Chautauqua being recreated as three-day festival
The Garrett County Republican, April 25, 2019
by Joseph Hauger
*****
To celebrate the upcoming 25th modern-day Maryland Chautauqua, Garrett Lakes Arts Festival, with help from the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority, Maryland Humanities and the town of Mountain Lake Park, will be returning to the historic district of Mountain Lake Park on July 5-7 with a three-day re-creation of events from Maryland’s earlier Mountain Chautauqua years.
This three-day celebration will include a schedule of daily lectures, living history presentations, musical presentations, plus many more exciting events during the day and into the evening hours.
Special event additions will include the opportunity to visit select homes in the Mountain Lake Park historic district and to share personal stories connected to the development of Mountain Lake Park.
Mountain Chautauqua, the first Chautauqua in Maryland, was designed to blend religious revivalism with cultural and educational activities. Beginning in 1881 with the purchase of 800 acres known as Hoye’s Big Pasture, the first camp meeting was held in the summer of 1882.
Soon the community saw the building of cottages, a tabernacle, an amphitheater, a lake, a boathouse, boarding houses and hotels. Lasting for nearly 60 years, Mountain Chautauqua brought thousands of visitors and summer residents by train to the region.
Two local historians will help to set the stage for this event.
Historian Albert Feldstein will present a history of Mountain Lake Park, incorporating old postcards from the 1900s. These include pictures of Mountain Lake Park hotels, residential streets, boarding houses, lakes, Chautauqua locations, railroad stations and more.