Big Top Chautauqua — Attraction in Town of Bayfield

The venue was very nice. I learned some neat history about the tent and the area from a fella that was seated next to me. The place was clean and well organized. The shuttle from my hotel to the venue was so great! I have one disappointment! How could you all just sit in your chairs when the Temptations were playing? I was told by the guy sitting behind me, very rudely yelling in my ear, to sit down and not dance! What?! I thought e/one was dancing! LOL I looked around and nobody was. WTH! I left my seat, that I paid a lot more for than the back row, went to the back where I could dance. I was so angry at that guy. First he was rude and second...it specified on the Chautauqua ticket page the following:

"Dance Alert! We never know when joyous dancing or standing may break out. We try to make it fun for everyone. If you are not a dancer and don't want to be caught behind one, try choosing seats in the mid-center or back sections."

I guess the dancers have to go in the back! Oh well! It was still good viewing! Not a bad seat in the house, really! By the end of the concert, I was up front....dancing!!!!.....and I was given and autographed drum stick and a fist bump! I bet you cant say that, rude, non-dancer man!" I will definitely go back. I love Bayfield (but costly area) and am very impressed with the venue, the staff, all the volunteers. I will not allow one person to ruin this for me. Just disappointing that nobody danced. The Temptations were really good. It was so difficult for me...

Miserable. We were seated behind the sound equipment and literally could not see the stage. When I raised my camera to take this picture, some busybody hurried over to tell me "professional" cameras were not allowed. When my wife tried to later video part of a song on her phone, someone likewise harassed her, no videos allowed.

Maybe these busybodies could have better been put to work patching the leaks that had water dripping on everyone throughout the concert.

It was freezing cold and pouring rain. We ended up abandoning the seats we'd paid for (which were anyhow terribly uncomfortable micro-theater seats of some sort) and setting up two plastic lawn chairs right by the edge of the tent. This ensured we were rained on from the outside AND dripped on from the inside all night long. But at least we put our cameras away and didn't violate the precious IP rights of the venue by taking any hi-quality photographs of the dripping, miserable interior.

If you're not going to allow cameras, and outside food or drink, then post that on the website, and maybe even put up some signs. Patch that leaky, dripping tent before someone gets electrocuted. Don't sell seats whose sightlines are completely blocked by your sound equipment. Treat your customers with a bit of respect. Stop being so freaking paranoid about people taking pictures. It's the 21st century for goodness' sake, everything is being recorded. You just annoy paying customers.

We won't be back to this...

This place is amazing, I didn't know what I was expecting, but not this! The closest thing I can compare it to is a very sturdy circus tent with a large stage and LOTS of comfy seating. Speaking of the seating, it's very unique, instead of one kind of chairs or bench, they have multiple different types of chairs and benches in different little sections around the tent, and from what I saw, all of the seating was cushioned, so you won't get sore too fast. The sound was also great, one of my pet peeves is the echo that you get during a concert or show, but Big Top has seemed to clear that problem with this large, open sided tent. Aside from the main stage, they have a merch shop, bar and food booth. The food was actually pretty good, I had one of the "bowls" (I forgot the actual name) with the cabbage quinoa and stuff with Barbacoa on top. I also got a Bayfield Apple Pie square, both of these items I would have again, they were delicious! I would totally reccomend this place for any of the things you've been looking into it for, it makes for a...