Jan. - Feb. 24 1 pm - 4 pm  Sleigh Rides at Chautauqua

Bestor Plaza, Chautauqua Institution
Offered Saturday and Sunday, sleigh rides through the historical grounds of Victorian Chautauqua Institution.

Tickets may be purchased at the Chautauqua Bookstore email: bookstore@ciweb.org or telephone: 716-357-2151.





Every weekend during January and February, horse-drawn sleigh rides are available around the grounds of the Institution from 1 to 4 p.m., weather permitting. If the snow gods don't cooperate, there are hay-wagon rides.

"There are actually very few places in the country with just the right conditions for a sleigh rally like ours, and nowhere else is there such an old-fashioned location which is right in keeping with our antique sleighs,"







The highlight of this winter season at Chautauqua Institution will be the annual Currier & Ives Horseman's Rally sponsored by the Chautauqua Country Horseman's Association. This year the free day-long event will be Feb. 3 beginning at 9:30 a.m.
After the competition ends, visitors line up for sleigh rides throughout the grounds. It's not unusual to see three generations of a family huddled together on a wagon criss-crossing the grounds.





Although the 781-acre Chautauqua Institution on the shores of Chautauqua Lake is essentially a summer community, the Institution welcomes guests year-round. The 134-year-old Institution is a national historic district that is known for its artsy, intellectual summers.




When the season of summer concerts, theater, classes and lectures ends, they don't just close the gates. There's a quiet, contemplative ambiance to Chautauqua during the off-season. Approximately 7,500 people live on the grounds during the summer season. That number drops to about 400 during the winter.

The area benefits from usually bountiful lake-effect snowstorms fueled by winds off Lake Erie which forms the northwestern border of the county. Cross-country skiing is popular on the grounds, the golf course and the frozen lake.

A wonderful collection of Sleigh Rides, many of Chautauqua scenes, is available from Thelma Winter's art, which begins long before she picks up a brush. She travels many miles searching out beautiful old homes, barns, covered bridges, gardens, etc., being especially conscious of light quality, seasons and backgrounds. She spends many hours poring over the thousands of slides she has taken to choose her subjects.

Once she has made the decision, Thelma begins sketching in pencil. Using her slide for reference, she creates a detailed drawing in pen and ink with a technical pen in waterproof ink. Adding color with transparent watercolor is her favorite part. The detail, depth, brilliant colors and nostalgic subjects are key to Thelma's unique view of the world.