I had the opportunity to go to New York State and visit two of my favorite places. There were three days at Chautauqua Institute. It has always been one of my favorite places. I went with my sister, Amy.  Chautauqua is situated on a Chautauqua Lake. The Institute was founded by some of the leading thinkers of their time. Chautauqua is a Victorian gate community and is the first one in America. It is dedicated to the arts, education, religion and recreation. Chautauqua is now an established  international setting for people to come and talk, debate, lecture and learn. It is a place of abundance for the performance of the arts also. There is an Opera House ( Norton Hall), a theatre, a cinema. It has a symphony with members coming together from around the world to perform during the season.

Norton Hall, the Opera House was endowed  by his widow. The Opera House is beautiful and they perform many amazing operas each season. There was one stipulation to the donation of the money to build the Opera House. All operas were to be performed in English so anyone could have the experience of opera.

I began going to Chautauqua in the early eighties. When you walk  under the arches onto the grounds, you are taking steps back into a time when life was quieter and simpler. No DVD’s, no cell phones, or tablets. Each step you take takes you into a more civilized world. A world where children ran at Bestor Park freely playing and absorbing sunshine and fresh air. They would be home for dinner. No worries. The Lake is full of people every day. They are kayaking, sailing, swimming, boating and laughing. There are events every moment that you can attend or not. It just depends on what you want to do. I watched the flow of people and it was so amazing. There were people everywhere, some coming and some going to events, home, to the lake. There is the Athenaeum Hotel. A place to lie your head while there or you can even stay off of the grounds. Food is delicious.

I have heard the Beach Boys in concert at the open air amphitheater adjacent to the lake. I have seen George Benson and even got to meet him. I saw Michael Bolton. I met Gloria Steinem and Sandra Day O’Connor. She actually was there this year while I was there. I suspect she may visit often.

The Chautauqua Bookstore is the second best one I have ever been to. I must admit that actually it is not as good as it used to be. But you can count on finding that odd book that you never saw before. You can go to their website, ChautauquaBookstore.ciweb.org. My very favorite bookstore is the William Faulkner bookstore in Pirate’s Alley in the French Quarter, New Orleans.

In the winter I would drive up, sometimes with friends and sometimes alone. You can walk all over the grounds. The sun is always brighter and the air crisper than anywhere else. So it is a bit of heaven among the darkness that fills great parts of the world.

Our next stop was Lily Dale, NY. It is the first spiritualist community in America. It is a community made up of psychics. The energy is light and they have respect for all religions and spiritual paths. You might receive a message from a loved one who has passed over. Many spiritual leaders have given lectures in the auditorium. You can also get a reading if that is something you are into. You will meet so really interesting people. So our trip was just perfect and I will add some of the pictures, I won’t make you look at the over 600 photos I took on the trip.

Photographed and copyrighted by Barbara Mattio 2014

Photographed and copyrighted by Barbara Mattio 2014

Photographed and copyrighted by Barbara Mattio 2014

Photographed and copyrighted by Barbara Mattio 2014

A sailor in his whites really cutting a rug. Photograph ed and copyrighted by Barbara Mattio 2014

Just having fun. Photographed and copyrighted by Barbara Mattio 2014

There will be more photographs tomorrow. Have a great evening.

Children dancing. Photographed and copyrighted by Barbara Mattio 2014

Fourth of July. All women’s big band from Buffalo, NY. Played big band, swing, jazz while people danced and danced. Even the teens. Photograph by Barbara Mattio 2014

Chautauqua Challenge