A Unique Snowbird Retirement: Chautauqua Style

February , 2022 — Depending where you live, you might be familiar with the concept of a Chautauqua community, those seasonal assemblies dedicated to four pillars: the arts, education, recreation, and religion. As such they offer the perfect snowbird retirement for people who love culture.

Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were part of an adult education and social movement in the United States that brought speakers, teachers, musicians, showmen, preachers, and specialists of the day to communities. Lakeside Chautauqua on the shores of Lake Erie was the first assembly in 1873, followed the next year by the Chautauqua Institute on western New York’s Chautauqua Lake. Although at one point there were several hundred Chautauquas, these two are among the few independent Chautauquas that persist in the 21st century. The drawback to a Chautauqua retirement is that they are seasonal – after summer ends you need to find a place to live the rest of the year.

For culture loving people – you can’t beat a Chautauqua retirement

Your editor’s father loved going to the Chautauqua Institution near Bemus Point, NY. For him, renting a cottage or quaint hotel room on the grounds for a week was a cultural heaven. There were multiple daily lectures about everything from bats to history, concerts, and plays galore. I remember seeing the Kingston Trio as well as my first real play there, “The Fantasticks”, and loving both. That visit included a brief stint as a waiter at Olga’s Tea Room (evidently not my calling). The Institute is on the lake and access is gated. There is a short season when regulars and visitors would return every year to soak up the culture and swim in the deep lake. Wikipedia has a great section about the Chautauqua Institution with wonderful photos of its hotels and facilities.

Lakeside Chautauqua is on Lake Erie near the interesting town of Marblehead. Founded by Methodists and still affiliated with them, the Lakeside Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Almost all of the cottages are unique; many are wood houses in Victorian style, although different styles of buildings and materials can also be seen. Restaurants and shops are clustered around the downtown park of Lakeside. Recreation facilities, meeting halls, places of worship, and parks have been added over the years.

Bayview, Petoskey, Michigan. Considered to be the Chautauqua on Lake Michigan, it is made up of over 400 colorful cottages and homes with beautiful architectural styles. We recently met Sophie, who has been spending her summers at Bayview in Michigan for all of her 70+ years. She came here as a child, and her father insisted that she and her three sisters take music lessons, voice for her. She loves the incredible view of giant Lake Michigan from this Chautauqua, along with the comfort of actually being on a quiet smaller lake. Because it is an historic district you cannot stay there in winter, even if your cottage is winterized and you agree to pay for the snowplowing. Sophie noted that Bayview is one of the few Chautauqua’s that has been able to keep up the fourth pillar of the arts with Performing Arts, because of the expense. The Chautauqua Institute in New York is the leader in that regard in her view. Bayview has a 6 month season from May-Oct.

More Chautauqua’s

Thousand Island Park, New York. Near Clayton, it was founded in 1875 as a Methodist Campground, and thrived as a family retreat with a Chautauqua atmosphere of religious, cultural and recreational activities. Today it continues as a peaceful haven with many summer cottages and single family homes for year-round living.

Pacific Grove, California was founded as a Chautauqua rent in 1875 and subsequently attracted artists and writers like John Steinbeck. TV fans of “Big Little Lies” might recognize the scenery. Although the town is not really a Chautauqua anymore, it is very culturally oriented. The Feast of Lanterns is a weeklong festival with opening ceremonies held at Chautauqua Hall, a pet parade, and a Chinese-style pageant. Since it is near Monterey and Pebble Beach, real estate prices in this year round community are very high.

Ocean Park is the Chautauqua-by-the-Sea, located in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, south of Portland, and is part of the Chautauqua Trail.  As in the Chautauqua tradition, the community is dedicated to spiritual growth in a non-denominational, inter-faith setting, an offers an array of diverse programs centered on religion, education, recreation and culture. The season runs from mid-June until the first week in September, with weekly rentals available. Ocean Park also features seven miles of beach, and historic buildings which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

DeFuniak Springs, population 6,000, was established as a final-destination resort with the cooperation and aid of the Chautauqua Movement. The Chautauqua Hall of Brotherhood, an auditorium seating 4,000, was constructed on Lake DeFuniak in the center of town. It also contains various other historically significant landmarks such as the Walton County Library on Circle Drive, the oldest extant library in the state of Florida.

Is a Chautauqua retirement for you? If you love culture, music, lectures as well as living with like-minded souls, consider a Chautauqua on your next summer trip. The Chautauqua Trail website provides a list of some of the remaining Chautauquas from Colorado to Maine. Who knows, you might even consider one for your summer home, just as Sophie does for Bayview in Petoskey. Please share your thoughts in the Comments section below.

For further reading
What Type of Retiree Will You Be?