A Chautauqua of their own

by webchq on June 22, 2024 985 views

Courtney Wigdahl-Perry leads students in a water science activity Tuesday near the School of Music’s practice cabins. EMILEE ARNOLD/STAF PHOTOGRAPHER
Lincoln Elementary School fourth-graders Veya Seekings, left, and Arabella Palomo share a laugh during a welcoming activity on Bestor Plaza. EMILEE ARNOLD/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Students engage in a mindfulness activity during an Explore Chautauqua Field Trip on June 18, 2024, in the Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall. EMILEE ARNOLD/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Evelyn Bergman, a fourth-grade student at Lincoln Elementary, points toward the structure that her group built after it survives a river flooding science activity. EMILEE ARNOLD/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Judy Barie, the Susan and John Turben Director of CVA Galleries, talks with students about what they think different pieces of art represent during a Tuesday tour of the Strohl Art Center. After the tour, the kids got to make art of their own during a craft activity. EMILEE ARNOLD/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Shelby Arnold holds up a finished art piece depicting what she is passionate about, a heart with “S+S” written inside. “It’s me plus myself,” she says. EMILEE ARNOLD/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Fourth-graders from Jamestown’s Lincoln Elementary play tic-tac-toe with bean bags and hula hoops led by the Institution’s Play CHQ team. EMILEE ARNOLD/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

In the pre-season weeks leading up to the launch of the 2024 Chautauqua summer, a total of 670 students from eight area schools took their pick of a bevy of Chautauqua experiences created just for them. This year, the Explore CHQ Field Trips featured performances from the Young Playwrights Project and the annual Chautauqua Regional Youth Ballet Spring Gala; tours of the Chautauqua Visual Arts Galleries; STEM activities led by Courtney Wigdahl-Perry and her team from SUNY Fredonia; bouts of fun with the Play CHQ team; and a mindfulness activity run by Chautauquans Kriss Miller and Beth Miller.