Chautauqua

Join us for the next Chautauqua!

August 8 & 9, 2025 in Scottsbluff/Gering

Free family fun with an educational thread!

In commemoration of the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States, HN invites you to explore a selection of lesser-known stories from our country’s rich tapestry of backgrounds and perspectives. It’s a fun, interactive experience that will help people connect with history and each other.

Help HN bring Chautauqua to Gering/Scottsbluff in 2025!

Become a Chautauqua Sponsor!

Chautauqua is a unique opportunity for communities to explore key time moments of history and culture that still affect our lives today.

  • Family friendly
  • Multiple opportunities to explore topics from the past that affect us today
  • Interact with experts, family members, neighbors, and friends
  • Free for everyone!

Humanities Nebraska presents this new style of Chautauqua to give participants multiple opportunities to explore the social, economic, political, and international influence of historic events on today’s society. It includes a variety of activities and events for Nebraskans of all ages to enjoy, led by various experts and scholars.

Join us in Scottsbluff/Gering on Friday & Saturday, August 8 & 9, 2025!

This festival will include family-friendly events, engaging workshops, and Chautauqua-style presentations that allow audience members to interact with historic figures. Download the complete schedule (pdf) of Chautauqua events and pre-Chautauqua opportunities or scroll down to see what’s up next!

All events are free and open to the public. HN thanks the many donors who have made this possible.

Download the printable schedule (pdf)

What is Chautauqua?

With origins in the late 19th century, Chautauqua combines oratory and lectures with literary readings and musical entertainment. In the past, these touring groups would entertain and inform people living on the plains about political and cultural happenings. The name itself comes from a resort community in New York State where in 1875, a summer program of lectures, sermons, and music attracted such enthusiastic audiences that within a few years similar programs sprang into existence for the public in other parts of the country. Today, Chautauqua upholds the tradition of offering entertainment, education, and community-based heritage. Humanities Nebraska has re-imagined Chautauqua to include contemporary experts offering insight regarding how historic events and achievements affect our lives today, along with scholars-in-residence presenting first-person portrayals of some of our most important historical figures. It’s family-friendly fun, history and activities for all ages.
Would you like to know when activities are added and plans are finalized?

Events Search and Views Navigation

Event Views Navigation

Today

A Nebraska Tapestry

Scotts Bluff County Fairgrounds County Road East, Mitchell, NE, United States

A pre-Chautauqua event! Featuring Dan Holtz and Gary Zalud See Dan and Gary live on the Free Stage at the Scotts Bluff County Fair in Mitchell! Dan Holtz is a […]

The No Name Bluegrass Band

Gering Civic Plaza 1450 11th Street, Gering, United States

A pre-Chautauqua event! Enjoy the No Name Bluegrass Band with your family and friends! Free and open to the public at the Gering Civic Plaza.

Lewis & Clark: What Was Their Value Worth? Seaman, York, Sacagawea & Pomp Stories

Legacy of the Plains Musuem 2930 Old Oregon Trail, Gering, NE, United States

The Corps of Discovery was a fascinating group of individuals. But there were four members of the corps that were “valuable” but not paid. Hunt discusses these four members and tells stories of their adventures. She also dispels a few myths about these members. This program is appropriate for all ages. Presented by Renae Hunt

Early Japanese Settlers in Nebraska

Legacy of the Plains Musuem 2930 Old Oregon Trail, Gering, NE, United States

Although the majority of Japanese immigrants settled in Hawaii, California, and the West Coast, some pushed further inland, to work on the railroad and coal mines, ending up in Nebraska. A few died from illness, the Spanish Flu, train accidents, their gravestones written in Japanese characters. Others returned to Japan or moved to larger cities. […]

Guadalupe Dancers

Midwest Theater 1707 Broadway, Scottsbluff, NE, United States

Enjoy traditional music while the Guadalupe Dancers perform! The Los Guadalupanos is a Traditional Mexican Folklore dance group out of Western Nebraska.

Meet El Vaquero: America’s First Cowboy

Midwest Theater 1707 Broadway, Scottsbluff, NE, United States

Free family fun with an educational thread! El Vaquero is a conglomeration of many different cowboys who first roamed the continent. You’ll be enthralled as he is brought to life by Angel Vigil. Audience members will be invited to ask questions of El Vaquero, as well as Angel Vigil.

Women’s Rights and the Saucy Mrs. Adams

Legacy of the Plains Musuem 2930 Old Oregon Trail, Gering, NE, United States

Five years after Abigail Smith married John Adams, the American colonies adopted the British law of coverture. This law held that no female person had a legal identity. Married women owned nothing—not even the clothes on their backs. More importantly, they had no rights over their own bodies, or custody of the children they bore. […]

Sacred Seed: Reviving Indigenous Agricultural Lifeways

Legacy of the Plains Musuem 2930 Old Oregon Trail, Gering, NE, United States

Seed is sacred to the First Peoples of this land. Taylor Keen shares his 10 year journey to reclaim his Omaha tribal seeds and the teachings afforded by the Plant Nations. Presented by Taylor Keen, who is of Omaha and Cherokee heritage and is a full-time instructor at Creighton University. Keen is the author of […]

The Origins of American Cowboy Culture

Legacy of the Plains Musuem 2930 Old Oregon Trail, Gering, NE, United States

Why are there rodeos? Why are there cowboys? Why are there horses in America? Where did the word cowboy come from? The Stetson cowboy hat? Why were there TV shows like Gunsmoke, The Lone Ranger, and The Cisco Kid? This fascinating presentation traces cowboy culture’s roots from the open plains of Spain to the establishment […]

“Ins” & “Outs” of the Nebraska Hall of Fame

Legacy of the Plains Musuem 2930 Old Oregon Trail, Gering, NE, United States

This session will discuss the various Nebraskans, some well-known and some lesser-known individuals, who have shaped the history and culture of our state. Presented by Dr. Sara Crook, Professor Emeritus, Peru State College This talk will be given in the East Room.

Schedule subject to change.