Saturday in the Arts is a weekly feature covering a trend, subject, event or personality of local interest. It runs every Saturday morning on your site for the best entertainment and arts coverage in the area, QuadCities.com! The Covid-19 pandemic not only drove many people crazy, but it’s driven them more than ever outdoors – for comfort, relaxation, exercise and simple enjoyment of the natural world. The beautiful, restorative calm of the Quad City Botanical Center, 2525 4th Ave., Rock Island, has been perfectly positioned to welcome those weary pandemic warriors. And with a new executive... Read More

If you visit the Quad City Botanical Center by the end of May – and you certainly should – you’ll see a portrait of an artist as a young man. A very young, talented man indeed. Eight-year-old Levi Folker of Davenport is the youngest artist ever to have his own exhibit in the 23-year-history of the QCBC, with 28 of his deeply colorful, imaginative paintings on the walls in the main hallway. They’re on display for all of April and May. “I like painting because it makes me happy,” Levi, a second-grader at Adams Elementary, who’s been homeschooled this past year, said recently. “I like... Read More

Ryan Wille, a former marketing manager of Quad City Botanical Center, has been chosen next executive director of the Rock Island-based nonprofit, succeeding Ami Porter. A 2009 graduate of Bradley University in Peoria, Wille was the marketing manager at QCBC (2525 4th Ave., Rock Island) from March 2016 to October 2018, and since then has been development manager of the Humane Society of Scott County. “Ryan, he is a great leader. He is a wonderful person,” Porter said Tuesday morning. “He is very passionate about the gardens. He cares very much about the success of the gardens and he’s... Read More

The board of directors of the Quad City Botanical Center announced the upcoming retirement of Executive Director Ami Porter effective in May. Porter has led the organization since 2010 and started at the Center in 1998. “It has been such an honor to serve the Botanical Center and this community. I am very proud of what our team has accomplished, and I will be leaving the Botanical Center in a great position to propel forward, despite the difficulties we endured in 2020 due to the pandemic. I am humbled to have so many volunteers help us year after year, including board members,” stated Porter.... Read More