The Bright Dreams, Hard Times: America in the Thirties Chautauqua is a revival of the traveling tent programs that entertained and educated Kansans during the first decades of the 20th century.

Today people gather each evening on the plains of Kansas under the Chautauqua tent to visit with scholars portraying famous Kansans from history.

Bright Dreams, Hard Times: America in the Thirties includes first-person portrayals of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Senator Huey Long of Louisiana, Pentecostal leader Aimee Semple McPherson, Harlem Renaissance writer and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston, and humorist Will Rogers.

Daily workshops for adults and children, a Youth Chautauqua camp, and special history events are offered throughout the community during the five-day Chautauqua event.

For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit the Kansas-Nebraska Chautauqua website, www.knchautauqua.org, or contact the Kansas Humanities Council at 785/357-0359.

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2008 Kansas Schedule

Beloit • June 11-15
Tent location: Chautauqua Park, Chautauqua Drive & Highway 14
Click here for a full schedule of events (pdf).
Click here for photographs of Beloit from the 1930s.

June 11 - Meet the Chautauquans Social
June 12-15 - Daytime programs for adults and children
June 12 - Evening tent program by Franklin D. Roosevelt
June 13 - Evening tent program by Huey Long
June 14 - Evening tent program by Aimee Semple McPherson
June 15 - Evening tent program by Zora Neale Hurston
All evening programs moderated by Will Rogers

Lawrence • June 18-22
Tent location: South Park, 12th & Massachusetts Streets
Click here for a full schedule of events (pdf).
Click here for photographs of Lawrence from the 1930s.

June 18 - Meet the Chautauquans Social
June 19-22 - Daytime programs for adults and children
June 19 - Evening tent program by Franklin D. Roosevelt
June 20 - Evening tent program by Huey Long
June 21 - Evening tent program by Aimee Semple McPherson
June 22 - Evening tent program by Zora Neale Hurston
All evening programs moderated by Will Rogers

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2009 Kansas Schedule
Ottawa • June 3-7
Hesston • June 10-14

2010 Kansas Schedule
Colby • June 2-6
Belleville • June 9-13

The Bright Dreams, Hard Times: America in the Thirties Chautauqua is supported by We The People, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities.