To celebrate America’s 250th Birthday, the theme for this year’s Chautauqua is Founding Figures: People Who Helped Create our Nation. A Chautauqua is a free public event where storytellers, historians, and musicians perform first-person portrayals of famous historical figures. This free festival will take place in Bishop Hill IL behind the Steeple Building Museum on Saturday August 22, 2026.
The final Chautauqua performance starts at 3 p.m. with The Power of Song in Democracy by folk musician Chris Vallillo. In this program, Chris Vallillo performs a wide range of material, from the Revolutionary War, through the political songs of the 19th century, the Dust Bowl ballads of Woody Guthrie, right on up to the protest songs of the 50s and 60s. Combining well-known and obscure pieces, Vallillo shares the music, history, and the back stories of the music that shaped the course of our nation over the past 250 years on a variety of historic instruments, including guitar, skinhead banjo, Dobro, and others.
All of the Chautauqua programs will be held behind the Steeple Building Museum at 103 North Bishop Hill Street in Bishop Hill, IL. Folks are encouraged to bring a lawn chair and to bring a friend. This free public event is sponsored by the Bishop Hill Heritage Association, Community State Bank, Fox Tales International, and the Illinois Arts Council. Regional Media is our major media sponsor. For more information, call 309-927-3899, visit ww.bishophillheritage.org, or email bhha@mymctc.net
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