Diane Pickett and the Stories That Still Gather Us

By Kerri Parker

There are places where history doesn’t sit behind glass.
It walks the sidewalk at dusk.
It waits on shaded porches.
It gathers—still—when given the right invitation.

Lake DeFuniak has always been one of those places.

Nearly perfectly round and improbably calm, the lake has long served as both compass and common ground for DeFuniak Springs. In the late nineteenth century, it drew educators, thinkers, musicians and families from across the country for the Florida Chautauqua—an ambitious experiment in lifelong learning that once placed this small Panhandle town at the center of a national cultural movement.

By the time Diane Pickett entered the picture, that legacy lived more in memory than in motion.

What Pickett understood—intuitively and persistently—was that Chautauqua was never just a program. It was a posture. A belief that culture belongs to everyone. That ideas are better when shared. That a place becomes itself most fully when people gather with purpose.

In the 1990s, when others had accepted Chautauqua as a closed chapter, Pickett helped bring it back to life—not as nostalgia, but as a living, breathing experience rooted in education, the arts, music and conversation, and grounded in the landscape of Lake DeFuniak itself. For years, she stewarded the gathering with care, reminding the community that the Circle had once been—and could again be—a place where curiosity and culture converged.

Then, in 2006, Pickett stepped aside. Turning Chautauqua over was not an ending, but an act of faith. Having helped restore its footing, the institution continued without her at the center and she returned to writing, exploring Southern identity, history and the quiet intersections between people and place.

Nearly two decades passed.

And then, as often happens in towns shaped by circular geography, the story came back around.

In partnership with the University of West Florida Historic Trust, Pickett helped spark Summit on the Circle, first held in 2025 and returning April 23–26, 2026. The gathering is not a resurrection of Chautauqua, nor does it attempt to be. It is something new—shaped by the present moment and the many ways stories are shared today.

If Summit on the Circle feels familiar, that is by design. The pillars that once defined Chautauqua—education, culture, recreation and spiritual connection—still stand. But Summit branches outward, unfolding through music and meals, architecture and memory, spoken word and shared experience.

This year, the Circle widens further.

For the first time, Summit on the Circle expands, opening on Thursday, April 23, with a community-centered prelude that sets the tone for the weekend. The opening day features hands-on art workshops hosted in historic homes and sites around Lake DeFuniak, followed by a free outdoor ukulele concert at the Pickett Gazebo—an intentional beginning rooted in participation and place.

The Summit weekend unfolds across the Lake DeFuniak Historic District under the theme “Stories That Shape Us,”exploring culture, art and community across America’s 250 years. Nationally recognized artists, scholars and civic voices will lead conversations and performances examining how stories live through performance, film, faith, technology, music and personal narrative.

Among them are Shelby Hofer, award-winning performer and co-director of Atlanta’s PushPush Arts; Anita Singleton Prather, founder of the Gullah Kinfolk Traveling Theater and a nationally recognized cultural preservationist; Val Auzenne, Ph.D., retired Florida State University film professor and Fulbright Scholar; and Gena Williams, professional storyteller and former producer for The Moth. Civic dialogue and contemporary challenges take center stage through Braver Angels, a national nonprofit dedicated to fostering respectful discourse across divides, and Dr. Guillermo A. Francia III, a Fulbright cybersecurity researcher whose work explores the intersection of technology, ethics and modern storytelling.

Throughout the weekend, guests will move easily between formal conversations and relaxed gatherings, including evening concerts, a beer and wine reception, and a Sunday ice cream social and hat contest by the lake. There is intention here, but also ease—scholarship without stiffness, culture without pretense.

“Summit on the Circle is about honoring the stories that connect us—to place, to history, and to one another,” said Rob Overton, executive director of the UWF Historic Trust. “From spoken word and music to shared meals and cross-cultural conversations, this weekend creates space for meaningful connection while celebrating the unique character of DeFuniak Springs.”

That character has always been the point.

Where Chautauqua once brought national attention to DeFuniak Springs, Summit on the Circle works at a more human scale—designed for history lovers, arts supporters, music devotees and anyone seeking a spring weekend grounded in authenticity. It is less about spectacle than about proximity. Less about revival than about continuity.

For Pickett, the throughline is clear. Her work has always returned to the same question: How do we create spaces where people feel invited—to learn, to listen, to linger?

Summit on the Circle does not attempt to recreate the past. It acknowledges it, nods in its direction, and then turns forward. Like the lake itself, the gathering reflects what surrounds it while remaining open to whatever arrives at its edge.

In DeFuniak Springs, the Circle still does what it has always done best.
It brings people together.

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