Thank you to our 2024 Donors

Exciting News: Chautauqua-Wawasee’s 2025 Calendar of Events is Here!

We are thrilled to unveil our incredible lineup of programs for 2025! This year, Chautauqua-Wawasee has a mix of cherished favorites and exciting new events to engage, inspire, and bring our community together. From arts and culture to history and nature, there’s something for everyone!

Highlights of 2025

  • New programs like the Old-Fashioned Hymn Sing (April 13), Stained Glass Workshop (September 4, 11, 18), and the Syracuse Ghost Tour (October 18) are sure to become instant favorites!
  • Beloved classics such as the Wawasee Fine Arts Festival (May 24), Taps Across the Water (May 25), and the Old-Fashioned Christmas (November 29) are back to bring joy and tradition.
  • Family-friendly events like the Pawawsee Dog Parade (June 7) and the Patriotic Speakers-Teddy and Edith Roosevelt (June 29) promise fun for all ages.

🗓️ Mark your calendars now and plan to join us in Syracuse, Indiana, for these unforgettable experiences!

We cannot wait to see everyone again and create lasting memories together. Be sure to check out the full calendar above for all dates, times, and program details. Let’s make 2025 a year to remember!

Visit www.ChautauquaWawasee.org or call 574-377-7543 for more information. See you there!

A Heartfelt Thank You to Our 2024 Chautauqua Wawasee Old Fashioned Christmas Celebration Sponsors

As the 2024 Chautauqua Wawasee Old Fashioned Christmas Celebration draws near, we want to take a moment to express our deepest gratitude to the incredible sponsors who make this cherished community event possible. Their support helps bring the magic of the holiday season to life in our beautiful lakeside town, and we are so grateful for their generosity.

A big thank you to:

  • Bass Audiology
  • Beyond Landscaping, Inc.
  • Crossroads Bank
  • Dockside Gifts & Apparel
  • Harkless Foundation
  • Jasper Plastics
  • Jeff & Carrie Herdrich
  • Kiwanis Club of Wawasee
  • Kiyomi Japanese restaurant
  • Lakeland Youth Center
  • Leading Edge Countertops
  • Main Channel Marina
  • Myra & Howard Brembeck Foundation
  • Oakwood Resort
  • Pat’s Chicago Dogs
  • Sands Accounting Inc.
  • Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce
  • Syracuse-Wawasee Historical Museum
  • Teghtmeyer Ace Hardware
  • The Papers, Inc.
  • Town of Syracuse (Parks Dept)
  • Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation
  • Wawasee Boat Company
  • Woman of Today
  • WPOA

Your support, whether through financial contributions, resources, or volunteer efforts, helps create a warm and festive atmosphere that brings our community together. Thanks to your involvement, the Old Fashioned Christmas Celebration will continue to be a beloved tradition for years to come—one that families and friends of all ages can enjoy.

As we prepare for the season’s festivities, we are reminded of the power of community. You are all essential in making this event a success, and we truly couldn’t do it without you. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for helping us celebrate this magical time of year!

Wishing you all a joyful and blessed holiday season. We look forward to celebrating with you at the 2024 Old Fashioned Christmas Celebration! 🎄✨

With gratitude,
The Chautauqua Wawasee Team

Volunteer Opportunities at Chautauqua Wawasee
Volunteer Opportunities at Chautauqua-Wawasee

Chautauqua-Wawasee is a volunteer-driven organization, and we are always looking for passionate individuals to get involved and make a difference in our community. Whether you have a few hours to spare or are ready to take on a larger commitment, there are many ways to contribute to our mission and help support our events and programs.

We offer flexible volunteer roles ranging from short-term tasks to long-term responsibilities, and training will be provided for all positions. Some roles are specific to individual events, while others span the full year. Below is a list of volunteer opportunities at Chautauqua Wawasee that are available, and we’d love to have you join us! (Scroll to the bottom of this post to find our volunteer sign-up form.)

Program-Related Roles

  • Program Champion: Take responsibility for organizing and leading a program or event, including coordinating logistics and volunteers. The Marketing Team will handle advertising and promotion.
    • Possible Champion Needs: Historical Cruises, Digging Through History, Waterfowl Festival
  • Program Co-Champion: Assist a Program Champion by providing support as needed.
    • Possible Co-Champion Needs: Art Festival, Pawasee, Patriotic Speaker
  • Identify New Programs: Help create and implement new programs that meet community needs.
  • Feedback Analyst: Collect and transcribe attendee feedback from programs (e.g., satisfaction, location, and event sources) and summarize it for the Program Champion.
  • Greeters: Welcome attendees as they arrive at programs (task rotates among a team, specific to individual events).
  • Program Setup/Teardown: Help set up tables, chairs, and materials before a program and clean up afterward.
  • Program Ticket Taker/Check-In: Manage sign-ins or collect tickets at the door for ticketed events (task is specific to individual events).

Financial Management Roles

  • Financial Analysis: Perform monthly variance analysis of financial results versus the annual plan.
  • Investment Manager: Manage the organization’s excess funds through CD purchases and rollovers.
  • Grant Writing: Identify relevant grant opportunities and submit applications to secure funding.

Marketing and Communications Roles

  • Fundraising: Help organize and implement fundraising campaigns for Chautauqua-Wawasee.
  • Write Articles: Create articles to promote CHQW and its programs.
  • Write Press Releases: Work with the Marketing Team to craft press releases and send them to media contacts.
  • Marketing Calendar: Maintain the comprehensive marketing calendar, requiring proficiency with MS Excel and pivot table skills.

Community Outreach Champions

  • Milford, Warsaw, Goshen, Elkhart: Become a Community Outreach Champion for one of these areas to help spread the word about our programs and mission.

Other Volunteer Needs

  • Wawasee Neighborhood Outreach: Help build a contact list of Wawasee community members and establish communication channels to improve outreach and engagement.
  • Volunteer Manager: Organize and coordinate volunteers, working with Program Champions to ensure proper staffing for events and programs.
  • Data Clean-Up: Analyze, organize, and clean up our stakeholder database in MS Excel.
  • CHQW Evangelist: Meet with organizations to promote the Chautauqua-Wawasee mission and recruit new supporters.
  • Appreciation/Fun Manager: Plan and implement ways to thank and recognize stakeholders, including attendees, partners, and funders.
  • Board of Directors: Board members are selected from individuals who have volunteered and served on committees.

Interested in Volunteering?

We appreciate your time and dedication and want to help you find the perfect volunteer opportunity! Whether you’re looking to assist with a single event or take on a larger role, we have a variety of ways for you to get involved.

To sign up, simply click HERE to complete our Volunteer Form. Once submitted, a member of our team will reach out to you.

 

Note: Training and a Coach will be provided for all volunteer roles to ensure you are supported every step of the way.

Volunteers Needed for Chautauqua Wawasee Old Fashioned Christmas 2024

Old Fashioned Christmas Seeking Volunteers

Chautauqua’s annual Old Fashioned Christmas will return bigger than ever on November 30, the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

This extravagant event features Santa, 50-foot tree lighting, musical groups, caroling, live reindeer, a horse-drawn wagon ride, a family photo booth, six live characters such as Frosty, Grinch, Gingerbread Man, all done with the goal of keeping Christ in Christmas with a reading from Luke at the historic chapel, live nativity…and much more! Last
year, more than 1000 people attended this free community event! Read more about it HERE.

Sixty volunteers and performers are needed to make this event the best of its kind in all of northern Indiana.

Due to its growth in 2024, Chautauqua is looking for volunteers who want to join in the fun of putting on this community program. This year’s event starts at 5:30 with Christmas music prior to the tree lighting at 6:00 and ends at 8:00. Help is needed for decorating trees, staffing booths, welcoming guests, handing out free gifts, directing cars for parking and more.

If you are interested in learning more about volunteer opportunities, please contact Kip Schumm at 574-518-0678.

Humble Gumption: Cam Shriver’s Insight on Myaamia Survival and History
By: Dave Berry, Chautauqua Wawasee

Survival of the Myaamia-Cam Shriver
On a brisk September morning, about 40 people attended Cam Shriver’s presentation on the survival of the Myaamia people hosted by Chautauqua Wawasee.
Cam is a Senior Research Associate in the Myaamia Center at Miami University (Ohio).
His research focuses on Indigenous history with a particular emphasis on the Myaamia experience of the last four centuries. Cam’s discussion began by establishing the year 1846 as the reference point. 1846 is the year that 350 tribal members were removed from Indiana to Kansas. Part of the discussion focused on the various tactics used successfully by the U.S. government to coerce members of the Myaamia nation into ceding most of their land in Indiana to the United States before and after 1846.

The discussion quickly moved to a series of participant questions about Myaamia farming practices; Miami University’s help in the Miami Tribe’s efforts to re-awaken the dormant Myaamia language; and stories of tribal leaders Peepakicia (Papakeechie), Waawiyaasita (Wawasee) and their descendants.

Given the history of non-Native people pursuing their research detached from living Native Americans, some Myaamia officials have adopted the phrase: “Nothing about us, without us.” In this spirit, Cam summarized his approach to community-engaged scholarship as “humble gumption.” As a non-Myaamia person, he is humble enough to understand that Myaamia leaders have their own priorities, that the nation has limited resources, and that he is only one of many well-meaning people who request Myaamia perspectives. Yet, he still has the gumption to develop long-term relationships that enable him to collaborate and ally with the project of the Myaamia cultural renaissance.

Next year, Chautauqua Wawasee will host Logan York, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, at the WACF Ruddell Pavilion on September 6, 2025.
Cam suggests perusing the Myaamia community blog, Aacimotaatiiyankwi, as a good starting point for learning more about Myaamia history, culture, ecological perspectives, and events: https://aacimotaatiiyankwi.org/

 

And for those of you who can’t get enough history…

Take a look at this! Our three-day Digging Through History Series starts tomorrow! Get the full details HERE.

 

Digging Through History 2024

Kroemer, Lomax and Tse join Chautauqua Wawasee’s Board of Directors.

We are proud to announce, that in January 2024, Karen Kroemer, Erin Lomax, and Carmen Tse joined Chautauqua Wawasee’s Board of Directors.


Karen Kroemer is retired from a career in educational, non-profit, media, and corporate positions. She has served on six non-profit boards of directors in Northern Indiana and Indianapolis. Karen also portrays the nativity angel in Chautauqua Wawasee’s annual Old-Fashioned Christmas.

 

Erin Lomax designs online learning programs and has developed and led educational programs at various organizations including the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Erin is an expert on Manatees and has also written four books.

Carmen Tse is a C.P.A. who has led financial management teams with many private and public companies in Northern Indiana. She has also served as an advisor or board member to six other non-profit organizations, primarily in the arts. Carmen also sings soprano in her church choir.

The current members of Chautauqua Wawasee’s Board of Directors are:
Melissa Buesching
Shelly Judy
Mark Knecht
Karen Kroemer
Larry Lane
Erin Lomax
Mary Moretto
Judy Pursley
Kip Schumm
Ann Strong
Carmen Tse

Chautauqua’s Annual Fundraising Campaign A Success

Chautauqua Wawasee’s once-a-year annual fundraising campaign concluded successfully on January 8. “Due to the generous contributions of Syracuse and Wawasee residents, we blew over the top of our 2024 goal”, a grateful Mark Knecht shared. “Grant funding and donations are the lifeblood of our ability to offer life-enriching programs, most of them free to attend”.

Chautauqua Wawasee develops and sponsors programs in support of the four Chautauqua “pillars”: Arts, Education, Faith, and Recreation. “Our goal is to make Syracuse and the region a great place to visit, work, live, and raise a family” cited Mark Knecht, the organization’s president. “As a non-profit organization, our annual campaign is a significant and critical component of our financial budget.”

Among the programs donations support are the: Purdue Varsity Glee Club on March 1, Taps Across the Water at Dusk on May 26, Patriotic Speaker series featuring Ben Franklin on June 30, Pawasee Dog Parade on June 22, Stories of the Miami Peoples on September 7, Famous Hoosier series featuring John Wooden July 13, Old Fashioned Christmas, and twelve other programs. The majority of Chautauqua programs are offered at no cost to attend, so the support provided by the annual campaign makes these programs possible. Our team of 60+ volunteers is also a key element of our success in 2023.

Chautauqua Wawasee was founded in 2014 to provide the “Chautauqua Experience” for the Syracuse and Northern Indiana region. As a 501c(3) non-profit organization, grants and donations are the primary sources of revenue to support and provide programming.

We are thrilled to announce the 2024 Chautauqua Wawasee event calendar! This year’s lineup is packed with exciting events and activities that are sure to delight all ages. From live music performances and theatrical productions to educational lectures and workshops, there is something for everyone to enjoy. Our team has worked tirelessly to curate a diverse and inclusive schedule that highlights the talents and interests of our local community. So mark your calendars and join us for another year of fun, learning, and community building with your friends at Chautauqua Wawasee!

 

During WACF’s Earth Day event in May, we focused on the Monarch butterfly with the help of Cindy Gackenheimer of Flutterby Gardens from Claypool and Kay Pylant from Leesburg.  We want to inform you of a few future events that are a must if you are serious about growing a garden that attracts pollinators.

Cindy will host her annual Butterfly Extravaganza on August 5, from 4-6 p.m.  She can be contacted at (574) 453-8390 for further details.  Kay will also host a number of “How to Save our Pollinators” sessions during June and July.  Kay can be contacted at (913) 638-6502.  You can find and watch short videos where Cindy and Kay discuss Monarchs on the Chautauqua Wawasee YouTube channel by pressing here.