Havana will host Spark! Places of Innovation, the newest traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program, in partnership with the Illinois Humanities. Spark! will be hosted by the Havana Area Chamber of Commerce and the City of Havana from January 13 - February 17, 2024.
As a companion to the Spark! exhibition, Havana will present a locally-produced exhibit detailing the diversity and rich resources of the Illinois River Valley, and the cutting edge scientific research being conducted at the two University of Illinois' biological research field stations, the Forbes Biological Station and Illinois River Biological Station. The exhibit will also showcase the innovative ways Havana has reinvented itself and restored its historic Downtown to transform its business community and grow its tourism industry. This revitalization created a renaissance and rebirth of the entrepreneurial spirit in Havana and innovative new uses for very old historic building structures.
Visitors will have an opportunity to attend the popular annual Fulton-Mason Eagle Day Festival on Saturday, February 3, 2024. The free all-day festival will include a live bird exhibitions and family-friendly activities that celebrate the culture and history of the Illinois River Valley area.
The Havana Area Chamber of Commerce additionally will offer a full program of events on Thursdays at 5:30pm and Saturdays and
Sundays at 1:00pm throughout the duration of the tour stop. These events will include presentations, lectures, performances, and historic architectural walking tours that provide a glimpse into the region’s rich natural resources, scientific research, ecology, arts and culture, history, and relationship to Native American communities.
*Wednesdays & Fridays are available for schools, home schools and field trips. For info or to schedule field trips and group outings, please contact the Chamber at 309-431-1391
As a companion to the Spark! exhibition, Havana will present a locally-produced exhibit detailing the diversity and rich resources of the Illinois River Valley, and the cutting edge scientific research being conducted at the two University of Illinois' biological research field stations, the Forbes Biological Station and Illinois River Biological Station. The exhibit will also showcase the innovative ways Havana has reinvented itself and restored its historic Downtown to transform its business community and grow its tourism industry. This revitalization created a renaissance and rebirth of the entrepreneurial spirit in Havana and innovative new uses for very old historic building structures.
Visitors will have an opportunity to attend the popular annual Fulton-Mason Eagle Day Festival on Saturday, February 3, 2024. The free all-day festival will include a live bird exhibitions and family-friendly activities that celebrate the culture and history of the Illinois River Valley area.
The Havana Area Chamber of Commerce additionally will offer a full program of events on Thursdays at 5:30pm and Saturdays and
Sundays at 1:00pm throughout the duration of the tour stop. These events will include presentations, lectures, performances, and historic architectural walking tours that provide a glimpse into the region’s rich natural resources, scientific research, ecology, arts and culture, history, and relationship to Native American communities.
*Wednesdays & Fridays are available for schools, home schools and field trips. For info or to schedule field trips and group outings, please contact the Chamber at 309-431-1391
Smithsonian Museum on Main Street
Havana City Center
326 West Market Street
Havana, IL 62644
Exhibit Open Hours: Monday-Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday, Friday, Saturday: 10am-5pm
Thursday 2pm-7pm and Sunday Noon-4pm
Havana City Center
326 West Market Street
Havana, IL 62644
Exhibit Open Hours: Monday-Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday, Friday, Saturday: 10am-5pm
Thursday 2pm-7pm and Sunday Noon-4pm
Program Schedule:
January 13 (Saturday)
10:00 AM: Smithsonian Museum on Main Street: Spark! Places of Innovation opens in Havana, Illinois
11:00 AM: Ribbon Cutting and launch of exhibit, opening comments by Illinois Humanities Executive Director Gabrielle Lyon, Mayor Brenda Stadsholt and Chamber of Commerce President April Burgett. Refreshments will be served!
January 14 (Sunday) 1:00 PM:
Featured Speaker, Amanda Sampson: Illinois River Road National Scenic Byway
Learn about the scenic byway, discover resources and what it means that Havana is a Gateway Community and the Southernmost City on the byway loop
January 18 (Thursday) 5:30 PM:
Featured Speaker: Dr. Auriel Fournier, Forbes Biological Station Director: History and Significance of the Forbes Biological Station - Frank C. Bellrose Waterfowl Research Center
January 20 (Saturday) 1:00 PM:
Featured Speaker: Dr. James Lamer, Illinois River Biological Station Director, Invasive carp invasion: detection, monitoring, and control.
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM: Illinois Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division outreach and educational materials; Choose Copi information, displays, giveaways and recipes
January 21 (Sunday) 1:00 PM:
Featured Speaker, Dr. Helaine Silverman, University of Illinois, Department of Anthropology, The Mythic Mississippi Project: a tool for downstate communities with interesting histories to develop their history as an attractor for cultural tourism
January 24-January 28:
Havana History Display: Havana exhibit featuring unique artifacts and memorabilia from Havana’s past in this exhibition curated by Tami Davidage of the Mason County Genealogical & Historical Society
January 25 (Thursday) 5:30 PM:
Featured Program, Singer Songwriter Edward David Anderson, live music and stories about Havana and the Illinois River and how they inspired some of his recent songwriting
January 27-January 28:
Companion Art Show at the Historic Riverside Clubhouse, hosted by the Mason County Arts Council
January 27 (Saturday) 1:00 PM:
Featured Program, Rick Noble, Mason County Arts Council President & Member of the Riverside Club Renovation & Restoration Committee, presentation on the history of Riverside Clubhouse, talk and walking tour to the historic building which will feature an art show with some of the most talented local artists presented by the Mason County Arts Council
January 28 (Sunday) 1:00 PM:
Featured Program: David Alan Badger, artist and historian, presentation on some of the most interesting historic architecture in Havana followed by one of David’s popular historic architectural walking tours
January 28 (Sunday) 2:30 PM:
Featured Speaker: Joshua Osborn, Waterfowl Biologist, Forbes Biological Station, The History and Significant Impact of the Long-Term Waterfowl Aerial Inventory Project, which was initiated by Frank Bellrose over half a century ago and continues today
February 1 (Thursday) 5:30 PM:
Featured Program, Havana Public Library, All ages family friendly with fun activity packets for kids!
February 3 (Saturday) 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM Fulton-Mason Eagle Day Celebration
Featured Program: 9:00 AM – Noon: Wildlife Prairie Park’s Feathered Friends live bird display!
Eagle Art Exhibition: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM: Display of art by local young artists and students from Tami Davidage’s Paint Box Studio
Take in all the activities that Fulton-Mason Eagle Day has to offer including the auto-tour at the Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge and a rare opportunity to climb the historic refuge observation tower from 11AM-4PM. Visit Riverfront Park to try and spot live Eagles perched over the Illinois River and hike Bellrose trail. Take in all the exhibits, displays, educational outreach and hands-on kid’s activities at Dickson Mounds Museum from 9AM-4PM and enjoy the live flight raptor shows in the DMM auditorium at 1PM & 3PM. Hike the new Dickson Mounds trails and enjoy a warming station and lakeside activities at the Emiquon Preserve.
February 4 (Sunday) 12:00 PM:
Featured Speaker: Dr. Katherine Strailey, Post Doctoral Research Associate, Illinois River Biological Station, the WHOOSHH Experiment, new technology on the cutting edge of invasive control being tested at the Emiquon Preserve’s water control structure
February 4 (Sunday) 1:00 PM:
Featured Speaker: Randy Smith, Illinois River Project Director at The Nature Conservancy’s Emiquon Preserve, The Restoration and Management of Emiquon Preserve, learn about the efforts taken to restore this vitally important backwater floodplain system
February 7 – February 11:
Historic Havana Postcard Exhibit: David Alan Badger will curate this special exhibition featuring historic Havana postcards
February 8 (Thursday) 5:30 PM:
Featured Program, Havana Public Library, All ages family friendly with fun activity packets for kids!
February 10 (Saturday) 1:00 PM:
Featured Program: David Alan Badger, artist and historian, brief presentation on vintage photography and the early color printing process as it relates to the Historic Havana Postcard exhibit, followed by one of David’s popular historic architectural walking tours
February 11 (Sunday) 1:00 PM:
Featured Speaker: Brenda Davenport-Fornoff, City of Havana Economic Development Coordinator, restoration and revitalization of historic Downtown Havana, and the mobile museum, a self-guided QR led historic downtown building tour
February 11 (Sunday) 2:30 PM:
Featured Speaker: Curt McMurl, Refuge Manager, Illinois River National Wildlife and Fish Refuges Complex, The history and significance of the Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge
February 15 (Thursday) 5:30 PM:
Featured Speaker: Dr. Jason DeBoer, Fisheries Biologist, Illinois River Biological Station, The lore and legacy of the Long-Term Electrofishing program: A look back at the origins, operations, and outcomes of one of the longest running inland fisheries monitoring programs in North America
February 17 (Saturday) 1:00 PM:
Featured Speaker: Logan Pappenfort, Interim Director and Curator of Anthropology, Dickson Mounds Museum, History of the Peewaaliaki (Peoria People)
February 17 (Saturday) 5:00 PM:
Smithsonian Museum on Main Street: Spark! Places of Innovation closes in Havana, Illinois
January 13 (Saturday)
10:00 AM: Smithsonian Museum on Main Street: Spark! Places of Innovation opens in Havana, Illinois
11:00 AM: Ribbon Cutting and launch of exhibit, opening comments by Illinois Humanities Executive Director Gabrielle Lyon, Mayor Brenda Stadsholt and Chamber of Commerce President April Burgett. Refreshments will be served!
January 14 (Sunday) 1:00 PM:
Featured Speaker, Amanda Sampson: Illinois River Road National Scenic Byway
Learn about the scenic byway, discover resources and what it means that Havana is a Gateway Community and the Southernmost City on the byway loop
January 18 (Thursday) 5:30 PM:
Featured Speaker: Dr. Auriel Fournier, Forbes Biological Station Director: History and Significance of the Forbes Biological Station - Frank C. Bellrose Waterfowl Research Center
January 20 (Saturday) 1:00 PM:
Featured Speaker: Dr. James Lamer, Illinois River Biological Station Director, Invasive carp invasion: detection, monitoring, and control.
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM: Illinois Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division outreach and educational materials; Choose Copi information, displays, giveaways and recipes
January 21 (Sunday) 1:00 PM:
Featured Speaker, Dr. Helaine Silverman, University of Illinois, Department of Anthropology, The Mythic Mississippi Project: a tool for downstate communities with interesting histories to develop their history as an attractor for cultural tourism
January 24-January 28:
Havana History Display: Havana exhibit featuring unique artifacts and memorabilia from Havana’s past in this exhibition curated by Tami Davidage of the Mason County Genealogical & Historical Society
January 25 (Thursday) 5:30 PM:
Featured Program, Singer Songwriter Edward David Anderson, live music and stories about Havana and the Illinois River and how they inspired some of his recent songwriting
January 27-January 28:
Companion Art Show at the Historic Riverside Clubhouse, hosted by the Mason County Arts Council
January 27 (Saturday) 1:00 PM:
Featured Program, Rick Noble, Mason County Arts Council President & Member of the Riverside Club Renovation & Restoration Committee, presentation on the history of Riverside Clubhouse, talk and walking tour to the historic building which will feature an art show with some of the most talented local artists presented by the Mason County Arts Council
January 28 (Sunday) 1:00 PM:
Featured Program: David Alan Badger, artist and historian, presentation on some of the most interesting historic architecture in Havana followed by one of David’s popular historic architectural walking tours
January 28 (Sunday) 2:30 PM:
Featured Speaker: Joshua Osborn, Waterfowl Biologist, Forbes Biological Station, The History and Significant Impact of the Long-Term Waterfowl Aerial Inventory Project, which was initiated by Frank Bellrose over half a century ago and continues today
February 1 (Thursday) 5:30 PM:
Featured Program, Havana Public Library, All ages family friendly with fun activity packets for kids!
February 3 (Saturday) 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM Fulton-Mason Eagle Day Celebration
Featured Program: 9:00 AM – Noon: Wildlife Prairie Park’s Feathered Friends live bird display!
Eagle Art Exhibition: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM: Display of art by local young artists and students from Tami Davidage’s Paint Box Studio
Take in all the activities that Fulton-Mason Eagle Day has to offer including the auto-tour at the Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge and a rare opportunity to climb the historic refuge observation tower from 11AM-4PM. Visit Riverfront Park to try and spot live Eagles perched over the Illinois River and hike Bellrose trail. Take in all the exhibits, displays, educational outreach and hands-on kid’s activities at Dickson Mounds Museum from 9AM-4PM and enjoy the live flight raptor shows in the DMM auditorium at 1PM & 3PM. Hike the new Dickson Mounds trails and enjoy a warming station and lakeside activities at the Emiquon Preserve.
February 4 (Sunday) 12:00 PM:
Featured Speaker: Dr. Katherine Strailey, Post Doctoral Research Associate, Illinois River Biological Station, the WHOOSHH Experiment, new technology on the cutting edge of invasive control being tested at the Emiquon Preserve’s water control structure
February 4 (Sunday) 1:00 PM:
Featured Speaker: Randy Smith, Illinois River Project Director at The Nature Conservancy’s Emiquon Preserve, The Restoration and Management of Emiquon Preserve, learn about the efforts taken to restore this vitally important backwater floodplain system
February 7 – February 11:
Historic Havana Postcard Exhibit: David Alan Badger will curate this special exhibition featuring historic Havana postcards
February 8 (Thursday) 5:30 PM:
Featured Program, Havana Public Library, All ages family friendly with fun activity packets for kids!
February 10 (Saturday) 1:00 PM:
Featured Program: David Alan Badger, artist and historian, brief presentation on vintage photography and the early color printing process as it relates to the Historic Havana Postcard exhibit, followed by one of David’s popular historic architectural walking tours
February 11 (Sunday) 1:00 PM:
Featured Speaker: Brenda Davenport-Fornoff, City of Havana Economic Development Coordinator, restoration and revitalization of historic Downtown Havana, and the mobile museum, a self-guided QR led historic downtown building tour
February 11 (Sunday) 2:30 PM:
Featured Speaker: Curt McMurl, Refuge Manager, Illinois River National Wildlife and Fish Refuges Complex, The history and significance of the Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge
February 15 (Thursday) 5:30 PM:
Featured Speaker: Dr. Jason DeBoer, Fisheries Biologist, Illinois River Biological Station, The lore and legacy of the Long-Term Electrofishing program: A look back at the origins, operations, and outcomes of one of the longest running inland fisheries monitoring programs in North America
February 17 (Saturday) 1:00 PM:
Featured Speaker: Logan Pappenfort, Interim Director and Curator of Anthropology, Dickson Mounds Museum, History of the Peewaaliaki (Peoria People)
February 17 (Saturday) 5:00 PM:
Smithsonian Museum on Main Street: Spark! Places of Innovation closes in Havana, Illinois