Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua

Venue info

Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua (sha-ta-qwa) is a year round nonprofit performing arts organization with a rich history. We operate an intimate 900-seat, all-canvas tent theater, producing and presenting a 50+ night summer season of original multi-media musicals about the environs of Lake Superior, variety specials, and regional and national touring acts like BB King, Bela Fleck, and Yonder Mountain String Band. The Big Top’s Blue Canvas Orchestra also tours Midwest venues and schools. Tent Show Radio, a weekly one hour program which showcases live performances from the Big Top stage, is aired on public radio stations throughout the country. We are nestled at the base of Mt. Ashwabay Ski Hill, 3 miles south of Bayfield, Wisconsin, overlooking Lake Superior and the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Our summer schedule includes performances by renowned national acts, regional and touring performers like Garrison Keillor, Greg Brown and Willie Nelson. Our season runs from mid-June to early September. On balmy summer nights the tent sidewalls can be lifted and people may sit or dance outside. The sound is superb and on clear nights you can see the Milky Way and sometimes even the Northern Lights!