Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - chautauqua

 geographical name lake 18 miles (29 kilometers) long SW New York CHAUTAUQUA  noun  Usage: often capitalized  Etymology: Chautauqua Lake  Date: 1873 any of various traveling shows and local assemblies that flourished in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, that provided popular education combined with entertainment in the form of lectures, concerts, and plays, and that were modeled after activities at the Chautauqua Institution of western New York