19th Annual Ashland Chautauqua: Oceans, Rivers, & Seas is coming to Ashland July 17-21. Ashland Chautauqua will feature five historic figures whose stories are interwoven with the presence of water. The five-day event will be held at Brookside Park’s Myers Band Shell. All performances are free and open to the public. On the night of the performance they must be able to accurately answer questions posed to that character by audience members. The question-and-answer time is often as informative as the performance itself. Audience members ask some very thoughtful and specific questions, which surely must challenge the scholars on occasion. Last year’s popular new 5-Nighter drawing for a special prize on Saturday evening will be repeated this year. Those who wish to be eligible for the drawing must pick up a 5-Nighter Passport on Tuesday evening, July 17 and get it initialed all five nights of performances. Daytime “behind the scenes” workshops for youth and for adults are held during the week in various community locations. These workshops, led by the visiting Chautauqua scholars, allow participants to dig more deeply into issues that animated the passions of the historical characters. Workshops are free and open to the public. A complete Schedule of Events including workshop times and locations is available on Ashland Chautauqua's website (www.ashlandchautauqua.org), on its Facebook page, or by calling 419-281-4584.