Harvest Moon Celebration for Tapestry Farms is October 7
Tapestry Farms will hold its first fall fundraiser – Harvest Moon Celebration – on Tuesday, Oct. 7th at 7 p.m., Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 121 W. 12th St., Davenport.
At the end of April, the nonprofit’s executive director Ann McGlynn got an email from New York-based soprano and Davenport native Claire Kuttler with a generous idea: “What if she offered the gift of her voice in concert to benefit Tapestry Farms?”
Kuttler’s family has been involved with the families of Tapestry Farms in meaningful ways, and they attend the church McGlynn used to work at — St. Paul Lutheran in Davenport. “The answer was an immediate yes,” McGlynn said Thursday by email about having their first fall gala event. Tapestry Farms is a nonprofit urban farm system that invests in refugees in the Quad Cities.
“From there, the idea caught fire,” the director said Thursday. “Organist Chris Nelson said yes to collaborating. Qamar Haddad and Fidele Muragara agreed to share poetry from their home countries. More colleagues—led by Fatima Hussein—said they would love to make Arabic sweets. The good people of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral (our new home) enthusiastically offered to host. Lauren Brown designed the art. Barbara Kuttler (Claire’s mom) covered the cost of the treats in honor of her birthday. Royal Neighbors of America, WVIK, Quad Cities NPR and Sunny View Farms agreed to sponsor. Volunteers signed on. And more than 140 people have already purchased tickets.
The Harvest Moon Celebration will be Tuesday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Davenport.
“This event is happening because we are following the energy of our supporters,” McGlynn said. “A single offer of generosity has grown into something beautiful, creative, and bigger than we could have imagined … or done alone.”
For the first fall fundraiser, Tapestry Farms aims to raise at least $10,000. Its spring 2025 fundraiser, the Spring Fling, raised $75,000 in May.
The nonprofit was honored this past January to receive the Quad Cities Community Foundation’s transformational grant, of $300,000 over three years.
That grant will ensure that Tapestry Farms’ visionary mission can sustainably grow as they take on the intertwined challenges of food insecurity and supporting refugee families who make the Quad Cities region a thriving, beautiful community.
Lyric soprano Claire Kuttler has sung on many prestigious stages, including the Metropolitan Opera and Carnegie Hall in New York.
“The Transformation Grant is designed for organizations that are ready to take a big step forward in their work,” Sue Hafkemeyer, the Community Foundation’s president and CEO, said last January in announcing it. “Tapestry Farms is driven by compassion, creativity, and boundless community spirit. They are making the Quad Cities a more beautiful and equitable place, and we can’t wait to see what they do next.”
Founded in 2017, Tapestry Farms provides a robust welcome to refugees, connecting them with nutritious and culturally appropriate food, individual support, employment, and other vital resources. To date, Tapestry Farms has served approximately 500 people in more than 100 families. They provide what is known as a “long welcome,” support that ensures new families continue to thrive as they begin their new lives and enrich the entire QC community.
“We imagine a Quad Cities where any refugee or immigrant can find home again, access the services they need, and grow or access the nutritious food that’s foundational to health and full community engagement,” said McGlynn, founder and executive director of Tapestry Farms. “We’re not always perfect, but we always learn and listen. We walk with the families we serve, and we learn from our partnering organizations—that spirit of collaboration is how we’re going to continue to grow.”
In addition to soprano Claire Kuttler and accompanist Chris Nelson (upper right) Tapestry Farms is benefitting from the work of Fidele Muragara and Fatima Hussein in the Oct. 7 fundraiser.
That growth mission extends beyond the garden. Tapestry Farms works and advocates to create strong “welcoming infrastructure” for all people, including refugees. This promotes civic engagement, opens doors to immigrants participating in the local economy, creates educational opportunities for the community, and makes the region safer for all residents.
Research is clear that limited access to healthy foods can lead to serious physical health complications such as Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and obesity, among others, the Community Foundation said. Children at risk of hunger will more likely struggle in school and experience poor physical, mental, and emotional health. Tapestry Farms is working to reduce these challenges to benefit local health, economic, and educational outcomes.
“The need for food, opportunities, and connection to resources continues to grow,” said McGlynn. “Ten years ago, our community resettled between 200 and 225 refugees annually. In 2024, 670 refugees became part of our community, all seeking safety and hope for a better future. Because of the meaningful investment made by Community Foundation donors, we are positioned to grow, meet this need, and better support the families who make the Quad Cities thrive.”
New York City-based soprano Claire Kuttler, a Davenport West alum, will be accompanied by Chris Nelson, organist and music director at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Davenport.
Over the three years, the Transformation Grant will enable Tapestry Farms to nearly triple the pounds of food grown and more than double the families served by their culturally specific food pantry. Additionally, the organization moved into a new, larger operational space, retain full-time staff, and explore new resources for refugees. Planned programming includes community English language classes, navigation of legal services, and courses to encourage neighbors to grow food in their own backyard.
“Oh goodness, what a difference it is making,” McGlynn said Thursday of the three-year grant. “The food-growing aspect of our organization was able to hire more refugees this growing season, and we increased the efficiency of our work with methods such as drip lines. We will grow more food than we did last year, have settled into our new home base at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral – with specific facilities for our farm, and we are looking forward to using all of the knowledge we’ve gained over the past several years of farming to expand two plots for 2026.”
At any given time, Tapestry Farms works with approximately 30 families. They are mostly from Afghanistan, Syria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, and Haiti.
Tapestry Farms executive director Ann McGlynn was honored with an Iowa humanitarian award at the Iowa Hunger Summit in July 2025.
In July, at the Iowa Hunger Summit, McGlynn was presented with the World Food Prize Foundation’s Robert D. Ray Iowa SHARES Humanitarian Award. The award was established in 2013 to honor the former Iowa Governor on his 85th birthday. It recognizes an Iowan who has provided significant leadership in confronting hunger and alleviating human suffering either at home or abroad, much as Governor Ray did on behalf of Asian refugees during his time in office.
“We’ve talked for years about a fall fundraising event. This is the year it’s finally happening — and it’s happening in the best way: through an entire community of people who believe in our collective work,” McGlynn said. “This event will bring together music, beauty, togetherness, joy, comfort, care, and support for the refugees we serve. And every ticket sold will fund food, housing, legal, and medical support for refugee families in the Quad Cities — needs that are more urgent than ever.”
Kuttler, a Davenport West alum and soprano based in New York City, has performed throughout the country including at the renowned Metropolitan Opera and Carnegie Hall. Her QC appearances have included an Opera Quad Cities gala showcase in Moline in June 2022, and the Jake Heggie opera “Two Remain: Out of Darkness” at Augustana College in October 2022.
Kuttler’s operatic roles include Mimì in Puccini’s La Bohème with Anchorage Opera and Countess Almaviva in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro with Bel Cantanti Opera. Her soloist debut at Carnegie Hall was in Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem with Distinguished Concert Artists of New York. For the past seven years, Claire has also been engaged with the world-renowned Metropolitan Opera Chorus, and has performed in over twenty productions with the company.
In addition to classic roles of the soprano repertoire, Kuttler has been fortunate to sing numerous contemporary works including the role of Bea in Heggie’s Three Decembers with Opera Birmingham, originating the role of Elaine O’Neill in the world premiere of John Musto’s Later the Same Evening at the Maryland Opera Studio and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., Emily Webb in Ned Rorem’s Our Town with Palm Beach Opera and Samuel Barber’s incomparable “Knoxville: Summer of 1915” with the Mannes Orchestra as a winner of the conservatory’s concerto competition, according to her bio. Another distinctly American honor was performing a solo for former President Barack Obama at his official inaugural prayer service in 2009 at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C.
As a voice teacher, Claire is passionate about equitable access to music education and has previously served on the voice faculties of three excellent non-profit music programs: The Highbridge Voices in the South Bronx, ArtSmart in the New York City public school system, and the California State Summer School for the Arts in Los Angeles. Kuttler holds degrees with honors from the Mannes College of Music (Professional Studies Diploma), the University of Maryland, College Park (M.M.) and Concordia College in Moorhead, MN (B.M.).
At the Oct. 7 Trinity concert, Chris Nelson — organist and director of music at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Davenport – will accompany her, in a variety of musical genres — everything from Antonín Dvořák and Paul Simon, to Aaron Copland and Pete Seeger. The event includes poetry read by Tapestry Farms men and women.
After the performance, patrons will gather for special Arabic baklava prepared by Tapestry Farms colleague Fatima Hussein. There are three ticket options:
- Abundance $50: Celebrate life’s fullness and the generous harvest.
- Gratefulness $60: Honor the community and relationships that nurture our work.
- Care $70: Recognize the reciprocal bond between caring for the earth and receiving its gifts.
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