DAVENPORT, Iowa – Changes are taking place at a big John Deere event, the Gathering of the Green. Chairman Ed Vieth shared some of what is happening after a press release said that representatives from the Deer Valley Collectors and Illinois Valley Two-Cylinder Club voted to reorganize the bi-annual event. Under the vote, Gathering of the Green is now under the direction of the Classic Green Club, Inc. The club is a global non-profit John Deere collector organization.

Vieth said that while the basics of the event will remain the same, the administration overseeing it will be different. “Gathering of the Green and Classic Green bookkeeping will be under the Classic Green umbrella.”

The story of the Gathering of the Green goes back to 1999. “At a bar in Grand Detour,” Vieth said, “Mark Johnson and Ken Reese said there was not a John D event anywhere at that time. They decided along with Deer Valley Collectors and four other clubs to put on an event.”

Each club chipped in $500 and Vieth said, “They got mailing lists from clubs, and they sent out a mailing to do a show at the Holiday Inn at the Quad City Airport. They pulled it off for $2,000.”

Club members were astounded by the initial success of the first event that took place in 2000 with around 700 John Deere enthusiasts attending. Gatherings were at the Holiday Inn Moline Airport until 2008. In 2010, the Gathering was moved to the River Center because it outgrew the Holiday Inn location. With the last event held in 2026, there were around 2,000 attendees over the four-day event with 26 international visitors from Australia, Canada, Great Britian and South Africa.

From the get-go in 2000, there was a plan in place to bring the Gathering to fruition. Each of the four original clubs had three people from each club take part in planning the Gathering of Green. Then things changed. “As time went on and COVID came and the event got canceled,” Vieth shared. “Then in 2022, the Gathering of the Green had to reorganize. Tony Knobbe stepped down, he had done three Gatherings as chairman but then, I was willing to help.”

There wasn’t a Gathering of the Green in 2024. “Then,” Vieth said, “I was appointed the chairman for the 2026 Gathering after  a two-year hiatus. We were sweating that we couldn’t pull it off, but it was a great success.”

The numbers tell the story of the 2026 success. “When we did the stats, 27 percent of the guests were new to the Gathering for the first time. Our publicity team really knocked it out of the park,” Vieth said. “I attribute a lot to Visit Quad Cities and Classic Green.”

Vieth said that while Classic Green was not part of the 2022 show, they were there and helped put it on. When some of the original clubs could only provide two rather than three of the individuals needed for the planning board, they decided to make a change. “We were struggling to get people to fill in, so we decided to bring Classic Green on and had three members from them.”

Gathering of the Green will still have their current trademark, the basic premise of the show will remain the same. The big difference is bringing Gathering of the Green under the Classic Green umbrella, a 501C3 non-profit entity that made it easier handling grants and the recently received John Deere endorsement. Vieth is hoping with the endorsement that they can bring factory tours back to the Gathering event plan. “In 2028, we hope to have more tour opportunities.”

The Gathering of the Green 2028’s theme is 100 Years of Row Crop. “We left out the word tractor to get in implements,” Vieth added. “We are working on a logo now. The date will be March 22-25, 2028. We are going to promote one another.  Classic Green will be burdened with a show every year. Classic is a club and they have 900 members, we don’t have a membership, we are more of a conference, with seminars, exhibits and tours, so we complement one another.”

Vieth came to the John Deere hobby through a tractor he got from his grandfather.  A retired Scott Couty assessor, he can put his administrative skills to work for the Gathering, and John Deere enthusiasts are grateful to the Gathering volunteers and those dedicated Classic Green individuals that bring events for this hobby to life.

If anyone has questions about the Gathering, reach out to Vieth at his email edvieth52@hotmail.com.