The Museums of Western Colorado will present the 20th annual History Alive Colorado West Chautauqua on Sept. 12 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Cross Orchards Historic Site, 3073 F Road in Grand Junction. The event is free and open to the public.

This year’s theme, “Liberty’s Legacy,” commemorates Colorado’s 150th anniversary and America’s 250th anniversary through a full day of storytelling and living history. The event features nationally recognized Chautauqua scholars:

• Karen Vuranch as Mother Jones, the fierce labor organizer of the late 1800s and early 1900s who championed miners, workers and children in the fight for fair labor practices.
• Doug Mishler as Thomas Paine, the influential writer and political thinker whose revolutionary pamphlets helped ignite the American Revolution.

Young Chautauqua performers from Stages of History will also portray historical figures connected to these landmark anniversaries.

This year’s History Alive Colorado West Chautauqua is made possible through the support of Lois and Edward Gardner, Mesa County Libraries and Colorado Humanities.