♪♪ ♪♪ [Kim Anderson] The Iowa Arboretum and Gardens is a gem in Boone County.

It feels like it's in the middle of nowhere, and it kind of is, but that's part of its charm.

And I really like that about it because you kind of feel like you're traveling to this place and when you get here it really is a magical place.

And to see the smiles and the aha moments on people's faces, especially children, is really satisfying to me.

♪♪ [Kim Anderson] We offer exceptional experiences for people of all ages and abilities outdoors in nature.

And we take that very seriously as one of our goals.

We have gardens, we have tree groves, we have a wetland, we have a children's garden, we have butterfly gardens.

We have a treehouse village, which has just been erected and just opened recently.

That offers woodland trails and prairie trails, accessible playground area and some other opportunities in the forest to be out in nature and be creative and just be one with nature.

♪♪ [Kim Anderson] We have this Tunes in the Trees concert series in the summertime that draws people on Tuesday nights and we have food trucks and people can have a picnic and they can listen to great music, usually local music from around the area, and just enjoy the outdoors with their children and families while they're having a good time listening to the performances.

(applause) [Eric Gliem] You take a nice, cool evening like tonight.

I've got the water behind me.

I can listen to the music in front of me to listen to.

It's just a nice, relaxing evening with my wife where we can sit here and enjoy the sounds of nature, the music.

♪ Oh my darling, can we go ♪ ♪ To Blackfoot River and cleanse our souls ♪ [Kim Anderson] Public events help us really show people what the Iowa Arboretum is all about, that we care about community and families, that we want people to have experiences in nature.

We want people to be creative and we want people to enjoy each other's company in a unique environment and really just take in the arts and the performances and enjoy each other's company.

♪♪