1 Premium Craft Beverage Tasting Event
Experience Taste Caravan
Battle of the Bites Tasting Event
Taste of Chautauqua
Plus, a limited merch package, $50 in food truck tickets for the taste caravan and a popcorn and soda for Feast on Film.
Package price: $505
Only 80 packages are available each week. Purchase by calling 716-357-6250.
*Packages available for week’s eight & nine. Packages do not provide standalone access to Chautauqua’s grounds and must be purchased in addition to your gate passes.
August 16 @ 2:00 pm Week Eight (August 15–22)
Chautauqua Theater Company Presents How I Learned What I Learned
Bratton Theater
Chautauqua Theater Company Presents How I Learned What I Learned
By August Wilson
Directed by Jade King Carroll
Bratton Theater
August Wilson’s celebrated classic solo piece is an autobiographical tour de force that follows Wilson’s journey through the streets of Pittsburgh’s Hill District — through artistic awakenings, odd jobs and heartbreaks — capturing the moments that forged his identity. From the hustle of his early days to the love affair that almost got him killed, Wilson weaves his youth into a series of deliciously compelling stories. With his trademark wit, lyricism, and truth-telling, he invites audiences into the dynamic world that shaped both the man and the master storyteller he became.
Sara Jones
The first-place winner of the Billie Holiday Vocal Competition and semi-finalist in the American Traditions Competition, jazz vocalist Sara Jones has toured 49 states and performed in numerous concert halls across the country.
Jones has performed as a soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, and Ravinia Festival Orchestra, under the batons of Emil de Cou and Erich Kunzel. An additional highlight includes a solo performance on the Esplanade with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Orchestra. In the Baltimore/Washington area, Jones was a featured vocalist with the Jazz Ambassadors and has graced the stages of the Hippodrome Theater, Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Strathmore Mansion, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Jones, who began her musical career as a pianist, received her Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and her Master of Music in Piano Accompanying at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. After graduation, she chose to pursue a professional vocal career with the Soldiers’ Chorus of the U.S. Army Field Band, where she served for six years. Now a civilian, Jones maintains an active performing schedule and has a CD recording, Daydream A Little on Petite Musique Records. A collection of beloved jazz standards and bossa novas, it features Jones and major Brazilian Jazz Group, Trio Da Paz. Jones’ schedule can be found on her website, sarajones.com.
Also a former educator, Jones was a professor at Towson University where she taught Jazz and Commercial Voice and directed the Towson Vocal Jazz Ensemble. Recent engagements for Jones include a performance by the Sara Jones Trio at the 2024 Monterey Jazz Festival in Monterey, CA, and a guest artist appearance in 2025 with the Buffalo Symphony and Chesapeake Symphony Orchestra. In 2026, Jones will appear with the Columbia Orchestra and the Spokane Symphony.
In partnership with the African American Heritage House
August 16 @ 3:30 pm Week Eight (August 15–22)
Masters Series Culinary Masterclass: Chef Nyesha Arrington
Norton Hall
Masters Series Culinary Masterclass: Chef Nyesha Arrington
See culinary mastery up close as acclaimed chef, restaurateur, and television personality Nyesha Arrington — one of the most influential voices in food today — presents an exclusive Masters Series experience that blends refined techniques, creative storytelling, and soulful flavor.
Designed for curious cooks and serious food lovers alike, this intimate Masters Series program offers live demonstration, real-time Q&A, and rare insight into the techniques, mindset, and creative process of a chef shaping modern cuisine. The unforgettable experience kicks off Arrington’s multiday Chautauqua residency during Week Eight, “The Future of Food: Climate, Technology and the Next Agricultural Revolution.”
For a greater look into the role of food in telling our personal and collective stories, Arrington joins the Chautauqua Lecture Series on Tuesday, August 18, 2026. Later that evening, she hosts an exclusive Guest Chef’s Dinner, providing patrons an elevated dining experience at the historic Athenaeum Hotel.
Laura Marris and Nishant Batsha
Chautauqua Writers’ Center Faculty Reading — Featuring Laura Marris (Poetry) and Nishant Batsha (Prose)
Laura Marris is an essayist, poet, and translator. Her work has appeared in The Kenyon Review, The Believer, Harper’s, The New York Times, The Paris Review Daily, The Yale Review, Words Without Borders, and elsewhere. She has received fellowships and grants from MacDowell, a Katharine Bakeless Fellowship from the Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference, and the Robert B. Silvers Foundation. Her translations include Albert Camus’s The Plague, Paol Keineg’s Triste Tristan (co-translated with Rosmarie Waldrop), and To Live Is to Resist, a biography of Antonio Gramsci. Her work has been shortlisted for the Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize, the Scott Moncrieff Prize, and the French-American Foundation Translation Prize. Her first book, The Age of Loneliness, was published by Graywolf 2024. She teaches creative writing at the University at Buffalo.
Nishant Batsha is the author of the novels A Bomb Placed Close to the Heart (Ecco/HarperCollins, 2025) and Mother Ocean Father Nation (Ecco/HarperCollins, 2022). He holds a doctorate in history from Columbia University, where he was a Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow. Originally from Northern California, he now lives in Buffalo, NY with his family.
THE SHEEP DETECTIVES
George (Hugh Jackman) is a shepherd who reads detective novels to his beloved sheep every night, assuming they can’t possibly understand. But when a mysterious incident disrupts life on the farm, the sheep realize they must become the detectives. “Accessible enough for younger viewers without condescending to them, yet complex enough to engage an adult audience.” -Nell Minow, RogerEbert.com “Tickles the funnybone, touches the heart and just may end up as the summer’s sweetest surprise.” -Peter Travers, The Travers Take (PG, 109m)
August 16 @ 4:00 pm Week Eight (August 15–22)
CHQ Mystic Heart -Church of the Wild -Family Friendly
Outdoor Classroom
CHQ Mystic Heart -Church of the Wild -Family Friendly
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.
Department of Religion
New Visitors Orientation
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 introduce you to the rich history, diverse programs, and unique experiences that Chautauqua offers. 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.