Chautauqua HISTORY COMES ALIVE Festival Returns September 2021

Chautauqua's 2021 History Comes Alive Festival traditionally held in June has been rescheduled for September 3 - 12, 2021 to provide a safe environment for our audience. And all public shows will be held outdoors. If inclement weather prevents an outdoor event, the performance will be aired virtually. And as usual, all events are FREE!

Over a year in waiting, this Festival promises exciting performances from groundbreaking people from our shared history who reinvented America. What topic would be more appropriate after a deadly disease has turned our entire world upside-down? After all, after the Plague came the Renaissance.

This ten-day, two-weekend festival offers non-stop live history and fun for the whole family. Get ready to laugh, cry and flat out have a great time at this festival of non-stop live history and fun for the whole family. Daily live shows and more are performed in costume by nationally acclaimed historical interpreters.

Step back in time and meet these brilliant American game changers - hear their stories - ask them how their world changed. Create a new nation with Ben Franklin. Turn darkness into light with Thomas Edison. Spark the Electrical Revolution with NIKOLA TESLA. Set the stage for WiFi and cell phones with Hollywood's HEDY LAMARR. And like ROSA PARKS demand your Civil Rights.

America has always been - and remains - a work in progress. Each generation has reinvented itself, often in the face of extreme challenges. What happens next? Find out this September at the Chautauqua History Comes Alive Festival - Reinventing America! There's nothing like experiencing history outdoors in a beautiful setting. There will be great story-telling, lots to laugh about, and deep secrets revealed. You'll laugh - you'll cry - you'll have lots of questions. And they'll be answered. Bring your stories. Share your experiences. Get inspired. Because it's not just history - it's personal.

"Fantastic opportunity to get a more personal experience with historical figures. The experience with listening to their stories and asking the performers questions both in and out of character is truly engaging. This was my first ever but I plan to be a regular. I plan to bring this up with some of my women's groups to see if we can plan a get away to come for several days. Don't stop offering these Chautauquas - it's not just for teachers and students." Jean Yarsawich, Augusta, GA.

"My daughter Isabella and her friends loved every show. They attended the first one rather as a favor to me but insisted we come to all the others. They enjoyed the interaction with Hamilton, Jackie 0 and Brother Malcolm. Couldn't stop talking about the questions they wish they had asked. We can't wait to see who's coming next year." Hamilton Agnew

WHAT: A ten-day - two-weekend festival of non-stop live history and fun for the whole family. Five different shows performed by nationally acclaimed historical interpreters and other events - in Greater Greenville, SC; and Buncombe County, NC and Brevard, NC. And it's all FREE.

HOW: Historical interpreters dressed in costume will bring each character to life and to speak in the character's own words. The audience will then question the character, delving more deeply into the issues that have been raised. The replies will be historically authentic, based on research using letters, diaries, journals, and published writings. Finally, the interpreter will step out of character and answer audience questions from a critical, modern perspective.

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