DebiLynn Smith as Anna N. Harris (pioneer Nevada business owner); Kim Harris as Lillian V. Finnegan (suffragist and originator of Genoa Candy Dance Festival); and Cindy Southerland as Annie H. Martin (first woman directing the U.S. Assay Office at Carson City), present Chautauqua at the Dangberg Home Ranch in 2019.
Two grants have been awarded to the nonprofit Friends of Dangberg Home Ranch to fund Chautauqua programming and marketing in 2022. The grants enhance the group’s work to restore, preserve and share Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park, a Douglas County-owned facility.
Nevada Humanities, with support from National Endowment for the Humanities, awarded $5,215 to pay expenses related to next season’s Chautauqua programming, including a training workshop.
A separate, $3,800 grant from Nevada Commission on Tourism will help market the various Chautauqua events planned for 2022 to potential visitors, supporting the purchase of print and digital advertising in Nevada magazine.
Chautauqua is the first-person portrayal of historic figures by scholars who have researched the life of the person presented.
“Chautauqua is becoming more and more popular with the local audience,” said Friends of Dangberg Director Mark Jensen. “With the help of these grants, we can continue to give opportunities to local performers and bring in more talented Chautauquans from outside the area, while also providing visitors with another reason to come to Douglas County.”
Similar grants from Nevada Humanities, awarded almost every year for the past decade, have supported a variety of public events with humanities content at the park.
Past funding from state has also helped advertise the park and help its development. Most recently, a 2018 Projects Related to Tourism grant funded the creation of interpretive panels. Installed by Douglas County parks department, the panels help visitors understand the site’s historic buildings.
Chautauqua events at the park begin again in June, including a training workshop that is open to everyone of any experience level. Interested participants can write to events@dangberghomeranch.org, or call 775-783-9417, for more information.
Friends of Dangberg has been operating the park for its owner, Douglas County, since 2011. In addition to a variety of public programming and events, the 501(c)(3) non-profit group also works to fund historic restoration and preservation. Information on donating and upcoming events is at www.Dangberg.org.
Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park is located at 1450 Highway 88, ¾ mile south of the high school roundabout. The site preserves the home of Heinrich F. Dangberg and his descendants, a prominent ranching family in Carson Valley history that founded Minden in 1905. It includes eight historic structures built between 1857 and 1917, along with a large collection of artifacts, documents and photographs original to the home. More than 5000 visitors come to the park each year for history, birdwatching, photography, weddings and events.
