2024 Special Events
Mhari Shaw/The Chautauquan Daily
LGBTQ+ and Friends Pride on the Belle
Wednesday, July 10
Join us in celebrating Pride while we cruise around the lake on the Chautauqua Belle dancing to the Pride hits of the 70’s and 80’s, as well as contemporary hits. Your Pride cruise departs from the Miller Bell Tower at 6:30PM and returns at approximately 8:30PM. Please arrive by 6:00PM for an on-time departure. Tickets are $75 per person and include appetizers. Drinks are available for purchase. Everyone is welcome but tickets are limited so please purchase tickets early. After the cruise, enjoy the music of Sarah James at 3 Taps.
"Pride on the Belle 2024" has been cancelled due to the strong wind and rain warnings related to hurricane Beryl. On the advice of the Chautauqua Belle Captain and with a strong sense of keeping our community safe, we regretfully have to cancel this event.
Reception with Chautauqua Theater Company
Intermezzo Gathering After Theater**
**Saturday, June 29 at the Intermezzo Bar, St. Elmo’s Lower Level**
This event is really, really fun. We will all buy our own tickets to the **4:00 showing** of the first New Play Workshop of the summer, _Tell Me You’re Dying (or the trial of millicent bonhomme)_ and then afterwards gather at the Intermezzo to meet the cast and crew and share food and drink. _Tell Me You’re Dying_ is a CTC commissioned play by the amazing playwright C.A. Johnson and has a lesbian protagonist. We hope to welcome C.A. and all the members of the 2024 Chautauqua Theater Company to the porch for our Sunday Meet and Greets! Many thanks to Terry Horner for organizing this event!
Discussion: What does it mean to be an ally and how do you become one?
Wednesday, July 24 - 12:15 at Smith-Wilkes Hall
What is an ally? Why would you want to become one? Who’s in the market for an ally?
All good questions, and very topical given the current state of affairs in our country and around the world. This event will start with a panel discussion, featuring a broad cross-section of perspectives from allies and from members of the LGBTQ+ and Black communities, followed by time for Q&A.
In truth, most of us need allies for various reasons. And there is great power in allyship. If each of us embarked on the journey of becoming an ally to someone else, perhaps we could start to heal the divisions in our nation and around the world. Perhaps aspirational, but even if your journey to becoming an ally doesn’t bring about world peace, it will certainly have a positive impact on your life and the lives of others. CLICK HERE for 5 ways to get started (presentation handout).
CLICK HERE for a "Guide to Being an Ally to Transgender and Nonbinary Young People".
Panelists
Michelle “MJ” Johnston (them/they)
MJ is a queer, non-binary technology consultant, spiritual director, and life coach for the queer community. They are very involved in the LGBTQ+ and Friends community group as well as Chautauqua Dialogues. They have a heart for social justice, a passion for reading, and a love of learning, which is why they love Chautauqua so much. They, along with their partner Mollie, spend half the year in Chautauqua and half the year in Pasadena, California.
Olivia Hill (she/her)
In 2024, Olivia Hill joined the African American Heritage House of Chautauqua as the executive director. Hill is an author, visual artist, playwright, and entrepreneur. In 2022, Hill published her memoir, “Travel North Black Girl: A 3,000-mile Journey in Search of Love, Peace, and Home” which captures her incredible journey from the inner city of Kansas City to an Indigenous village in Alaska. Her memoir is a recent winner of the Missouri Writers Guild nonfiction award and Thorpe Menn Literary Award. She also ran a thriving gourmet food business, Solomon’s Rose, in the Hudson Valley area of NY for 12 years. She now resides in Kansas City with her two grown children and grandson.
Bethany Robson (she/her)
Bethany is a psychotherapist in private practice, specializing in sexuality and relationships and has been visiting Chautauqua since 1975, taking music classes while in high school. She discovered PFLAG when she was coming out, first in Jamestown in the early 90’s, then here at Chautauqua for 30 years. Beth initially identified as lesbian, then bisexual, and now pansexual. Currently living in Ashville, NY with her cats, she happily explores various community groups, and always returns to PFLAG gatherings and leadership because that’s one place where parents gather to explicitly support each other and the queer community alike.
Sandra H. Quick, MED, MPC (she/her)
Sandra served the children of Columbus Public Schools and other Ohio schools for 30 years as a comprehensive Language Arts teacher, High School Principal and Customer Relations Supervisor/Mediator. Her mission was birthed from her legacy building heart and passion for sustainable peace in our tormented homes, schools, faith communities and globally. "Helping people restore broken relationships and preserve healthy ones" is a lifelong mission.
Since retirement in 2002, Sandra has been fulfilling her personal mission and eternal significance of “Helping people live joyful lives” as the Founder and CEO of her business JOY Unspeakable, LLC™. She earned the Certified Christian Conciliator CCC™ from Peacemaker Ministries in 2004 and her Master’s in Pastoral Counseling at Ashland Theological Seminary in 2007.
Chosen Family Band: An Exploration of the History and Modern Themes of Queer Country Music
Wednesday, July 31 - 12:15 at Smith-Wilkes Hall
Join LGBTQ+ and Friends for an exploration of the LGBTQ+ renaissance in country and roots music. Justin Hiltner, a banjo artist and songwriter from Nashville and the co-founder of Bluegrass Pride, will join us in this moderated conversation. Attendees will learn about the queer musicians who are building necessary, essential communities and solidarity economies to uplift other artists.