The coronavirus crisis continues to play havoc with outdoor music events in the Quad-Cities, as more summer series are being canceled, while others optimistically remain on the 2020 calendar. Given the ongoing uncertainty due to the Covid-19 pandemic surrounding when exactly public gatherings will once again be permitted, and out of concern for the health, safety and well-being of the Quad-Cities community, Moline Centre has made the difficult decision to suspend the 2020 Bass Street Landing Thursday Night Summer Concert Series until further notice. “This decision did not come easily, as it... Read More

The music industry was among the first to close and will be among the last to reopen as a result of the Covid-19 crisis, placing musicians who depend on income from live performances in very dire financial positions, according to John Taylor, concert organizer and head of the now-canceled Galva summer concert series. To support musicians during this critical time, Heartland Connections, through non-profit support of the Galva Arts Council, has launched the “Play it Forward” campaign. This program will distribute 20 grants, starting at a minimum of $500, to musicians facing financial emergencies... Read More

After 40 years of drawing crowds to Walcott, Iowa, off I-80, the annual Truckers Jamboreee will be virtual this July 9-11, including an online Antique Truck Show; Super Truck Beauty Contest; Trucker’s Best Friend Pet Contest and free meals for drivers. “The good news is we will most definitely continue with our long-standing tradition of Celebrating America’s Truckers,” Heather DeBaillie, Vice President of Marketing for the Iowa 80 Truckstop, said in a recent release. “While we can’t host 45,000 people at Iowa 80 to celebrate, we will take the Jamboree virtual and still celebrate the... Read More

Sara Barto was looking forward to her 40th birthday on Friday, March 13. She and her husband Dave were planning to go out of town for the weekend. The world had other plans. A bartender at the new Off Point Pub, on Davenport’s Hickory Grove Road, the Bettendorf woman went to the doctor that day after having side pain and nausea. After several tests, including an ultrasound and liver biopsy, Barto was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. She started chemotherapy immediately but lost her job soon after when the then-four-month-old bar had to close due to Covid-19. Barto was embraced with support... Read More

Galva’s summer music series will be postponed a year, and a virtual one will take its place soon, a trend which seems to be gaining momentum as the uncertainty of a summer under the cloud of Covid-19 looms before us. As part of the cascade of Covid-19-related closures, the third-annual Levitt AMP Galva Music Series this summer is canceled, and its organizer is working on creating a more compressed online series in its place. The 12 Sunday night concerts in Wiley Park, free to the public, were due to start May 31. John Taylor of Cambridge, president of the series and concert organizer, said it... Read More

Relatively few Quad-Cities artists and arts organizations have received Covid-19 relief funding from Iowa or Illinois, and both states are proceeding in their next round of grant awards. Illinois Humanities recently gave out 24 emergency relief grants (of $2,500 each) – including the Rock Island-based Midwest Writing Center and Bishop Hill Heritage Association. These general operating (non-project) grants aim to help smaller humanities organizations throughout Illinois to weather the current pandemic. “Especially in this moment of duress, Illinois Humanities is proud to support not-for-profit... Read More

Because of coronavirus, the 36th-annual Ride the River on Father’s Day is canceled, and Davenport-based River Action is substituting a month-long outdoor alternative – “Ride and Seek” – during June. River Action collaborated with both the Scott County and Rock Island County Health Departments and “received support to move forward with social distancing practices to ensure that Ride and Seek accommodates the safety of riders and our community during Covid-19,” according to a release from the environmental organization. From June 1 to 30, you can participate on your own or with your... Read More

They say clothes make the man. They also make Laura Heath very happy, especially when they authentically evoke a specific era. With her husband, Heath owns Trash Can Annie’s 418 E. 2nd St., Davenport, which has been closed to the public since last spring’s historic flooding. But her 40-year passion for fashion and experience working in theater and film nationwide led her to another high-profile project last year – supplying clothes for the hit Netflix mini-series “Hollywood,” which debuted May 1. The Ryan Murphy-led production — lauded for its glamorous, pitch-perfect costuming... Read More

The year 2020 may not be remembered fondly by most people, but it’s an important year for Royal Neighbors of America, Living Proof Exhibit, and anyone who cares about women’s rights. It’s the 125th anniversary of Royal Neighbors (the nationwide, Rock-Island based fraternal benefit society), the 10th anniversary of Living Proof (a Q-C nonprofit that uses the therapeutic nature of arts to help people touched by cancer), and the 100th of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, giving women the right to vote (honored in a current Putnam Museum exhibit). All three area... Read More

As a working mother, Stephanie Soebbing is expert at multi-tasking and time management. The 35-year-old former native of suburban Chicago is especially busy during the coronavirus crisis, as she’s homeschooling her soon-to-be six-year-old daughter, caring for her three-month-old daughter, and with her husband Adam, running their business – which has a key role in making masks used around the nation. Soebbing is founder and owner of Quilt Addicts Anonymous (QAA), a quilt shop specializing in modern and contemporary fabrics, with a currently closed store at 3416 46th Ave., Suite 103, Rock... Read More