Wythe County Community Hospital Team Celebrates 40th Anniversary of Chautauqua Festival in Wytheville
June 12, 2024
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.