Hilltown Chautauqua

 

Let's boil it down to 10 words:

Ideas. Lively exchanges. Fresh perspectives. Discoveries. Entertainment. Inspiration. New friends.

Ok, that's 11--but they tell what we're all about at the Hilltown Chautauqua of Western Massachusetts, a new series of programs on pressing issues of American life, with speakers, panels, debates, interviews, and musical and dramatic performances.

We begin on September 10, 2016 with "Earthcare: The Sense of Wonder" a day-long eco-festival at the Bryant Homestead in Cummington.

"Earthcare" will address the fundamental question of how we can enjoy, learn from and reorient ourselves to Nature--as we must-- in a time of ecological crisis. 

Among the nationally noted speakers on the program: Juliet Schor and Alan Weisman on “Imagining the Future,” Lauret Savoy on “Terrains of Memory,” and Joan Maloof on old-growth forests.

"Earthcare" will include nature walks, poetry readings, music, Earthdance, food, and an evening performance by Kaiulani Lee of her one-woman play, "The Sense of Wonder," on the life of environmental pioneer Rachel Carson (author of "Silent Spring"). 

This is a rare opportunity to think and to celebrate at the beautiful country estate of the New York editor and poet William Cullen Bryant, one of the most beautiful locations in the Hilltowns, a half-hour drive from Northamtpon and Pittsfield. 

We would like to do more.

If funding allows, we will offer three afternoon or evening programs in 2016-17, in other hilltowns including Ashfield, Shelburne Falls, Worthington, and Plainfield.

Each program will have a noted speaker, a panel, and performing artist(s), and follow a magazine format of 20- or 30-minute segments. These programs will be offered free to the public, with a suggested donation. All-day events, like Earthcare, will have an admission charge and a student discount. 

Quality is expensive, and we are asking for your help to cross the finish line for "Earthcare" (we need another $10,000) and to underwrite later events in 2016-17 ($30,000). 

Why do this? Because the Hilltowns are rich in talent and potential audiences who are drawn to ideas. And we think they need and deserve their own gathering place.

The Hilltown Chautauqua will be a place where local controversies and partisan politics can be put aside--for a while--so we can think about the big picture:

How are we living, and how could we live better?

What are scholars learning about western Massachusetts history?

How can we save our cities and revitalize our rural areas?

Is there a future for organized religion among “nones” and seekers?

Those are a few ideas on our radar. (Visit our website and suggest your own, under “Speak Up.”)

Your contributions will enable us to extend our season by helping us book top-quality speakers and performing artists, of both regional and national renown.

In so doing, you will help bring a new kind of intellectual and cultural spark to western Massachusetts.

Won't you join us with a contribution?

The Hilltown Chautauqua is an independent organization, run in partnership with the Hilltown Community Development Corporation, a 501(c)(3) corporation.