The theme for this year’s Chautauqua tent performances in Altus is, “The Wounds of War: A Tale of Two Americas.” This five-day event is scheduled for Tuesday, June 1 through Saturday, June 5. Performances will begin each evening at 7 p.m., with local talent kicking things off at the tent located on the campus of Western Oklahoma State College. Two workshops a day will be held at the Altus Public Library at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and a luncheon with the scholars is scheduled for Saturday, June 5 at The Pantry, 123 East Commerce.

This year’s Chautauqua will explore the injuries that the Civil War left on the nation and its people. With the sesquicentennial of the war approaching, there will be a great deal of public interest.

Characters for this year’s theme are William Seward, an abolitionist for the end of the Atlantic slave trade, Clara Barton, founder of the Red Cross, Major Martin Delany, an African-American abolitionist, author and politician, Robert E. Lee, Confederate General and Stonewall Jackson, another Confederate General.

For more information about the year’s Chautauqua programs, call the Altus Public Library at 580-477-2890 or stop by and pick up a schedule of events at the library.

Oklahoma Chautauqua and The Wounds of War are sponsored by the Southern Prairie Library System, Shortgrass Arts and Humanities Council, Western Oklahoma State College, Main Street Altus, National Endowment for the Humanities and the Oklahoma Arts Council.