Mark Twain and Henry VIII round out June Chautauqua at Dangberg Historic Park

Chautauqua presentations of Mark Twain and Henry VIII are featured the final weekend in June of the 2022 Summer Festival at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park.

McAvoy Layne will portray humorist and author Mark Twain on 1 p.m. Saturday. For over 33 years, in over 4,000 performances from Piper’s Opera House in Virginia City to Leningrad University in Russia, McAvoy Layne has been preeminent in preserving the wit and wisdom of The Wild Humorist of the Pacific Slope, Mark Twain.

Layne is a winner of the Nevada Award for Excellence in School and Library Service. Layne plays the ghost of Samuel Clemens in the Biography Channel’s episode of Mark Twain, and the Discovery Channel’s Cronkite Award winning documentary, “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”

“It’s like being a Monday through Friday preacher, whose sermon, though not reverently pious, is fervently American,” McAvoy Layne said.

Frank X. Mullen will portray Henry VIII on 1 p.m. Sunday.

Mullen is editor of the Reno News & Review, is a Reno-based journalist, author, historian and Chautauqua scholar. He is the author of “The Donner Party Chronicles,” and a contributor to several other books about Nevada history.

Chautauqua tickets are $15 for adults and are available on-line starting at dangberg.eventbrite.com. Members of the non-profit Friends of Dangberg can purchase discounted tickets at $10 each and should contact the park directly to make arrangements. Youth 16 and younger enter for free when accompanied by a ticketed adult.

This and other Chautauqua programs at the park in 2022 are funded in part by a grant from Nevada Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

“We aim to be a premier venue for audiences to experience Chautauqua and the two scholars are among the best,” said Kim Harris, the park’s events manager.

Funding in support of the Dangberg Summer Festival has been provided by Douglas County, Frances C. and William P. Smallwood Foundation, Carson Valley Accounting, D & B Cabinets, Tru North Wealth Management, Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce, Douglas Disposal & Recycling Service, Edward Jones Investments – Tim Cleveland, Hone Company, and Kaiser Genoa Property, LLC.

Upcoming events for the festival season include The Sierra Sweethearts playing bluegrass music, Thursday, June 30; Lacy J. Dalton playing country-western music, Thursday, July 7; and Dangberg Chautauqua Showcase featuring graduates of Dangberg’s 2021 Chautauqua Workshop, Saturday, July 9.

The full 2022 Dangberg Summer Festival event schedule is available at Dangberg.org.

The park is located at 1450 Hwy 88, ¾ mile south of the high school and roundabout. The ranch house is currently open for visitors Wednesdays through Sundays, 10:30am-2:30pm. Groups can also reserve the park’s events tent, with picnic table seating for up to 60 people, along with optional interpretive presentations and building access. For more information, visit Dangberg.org or write info@dangberg.org.