The Mabel Tainter Chautauqua in Menomonie, Wisconsin was first organized in 1979 by the Mabel Tainter Festival of the Arts (M.T.F.A.) Committee, a volunteer group dedicated to the development of increased programing at the Mabel Tainter Memorial Building, a civic center dedicated in 1890 in memory of the daughter of a wealthy lumberman. The 1979 Chautauqua of the Pinery was an eleven-day festival involving professional and amateur theater, music, dances, tours, arts and crafts exhibits, and concessions. Funding was provided by donations and ticket and souvenir sales. The Chautauqua continued as an annual event produced by the M.T.F.A., or Chautauqua Committee, through 1989. In 1988 the Mabel Tainter Literary Library and Educational Society, Inc. Board (the organization responsible for Mabel Tainter Memorial Building preservation and programming) instituted a formal relationship with the Mabel Tainter Chautauqua of the Pinery which required all Chautauqua activities and financial records to be reviewed and approved by the Board. After the 1989 Chautauqua, the committee disbanded.
