Community Events

Red, White & Groove your way into the Fourth of July weekend and celebrate America’s 250th Birthday with a glow skate night at The Kroc. Rock and roll through history with classic tunes and current hits for all ages. All glow items will be provided. Bring your skates or borrow ours and enjoy this fun family activity!

Join Ashland Public Library and The Great Lakes Science Center to watch the effects of extreme cold temperatures with liquid nitrogen in this amazing show!

Join Rebecca Marks Jimerson to learn about the civil rights movement through music and storytelling; be encouraged to find your voice for social justice. This interactive workshop guides youth in creating their own songs or poems and posters and artwork inspired by civil rights themes. Participants will then perform their creations for their peers. Gain a deeper understanding of civil rights history, develop your creative expression, and be inspired to advocate for social justice in your community. This workshop is led by scholar Rebecca Marks Jimerson who will be portraying Coretta Scott King the evening of July 25.

The workshop will be held at the Salvation Army Kroc Center, 527 E. Liberty Street, Ashland.

Ashland Chautauqua’s 5-day America’s Stories event, in celebration of America 250, runs from July 21-25, 2026 with daytime workshops at various locations in Ashland County and living history performances each evening at Guy C. Myers Memorial Band Shell at Brookside Park, Ashland. All events are free, open to the public, accessible and sensory-friendly.

Scholar Susan Marie Frontczak takes on the persona of popular 20^th century humorist Erma Bombeck in a living history performance on Tuesday, July 21 at 8:00 p.m. at the Guy C. Myers Memorial Band Shell at Brookside Park, 209 Parkside Drive, Ashland.  After the first-person characterization of Bombeck, Susan Marie will participate in a Q&A session, first as Erma Bombeck and then as herself.

Opening Music Act at 7:00 p.m. – Mike Gorrell

Ashland Chautauqua’s 5-day America’s Stories event, in celebration of America 250, runs from July 21-25, 2026 with daytime workshops at various locations in Ashland County and living history performances each evening at Guy C. Myers Memorial Band Shell at Brookside Park, Ashland. All events are free, open to the public, accessible and sensory-friendly.

The Western Frontier was hard on women, especially the formerly enslaved. Hear the success stories of some African American women who ventured West and started anew, such as Mary Ellen Pleasant, Clara Brown, and Biddy Mason. They had a strong work ethic, a head for business, and a desire to create community – and in one case, the desire to find a daughter sold away from her in slavery. This workshop is led by scholar Becky Stone who will be portraying Mary Fields the evening of July 23.

The workshop will be held at The Golden Center at the Loudonville Public Library in the Library basement meeting room, 122 E. Main Street, Loudonville.

Ashland Chautauqua’s 5-day America’s Stories event, in celebration of America 250, runs from July 21-25, 2026 with daytime workshops at various locations in Ashland County and living history performances each evening at Guy C. Myers Memorial Band Shell at Brookside Park, Ashland. All events are free, open to the public, accessible and sensory-friendly.

Hear how Irving and his work have been a pervasive presence in American pop culture, from Joseph Jefferson’s 40-year-run on stage as Rip Van Winkle, to Irving himself as a character in the 1938 Broadway musical Knickerbocker Holiday, to many comic book, film, and TV adaptations of his work, including Walt Disney’s 1949 animated version of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Tim Burton’s 1999 horror film Sleepy Hollow, and a popular 2013-2017 TV series. This workshop is led by scholar John Dennis Anderson who will be portraying Washington Irving the evening of July 24.

The workshop will be held at the Ashland County Council on Aging, 240 East 3^rd Street, Ashland.

Ashland Chautauqua’s 5-day America’s Stories event, in celebration of America 250, runs from July 21-25, 2026 with daytime workshops at various locations in Ashland County and living history performances each evening at Guy C. Myers Memorial Band Shell at Brookside Park, Ashland. All events are free, open to the public, accessible and sensory-friendly.