The Cultural Trust

08/14/2026

YONDER MOUNTAIN STRING BAND & RAILROAD EARTH

2 sets of 2 tickets to the SOLD-OUT concert became available this morning. Due to the limited available tickets, we are raffling them off to 2 different winners to receive 2 tickets each. How to enter the raffle:

Visit https://www.qcgardens.com/memberships.html #/ and become a member between right now and Saturday, August 15th at noon. Only base level memberships apply, which includes Individual, Duo, and Group memberships. That’s it. Tomorrow afternoon, we will randomly choose two winners and alert them via email and phone call.

If you don’t win the tickets, you still have all the annual benefits that go along with being a member of our gardens.

- Free general admission to our gardens
- Free Wednesday night admission during Winter Lights
- Reciprocal admission to over 400 gardens across the country

Good luck!

P.S. *DO NOT purchase tickets from scammers on this post.*

08/14/2026

What a great opportunity!

Become an annual member of the Quad City Botanical Center and you’ll also have a chance to win tickets to see Railroad Earth and Yonder Mountain String Band live this Sunday!

Support the Botanical Center, enjoy the benefits of membership all year long, and you just might catch an incredible show while you’re at it!

YONDER MOUNTAIN STRING BAND & RAILROAD EARTH

2 sets of 2 tickets to the SOLD-OUT concert became available this morning. Due to the limited available tickets, we are raffling them off to 2 different winners to receive 2 tickets each. How to enter the raffle:

Visit https://www.qcgardens.com/memberships.html #/ and become a member between right now and Saturday, August 15th at noon. Only base level memberships apply, which includes Individual, Duo, and Group memberships. That’s it. Tomorrow afternoon, we will randomly choose two winners and alert them via email and phone call.

If you don’t win the tickets, you still have all the annual benefits that go along with being a member of our gardens.

- Free general admission to our gardens
- Free Wednesday night admission during Winter Lights
- Reciprocal admission to over 400 gardens across the country

Good luck!

P.S. *DO NOT purchase tickets from scammers on this post.*

08/14/2026

Yesterday, we opened our doors.
Sunday, Culture Bright begins.
And after everything it took to get here, one thing feels clear:
This is just the beginning.

Read the final essay in our Culture Bright Summer Essay Series by clicking below.
Then come be part of what happens next.

To learn more about the Culture Bright Summer Series, visit: CultureBright.org

Welcome to Culture Bright: A Summer Essay Series — a collection of reflections on art, culture, and the future of the Quad Cities from Jen Lewis-Snyder, President & CEO of The Cultural Trust.

08/14/2026

What an incredible way to celebrate a new chapter for The Cultural Trust.

We were blown away by the turnout for our ribbon cutting and grateful to see so many friends, partners, artists, community leaders and supporters come together to help us celebrate our new home.

From the energy in the room to the art, activities, conversations and connections happening throughout the evening, it was a wonderful reminder of what makes the Quad Cities cultural community so special.

Thank you to everyone who joined us, to the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce for helping us mark the occasion, and to all of the people who helped make the celebration possible.

We’re excited about what this new space represents, not just a new home for The Cultural Trust, but a place to gather, collaborate, create and continue building a brighter future for arts and culture across our region.

This is just the beginning.

08/13/2026

Today, The Cultural Trust opens its front porch to the Quad Cities.
A place to gather. To share ideas. And to build what comes next.

Today's essay: Then come through the door.
📖 Read more by clicking below.

To learn more about the Culture Bright Summer Series, visit: CultureBright.org

Welcome to Culture Bright: A Summer Essay Series — a collection of reflections on art, culture, and the future of the Quad Cities from Jen Lewis-Snyder, President & CEO of The Cultural Trust.

08/12/2026

We are excited to announce that Riley Tallman has joined our team as Executive Assistant to the President & CEO | Special Projects Coordinator.

Riley brings more than three years of experience in administrative and executive support, project coordination, event planning, communications, and relationship-building. Throughout her career, she has coordinated complex schedules and projects, supported events and programs, worked with diverse partners and stakeholders, and built a reputation for being organized, thoughtful, collaborative, and service-focused.

In her new role, Riley will work across The Cultural Trust to support the President & CEO and help coordinate Culture Bright initiatives, Legacy Partner relationships, special projects, and events.

We’re thrilled to have Riley on the team and look forward to the energy, experience, and care she will bring to this important role.

Join us in welcoming Riley to The Cultural Trust!

08/12/2026

Living near each other doesn’t make us a community.
Experiencing life together does.

Today's essay: We Were Never Meant to Experience It Alone
📖 Read more by clicking below.

To learn more about the Culture Bright Summer Series, visit: CultureBright.org

Welcome to Culture Bright: A Summer Essay Series — a collection of reflections on art, culture, and the future of the Quad Cities from Jen Lewis-Snyder, President & CEO of The Cultural Trust.

08/11/2026

Fresh Films has focused on inclusivity since day one. We’re excited to announce that Academy Award-winning actress and disability advocate Marlee Matlin will deliver a keynote address focused on accessibility and inclusion in the arts following a screening of our SXSW EDU selected documentary, “I AM DisABLEed,” Wednesday, Aug. 19 at the Putnam Museum in Davenport, Iowa.

Four additional public screenings from August 20 to 23 - all proceeds will benefit the Disability Coalition and their partners!

Get your tickets here!
https://www.putnam.org/events/

08/11/2026

You probably don’t remember every concert, museum or performance.
But you remember the one.
Why do some experiences stay with us forever?

Today's essay: The Moment Everything Changes
📖 Read more by clicking below.

To learn more about the Culture Bright Summer Series, visit: CultureBright.org

Welcome to Culture Bright: A Summer Essay Series — a collection of reflections on art, culture, and the future of the Quad Cities from Jen Lewis-Snyder, President & CEO of The Cultural Trust.

08/10/2026

What makes a community thrive?
It might be simpler than you think.
It starts with what we choose to do again and again.

Today's essay: Make It a Habit
📖 Read more by clicking below.

To learn more about the Culture Bright Summer Series, visit: CultureBright.org

Welcome to Culture Bright: A Summer Essay Series — a collection of reflections on art, culture, and the future of the Quad Cities from Jen Lewis-Snyder, President & CEO of The Cultural Trust.