Past Event

Spark! Launch Party in Hillsboro

Imagine Hillsboro presents an open-house-style look at the Smithsonian’s national traveling exhibition, Spark! Places of Innovation.

Tickets to this launch party include one drink at Opera House Brewing Company, one meal from Q17, and a first look at the Spark! exhibit that features Hillsboro and 29 other small towns in the U.S.

Spark! Places of Innovation will be on display at the Hillsboro Public Library from July 29 through September 2, 2023.

About the Exhibition

Spark! Places of Innovation, part of Illinois Humanities’ Museum on Main Street program, highlights innovation in rural America from the perspectives of people who have lived it. Their words, images, and experiences, gathered through an ambitious crowdsourcing initiative, are the heartbeat of the exhibition. The communities featured in Spark! – including seven small towns in Illinois – have enhanced their vitality through innovations in fields such as technology, agriculture, economic development, education, and the arts. Explore the diversity, ingenuity, and tenacity of rural Americans in Spark! Places of Innovation. Learn more.


Spark! Places on Innovation is presented in partnership with Imagine Hillsboro, the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, and Illinois Humanities.