The Rock Island Rotary Club won a first-place award for its entry in the 2025 Quad City Arts Festival of Trees. The tree, entitled “Once Upon a Forest,” featured books and stuffed animals related to a forest theme, along with bright lights and ornaments. The theme is a tie-in with the club's emphasis on literacy projects, particularly for children in the Rock Island-Milan schools.
The Rotary Club’s Literacy projects include distributing birthday books to every student in Earl Hanson Elementary School; collaborating with the Rock Island Public Library to have the bookmobile at events with the school such as “Pumpkin Palooza”; and sponsoring an annual Book Fair at Earl Hanson Elementary School.
Several club members worked on designing and decorating the tree. Sponsorship for the Festival of Trees entry tree was from Bally’s Casino, Rock Island.
Festival of Trees is an annual celebration sponsored by Quad City Arts. It includes more than 150 designer-decorated holiday-themed trees and displays, a parade featuring helium balloons, and several special events. The event is in its 40th year in 2025 and has become a very popular Quad Cities tradition.
Founded in 1914, the Rock Island Rotary Club is an organization of business and professional leaders dedicated to community and World Service.