Aims Community College campus in Greeley, Colorado, will again be the setting for the 2010 High Plains Chautauqua (HPC), a unique blend of theatre, history and the humanities under a Chautauqua tent, in which audiences meet and engage in a conversation with personalities from the past. The August 3-7, 2010 HPC, theme is “American Voices: Breaking the Mold.” 

What do Ben Franklin, Buckminster Fuller, Edgar Allen Poe, Dr. Seuss, Louise Nevelson, John Muir, Irene Castle, James Audubon and Langston Hughes have in common? They are all uncommon. There's not a common, conformist, or predictable thing about them. They have the courage of their convictions. They delight us, infuriate us, scare us, dare us to think big, inspire us to stand up for what we believe, challenge us to rethink our preconceptions, and make us laugh.  What can we learn from these extraordinary Americans? Can we add our voices to theirs in giving voice to a new American chorus of limitless possibility?

President Theodore Roosevelt once called Chautauqua the "most American thing in America." We agree. That's why we have convened some of the most interesting, provocative, and memorable Americans for our next High Plains Chautauqua. As Americans, they all broke the mold.  Together, they will challenge us to do the same. Don't miss the eleventh and most exciting Chautauqua ever. Join us under the big tent, Aug. 3-7, 2010.

Tuesday, August 3: Young Chautauqua cameos and Ben Franklin

            Two Young Chautauquans will be chosen by audition to share the honor of portraying their characters on the Chautauqua stage on opening night, followed by a professional Chautauqua scholar’s portrayal of Ben Franklin.

            Writer, civic leader, philanthropist, scientist, and diplomat, self-taught Benjamin Franklin was an absolute original, evolving from loyal Briton to American patriot and from slave owner to abolitionist. Franklin lived a rags-to-riches life and rejected traditional European values of birth and class as determiners of one’s future.

Wednesday, August 4: Irene Castle and Dr. Seuss

In the nineteen-teens, Vernon and Irene Castle shattered the lowlife reputation of Ragtime – the new, syncopated music – by winning high-society approval with their elegant dancing style.  They challenged the color barrier by hiring black musicians, set new directions in fashion, and broke ground in promoting animal rights.

When Dr. Seuss began to write and illustrate the books that made him famous, American school children were learning NOT to read from Dick and Jane, a series of books with bland drawings and phrases like, “See Dick and Jane have fun.” With books like The Cat in the Hat, full of zany art and harum-scarum verse, Dr. Seuss killed Dick and Jane – a mercy killing if ever

there was one – thereby showing kids and their parents that reading could be FUN.

Thursday, August 5: Louise Nevelson and Buckminister Fuller

Twentieth century sculptor Louise Nevelson said, "Let's break tradition!" And she did just that with her art and her personal life. Not only did Nevelson shake the world of art with her massive wood collages, "environmental" constructions, and giant steel sculptures, but through her choices of rejecting marriage and living in conflict over being a mother, Nevelson squashed all assumptions of social convention.

Futurist Buckminster Fuller developed innovative architectural designs including the geodesic dome, and he coined the terms “Spaceship Earth” and “sustainability,” making them part of our vocabulary today.

Friday, August 6: John James Audubon and John Muir

John James Audubon’s field research was groundbreaking in the field of American natural history. He painted more than 485 species of birds in their natural habitats, elevating scientific illustrations from flat, lifeless sketches to dramatic, dynamic fine art, and he accompanied the illustrations with five to ten pages about each bird’s life story.

Perhaps this country's most famous and influential naturalist and conservationist, John Muir taught the people of his time and ours the importance of experiencing and protecting our natural heritage. Muir will be portrayed by Lee Stetson, who was seen in this role in Ken Burns’ recent documentary series, “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.”

Saturday, August 7: Langston Hughes and Edgar Allan Poe 

James Langston Hughes, writer, poet, playwright, novelist, song lyricist, journalist, and cultural critic, elevated "the blues form" from a folk to a classical art, and always with an aesthetic blending of the personal with the political.  Responding to a request from Who’s Who in America for a one sentence summary of his life's goal, Hughes said, "My seeking has been to explain and illuminate the Negro condition in America and obliquely that of all human kind."

Edgar Allan Poe was the first American author to make a living solely from his craft, and his craft forged several important firsts in American literature! According to Sir Author Conan Doyle, Poe created the first modern mystery; Jules Verne credits him with the first science fiction story; and most literary scholars agree he is the father of the modern short story.

As always HPC engages all ages.  In addition to music and adult programming, there will be daytime programs and hands-on activities for children at the Rodarte Center, Monfort Children’s Clinic, and the Family FunPlex. Young Chautauqua scholars will again shine, presenting their living history portrayals under the Chautauqua tent as a culmination of months of independent research.

Events are FREE, thanks to the generosity of sponsors, individual donors, and many, many dedicated volunteers. 

For more information as the 2010 HPC program is developed, go to our website, www.highplainschautauqua.org or call the Greeley Convention and Visitors Bureau at

970-352-3567.