“Our Town” is more than the name of the iconic 1938 Thornton Wilder play. It’s the National Endowment for the Arts’ (NEA) creative placemaking grants program, from which Moline is seeking $150,000 to implement the first two projects recommended in an ambitious, sweeping Public Art and Placemaking Plan. “As Moline and its downtown businesses recover from the economic downtown cause by the global pandemic, creative placemaking is a vital tool in encouraging people to visit and spend time downtown,” according to the grant proposal approved this week by the Moline City Council (starting... Read More

The Figge Art Museum and River Music Experience are hosting the Edgar Crockett Quartet Thursday (Aug. 12) outside on the Figge’s Bechtel Plaza from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Guests will be able to listen to jazz music, partake in jazz-inspired art activities related to jazz music, use drawing horses to sketch the band, and partake in food and beverages for purchase from the Figge Cafe’s Chef Stu. This event is free and registration is not required. During his impressive career, Crockett has performed with Ray Charles, Roberta Flack, James Ingram, Peabo Bryson, Maureen McGovern, Shirley... Read More

In some hazy, halcyon future when the old I-74 bridge is gone, Moline’s riverfront will have lots of opportunity for growth and redevelopment. A final advisory report done for Renew Moline by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) recommends many big ideas – a new Mill Town neighborhood, Moline history museum and welcome center, much more housing, an arts district, riverfront restaurant, zip line, and a signature water spout shooting up more than 200 feet over the Mississippi River. Creating greater connections with the river is a prime focus of the 44-page plan by Washington, D.C.-based ULI. Renew... Read More

Corey Kendrick is rootless no longer, and has returned full circle. An affable, down-to-earth jazz pianist, composer and recording artist, Kendrick is back in the Quad-Cities from Detroit and will be teaching music courses full-time at Black Hawk College’s Quad-Cities Campus in Moline starting this fall. “I love the music program at Black Hawk. It’s not a cut-throat program. It’s a very friendly, supportive community,” he said recently. “The students are there to help each other fulfill their goals of becoming better musicians, and it’s so inspiring to be able to be a... Read More

Incoming University of Minnesota rower Ella Saunders has been named to the U.S. Under 19 National Team, for the 2021 World Rowing Junior Championships this week (Aug. 11-15) in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. A native of North Liberty, Iowa (north of Iowa City), Saunders will compete in the women’s double sculls for the United States, according to the University of Minnesota. As a three-year member of the Y Quad Cities junior rowing team, Saunders is coming off a national title with the program’s girls quadruple sculls at the 2021 USRowing Youth National Regatta and two national titles at the 2021... Read More

Playcrafters Barn Theatre continues its Barn Owl season with The Whistleblower’s Dilemma, an original dramedy written by Jim Sederquist, Bettendorf. The show will be presented Aug. 13th through Aug. 22nd at the Barn Theatre, 4950 35th Ave., Moline. Joe loves his community and the factory that his grandfather helped build from scratch. When Joe discovers the factory’s current owner is embezzling millions of dollars from the state, and setting Joe up to take the blame, Joe decides to take an unusual route: he makes the fraud bigger. Jackie is a star fraud investigator but frustrated with... Read More

The Figge Art Museum has acquired an early painting by renowned American artist Kehinde Wiley, who’s best known for being commissioned to paint the official presidential portrait of Barack Obama for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. The untitled oil-on-plywood panel painting recently acquired by the Figge was done in 1998, while Wiley was an undergraduate at the San Francisco Art Institute. Now 44 and based in New York City, he graduated with a BFA in 1999 and received his MFA from Yale in 2001. This work demonstrates Wiley’s artistic mastery and vision while still a young man, according... Read More

Chris Avey and Jeni Grouws return to play Crawford Brew Works in Bettendorf tonight, showcasing tunes from their upcoming album, “Tell Tale Heart”! The duo will perform at the brewery and bar, at 3659 Devils Glen Road, after having just performed on July 21 for an “Over the Edge” event, raising about $1,600 that night alone. The band (JENI GROUWS – vocals/songwriter, CHRIS AVEY – guitar/songwriter, BRYAN WEST – drums, RANDY LEASMAN – bass and NICK VASQUEZ – keyboards) recorded their sophomore release earlier this year in Nashville at East Iris Studios... Read More

If you have a case of the Mondays, stop by Crawford Brew Works in Bettendorf tonight for not only some great beer, but to help a great cause. The brewery and bar, at 3659 Devils Glen Road, has served up a new initiative called “Crawford’s Culture of Care” and it involves a more focused amount of time and energy to local non-profit organizations and getting the brewery’s culture involved in the community. Phase one of this culture is a new guest bartending series, which for two months has worked to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley and their annual “Over the... Read More

As much as it pains me to say this, attending the last dress rehearsal for the new Quad City Music Guild production, “Roald Dahl’s Matilda,” was not a very pleasant experience. That’s not to say the super enthusiastic 32-member cast (most of whom are under 18) is not talented. They did about the best possible job under some very trying circumstances, beyond everyone’s control. Namely, that Music Guild has complied with the recent CDC recommendations that everyone (cast and audience, vaccinated or not) wear face masks indoors.’ Not only was it distracting for me to have a mask on through... Read More