Chautauqua-Wawasee will be hosting the Purdue Varsity Glee Club April 22 at Wawasee High School. Tickets are on sale now and this show is expected to sell out.

SYRACUSE — Chautauqua-Wawasee has completed plans for the 2022 season of programs.

“We are continuing with our most popular programs as well as updating and adding new ones,” announced Mark Knecht, president of the organization.

The 2022 season starts with the return of the Purdue Varsity Glee Club who will perform at the Wawasee High School April 22. “This event had to be canceled in 2020 and 2021, so we anticipate a sell-out performance,” Knecht said.

The popular Wawasee Oakwood Fine Art Festival continues for the eighth year, set for May 28 at Oakwood Park. A fun new event for 2022 is a community-wide ice cream social to be held July 9 at Syracuse Lakeside Park. There will be music, games, snack food and ice cream.

If your family likes fun and laughter, mark Aug. 6 on the calendar for the second annual Family Fun Film Festival.

The festival consists of cellphone videos uploaded to Chautauqua-Wawasee’s website throughout the summer; these are edited and organized into a complete show on the big screen at the Pickwick Theater.

Like 2021, anything that will bring a laugh, smile or joy should be submitted. There will be awards for Best Pet Video, Best Tubing/Skiing Video and other categories.

The spring and fall historical Wawasee cruises done jointly with the Syracuse-Wawasee Historical Museum are continuing. The three-day Native American History Series, also done with the museum is expanding the Saturday program with more opportunities to interact with experts.

“Once again we will pay tribute to veterans and those you sacrificed their life for our country with Taps Across the Water at Dusk on May 29” said Mark.  “This event is so important.  We’re lucky to be able to gather 25 buglers to play on Wawasee, Syracuse and Papakeechie lakes.  And we know some locations that couldn’t hear the performance last year.  We hope to correct that in year.”

One new activity is titled “Bring Your Own Artifact-we’ll tell you what it is.” Speaking of history, June 26, prior to the Fort Wayne Philharmonic’s annual Patriotic Pops Concert at Oakwood Resort, plan to attend an “Encounter with Thomas Jefferson,” at 4:30 p.m. in the Wawasee High School auditorium, presented by J.D. Sutton, a world-renowned Jefferson re-enactor.

Then Sept. 28 will feature author and peacemaker Cliff Kindy who will conduct a workshop titled “What if Christians were as passionate about peacemaking as warfighters are about warfighting.” Kindy has some amazing experiences he will share.

Finally, the hugely popular Old Fashioned Christmas is set for Nov. 26 to kick-off the Christmas season, promising to be bigger and better than ever. Nearly 1,000 people attended in 2021.

You can stay in touch with Chautauqua via its website, www.chqw.org, or Facebook. The majority, but not all, of Chautauqua events are free to attend.

As a non-profit organization, Chautauqua-Wawasee operates because of the generosity of grants provided by the Brembeck Foundation, Harkless Foundation, Kosciusko Community Foundation and donations from individuals.