Davenport museums offer holiday gifts on Museum Shop Sunday

DAVENPORT – People across the country have numerous options for shopping post Thanksgiving.

From Black Friday, Shop Small Saturday and even Cyber Monday. Now, Museum Store Sunday has been added to that list.

Store owners want today to be recognized as a way to learn about museum shops. In the Quad Cities, numerous stores partnered up to give shoppers a one-of-a kind shopping experience on a trolley.

“People I think forget to come to downtown sometimes,” said Retail and Visitor Services Director Ann Nicknish.

When you take a ride on this trolley, it’ll take you to museum shops you never knew existed in downtown Davenport.

“People are obviously familiar with the Figge, the Festival of Trees. However, we’re the lesser known of the three,” said German American Heritage Center Assistant Director Kyle Dickson. 

The Festival of Trees, the Figge Art Museum and the German American Heritage Center are partnering up to change that. 

Organizers want today to be recognized as a way to learn about the history and uniqueness of these shops.

“We work together on co-producing concerts, on exhibits, on special events. We come up with new ideas and it just makes it for a richer community, it makes for more interesting place to live, better quality of life,” said Quad Cities Arts CEO Carmen Darland.

Even the youngest of shoppers are fans of this new push while riding the trolley.

“You can see out the windows very good. You can see out the windows very good, ” said trolley riders Vera and Avery Devolder.

Their goal is to show people how shopping at museum and nonprofit gift shops helps funnel money back into the organization’s mission and community.

“We serve 29,000 students every year with art classes, etc. So it’s another way to support,” said Nicknish.

They say other shops simply help keep their own operational budgets in order.

But despite helping museums stay operational, shopping there also offers unique gift options they say you won’t find anywhere else.

“This is all handmade, original art, fine art in this region,” said Darland.

“So it’s kind of a surprise of hey where did you get this,” said Dickson.

Owners say shopping at these local museum’s gift stores directly supports both museums and cultural institutions.