MOUNT VERNON – The Chautauqua Series welcomes the King of Country Music, Hiram King [Hank] Williams to ThePlace@TheWoodward [120 S. Main Street in downtown Mount Vernon] on Thursday, November 5 at 7 PM.  Portrayed by the King of Chautauqua Musical Portrayals, Jeff Putnam, Williams will come to life in first person living history as Putnam sings and plays beloved songs written and performed by Hank as he also shares his brief 30 year life.
It is hard to write one classic song that becomes a standard but Williams wrote at least 10 that have stood the test of time: “Your Cheatin’ Heart”, “Hey Good Lookin’”, “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”, “Jambalaya”, “Cold Cold Heart” and “I Saw the Light”, “A Mansion on the Hill”, “Honky Tonkin’’,  and “Move on Over.” Imagine how many more classics we might have had, had Williams not died in an accident at the tender age of 30.
Opening the program will be Lowell Borcher, performing his own unique blend of music of the era.
The doors open for this donation based event at 6 PM and program starts at 7 PM with Hank Williams hitting the stage at 7:45 and a question and answer period will follow. The Chautauqua Series would like to thank The Ariel Foundation for support in bring these Chautauqua’s to Knox County. For more information on this or future programs in the series, visit www.elixirpresents.com , www.VisitKnoxOhio.org, or call 740-392-6102. If you would like an email reminder on the Sunday before each program send request to elixir_petee@hotmail.com.

Master Historyteller to Speak at Chautauqua Series

MOUNT VERNON - Archeologist, geologist, historian, folklorist, collector, storyteller, writer and "Master of the Temple of Tolerance," James Bowsher will return to the Chautauqua Series  on Thursday October 29 at 7 PM  at ThePlace@TheWoodward (120 S. Main St., Mt. Vernon).  

Bowsher has appeared several times over the span of the Chautauqua Series, now in its 9th season and according to his biography, “His eclectic interests appeared at a very early age. A former teacher was asked what Jim was like in school. She replied, "I don’t know. I never got to see him because he was like a hummingbird." He says that, at age 7, he heard that the oldest Civil War veteran was hospitalized in Toledo (93 road miles from Wapakoneta) and persuaded his father to take him to visit (and make a tape recording now in the Library of Congress). Jim makes his living telling stories to schools, civic clubs, and prisons, illustrating his points with artifacts from his extensive collections. He talks with equal ease about Native Americans, the Civil War, the Ku Klux Klan, the Holocaust, and the atomic bomb. He says his current task is to set to paper a series of 30 books which he's written in his head. He has no computer or email.” 

ThePlace@TheWoodward is a first floor facility that is accessible to people with special needs, doors open at 6 PM. The series is presented by Elixir on a donation basis and supported in part by the Ariel Foundation. For more information on this and future programs visit www.elixirpresents.com, www.VisitKnoxOhio.org or call 740-392-6102.

MOUNT VERNON – Behind every good man there is an even better woman. Behind the Civil Rights activist and man of peace, Martin Luther King, was an amazing woman in her own right, Coretta Scott King. This coming Thursday, October 15, 2015, the Chautauqua Series sponsored in part by a grant from the Ariel Foundation will present Dr. Annette Jefferson as Coretta Scott King. Dr. Jefferson has presented many programs for the Chautauqua Series over the years and never fails to amaze.
 
Besides being the wife of Martin Luther King, did you know she was a writer, singer, civil rights activist, and upon the news of her death, moments of reflection, remembrance, and mourning began around the world. In the United States Senate, Majority Leader Bill Frist presented Senate Resolution 362 on behalf of all U.S. Senators, with the afternoon hours filled with respectful tributes throughout the U.S. Capitol. On August 31, 2006, following a moment of silence in memoriam to the death of Coretta Scott King, the United States House of Representatives presented House Resolution 655 in honor of her legacy. In an unusual action, the resolution included a grace period of five days in which further comments could be added to it.
 
Opening the program will be Chris Petee, Desmond Wall and Mike Petee performing the music of Peter, Paul and Mary, presenting many of the songs the group sang at the famous March on Washington in 1963 when Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech.
 
The event is presented at ThePlace@TheWoodward [120 S. Main Street in downtown Mount Vernon], a first floor facility. Doors open on this donation based event at 6 PM, program starts at 7 PM and a question and answer period with Coretta Scott King will happen immediately after the program. For more information on this and upcoming programs call 740-392-6102 or visit www.elixirpresents.com, www.VisitKnoxOhio.org.