Who We Are 

The Florida Chautauqua Center, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational program established in 1996 for the sole purpose of reviving the historic Florida Chautauqua Assembly which began in the1880’s and lasted until the early 1920’s.  Our organization is governed by a board of directors, and our only focus is to orchestrate the next Florida Chautauqua Assembly held the last weekend of January.  Our 2013 Assembly will be our 18th and is themed “A Journey into the American Chautauqua Movement.”

Our organization is not religiously affiliated nor politically aligned.  Our recent discussions with influential and notable speakers have included Karl Rove (former Deputy Chief of Staff to President George W. Bush), Naomi Tutu (daughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu), Jim Fowler (former co-star of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom), Jenna Bush-Hager, daughter of former President & Mrs. George W. Bush and Celine Cousteau, granddaughter of the late, great underwater filmmaker Jacques Cousteau.

Our organization is governed by a Board of Directors, and the president of the organization is the event coordinator of the Assembly.

Our Goals

• To empower guests/attendees with information relevant to our times through classroom discussions,
   museum exhibits, and out-of-classroom activities relating to art, education, recreation, and religion—all pertinent to the annual theme of the Assembly.
• To provide program content that is cross-cultural, ethnically diverse, and historically significant.
• To promote a public forum for informed discussion and debate.
• To provide high profile presenters.
• To welcome visitors to quality museum exhibits and enhance their learning journey.
• To include Walton County students as “Chautauqua presenters” by tasking them with the creation of a museum exhibit relating to the annual theme.