But the begats really began in 1960 with 13-year-old Warren listening to the Kingston Trio sing stories of someone trapped on a train in Boston or a jail in Tijuana. Warren’s decision to become a songwriter opened a career path that would lead him and many others -- including the Kingston Trio -- to a canvas tent on Mt. Ashwabay in Bayfield, Wisconsin.

“Culture under the tent” enjoys a rich tradition in the Midwest. In 1874 the Chautauqua Assembly of Lake Chautauqua, New York, offered adult education in the sciences and the humanities. Soon after the turn of the century, traveling Chautauquas took the form of tent shows moving from town to town during the summer offering lectures and entertainment. The town of Bayfield hosted several Chautauquas during the years preceding World War I.

A permanent Chautauqua landed in Bayfield in the summer of 1986 after the talents of Warren, his partner Betty Ferris and the Lost Nation String Band attracted the attention of community leaders in Bayfield, Ashland and Washburn. The group had received rave reviews for their original musical histories produced and performed for three specific occasions: Souvenir Views for the Washburn centennial celebration; Whistle Comin’ In for the Ashland centennial; and Riding The Wind for the Bayfield all-class reunion. Audience response to Riding The Wind -- presented in the Bayfield High School gym -- was so overwhelming that the group was asked to add an extra performance. Bayfield resident, Mary Rice along with the MAHADH Foundation (established by Mary Andersen Hulings and A.D. Hulings) offered to build a permanent theater that would showcase the myriad talents of these creative, experienced artists.

But Warren Nelson -- a “man of the cloth” -- had canvas in his blood after spending summers with his dad traveling to county fairs across southern Minnesota. He proposed a Chautauqua-style entertainment venue that would draw visitors from across the Upper Midwest to enjoy a variety of original productions, regional artists, and national headliners. The first tent and the first season topped Mt. Ashwabay in the summer of 1986, offering 42 shows with 5,218 tickets sold. Last year 26,825 tickets were sold to 74 shows!

Funding provided critical financial support, but sweat equity was just as critical. When Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua was incorporated as a non-profit corporation, officers Betty Ferris, Carolyn Sneed and Tom Lindsey devoted countless hours to administering this new entity. Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua had dozens of branch offices -- the living rooms, dining rooms, cabins and cars of everyone involved. Musicians, fans and townspeople pitched in -- literally -- to set up the tent at the beginning of the season and help keep things running smoothly throughout the summer.

A tradition of well-organized community support saved the life of Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua in 2000 when the tent burned to the ground in the middle of the night as a result of an electrical short. Shrewd planning and some good luck had provided a back-up tent. The season lost only one night of performances.

And the begats kept begettin’. To date, over 12 different Chautauqua Original Musicals have been presented under the Big Top, along with regional favorites and nationally renowned entertainers like Taj Mahal, Bill Monroe, The Smothers Brothers, Willie Nelson, Arlo Guthrie, Johnny Cash, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Garrison Keillor, and -- yes -- the Kingston Trio. As an experienced booking agent, Warren was able to attract extraordinary talent to the tent. And once they were here, they always wanted to come back.

Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua continues to advance its own mission and stay true to the ideals of the original Chautauqua movement by touring during the off-season, delivering “big dang deals” (and a few “medium-sized dang deals”) to schools and community theaters throughout the region. Tent Show Radio is beamed into the homes of families on 53 public radio stations across the country. The Lost Nation String Band is still together and their music is heard on CDs, videotapes, DVDs and mp3 files -- media that didn’t exist when they first started performing together. Digital images have replaced thousands of slides used to illustrate songs and stories of the past in our Chautauqua Original Musicals.

At the turn of a new century, the magic of Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua nestles comfortably next to its competitive cousins -- radio, television, and the Internet -- to tell stories of those who walked the land and paddled the rivers and stared at the stars and dreamed of what the next day would bring. Whether you joined us twenty years ago or twenty minutes ago, we welcome you to the journey!

2006 marks our 21st summer season of facilitating the production and presentation of quality, affordably priced entertainment, suitable for the entire family. Through the commissioning of new productions, focusing on themes of regional historical and cultural significance, Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua serves as a base of support offering artistic employment opportunities to local and regional artists and technicians.

History of Chautauquas

The first Chautauqua (sha-ta-qwa) was a summer training program for Methodist Sunday school teachers in Chautauqua, New York in 1874. It eventually became a nationwide adult education movement that encompassed literature, music, economics, science, religion and public affairs.

The movement took root in the small towns that vaudeville missed, bringing culture to people who otherwise would have gone without it. Chautauquas died out in the 1920s but, in their heyday, Teddy Roosevelt described them as "the most American thing about America."