From Nostalgia to Impact: Why Festival of Trees 40th will be the Greatest Yet
While we celebrated with the Quad Cities at Chalkfest and Alternating Currents, we were also building what I believe will be the most nostalgic November; rich with art and culture the Quad Cities has experienced to date…..and we began cementing plans in July. If I’m being honest, planning actually started the day after Festival of Trees concluded last year, but July was when it was time to cement things. Festival of Trees 40th Anniversary prep in the heat, with checklists and coffee. It felt right. This tradition deserves early work and clear lanes, and let’s be honest, both the Festival and the architects planning it needed a caffeine jolt.
Kristall Laursen and Sandi Burrichter have been locked in with me since day one. Smart questions. Fast answers. Less noise, more doing. That kind of partnership moves the needle. Kudos to their leader, Brian Allen, for lifting them and letting them fly on this event.
We’ve been digging into the history while we build. I was today years old when I learned:
In the 1980s and 1990s, the QC Times began reporting on Festival in March. Think Lady Whistledown in Bridgerton — it was the social occasion of the year, and the build-up was everything.
Cary Grant spent his final day here in Davenport after he fell ill at the Adler. One headline read: “He died in the arms of the Quad Cities.”
The Premiere Party was so glam that even celebrities like Bill Murray made appearances.
Festival of Trees began in 1986 and grew on purpose — thousands of volunteers, hundreds of designers, millions raised. It became one of the region’s biggest annual draws.
The helium balloon parade remains the Midwest’s largest. Though NOT-so-fun fact: helium is getting more and more difficult for the Quad City Arts team to secure.
What’s wild is everyone knows something about Festival of Trees, but few know where it comes from or how it comes to be each year.
Quad City Arts — one of the six Legacy Partners of The Cultural Trust, is the architect behind this festival. This small but mighty staff activates thousands of volunteers to bring this incredible and joyous event to life, and uses its success to produce programming all year long.
Here’s the kicker: Festival of Trees is the lifeline to many of the other programs Quad City Arts produces throughout the year. Its importance goes far beyond memory and nostalgia.
Think about it: Festival of Trees is just shy of two weeks long, yet underwrites nearly half of QC Arts mission-centric work throughout the year. That’s true return on investment. And when ROI is high, The Cultural Trust is there to make sure we maximize the opportunity in front of us, because that’s what we promised this community we would do. Keep the return on investment as high as possible, and the numbers don’t lie. We always follow the data.
So we’re diving in with the Quad City Arts staff to savor the nostalgia and pull the best of 40 years forward. Not just to deliver another Festival of Trees, but to produce the best Festival of Trees to date — because the data tells us if we do that, we strengthen Quad City Arts, and by extension, the Quad Cities. And that should matter to anyone living here. Because their mission isn’t just Festival of Trees. It’s Riverssance. Chalkfest. Student-driven murals telling our community’s story. Public art everywhere. Silent discos. Visiting artists inspiring students at school. Year-round energy. And Festival of Trees is the holly-jolly fuel that helps make it possible.
So, as a fellow Quad Citizen: help us lift this 40th anniversary up properly.
And if you haven’t been to the Premiere Party in a while? Trust me, this is the one you don’t want to miss. And if you know me, you know I don’t say that lightly. We’re cooking something delicious. I hope you get a taste.