Striped tent marks the spot for Ohio Chautauqua
COSHOCTON – Dry ground and clear skies early Monday helped a three-man crew from Galion, erect a red-and-white-striped tent on the Coshocton County Fairgrounds that will house the Ohio Chautauqua this week.
"Somebody usually asks us where the elephants are," said Scott Goldsmith, of Galion Canvas Products.
That company provides, sets up and tears down tents for the Ohio Chautauqua, a traveling history show presented by the Ohio Humanities Council.
This week, Tuesday through Saturday, marks the third time the event has visited Coshocton. It first came here in 2011, then returned in 2013, said Jan Myers, director of the Coshocton Visitors Bureau.
This year's tour, "Journey Stories," already has visited Chillicothe, Akron and Clifton. Coshocton will be its final stop.
Last week in Clifton, heavy rainfall left the ground so soggy that Goldsmith and his co-workers had to drive the tent stakes by hand, using a sledgehammer.
"This is a lot better than it has been," he said. "Last week, we got the Bobcat stuck. It had been raining all day and just wouldn't stop."
The tent's canvas comes in three pieces, each weighing just more than 200 pounds apiece. That doesn't count the poles, the larger of which also come in sections and are raised by the Bobcat or the whole crew.
Goldsmith and co-workers Ben Spiratos and Jake Wetzel started erecting the tent on the Coshocton County Fairgrounds at 10 a.m. Monday. By 12:30 p.m., they were mostly finished, just straightening the edge poles. They plan to return to town Sunday to take it down.
Until then, the tent will house performances by a troupe of actors who will depict famous people from history, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Henry David Thoreau and Titanic survivor Edith Russell. Their performances, starting at 7 p.m. daily, are scheduled to run Tuesday through Saturday at the fairgrounds, 707 Kenilworth Ave.
Musical entertainers are set to perform at 6:30 p.m. under the fairgrounds tent during the run, with the exception of Friday night, when the Coshocton Community Band will start at 6 p.m.
The troupe also will present historical workshops for both children and adults Tuesday through Saturday at the Coshocton County Library and Central Oho Technical College in Roscoe Village, respectively.
All parts of the event are free to audiences but are funded by the hosting communities. Evening performances will go on rain or shine, Myers said.
jwilliams6@coshoctontribune.com
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Twitter: @JoeAdvocate
Ohio Chautauqua in Coshocton
Youth workshops, 10:30 a.m. | Adult workshops, 2 p.m. | Evening musical entertainment, 6:30 p.m. | Evening performances, 7:30 p.m. | |
Tuesday | Marvin Jefferson: "Power of the Written Word" | Hank Fincken: "The California Trail" | Wildwood & Friends | Debra Conner as Edith Russell |
Wednesday | Debra Conner: "Carried Away" | Marvin Jefferson: "Dr. King's Last Great Dream" | Jerry Weaver | Kevin Radaker as Henry David Thoreau |
Thursday | Kevin Radaker: "Picturing Nature" | Debra Conner: "Titanic Surprises" | The Lindseys | Dianne Moran as Olive Ann Oatman |
Friday | Dianne Moran: "Eyes to the West" | Kevin Radaker: "Thoreau's Passion for the Wild and the Wilderness" | 6 p.m: Coshocton Community Band | Hank Fincken as J. Goldsborough Bruff |
Saturday | Hank Fincken: "Gold Fever" | Dianne Moran: "A Profound Destiny" | Steve Ball & Larry Stahl | Marvin Jefferson as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. |
Source: www.visitcoshocton.com