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Events Throughout The Year
Butterworth Center & Deere-Wiman House hosts a variety of free family events throughout the year. A traditional 19th Century Christmas open house marks the start of the holiday season on the first Sunday afternoon of December. Other annual events, such as Evenings at Butterworth and Music on the Lawn, appeal to visitors from preschoolers to senior citizens.
Looking for exciting new perspectives? Check out Evenings at Butterworth for in-depth historical presentations in a unique environment. One of the Quad Cities' classic historic homes, Butterworth offers a special stage for programming you won't find anywhere else. Join us in the Butterworth library for presentations that are sure to delight!
Signature Events
Sundays at Butterworth Center
February 16 – 3p
History of the Hershey
Chocolate Company
Today the name Hershey is synonymous with quality milk chocolate. But that wasn't always the case. Milton S. Hershey worked hard and failed often before his chocolate company was finally successful. And when he did become a household name and had earned a vast fortune, Milton and his wife Catherine decided to give it all away. Because of their generosity, tens of thousands of orphans have been saved, protected, and educated. Laura Keyes will delight audiences with her illustrated talk about this beloved American company.
Refreshments following the program
FREE no reservations required.
Photo Credit: Robert Kaplafka
Sundays at Butterworth Center
March 23 – 3p
The Great British Baking Tour
Join UK travel/relocation consultant and former UK resident
Claire Evans for a delightful culinary tour of the UK inspired by “The Great British Baking Show” television series, aired on PBS and Netflix. Learn about making a proper cup of tea, regional specialties, their origins, and the particular parts of the UK they hail from. She’ll translate the trickiest parts of British recipes for Americans so you can try them in your own kitchen.
Refreshments following the program
FREE no reservations required.
If These Walls Could Talk
The Deere-Wiman House walls have been witness to technological and mechanical changes for nearly 150 years. From customized, practical installations to new and marvelous innovations, they have seen it all. Join Jan Stoffer, Director of Operations & Administration, on a guided experience through rooms and corridors rarely seen by the public. Guests on the tour will gain a better understanding of the home's utility modification over time and how they reflect the life of a family of early adapters at the turn of the last century.
Participants should wear comfortable shoes, be prepared to climb stairs and ramps, and bring their curiosity.
Post-tour dessert included. Duration 90 minutes. Space is limited to 16 people. Cost $25.
Make your reservation
Join us for the Porch Party
at
Butterworth Center & Deere-Wiman House
September 15th from noon to 5 pm
Music - Food and Craft Beer Trucks - and Fun
See you September 21, 2025
Join us for the Porch Party at Butterworth Center & Deere-Wiman House. Gone Wild! features an exhibit of Audubon Prints from the William Butterworth Foundation Collections and nature-based activities throughout the site, including our digital scavenger hunt. Activities and music will take place throughout our properties including: Deere-Wiman House, tunnel, and carriage house; Butterworth Center, garden and the Education Center.
MUSIC
Bring a lawn chair and join the party with a line-up of live musicians playing
throughout the day on the west porch of Deere-Wiman House; the music room organ and gazebo in the gardens of Butterworth Center. Musicians include:
Deere-Wiman House West Porch
• 12 to 5pm - Frankie Joe and the Kinfolk
Butterworth Center and Grounds
• 12:30pm - Jed Poust, Butterworth House Organ
• 12pm - BandD
• 2:30 pm - Jed Poust, Butterworth House Organ
• 2:30 to 5pm - The Velies
FOOD
11th Avenue food trucks will serve up a diverse variety of deliciously wild food.
Enjoy a craft beer while you eat in the Porte Cochere café at Butterworth Center or use our stand-up bistro tables on the terrace or in the garden. Enjoy free cake in the Butterworth Center Dining Room and free popcorn in the Education Center.
FUN
Throw a bag with Deere family cornhole-bingo and win swag in the Family Zone.
Make crafts at the Figge Art Museum tent on the lawn along with the Illinois
Master Gardeners, the Moline Horticultural Society, Popular Astronomy and
Wild Ones.
Take your picture at the Quad City Photography Club on the
Butterworth Terrace and porch.
Visit our Education Center to engage with community organizations highlighting their crafts or services like the Quad City Basketry Guild and the Mississippi Valley Quilters Guild. Or learn about orchids from the Illowa Orchid Society.
Enjoy free popcorn and trivia in the Squash Court sponsored by QC Pastport.
View antique Cars filling the lawn of the Deere-Wiman House for your viewing
pleasure.
Learn about preservation and basic home repairs with Moline’s Community Development Corporation and Preservation Commision.
This is a family friendly day with lots of activities for people of all ages.
Local history is fun! Brought to you by the William Butterworth Foundation
Music at Butterworth
Luciane Dom
October 10, 7p
With a smile as alluring as her upbeat rhythms, Brazilian artist Luciane Dom takes the stage for a Music at Butterworth Center
concert in the gracious Butterworth Library.October 10, 7p
Luciane describes herself as a “critical thinker and a natural observer who translates everything into music.” She is a multilingual singer, songwriter and producer—part of the new generation of contemporary artists from Rio de Janeiro who bring poetic themes such as Black diaspora, feminism, empowerment, and social reflections. Luciane´s performances incorporate various musical influences from traditional Afro-Brazilian genres, Afrobeat, urban jazz, reggae, and ijexá.
Firmly established on the world’s music scene, Luciane shares her experiences in lyrics, melodies, and texts that display her writings, family background, and the environment in which she has lived. From Brazil to Chile to Canada and three times across the United States, her musical tours stir hearts with a multi-cultural message that spans human boundaries.
Don’t miss Luciane Dom’s dynamic concert of traditional Brazilian rhythms, featuring samba, bossa nova, forró, axé, and maracatu selections, along with other musical styles that celebrate cultures from around the world.
Refreshments follow the concert in the Butterworth Center Dining Room.
Butterworth Center
1105 8th Street
Moline, Illinois
1105 8th Street
Moline, Illinois
WÖR
October 28, 7p
“Back to the 1780s! If it sounded good back then, why not today?” October 28, 7p
That’s the mantra of WÖR (pronounced “were”), a band of five musicians
whose curiosity, passion and talent breathe new life into a niche of
18th century melodies from the Flanders region of Belgium.
With contemporary arrangements that celebrate historic musical lore,
WÖR has attracted audiences across Europe, Australia, Canada, and the
US, winning awards and fans for live performances and unique albums
such as Back to the 1780s (2015), Sssht (2017), and About Towers (2021).
Get set to expand your musical horizons with WÖR, followed by refreshments in the lovely Butterworth Center Library.
Butterworth Center
1105 8th Street
Moline, Illinois
1105 8th Street
Moline, Illinois
Sunny Jain
December 4, 7p
Bring the whole family to enjoy celebrated Dhol drum artist Sunny Jain December 4, 7p
when he takes the stage for Music at Butterworth Center on December 4th, 7p, in the gracious Butterworth Library.
Called the “Hendrix of Dhol,” Sunny is known for founding the pioneering
band Red Baraat, a frenzied fusion of bhangra, hip-hop, jazz, rock, and sheer, unbridled energy. NPR calls it the “best party band in years.” Red Baraat has performed across the globe with stops at the White House, London Olympics, TED, Austin City Limits, Bonnaroo, Luxembourg Philharmonic, Peter Gabriel’s WOMAD festivals (Australia, New Zealand, Spain, and UK,) and Padma Lakshmi’s Blossom Ball.
Believing every person has a unique spark of creativity, Jain not only entertains with his Dhol (a double-sided drum with a wide range of sounds and rhythms), but he also instructs as he goes, drawing in families with aspiring young musicians to take up the instrument.
Don’t miss this unforgettable evening of international music featuring the amazing Sunny Jain, followed by refreshments in the Butterworth Dining Room.
Butterworth Center
1105 8th Street
Moline, Illinois
1105 8th Street
Moline, Illinois
Music On The Lawn
Evenings at Butterworth
What's for Dinner?
Preserving your family's food traditions
November 4, 7p
Join Gretchen Small, Director of Programs & Collections at Butterworth Center & Deere-Wiman House, as she shares her goal of preserving her family's food culture. No doubt, you remember favorite dishes from your own childhood, and you can use those memories to preserve history through the food traditions that have enriched your family. Come share those memories as Gretchen leads us on a trip to the past to celebrate your family’s food traditions in a new, fun way. Butterworth Center
1105 8th Street
Moline, Illinois
1105 8th Street
Moline, Illinois
Art Talks at Butterworth Center
Check back for upcoming programs
Archives Fair 2024
Do you love history?
How about archives and museums?
Archives Fair is sponsored by QC Stacks, to learn more go to https://sites.google.com/view/qcarchivesfair/home
Free and open to the public. 1:00p to 4:00p.
See you October 18, 2025 for the next Archives Fair!
Credit Island Lodge
2200 W River Drive
Davenport, IA 52802
19th Century Christmas
December 1, 2024, noon to 5p
Each year during the 19th Century Christmas event, hundreds of visitors step back in time to experience the sights and sounds of an 1800s Christmas. Activities are located at both Butterworth Center and at Deere-Wiman House:
- Beautiful decorations throughout both Deere-Wiman House and Butterworth Center
- Musical performances at Butterworth Center and Deere-Wiman House
- Children’s crafts in the Deere-Wiman Carriage House and Butterworth Education Center
2024
Butterworth Center – 1105 8th Street
– The 1892 home of Katherine and William Butterworth.
Noon – 5:00p
– Cookies & Punch (Dining Room)
Noon – 5:00p
– View Partners in Preservation, a 10-minute film
documenting the restoration of the Butterworth
historic leaded window (lower level Oak Room)
Noon – 1:00
- Keynote Vocals Studio
1:00 – 2:00p
– Rock Island High School Chamber Singers
2:15 – 3:15p
– Moline High School Chamber Orchestra
3:30p – 4:30
- Bucktown Brass Quintet
(all musical performances in the library)
Butterworth Education Center
– Corner of 12th Avenue and 7th Street
– Tour the former garage, built in 1910 and remodeled in 2009. The original squash court and servants’ quarters contrast the modern entry, meeting space, and projection room.
– Tour the former garage, built in 1910 and remodeled in 2009. The original squash court and servants’ quarters contrast the modern entry, meeting space, and projection room.
Videos created by the Butterworth Foundation with WQPT Public Television—
Uncommon Assets:
The Life and Legacy of John Deere and Hidden Treasures: Discovering Butterworth Center and Deere-Wiman House through the Eyes of a Child
(first floor squash court)
Children’s Crafts and Activities – sponsored by WQPT Quad Cities Public Television (main Garage Room)
Splash Back in History—an exhibit of the story of the Deere-Wiman swimming pool (second floor above entry)
Hot Chocolate, Hot Spiced Cider, and milk (main Garage Room)
Santa has treats for all youngsters and a free book for the first 400 to arrive (main Garage Room)
Santa has treats for all youngsters and a free book for the first 400 to arrive (main Garage Room)
Deere-Wiman House – 817 11th Avenue
– The 1872 home of Charles Deere, son of John Deere.
Noon – 5:00p
– Self-guided tours of the home
Noon – 12:45p
– Slide
Trombone Quartet
1:00 – 1:45p
– Guitarist Andy Klindt
2:00 – 2:45p
– Slide
Trombone Quartet
2:45 – 3:45p
– Pianist Christine Parry
3:45 – 4:30 – Quintessential Quintet
(all musical performances in first floor living room)
Deere-Wiman Carriage House
– 817 11th Avenue
– just east of the Deere-Wiman House on the driveway
Holiday Children’s Make-n-Take Crafts
Josh Wright – Free Caricature Drawings—Plan on a wait while Josh tries to serve as many people as possible.
Xochi Pannell – Face Painting
Hot Chocolate, Hot Spiced Cider and Cookies
The Rock Island County Historical Society
—822 11th Avenue is also open today 1:00—4:00p
The Rock Island County Historical Society—822 11th Avenue will also be open December 3rd, 1:00—4:00p
