CHAUTAUQUA, N.Y. — Interim CEO Kyle Keogh has opened the gates to another nine-week summer assembly at Chautauqua Institution, rebounding from deep budget and staffing cuts last year.
“We feel like we’ve gotten through a challenging period and people are back. They’re all coming on to these beautiful grounds and we have some incredible programming set up for the season,” said Keogh.
What You Need To Know
The Chautauqua Institution recently opened the 2026 summer assembly
The nine-week season has a diverse lineup of programming
The majority of upstate visitors come from the Buffalo area
Lecture topics this season include a wide range of global, cultural and political issues.
Week one featured Icons and Instigators: Women Who Change the World, including Norah O’Donnell from CBS News and Deborah Roberts of ABC News, discussing their respective books about women.
“The story of American history is that women have been instigators for change. They have been revolutionary, they have been patriots,” said O’Donnell.
“Small scientific studies show having a strong woman group, but particularly sisters in your life, will boost your well-being and your optimism and your positivity and your sense of self,” said Roberts.
The Chautauqua Institution recently opened the 2026 summer assembly. (Spectrum News 1/Mark Goshgarian)
A packed start to the season that draws about 100,000 visitors from as far away as California to create what leaders call a tradition often passed from generation to generation.
“People walk on the grounds and they feel a calm. They feel a sense of purpose. It’s really a moment in time that we can celebrate each other, and how connected we are, that’s very unique and distinctive here at Chautauqua,” said Vanessa Weinert, vice president of marketing and communications at the Chautauqua Institution.
Across upstate, more than 35,000 tickets were sold last year in Buffalo, making up a little more than 35% of visitors. In Rochester, nearly 4,000 tickets were sold, or almost 4%.
In Syracuse, more than 1,200 were sold, or a little more than 1% and in the Albany, Schenectady and Troy area, more than 680 tickets were sold, or just less than 1%.
Leaders with the not-for-profit institution say while the number of visitors from New York City increases sharply, they rely on word of mouth.
The Chautauqua Institution recently opened the 2026 summer assembly. (Spectrum News 1/Mark Goshgarian)
“Hope that for those that do come from Binghamton and Albany, that they tell their friends and family about experiences here,” said Weinert.
It’s an experience that Keogh calls a uniquely American place where people can relax, reconnect and rejuvenate.
“You can get challenged by different ideas. Everyone from a 5-year-old to an 80-year-old can have an amazing vacation all right in the same area and really truly have their best days,” said Keogh.
A new president of the Institution was recently hired and will start after the season ends on Aug. 30.
And week two lectures kick off Monday with a look at Breaking the News, Charting a New Media Landscape.
Guest speakers include NBC’s Chuck Todd, as well as the president and CEO of PBS, Paula Kerger.