Everyone has a Big Top story — a favorite concert, a moment of laughter beneath the canvas, a memory made under the stars. These stories are what make Big Top Chautauqua more than a venue; they make it a community.
We’d love to hear yours. Share your story, photo, or memory and help us celebrate the music, magic, and connection that bring us all together under the Big Blue Tent.
Dennis calls himself Big Top’s biggest fan. At 90 years old, it’s hard to argue.
His connection to Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua began years ago, when his wife suggested a trip “way up north” to visit a place she had heard about. They were living outside Milwaukee at the time, but that first visit sparked something lasting. What followed were many joyful summers filled with music, laughter, and shared discovery.
Dennis still keeps a bottle of Dr. Third Eye’s Wizard Water from that very first trip. He says that whenever he writes a check to Big Top, a special happy memory from one of their visits falls between the letters and numbers. Seeing the Smothers Brothers. Watching Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. Sitting under the Big Blue Tent as the lights dimmed and the music began.
Those trips always included exploring the region they came to love, rounds of golf overlooking the Apostle Islands, bike rides around Madeline Island, and time spent simply being together in a place that felt special. Dennis and his wife even made winter trips to Bayfield. He remembers cross-country skiing through groomed trails that felt like subway tunnels carved from snow, and looking back at a picture-perfect village from the ice road. The beauty stayed with them long after they returned home.
Dennis’s wife passed away twenty years ago, but his love for Big Top remains deeply intertwined with the love they shared. “Thank you, Big Top Chautauqua, for being there,” he wrote. It’s a simple sentence, carrying decades of meaning.
Stories like Dennis’s remind us that Big Top is more than a stage. It is a place where memories are made, where relationships deepen, and where moments last a lifetime. When you give today, you help carry those memories forward while creating space for new ones to begin. Your support honors the past, strengthens the present, and ensures that the magic of Big Top continues for generations still to come.
EVERY GIFT CARRIES A HAPPY MEMORY. Please consider making a gift today to help keep the lights shining under the Big Blue Tent and the music playing “up at the tent” for years to come.
EXERPT FROM "A LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR" NEWSLETTER: As we close out the year, we’re reflecting on the moments that make the Ashwabay Alliance so meaningful. One of those reflections comes from Dennis, Big Top’s biggest fan at 90 years old, whose memories of music, love, and time spent “up at the tent” span decades. His story is a reminder that what we do here lasts far beyond a single season.
Dennis’ story is one of many that live across the Ashwabay Alliance. From music under the Big Blue Tent to winter adventures on the mountain, these places hold memories that shape our lives. As the year comes to a close, your support helps carry those memories forward and create space for new ones to begin. Together, we’re sustaining the arts, recreation, and community experiences that define Ashwabay today and for generations to come.
