Youth and Family: DARE TO BE A COWBOY
2026-07-23 10:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Festival Tent
Saddle up for a fun morning learning about ranching. Includes cowboys and cowgirls, branding, roping, join a scavenger hunt on our “history trail”.
Cost: Free

Chautauqua Showcase - Hope Academy Young Chautauquans Part 1
2026-07-24 10:00 - 11:00 | Festival Tent
“They Made America”
The Young Chautauquans of Hope Academy will present various characters in American History. Part 2 will take place Saturday, June 25 with several more characters portrayed.
The Hope Academy of Nevada is a Christian, community-centered microschool and homeschool enrichment program located in the historic Leport-Tupin House in Carson City. Inspired by the model of a modern one-room schoolhouse, the academy offers flexible, individualized learning opportunities while cultivating a close-knit community of students and families.

Serving students from preschool through high school, Hope Academy provides part-time academic instruction, enrichment classes, and homeschool support. Its approach blends classical learning, hands-on experiences, and discussion-based exploration designed to help students develop critical thinking skills and a lifelong love of learning.

Hope Academy emphasizes bringing history, literature, and ideas to life for students. Rooted in a Christian worldview, the academy seeks to nurture both intellectual growth and character formation, encouraging students to pursue truth, goodness, and beauty while engaging meaningfully with their community.
Cost: Free

Chautauqua Showcase - "Anne Hutchinson: America's First Female Freedom Fighter"
2026-07-24 18:00 - 19:30 | Festival Tent
“They Made America”
Featuring Master of Ceremonies – Doug Mishler
Anne Hutchinson was an English-born religious figure who was an important participant in the Antinomian Controversy which shook the nascent Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1636 to 1638. Her strong religious formal declarations were at odds with the established Puritan clergy in the Boston area and her popularity and charisma helped create a theological schism that threatened the Puritan religious community in New England. She was eventually tried and convicted, then banished from the colony with many of her supporters.
Kim Harris is an accomplished Chautauquan who has portrayed living history characters at various local venues, and from California to New York. Harris currently serves as Events and Education Manager at Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park in Minden, NV, and is the owner and operator of Western History ALIVE! where she portrays several Chautauqua characters including Wild Horse Annie, Calamity Jane and Lizzie Borden.
Cost: $15 for everyone 17 years and older. No member discount as this is a special Chautauqua fundraising event

Chautauqua Showcase - Hope Academy Young Chautauquans Part 2
2026-07-25 10:00 - 11:00 | Festival Tent
“They Made America”
The Young Chautauquans of Hope Academy will continue to present various characters in American History.
The Hope Academy of Nevada is a Christian, community-centered microschool and homeschool enrichment program located in the historic Leport-Tupin House in Carson City. Inspired by the model of a modern one-room schoolhouse, the academy offers flexible, individualized learning opportunities while cultivating a close-knit community of students and families.

Serving students from preschool through high school, Hope Academy provides part-time academic instruction, enrichment classes, and homeschool support. Its approach blends classical learning, hands-on experiences, and discussion-based exploration designed to help students develop critical thinking skills and a lifelong love of learning.

Hope Academy emphasizes bringing history, literature, and ideas to life for students. Rooted in a Christian worldview, the academy seeks to nurture both intellectual growth and character formation, encouraging students to pursue truth, goodness, and beauty while engaging meaningfully with their community.
Cost: Free

Chautauqua Showcase - "William Clark: American Explorer"
2026-07-25 18:00 - 19:30 | Festival Tent
“They Made America”
Featuring Master of Ceremonies – Kim Harris
William Clark was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Missouri. Along with Meriwether Lewis, Clark led the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804–1806 across the Louisiana Purchase to the Pacific Ocean, the first major effort to explore and map much of what is now the Western United States and to assert American claims to the Pacific Northwest.
Doug Mishler has been a Chautauquan since 1993 when he first portrayed P. T. Barnum. Mishler has made over eight hundred presentations of over thirty historical figures including Henry Ford, Jackson Pollock, and recently added Chuck Yeager, Gene Roddenberry, and Earl Warren. He is also the founder and Managing Artistic Director of Restless Artists’ Theatre in Reno and has taught American Cultural History for over twenty-three years.
Cost: $15 for everyone 17 years and older. No member discount as this is a special Chautauqua fundraising event.

Chautauqua Showcase - "Abigail Adams: Second First Lady and Advocate for Women's Rights"
2026-07-26 18:00 - 19:30 | Festival Tent
“They Made America”

Featuring Master of Ceremonies – Doug Mishler

Abigail Adams was the wife of John Adams, the second president of the United States, and an early advocate for women’s rights. She is well-known for her correspondence with her husband, where she famously urged him to “remember the ladies” in the new laws of the nation.

Leslie Goddard is an award-winning actress and scholar who has been presenting history programs for more than fifteen years. Goddard holds a Ph. D. from Northwestern University specializing in American studies and U.S. history as well as a master’s degree in theater. Leslie has performed Amelia Earhart and Lucille Ball at Dangberg Historic Park.
Cost: $15 for everyone 17 years and older. No member discount as this is a special Chautauqua fundraising event.

Volunteer in Gertrude's Garden
2026-07-29 08:30 - 09:30, 2026-08-05 08:30 - 09:30, 2026-08-12 08:30 - 09:30, 2026-08-19 08:30 - 09:30, 2026-08-26 08:30 - 09:30, 2026-09-02 08:30 - 09:30, 2026-09-09 08:30 - 09:30 | Gertrude’s Garden, 1450 Hwy 88, Minden, NV, 89423, United States
Come volunteer with us in Gertrude’s Garden! Master Gardeners from UNR Extension work with us every week, on Wednesday mornings from 8:30 to 9:30. Bring your gardening gloves and come join them!
This weekly garndening effort includes such tasks as watering, weeding, and pruning. Please bring your preferred gardening tools with you and wear closed-toed shoes. There is no potable water on site, so please also bring a water bottle.
NEW VOLUNTEERS: If interested in volunteering in Gertrude’s Garden, please call the office at 775-783-9417 or email us at director@dangberg.org. Douglas County encourages all volunteers to comply with a standard background check. That process can be initiated here: Volunteer Interest Form.
CURRENT VOLUNTEERS: If interested in volunteering for this event, please let us know by contacting the office or on SignUp.

Chautauqua - "The Notorious Mrs. Lee: Gold Rush Madam"
2026-07-29 18:00 - 19:30 | Festival Tent
“Celebrating the American Spirit”

She is recorded in history books as “the notorious Mrs. Lee.” She was probably a procurer, in other words, she brought girls from China to the United States. So in essence, she was part of human trafficking at the turn of the 20th century.

Her story is the story of the Chinese during the Gold Rush and the building of the railroads. It is a story about early Chinatowns and the Chinese as a labor force that helped to build the West. But primarily, it is the story of the horrendously difficult life, including the prejudice, racism, social inequity, and exclusion, of the Chinese in America.

The story of Bowen Lee’s great great grandmother Lee, is a story that includes girl infanticide, foot binding, being sold into slavery, and casting women into the street to die when they are no longer needed.

Bowen Lyam Lee has been on the stage of national and international storytelling events, conducts workshops for educators, and performs virtually with national, international, and regional programs. She has won numerous national story slams and been a National Storytelling Network Grand Slam winner. She is a Chautauqua scholar who has performed Asian women of history, including Junko Tabei and Bowen’s great grandmother, who was born and raised in the Chinese fishing village of Monterey.
Cost: $15, 16 years and younger – Free
The Ranch House will be open 3:30 – 5:30 pm for event guests.

Concert - Reno Philharmonic Ensemble
2026-07-30 18:00 - 19:30
Members of the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra will share classical music in a fun and exciting way, with the beautiful Sierra as a concert backdrop!
Cost: $20, 16 years and younger – Free
The Ranch House will be open 3:30 – 5:30 pm for event guests.

Chautauqua - "Agnes and Percy Train"
2026-07-31 10:00 - 11:00 | Festival Tent
“Made in Nevada”
On June 7, 1928, Agnes, age 23, and Percy, age 52, hiked up Lone Mountain near Lovelock, Nevada, where they were married at sunrise. The couple would go on to spend much of the next 11 years collecting fossils, minerals and plants in the remote areas of Nevada and Death Valley.
On August 2, 1928, the Trains had passed through Genoa on the day of Judge Daniel Webster Virgin’s funeral where they glimpsed the Virgin house that would become their home in April 1939. Purchased with all of the Virgin/Finnegan family possessions — such as furniture, clothing, housewares, trunks, saddle, papers, books, portraits and records — the house was restored to its original pink color in July 1941 and was known once again as the “Pink House.”
Kathy and Dave Pierson, both active volunteers of the Nevada State Museum – Carson City, living history docents and accomplished Chautauquans, are dedicated to preserving and sharing the history of the great state of Nevada.
Cost: Free
The Ranch House will be open 11 am – 1 pm for event guests.

Speaker - "Ghosts from the Past: the History of Northern Nevada Pioneer Cemeteries"
2026-08-01 10:00 - 11:00 | Festival Tent
Since a very young age, Jay Dickey has been a graveyard enthusiast, and has visited hundreds of cemeteries throughout the United States. Since moving to Nevada, he has explored a number of pioneer cemeteries, and has researched the histories of many of them. His talk will provide an overview of some of the leading pioneers who came to Northern Nevada, and founded the cities and towns that fueled the growth of Northern Nevada. The cemeteries of Northern Nevada contain the ghosts of many of the men and women who helped create the great state of Nevada, and who live on in our memories.
Jay Dickey is an author and lecturer on a wide range of subjects related to early American history. He is the President of American Heritage Partners, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that hosts educational programs in collaboration with leading American heritage and historical societies, educational institutions, and community groups. Jay is also a member of the Oregon-California Trails Association, the Nevada Historical Society, and a number of other historical and heritage societies. A graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School, Jay retired from the practice of law in 2017. He currently lives in Dayton, Nevada with his wife, Angela.
Cost: Free

Open House
2026-08-01 10:00 - 16:00 | Dangberg Home Ranch House, 1450 Hwy 88, Minden, NV, 89423, United States
Drop in to visit the Dangberg Home Ranch house! The Home Ranch house, which was built between 1857 and 1917, was home to four generations of of the Dangberg family. Come see how they lived and what home on the ranch was really like.
The house will be open from 10am to 4pm for self-guided tours, and docents will be onsite to answer your questions. Visitors are welcome to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy on the grounds after visiting the house. This event is free and open to all.

Chautauqua - "Libbie Bacon Custer"
2026-08-05 18:00 - 19:30 | Festival Tent
“Celebrating the American Spirit”
Libbie Bacon Custer was the wife of George Armstrong Custer, U.S. Army. She spent most of their twelve-year marriage in relative proximity to him despite his numerous military campaigns in the American Civil War and subsequent postings on the Great Plains as a commanding officer in the United States Cavalry.
Left nearly destitute in the aftermath of her husband’s death, she became an advocate for his legacy through her books and lectures. Largely as a result of her decades of campaigning on his behalf, General Custer’s image as the gallant fallen hero amid the glory of Custer’s Last Stand was a canon of American history for almost a century after his death.
Kim Harris is an accomplished Chautauquan who has portrayed living history characters at various local venues, and from California to New York. Harris currently serves as Events and Education Manager at Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park in Minden, NV, and is the owner and operator of Western History ALIVE! where she portrays several Chautauqua characters including Wild Horse Annie, Calamity Jane and Lizzie Borden.
Cost: $15, 16 years and younger – Free
The Ranch House will be open 3:30 – 5:30 pm for event guests.

Speaker - "Why I Miss Miller's Market"
2026-08-08 10:00 - 11:00 | Festival Tent
Historian Dr. Michael Fischer will present “Why I Miss Miller’s Market; A Look At What Made Douglas County So Special in 1975”.
Douglas County was a unique and special place in the 1970s. The program gives old timers a chance to remember and reminisce. It gives newcomers a chance to learn what made the county so special and what set it apart from other places in Nevada. Finally, it is a chance for both groups to interact and learn! Old or new, it has something for everyone!

Dr. Michael E. Fischer was appointed Director of the Department of Cultural Affairs by Governor Jim Gibbons in January 2007 and served in the Sandoval Administration until Cultural Affairs was merged with Tourism. Prior to that, he practiced dentistry in Gardnerville for 31 years. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nevada, class of 1971 and a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Southern California, class of 1975.
Cost: Free
The Ranch House will be open 11 am – 1 pm for event guests.

Youth and Family: Agricultural Heritage Day
2026-08-11 10:00 - 12:00 | Festival Tent
Learn fun facts with fun activities about Carson Valley and it’s agricultural background. The Nevada State Railroad Museum will join us to share how the V&T Railroad worked to help the ranchers.
Join the scavenger hunt to win a prize.
Cost: Free

Concert - Moni's 30s & 40s Bebop Redux
2026-08-13 18:00 - 19:30 | Festival Tent
The Bebop Revival Band from Reno returns to the park to share even more of the sounds of the 30s and 40s, and arranged modern hits in that style. These are songs you didn’t hear them play in 2025. The band plays fiery Bebop, Swing, Motown, Blues, Jazz, and Funk inspired dance classics.
Monique DeHaviland is a singer, songwriter and recording artist. DeHaviland attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts after which she recorded numerous originals on various labels.
The band includes keyboardist Daniel Dillon, drummer Anthony Mitchell, upright bassist Doug Davies, and saxophonist Guy Hartshorn.
Cost:$20, 16 years and younger – Free
The Ranch House will be open 3:30 – 5:30 pm for event guests.

Chautauqua - "Martin Mortensen: Pioneer of Verdi"
2026-08-14 10:00 - 11:00 | Festival Tent
“Made in Nevada”
Martin Mortensen came to the town of Verdi, Nevada when it was a thriving lumber mill town. The town of Verdi was named after Giuseppe Verdi by Charles Crocker, founder of the Central Pacific Railroad, when he pulled a slip of paper from a hat and read the name of the Italian opera composer in 1868. It was originally known as O’Neil’s Crossing, named for the man who built a bridge there in 1860.
Ross Mortensen portrays his great-grandfather Martin Mortensen, and the adventures he had as a pioneer on his ranch along the Truckee River.
Ross S. Mortensen is a local third-generation decedent of Nevada ranching families. Mortensen became a history enthusiast, beginning at an early age due to his own family history. Throughout his life he has been involved in historical investigations, Chautauqua and reenactments in Nevada and Northern California.
Mortensen is the owner of the Western gunfighting group “Horse Thief Canyon Desperados LLC.” It is his desire to share his knowledge of history with the public through living history, which he has always found engaging.
Cost: Free
The Ranch House will be open 11 am – 1 pm for event guests.

Speaker - "Carson Valley: Melting Pot or Salad Bowl?"
2026-08-15 10:00 - 11:00 | Festival Tent
Historian, researcher and genealogist Debbe Nye, takes a look at the different people who have called Carson Valley home, from the Washoe people to early settlers in Genoa and later arrivals. Through a mix of history and local stories, she shares how these groups lived together—blending traditions in some ways while keeping them distinct in others—and invites the audience to consider which description fits Carson Valley best.

Cost: Free

The Ranch House will be open 11 am – 1 pm for event guests.

Chautauqua - "Andrew Carnegie"
2026-08-19 18:00 - 19:30 | Festival Tent
“Celebrating the American Spirit”
Scottish-born Andrew Carnegie was an American industrialist who amassed a fortune in the steel industry then became a major philanthropist. Carnegie worked in a Pittsburgh cotton factory as a boy before rising to the position of division superintendent of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1859.
While working for the railroad, he invested in various ventures, including iron and oil companies, and made his first fortune by the time he was in his early 30s. In the early 1870s, he entered the steel business, and over the next two decades became a dominant force in the industry.
Doug Mishler has been a Chautauquan since 1993 when he first portrayed P. T. Barnum. Mishler has made over eight hundred presentations of over thirty historical figures including Henry Ford, Jackson Pollock, and recently added Chuck Yeager, Gene Roddenberry, and Earl Warren. He is also the founder and Managing Artistic Director of Restless Artists’ Theatre in Reno and has taught American Cultural History for over twenty-three years.
Cost: $15, 16 years and younger – Free
The Ranch House will be open 3:30 – 5:30 pm for event guests.

Chautauqua - "Felice Cohn: Lawyer and Suffragist"
2026-08-21 10:00 - 11:00 | Festival Tent
“Made in Nevada”
Felice Cohn, born and reared in Carson City, studied law for several years prior to being admitted to the bar in 1902. Her first cases were focused on land issues, patenting mining claims, and other mining matters. She practiced in both Goldfield and Carson City. In May, 1908, she was admitted to the District Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
Felice became involved in suffrage rights for women in 1911. She was one of the founding members of the State Equal Franchise Society and chaired the legislative committee during the 1911 legislative session. Felice was involved in chartering a Non-Militant Suffrage Society and the Nevada Voter’s Club, both with members numbering in the hundreds. Parades and demonstrations were then considered militant.
Opening a law office in Reno in 1922, she was consistently involved in the legal profession as a persistent and quiet voice shaping and supporting issues to better the quality of life for women and children. She was involved in numerous professional organizations.
Dorothea Phelan has been an historian, living history performer and storyteller for over twenty-eight years. Phelan was born and raised in Yerington, Nevada, where she acted in theatricals and school plays. As an adult, she coached children’s plays and dramas. In 1962 Phelan moved to Ventura, California where she became active with the Rancho Camulos Museum, developing living history programs. She has now returned to Nevada and volunteers at the Nevada State Museum and performs Chautauqua locally.
Cost: Free
The Ranch House will be open 11 am – 1 pm for event guests.

Speaker - "In the Glow of the Sierra"
2026-08-22 10:00 - 11:00 | Festival Tent
Author and adventurer Tami Force returns to the park to speak on her second book In the Glow of the Sierra: Ghost Towns & Historical Sites of the Eastern Sierra: Southern Region, and share some of her ghost town adventures.
Force will cover a variety of locations and history from the first non-natives to enter Carson Valley, and ghost towns where many sites are close enough to visit on day trips.
Cost: Free
The Ranch House will be open 11 am – 1 pm for event guests.

Speaker - “The Most Enduring and Remarkable Tales from the Appeal's Past Pages.”
2026-08-29 10:00 - 11:00 | Festival Tent
Sue Ballew and Trent Dolan are the daughter and son of Bill Dolan, who wrote this column for the Nevada Appeal from 1947 until his death in 2006. Ballew and Dolan carried on this column after Bill’s passing, and will share many of the little known or perhaps forgotten stories that appeared over the years in the “Past Pages” of the Nevada Appeal.
Cost: Free
The Ranch House will be open 11 am – 1 pm for event guests.

Chautauqua - "Mary Austin - Eastern Sierra Author and Environmentalist"
2026-09-04 10:00 - 11:00 | Festival Tent
“Made in Nevada”
Mary Hunter Austin was an American writer. One of the early nature writers of the American Southwest, her classic The Land of Little Rain describes the fauna, flora, and people of the region between the High Sierra and the Mojave Desert of southern California
Austin was a prolific novelist, poet, critic, and playwright, as well as an early feminist and defender of Native American and Spanish-American rights.
Barbara Lewicki is an outdoor enthusiast and photographic artist who has travelled all fifty states in the U.S., as well as over forty countries. Lewicki is also a student of Chautauqua and portrayed Etta Place last September at the park.
Cost: Free
The Ranch House will be open 11 am – 1 pm for event guests.

Speaker - "The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926"
2026-09-05 10:00 - 11:00 | Festival Tent
One hundred years ago, an unexpected tempest roared ashore in Miami, leaving destruction in its wake. Local historian and author, Karen Dustman, will share gripping personal stories passed down from her father, who was among the survivors, recounting moments of terror, resilience, and hope as they braved the storm’s wrath and its aftermath. This devastating event proved to be a watershed moment for Miami, abruptly ending its overheated real estate boom and sending the city spiraling toward the Great Depression.
This one weather event affected not only the state of Florida, but left it’s mark nationwide in one way or another.
Cost: Free
The Ranch House will be open 11 am – 1 pm for event guests.
