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Sarah Gelfand

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Love of opera informs Nusbaum, VanBlargan’s Chautauqua tale

Ron VanBlargan and Susan Nusbaum have a truly great Chautauqua story. While many couples have married or met on the grounds, VanBlargan and Nusbaum can claim both. With strong memories that span several stages of both of their lives, VanBlargan created his own legacy, naming Chautauqua as a beneficiary in his will. VanBlargan and Nusbaum’s romance was sparked by an Opera Guild cast party in 2003. VanBlargan served on the Opera Guild board, while Nusbaum was an incoming member; the two were assigned to plan the cast party.

Arts, humanities justify themselves, Fish argues

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Stanley Fish likely will stand out from this week’s other speakers with his unconventional “case for the arts” at his lecture at 10:45 a.m. today in the Amphitheater. Fish said his appreciation for the humanities is the antithesis of the traditional “justification” for the arts.

Chautauqua Fund director recognized for 21 seasons of work

Nalini Nadkarni, co-founder of the Sustainable Prisons Project.
Every year, the Chautauqua Fund recognizes its volunteers with a luncheon in the Athenaeum Hotel. At this year’s luncheon, which took place last Tuesday afternoon, the Chautauqua Fund volunteers gathered not only to celebrate their own work but also to acknowledge that of David Williams. After 21 seasons in the Colonnade, Williams, the director of the Chautauqua Fund, is retiring.

Couple extends Chautauqua experience through volunteering

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It’s easy to sit in a lecture and hear about how to fix the government or how to find the common good, but a challenge for Chautauquans is taking those lessons and calls to action outside the gates. Susan McKee and Hal Simmons have done just that — actively taking what they learn here at Chautauqua and putting it into action.

Precision, consistency key to Keyser’s lemon tart success

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Equipped with a brand-new, lemon-yellow wagon that matches his famous lemon tarts, Herb Keyser is back in business for the season. Every Monday morning, Keyser marches up and down the brick path in front of the post office selling his homemade lemon tarts to those waiting in the ticket line for the Logan Chamber Music Series. With his lemon tarts, Keyser found a fun and creative way to fundraise; he donates all of the proceeds to the Chautauqua Fund, sometimes multiplying his initial investment in ingredients almost five-fold.
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NOW Generation reception focuses on spreading the word

The younger set of Chautuauqua Fund donors opened the 2011 Season by greeting old faces and meeting new friends at President Tom Becker’s cottage on Saturday evening. The Beckers held the reception to welcome the NOW Generation back to the Institution. The NOW Generation is a group of Chautauqua Fund donors who are less than 50 years old.

Anderson, Parsons support Chautauqua through Scholar in Residence

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From their porch at the Keystone, Ed Anderson and Joan Parsons can look down to the street below them where Anderson’s children, and now their grandchildren, learned to ride their bicycles, and across to the trees that Anderson, as a birder, studies with a careful eye. Chautauqua is as much a part of Anderson and Parsons’ lives as they are a part of the Institution; this is their second season sponsoring the Scholar in Residence program, which ran from Tuesday to Thursday.

Having married into Chautauqua, Faust finds a place to grow family roots

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At 9:30 a.m., Sylvia Faust’s grandchildren are all down at the Boys’ and Girls’ Club, and Faust has a rare quiet moment. For most of the summer, this year-round Chautauqua resident has a full house. Faust’s two children and five grandchildren spend much of the season with her, and she channels their energy into her own volunteer work on the grounds. Faust, a Chautauquan for almost a half-century, serves on the Chautauqua Foundation’s planned giving committee.

Leach to lead discussions on civility in public discourse

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Adding further depth to this week’s theme of “Government and the Search for the Common Good,” Jim Leach, chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, will be holding two additional sessions this week to augment his 10:45 a.m. Monday lecture. At 3:30 p.m. today in the Athenaeum Hotel Parlor, Leach will lead a Town Hall-style meeting, opening up the discussion of the topic at hand for a more advanced dialogue with Chautauquans.

Applied ethics series to examine country’s fallen standards

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If there is nothing more patriotic than dissonance, Chautauquans will certainly celebrate Independence Day in good form with a series of special lectures focusing on U.S. government dysfunction that starts this afternoon. Four speakers from the Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics at Arizona State University will lead the Lincoln Applied Ethics Lectures at 4 p.m. today through Wednesday at the Hall of Philosophy.
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Groffs ensure others have their own Chautauqua experience

When Kent and Fredrika “Freddy” Groff first visited Chautauqua in the summer of 1976, they were so taken with the place that they settled here almost immediately. “We came on a Sunday and bought a house on Friday,” Kent said. Their attraction to the Institution remains unwavering after 35 years, and they are committed to help facilitate other families’ visits to Chautauqua, particularly those who are less able financially.

Barcott to give special lecture on development efforts in Kenyan slum

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Rye Barcott will discuss his book It Happened on the Way to War at 4 p.m. today in the Hall of Philosophy. It Happened on the Way to War is an account of Barcott’s experiences living in the Kenyan slum of Kibera. Barcott initially visited Kibera as a 20-year-old student from the University of North Carolina on his way to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps.

A place to rest their heads

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After almost a year of construction, trucks are lining the foot of Bowman Avenue for the last time as Rachel Mazza Borzilleri hurries across the porch of the new Hagen-Wensley Guest House, making last-minute adjustments. Borzilleri, the hostess of the Hagen-Wensley, welcomed the house's first guests Saturday, reigniting a tradition of integrating speakers and guests into Chautauqua's daily fabric.