Wythe County Community Hospital Team Celebrates 40th Anniversary of Chautauqua Festival in Wytheville
June 12, 2024
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Wythe County Community Hospital celebrated the 40th Chautauqua Festival with other community patrons and sponsors at the Loretto Historic Mansion in Wytheville, Virginia. The Chautauqua Festival is an eight-day family-oriented music and arts festival presented each year by the Wythe Arts Council in Wytheville. The festival it has become an event anticipated all year long by a growing throng of fans locally and across the region. Wythe Arts Council’s mission is to provide entertainment and extend cultural opportunities to a largely rural area and beyond. What really makes this festival unique is the nightly entertainment is provided to the public, free of charge.
The week-long festivities are conducted in and around Elizabeth Brown Park, just next to the heart of downtown Wytheville. The festival officially starts with a parade on the third Saturday of June and runs through the following Saturday. On the first Friday evening before the official start the next morning, a Festival Prelude is held featuring a hot air balloon glow, food trucks, games, and a DJ on the lawn at Wytheville Community College.
During festival week, the park is filled with art displays, photo exhibits, food vendors, and a crafts bazaar. Clowns and actors perform throughout the park and there’s music from local/regional groups that perform on the upper and lower stages. The large number of lunchtime festival visitors can enjoy an array of live music while they eat, too.