Crossroads Cultural Connections
2025 Year-End Impact Report
Creating Connection. Inspiring Curiosity. Strengthening Community.
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Dear Friends,
As 2025 comes to a close, we’ve been reflecting on what an extraordinary year this has been for Crossroads Cultural Connections — and how much of it is because of people like you. Whether you came to a show, cooked a dish for a potluck, donated, told a friend, or simply welcomed an artist with a smile, you helped create something rare and meaningful right here in our corner of the world.
What we are building together is more than a concert series. It’s a movement — one rooted in hospitality, cultural curiosity, community pride, and the belief that art has the power to shrink the distance between people.
This year alone:
2025 Impact Snapshot
● 93 concerts – 12,390 attendees
● 21 school programs – 4,641 students reached
● 351 total events since 2022 – 51,190 attendees & 15,341 students served
These numbers are impressive, but the real story lives in the moments in between — the ones that stay with you.
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A Year of Connection, One Artist at a Time
If you’ve attended even one show this year, you’ve felt it: the way a space transforms when artists from across the world sit down and share their songs, their stories, their humor, and their humanity. The musicians we hosted this year have come from everywhere— from small towns in Appalachia to the mountains of Peru, from Israel and Palestine to Senegal, from Ireland to India.
Many of them tell us the same thing after performing here:
“This place… feels like coming home.”
That feeling doesn’t happen by accident.
It’s created by the potluck tables overflowing with homemade dishes.
By the conversations that linger long after the last note.
By the kids who sit criss-cross on the floor, eyes wide, hearing a new instrument for the very first time.
By your generosity — your presence — your belief.
A Year of Global Music — 33 International Concerts
This year brought an incredible level of cultural diversity to our rural communities. We hosted 33 concerts featuring international artists from countries including Scotland, Sweden, Ireland, Canada, Poland, Mexico, France, and more. These musicians filled our venues with stories, traditions, and sounds from around the world — a powerful reminder of how music bridges every distance.
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Memorable Moments
There were countless highlights, but a few stand out as truly unforgettable:
● Morgan Myles School Visits – Students wrote lyric ideas on notecards, and Morgan composed songs from their words on the spot. It was pure creativity in action.
● Peterson Farm Bros at Bureau Valley – They not only performed but joined in a dodgeball game with students and teachers during FFA Week.
● Skerryvore’s 20th Anniversary – We hosted the band twice this year, then joined fans from across the region on a trip to Scotland to celebrate their milestone performance at Floors Castle.
● Hosting Grammy Winner Brandy Clark – A major honor and a standout moment for our series.
● And of course — all of our international showcases, which brought the world to Bishop Hill, Cambridge, and Galva.
We also want to extend special gratitude to Carlin and Bob, who have hosted hundreds of touring musicians over the years, providing home-cooked meals and a warm, welcoming place to stay. Their hospitality is legendary among artists and deeply appreciated.
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Investing in Spaces That Support the Arts
Bishop Hill Creative Commons underwent significant improvements this year to better support artists and audiences alike. Renovations included:
● New siding
● New front walkway
● New potluck counter
● Green room renovations
● Electrical upgrades
● Landscaping and gutter work
● A new back deck
● A new sound mixer and numerous gear upgrades
These enhancements were made possible thanks to the Ken & Doris Kolb Charitable Trust, Mike & Jane Martin, Dave Benson, Jamie Miller, Rich Nordstrom, and Gary Morgan whose donations and donated materials, labor, and furniture made a tremendous difference to the space.
We would also like to thank all of the talented artists who are part of the Bishop Hill Creative Commons artist cooperative. We love to be able to support local artisans. Without them and their beautiful works that fill the space, Bishop Hill Creative Commons would not be what it is today.
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Education, Engagement, and Youth Development
Education and community outreach continue to be central to our mission.
This year:
● We visited six schools for the first time, broadening access to live music for more students.
● We helped secure another three years of the Levitt AMP Galva Music Series.
● Through the Illinois Arts Council Agency’s Youth Employment in the Arts Grant, we employed three local young men — Logan Meier, Carlin Peterson, and Carson Pratt — who gained valuable hands-on experience in event management and the performing arts.
These programs transform lives, cultivate creativity, and ensure that the arts remain accessible to everyone.
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Endowment Fund Growth
The Crossroads Cultural Connections Endowment plays a vital role in sustaining our mission for generations to come.
In 2025:
The endowment paid out $6,634.84, of which we used $3,500 to support 9 school programs.
The remaining $3,134.84 was reinvested to strengthen long-term growth.
We added:
● $8,625 from John’s birthday fundraiser
● $1,000 from Mike & Mary Panther
Total added in 2025 so far: $12,759.84
Our goal for 2026 is to grow the endowment by $15,000.
This fund is essential in ensuring stable, predictable support for operating costs, school outreach, artist fees, and community programming.
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Ways You Can Join Us in Building the Future
Costs continue to rise, and your support — in any form — makes a real difference. We are always grateful for:
● Volunteers
● Donations of supplies, food, or hospitality items
● Hosts willing to provide lodging for artists
● Monetary donations
● Individuals willing to sponsor school programs
● Help with venue projects or transporting gear
Looking ahead, we hope to secure a dedicated artist lodging property, which would ease scheduling, reduce host strain, and provide a short-term rental revenue source when not in use.
We also plan to invest in additional sound, lighting, and video equipment for each venue to minimize the need for transporting gear back and forth.
And one of our long-term dreams?
Offering all programming free to the public — while still guaranteeing artists excellent compensation. Your support moves us closer to that vision.
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Transforming Classrooms Into Cultural Gateways
Our school programs remain one of the most profound parts of this work.
For many students, our visits mark the first time they’ve met someone from another country, heard a language they’ve never heard before, or seen an instrument they couldn’t name. And yet, as soon as the music begins, the room brightens. Smiles spread. Kids dance, clap, and ask the most wonderfully earnest questions.
Music becomes the bridge.
These shared cultural experiences do something that’s hard to quantify but easy to feel:
They expand our students’ worldviews. They soften barriers. They build respect. They plant curiosity.
And the impact doesn’t end when the artists leave the building. The ripple continues — in classrooms, in families, and in the young people who will one day shape our communities.
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Why This Work Matters — Now More Than Ever
At a time when the world feels divided, we are creating spaces that remind people of what unites us.
Artists travel from country to country and stage to stage — and they carry the stories of this area with them. Every show here becomes part of their narrative about who we are: a community that is welcoming, curious, generous, and culturally alive.
This is the legacy we’re building together.
And it is worth sustaining.
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Why We Need Your Support
Crossroads Cultural Connections has grown beyond what any of us imagined when the first house concerts began in 2014. With growth comes responsibility — to maintain quality experiences, to ensure fair compensation for artists, and to expand programs to more schools, families, and communities.
There are two essential ways you can help sustain this work:
1. Give Directly to Crossroads Cultural Connections
These gifts help with:
● Artist fees and travel
● School program coordination
● Venue expenses
● Equipment, hospitality, and logistics
● Administrative support to keep everything running smoothly
These donations fuel the here and now — the shows, the school visits, and the cultural experiences happening in real time.
2. Give to the Crossroads Cultural Connections Endowment
Housed at the Galesburg Community Foundation, this fund ensures long-term sustainability.
Endowment gifts say:
“This matters. And it should continue indefinitely.”
Your contribution today becomes a lasting gift that supports future generations of students, families, artists, and community members.
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Together, We Are Building Something Extraordinary
Every concert. Every shared meal. Every moment when a child in a gymnasium lights up at a sound they’ve never heard before.
This is what your support makes possible.
As you consider your year-end giving, I hope you’ll stand with us — to keep this work alive, to keep our community connected, and to help shape a cultural legacy we can all be proud of.
Thank you for believing in this.
Thank you for showing up.
Thank you for helping us create something truly special.
With gratitude,
John Taylor
Crossroads Cultural Connections
