As bars and restaurants have been back open in the Quad-Cities, the two major movie multiplexes in the area plan to reopen this month, both with new health and safety restrictions. Cinemark, at 3601 E. 53rd St., Davenport, will open Aug. 14, and Regal, at 4100 38th St., Moline, will be back and running Aug. 21. Cinemark is doing a phased reopening nationwide – 16 theaters are now open, with 43 more on the 14th and the rest by Aug. 31 – and Regal is reopening all its U.S. locations on the same day. “There’s nothing quite as powerful as great cinematic storytelling on the big screen,” Cinemark... Read More

Fourteen years before Aug. 6 was burned into the world’s memory (with the 1945 U.S. atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, killing more than 70,000 people), that date marked another impactful death. Davenport native and jazz legend Leon Bismark (“Bix”) Beiderbecke died Aug. 6, 1931 at age 28, from alcohol abuse and lobar pneumonia in his Queens, N.Y., apartment. His mother and brother Burnie were on their way to New York but arrived too late. Bix’s body was returned to Davenport with services on Aug. 11, 1931 at Hill & Frederick’s Funeral Home, and burial at Oakdale Cemetery,... Read More

Bold colors and dramatic imagery swim from the paintings of Bettendorf native and marine life artist Brian Buckles. The sea life captured on canvas by Buckles reflects his fascination with these creatures – mostly sharks, but sea turtles, dolphins and sea otters as well — and his passion for raising awareness and funding for the “proper management of marine life for generations to come,” according to a statement on his website. Buckles’ paintings are featured in a new show, “Art for the Sea” at Beréskin Gallery and Art Academy, 2967 State St., Bettendorf. The opening reception... Read More

Saturday In The Arts is a comprehensive weekly feature looking at a trend, personality, or major subject involving the Quad-Cities arts and entertainment scene.   When Davenport jazz pianist and singer Freddy Allen returned July 25 to perform at The Grape Life Wine Store & Lounge, it was the first time the former regular played there since Feb. 28. It was a bittersweet occasion for the 50-year-old full-time musician, who has seen his livelihood decimated due to the raging Covid-19 crisis. “It was emotional, it was hard,” Allen said recently. “I’ve been one of those people, during... Read More

The QC Theatre Workshop in Davenport may not be presenting live plays before audiences, but it has named winners in its fourth-annual Susan Glaspell Playwriting Festival. And they’re recording videos of staged readings of each. Starting this weekend, the Workshop will release recordings of each of the three winners, one per week. The first is a national runner-up, “She’s Fabulous” by Jack Neary, featuring the acting of Susan Perrin-Sallak and Patti Flaherty, directed by Luke Peterson. It’s described as a play “about two women bickering about a woman who got a part of them, and... Read More

The Family Museum, 2900 Learning Campus Drive, Bettendorf, will save about $300,000 by closing two weeks in August, furloughing its staff, and leaving nine open jobs unfilled, among other budget cuts. The city-owned museum – which reopened May 22 after closing nine weeks due to Covid-19 — will be closed Aug. 9-23, due to a decrease in attendance and revenue since reopening. The decision by director Kim Kidwell was made with guidance from the city of Bettendorf administration and city finance department, to help ensure the future of museum programs and activities. “Just looking at our... Read More

The harrowing story of the only American woman to be executed by direct orders of Adolf Hitler will return to Davenport’s German American Heritage Center this Saturday. The 2011 documentary “Wisconsin’s Nazi Resistance: The Mildred Fish Harnack Story,” will be shown at 2 p.m. at the center, at 2nd and Gaines streets. The one-hour doc takes a provocative look at a Milwaukee-born, University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate who became the only American woman ever executed on the direct order of Hitler for her involvement in the Berlin resistance movement during World War II. The GAHC displayed... Read More

The Friends of the Davenport Public Library recently won a state of Iowa grant to make material about jazz legend Bix Beiderbecke much more accessible to the public. The library earned nearly $15,000 from the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs to digitize audio recordings for the Bix Beiderbecke Museum and World Archive, which opened three years ago at the lower level of River Music Experience, 2nd and Main streets, Davenport. The collection of 239 reel-to-reel tapes and other media formats, including cassettes, CDs and VHS tapes, has been stored at the lower level of the Davenport Main Library,... Read More

To celebrate the Figge Art Museum’s 15th anniversary on Aug. 6, the museum at 225 W. 2nd St., Davenport, will have 15 days of virtual events from Aug. 6 to 21 including performances, classes, behind-the-scenes tours, artist demonstrations and more. Museum admission will be free during this period. “Over the past 15 years, the museum has become a centerpiece of downtown Davenport,” Figge executive director and CEO Michelle Hargrave said in a Tuesday press release. “The Figge offers world-class exhibitions, engaging interactions with art, as well as innovative programs and brings our community... Read More

DAVENPORT — Like many other Quad-Cities events impacted this year by Covid-19, the German American Heritage Center in Davenport will hold its third-annual Best of the Wurst Sausage Competition virtually next month. Out of an abundance of caution, this year’s Best of the Wurst will be a special, socially distanced event, rather than the usual in-person festival. You can support Best of the Wurst vendors throughout the month of August, vote for your favorite vendor, and enter to win special prizes. On Saturday, Aug. 29th at 2 p.m., GAHC will announce the contest winner on Facebook Live. Here’s... Read More