Lake Bluff History Museum is reviving the “Chautauqua-style” program — a format rooted in the village’s history as a popular late-19th century summer resort known as the Lake Bluff Camp Meeting. The resort was a premier site for the Chautauqua movement, a unique American tradition that blended entertainment, community debate and religious education.
The Museum’s Sunday afternoon Chautauqua-style programs will honor this legacy through interactive deep dives by local historians. The remaining programs include:
- TBD: Artists of Lake Bluff – RESCHEDULED for the fall; we will post the date soon!
- 9/20: Lake Bluff’s Sen. Robert McClory and Watergate – Register here
- 10/11: A resident’s Memories of the Lake Bluff Children’s Home – Chautauqua registration
- 10/22: Historic Documents: The Promise of Liberty – 7 pm at Lake Forest High School; Registration to be added soon!
- 10/25: How Culture, Community and Faith Shaped Lake Bluff: The Lake Bluff Camp Meeting & Chautauqua – Register here
Separately, the Museum also be a semi-regular presenter at this summer’s Lake Bluff Farmers Market. To inspire the next generation of historians, the Museum is hosting story-time for children on Friday mornings at the Farmers Market several times this summer.
These sessions are designed to make the past tangible through classic storytelling and hands-on artifacts, helping children discover how their lives in Lake Bluff connect to the broader American story.
Here are the next four dates when Lake Bluff History Museum will be at the Lake Bluff Farmers Market:
- 7/17: What did your great, great. great grandparents wear when they were young?
- 7/31: Going to the Beach in the old days
- 8/14: How Lake Bluff celebrates the 4th of July and why it is important
- 8/28: Stories of Important people and places in our home town