Forgive us this and any other self-indulgent posts today, but it’s an exciting day for Chq — we’re the subject of an hourlong PBS documentary playing at 10 p.m. in many markets across the country! Above, in a photo by the Daily’s Roger Coda, you see some of the crew taping a Sunday worship service in 2009.

Response to the documentary, which was independently produced by Buffalo PBS affiliate WNED, has been overwhelmingly positive.

From Anne Neville’s “Visionary Chautauqua” in Saturday’s Buffalo News:

Chautauqua Institution is an idyllic retreat 90 minutes south of Buffalo that comes alive for nine weeks every summer, drawing 150,000 visitors with its rich daily schedule of study, discussion, recreation, arts and religious and cultural activities.

But the Institution is much more than that. For some families, it’s a summer tradition that stretches back for generations. For young performers, it’s a bridge between education and their professional careers. For religious people and clergy members, it’s a place to explore many kinds of spirituality. For children, it’s a chance to play freely in a welcoming, nearly car-free community.

The impact of Chautauqua Institution on American society is explored in the new WNED documentary, “Chautauqua: An American Narrative,” which will premiere at 10 p.m. Monday on WNED and on other PBS stations across the country. Keep reading →

From Dave Richards’ piece in Sunday’s Erie Times-News:

Just a month after I moved to Erie in 1984, someone asked me, “Have you been to Chautauqua yet?”

“What is that — a plantation?” I inquired. “The Tara of the North?”

After I finally made the trip, I realized that’s precisely what Chautauqua is — a trip, not a plantation. The place blew me away because I’d never seen anything quite like it.

All of those small yet exquisitely maintained homes squeezed onto blocks with narrow streets, like some 19th century village. When I asked where I could find the bookstore, I expected someone to say, “Turn left at the blacksmith.” Keep reading →

The documentary also got shout-outs from The Washington Post and The New York Times in their “what to watch today” TV columns. We hope you’ll take their advice!

More about the documentary →
Check your local listings →
More about Chautauqua Institution →

The new special “Chautauqua: An American Narrative” documents the living legacy of the 135-year-old Chautauqua Institution, a retreat/symposium where the arts, philosophy and civic engagement converge in an idyllic western New York setting. (KOCE, 10 p.m.)

Thanks, LATimes!

And for our fellow Tumblrers, whether you’ve been here many times or never heard of us but have even an inkling of interest in the big things we do here at Chq, we urge you check out the PBS documentary on Chautauqua Institution at 10 p.m. Monday (check local listings) (we promise it’s not just a history lesson, though our history is pretty cool).

Then come visit us this summer!

More about the documentary →
More about Chautauqua Institution →

It’s the story of racial codes so ludicrously specific that they barred blacks  and whites from playing checkers together in city parks, of a racial hierarchy that was so oppressive that fathers could not protect their daughters from being used for sport, sexual and otherwise, by the white people they worked for and lived alongside.

Isabel Wilkerson’s amazing book is our Week Nine CLSC selection in 2011.