Muskoka Chautauqua is pleased to be again hosting a festival celebrating curiosity and creativity in historic Windermere Village from August 5-14. This year’s festival will take place in intimate venues throughout this walkable village, with most events hosted in an open-air theatre in the woods overlooking Lake Rosseau, just as they were 100 years ago.
The 2022 Summer Festival features over 50 events, including:
- An opening waterfront concert at the Windermere Wharf by Big Smoke Brass Band
- A daily outdoor morning movement and meditation series
- A series of visual arts workshops, where participants can learn plein-air painting, textiles, nature journaling, wind chime making, mosaics and screen-printing, featuring artists Greg & Susan Hindle, Melanie Siegel, Rob Elliott, Audrey Mah, Christine Hume, and Sean William Dawson
- A new performing arts series including a fresh take on Shakespeare, a songwriting workshop and a theatre improv workshop
- A collection of lectures and literary events, including a reflection on land ownership with CBC Journalist Craig Desson, a lecture about mapping Muskoka from early indigenous wayfinding to satellite imaging, the 2022 Muskoka Authors Panel, a presentation about the WWII RCAF Women’s Division, and a panel discussing architectural heritage in Windermere.
- Evening musical performances including blues, folk, and opera, plus the Toronto All-Star Big Band and Juno nominees Sultans of String
- A four-film outdoor documentary film series, curated by the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, including a beautiful globe-trotting journey celebrating Scrap, the inspirational Okay! (The ASD Band Film), The Talented Mr. Rosenberg story of the Yorkville Swindler, and Tom Wilson’s impactful Beautiful Scars
- Historical walking tours around Windermere Village, including both guided and self-guided (app) options
- A family fun art party with music, art, children’s entertainment, a barbecue by the Windermere Lions Club, and a bake sale by the Windermere Women’s Institute
- New this year is the Muskoka Chautauqua Bookstore featuring their 2022 Reading Circle selections, a display of Muskoka Chautauqua archives, Alcuin Society Book Design Awards winners, and a welcome centre/ticket booth opening July 27th at the Windermere Village Hall.
The 10-day program kicks off with a Festival Welcome and Opening event on Friday, August 5th. This is a great opportunity for new and seasoned festival goers alike to get an overview of the entire festival from each of the festival programmers.
“Chautauqua is about creating and enjoying art and doing it while being fully immersed in a sense of place,” says Gayle Dempsey, who is co-founder of the festival with Gary Froude. “Our festival is a chance for visitors to take part in some amazing cultural tourism, to create and to celebrate creators, to share this glorious place with others, and to learn more about it in a fun and exciting way.”
Tickets are available now by donation and can be reserved at www.muskokachautauqua.com.
The 2022 Muskoka Chautauqua Arts & Culture Festival runs August 5 to 14. The festival site and ‘Theatre in the Woods’ is located at 1039 Golf Avenue in the historic village of Windermere.
