Founded in 1996, Ballet Quad Cities is the longest running fully professional ballet company in the Western Illinois region. Based in Rock Island, the company brings exhilarating performances to the area, often including the Christmas classic, “The Nutcracker,” and their own variations of famous ballets such as “Carmen.”

Alongside their performances each season, Ballet Quad Cities uses ballet as a tool to facilitate lessons in literacy, social-emotional development and physical activity through their outreach program that visits local schools, libraries, youth centers and organizations within the area.

Each summer, Illinois residents can hear the sounds of annual cicadas in the trees day and night, but this year the state saw a rare emergence. Two groups of periodical cicadas, Brood XIII and Brood XIX, have appeared simultaneously for the first time in over 200 years, making Illinois one of only two states to see both broods this year.

Although cicadas can be seen each year, the emergence of the two periodical broods creates a once-in-a-lifetime experience as it is estimated that it will be another 200 years before more than one brood emerges at the same time.

Spring is in full swing and summer is just around the corner – making it the perfect time to see all of the flowers that are native to our beautiful state.

The sweet coneflower – which can be found statewide – is known for its faintly sweet, anise-scented flowers. It puts out bright yellow flowers with dark centers and blooms from mid-summer until the first frost. The sweet coneflower’s seeds and blossoms are nutritious to goldfinches and other songbirds as well as butterflies and bees.

A popular flower in the northern part of Illinois is the white heath aster, which get its name from the Greek and Latin words for star. It is characterized by its lilting, fine-leaved stems with small white flowers with yellow centers. This flower blooms from July through September and is great for the bees. The white health aster grows throughout the state in prairies, old fields and pastures.

The dooryard violet is a part of the violet species, which is the Illinois state flower. It blooms in early spring and can be found in many backyards throughout central Illinois. Dooryard violet is a lovely groundcover, known to be medicinal, edible and good for pollinators.

White trillium is characterized by its three green leaves and three white petals with a small yellow center. It flowers from late April through June and is usually found in large patches in the forests of southern Illinois.

Make sure to put on your sunscreen and get outside while flowers are in full bloom. Click here for a list of flower farms across the state.

April 14 is Garden Day, and there are so many gardens to either be a part of or explore throughout Illinois. Garden Day can be celebrated by planting the state flower, the common blue violet, starting your own garden at home, or visiting your local gardens.

In celebration, here are some places to visit across the state: