Partner Events

Annual Hike at Four Mounds

Hike with the Mississippi Trails Hiking Club on the Four Mounds trails overlooking the Mississippi River, through their woods, and at the oak savanna and prairie.  This club has been active in Dubuque since 1929.  We meet at 2:00 p.m.  at 22nd and Jackson to carpool to Four Mounds in order to carpool to the site.  We will hike about an hour at a leisurely pace.  Come and share the Fall Colors with us. Bring a waterbottle and we suggest wearing long pants.

Four Mounds is a hotspot on ebird.com

Stained Glass Restoration at Steeple Square

Four Mounds is part of a broad partnership helping to restore century-old F.X. Zettler stained glass windows at historic Steeple Square. With Heritage Works, NICC and help from Gronen Restoration and Key City Creative Center, this partnership has set up stained glass studio and begun restoration once again. This project entails 4 sets of windows, dating from 1913 and as early as the building of St. Mary’s Church in 1867.  A team of returning workers and new trainees will be working through the new year.

“City Girl” Harvest Retreat

Join our kitchen garden manager Justyna Miranda for a fantastic retreat at Four Mounds’ White House. Features: farm to table dinner featuring produce grown and prepared by Justyna; bonfire with live music; yoga therapies with Melissa Bartels; garden meditation with Reiki Master Rachel Harwood; Chinese medicine seminar iwth Caroline Wilkerson; and sound bath therapy. Eight spots available. Email justyna924@gmail.com

Lend a Hand on the Land: A Prarie Seed Harvest

Four Mounds is part of the Iowa Land Trust Alliance and together we work to raise awareness and engage community around land trusts in iowa, which are private non-profits organizations working to conserve land. This year’s event seeks to harvest native praririe seed to help expand the habitate at Synder Heritage Farm in Elkhart, Iowa. Join us on Saturday, Sept. 22 from 1-4 pm.

The Great Cardboard Boat Race

The annual boat race is set for Sunday, July 29 at 1 p.m. at the Dubuque Marina & Yardarm. The race is open to participants of any age. They are asked to use creativity and ingenuity (and cardboard, glue, and paint) to build a boat to navigate a full-size boat through the Mississippi River Marina for a good-natured competition. It’s about a 60 yard trek of sweat and silliness for those making the journey. The boat that stays afloat the longest wins the race, and everybody enjoys the Loser’s Race. Spectators enjoy fun family activities, live music, raffle prizes, and great food and drink.

Guided Bird Walk at Four Mounds

Resident breeding birds, including Northern Parula, Yellow-throated Warblers, among other birds are likely to be seen. A chance at Four Mounds to look for a diverse variety of these little songbirds as well as other returning species and residents. Walking will include flat surface as well as trail hiking with some incline. Binoculars are highly recomended. Please bring appropriate footwear and a drink. Insect repellennt and sunscreen is also recommened.

Four Mounds is a hotspot on ebird.com

Old House Enthusiasts Tour takes to the Washington Neighborhood

Tour renovated homes along Jackson Street in the Washington Neighborhood, included the most recently completed HEART Program home. Our students are pictured at left, in front of their completed 1406 Jackson St. project. This event is free and open to the public, featuring five great homes, Steeple Square, Key City Creative Center and the old St. Mary’s rectory. Special thanks to all the volunteers and homeowners want to show off this great neighborhood.

HEART Program – Open House of Current Project

Our HEART students will be opening their current project to the public for a community tour, as we send off and celebrate our graduates. Four Mounds is one partner in the HEART Program, including the City of Dubuque, Community Housing Initiatives, Dubuque Community Schools, Dupaco Community Credit Union, Four Oaks of Iowa, Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services, Northeast Iowa Community College, and the Transition Alliance Program (TAP). HEART stands for Housing Education and Rehabilitation Training.

Garden Party & Fashion Soiree

Join us on Thursday April 19 for the Garden Party Fashion Soiree. A lovely evening at historic Four Mounds starts with a fashion show featuring five local boutiques and ends with a lovely dinner. Bring your own wine and relax at at our inn.  Bid on this exclusive offer of a Summer Barbecue for Twelve! The event benefits our mission of preservation, education and service and is made possible through the generosity of time and talent of our Women’s Fellowship.

Christmas Tea: Presented by the Four Mounds Women’s Fellowship

Our volunteer fellowship welcomes you to enjoy a delicious selection of tea, homemade sweets and savories as you ring in the holidays at the festively decorated Grey House. Fantastic opportunities exist for an exclusive and unique silent auction and our renown gift basket raffle. The tea is served at noon and doors open at 11:30. Paid RSVPs required as this event sells out quickly. $35 per ticket.

Lend a Hand on the Land: A Prarie Seed Harvest

Four Mounds is part of the Iowa Land Trust Alliance and together we work to raise awareness and engage community around land trusts in iowa, which are private non-profits organizations working to conserve land. This year’s event seeks to harvest native praririe seed to help expand the habitate at Synder Heritage Farm in Elkhart, Iowa. Join us on Saturday, October 7, 2017 from 1-4 pm.

The Driftless Farm to Table Dinner

The celebration of local farms, food and community moves down the road to Convivium Urban Farmstead this year, on Sunday, September 17th. This four-course family-style meal showcases the season’s best ingredients sourced from local farms, artfully prepared by local chefs. The line up this year includes: Life’s A Feast, Convivium Urban Farmstead, Brazen (with vegetables from their extensive garden at Four Mounds’ farm), and the Millwork Bakery.

Guided Bird Walk at Four Mounds

Fall migration is underway and that means warblers! A chance at Four Mounds to look for a diverse variety of these little songbirds as well as other returning species and residents. Walking will include flat surface as well as trail hiking with some incline. Binoculars are highly recomended. Please bring appropriate footwear and a drink. Insect repellennt and sunscreen is also recommened.

Four Mounds is a hotspot on ebird.com

Launch into Loras: Invasives Removal Day

On Friday, Aug. 25th we welcomed over 400 incoming freshman at Loras College to our site to participate in our Challenge Ropes Course. Meanwhile, individuals from the group volunteered, in two groups of 25 each, over the course of the day. They headed out to our point with loppers, gloves and saws to remove invasive bittersweet and buckthorn from our natural area. This is part of a larger effort we’ve been undertaking to reclaim our natural areas (bluffland, prairie and the rarest ecosystem, the savanna) across our 60 acres. Thanks to these hardworking young people. Some of the group also helped out at our inn with seasonal chores.

Great Cardboard Boat Race

Celebrating it’s 7th year as a fundraiser for the Housing Education and Rehabiliation Training Partnership, this fantasticly rediculous boat race has people building full size, cardboard boats to race against each other on the Mississippi. The Dubuque Marina & Yardarm are our enthusiatic partner, helping us to raise, along with our sponsors, over $14,000 for HEART.