Humanities Nebraska (HN) has announced that Nebraska Chautauqua will come to Norfolk on August 2-3 with the debut of a new theme, “Weaving a Nation”. This Chautauqua is presented by Humanities Nebraska (HN) in partnership with a number of local partners including Elkhorn Valley Museum, Norfolk Area Visitors Bureau, the Norfolk Arts Center, Norfolk Public Library, and Northeast Community College. This festival will include family-friendly events, engaging workshops, and Chautauqua-style presentations that allow audience members to interact with historic figures. All events are free and open to the public.
The 2024 theme “Weaving a Nation” is in commemoration of the upcoming 250th Anniversary of the United States and its evolving vision of democracy. This year also marks the 40th anniversary of Chautauqua for Humanities Nebraska. In that time, Nebraska Chautauqua has visited 41 different communities (many of them multiple times) and explored 18 different themes. The last time that Norfolk hosted was in 2014. “Humanities Nebraska wants to explore a selection of the stories that have helped give our country its rich tapestry of backgrounds and perspectives,” said HN Program Manager Kristi Hayek Carley. “Some of these stories will be new to the audience and some will be a fresh look at familiar stories central to the development of our country.” “Weaving a Nation” will be a multi-faceted event featuring education, exploration, and entertainment. Immersive learning experiences will be centered around storytellers, scholars, presentations by Chautauqua-style speakers, breakout sessions, and other activities. “Fundamentally, this event will be an interactive experience for the public with noted scholars,” Hayek Carley said. “We will look at this theme through lenses of local, state, and national stories. She said this Chautauqua will also be an opportunity for the community to come together to share in the discussion of these very complex historical events and to explore how the American story has been enhanced by various groups and individuals. In this, Humanities Nebraska strives to help the public explore what connects us, a central component of HN’s mission. A complete schedule of all speakers and community events at the “Weaving a Nation” Nebraska Chautauqua will be posted online at www.NebraskaChautauqua.org in the
coming weeks. “Weaving a Nation” is presented by Humanities Nebraska with support from the State of Nebraska.
Humanities Nebraska is a private nonprofit with a mission to help people explore whatconnects us and makes us human. HN is funded in part by the National Endowment for the
Humanities, an appropriation from the Nebraska Legislature, private donations, and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment, a public-private partnership with state dollars matching private dollars to benefit the arts and humanities in Nebraska.
