MACOMB/MOLINE – A candidate for the Western Illinois University Director of Development for Corporate Relations position will interview Tuesday, Sept. 28, on the Quad Cities campus. Jennifer Von Kaenel will be available for a virtual open session with faculty and staff from 1-1:45 p.m. in the 3420A board room on the Moline, IL, campus. To receive the link for the session, email Alison Shook at ak-shook@wiu.edu. An open session with deans, directors and department chairs will be held from 2-2:45 p.m. in the same board room. To receive the link for the session, email Alison Shook at ak-shook@wiu.edu. The... Read More

Playcrafters Barn Theatre (4950 35th Ave., Moline) has some well-known titles planned for both its Mainstage and Barn Owl season for 2022. The Mainstage season is as follows: “The Odd Couple” by Neil Simon, performing in February. “Agatha Christie’s A Murder is Announced” by Leslie Darbon, performing in May. “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, performing in July (pending approval from Concord Theatricals). “Sylvia” by A.R. Gurney, performing in October. “12 Angry Jurors” by Sherman Sergel, performing in November. The 2022 Barn Owl season (emphasizing more alternative,... Read More

To recognize their service to Western Illinois University and/or the Macomb community, WIU Associate Professor of Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration (RPTA) Jeremy Robinett, and WIU Art Professor Bill Howard received the 2021 Town & Gown Award and the 2021 Honorary Alumnus Award, respectively, during the annual Town & Gown celebration Sept. 23, hosted by the WIU Alumni Association. Robinett: Town & Gown Award Robinett joined the RPTA faculty as an instructor in 2014. He was promoted to associate professor in 2021. In addition to his teaching duties, Robinett is the advisor for... Read More

The Quad Cities Community Foundation today announced the recipients of a total of $566,000 through its Coordinated Field of Interest Grant program. Made possible by donors to the Community Foundation, this year’s program pools resources from 11 different Field of Interest Funds as well as the Quad Cities Community Impact Fund. The Coordinated Field of Interest Grant program represents one of the largest single grantmaking distributions made by the Community Foundation each year. Grants from the program cover a variety of specific focus areas, from basic needs and health to community development... Read More

Saturday in the Arts is a weekly feature covering a trend, subject, event or personality of local interest. It runs every Saturday morning on your site for the best entertainment and arts coverage in the area, QuadCities.com! Kyle Carter and Geoff Manis are two of the biggest cheerleaders for the Quad-Cities, and within two days of each other this month, they sang the praises on social media of placemaking – the long, arduous, gratifying task of creating and sustaining a unique, impressive, growing community. Carter, executive director of the Downtown Davenport Partnership, posted on Facebook... Read More

A new Spotlight Theatre production of the beloved musical, “Little Shop of Horrors” is creeping into the Moline theater this weekend! Directed by Spotlight co-owner Brent Tubbs, and starring Jacob Johnson as Seymour and Becca Johnson (no relation) as Audrey, the Alan Menken/Howard Ashman musical is a dream come true for all three. It opens tonight, Friday, Sept. 24 at 1800 7th Ave., Moline. Based on a Roger Corman B-movie, non-musical cult classic (1960), in the 1982 off-Broadway hit, the meek floral assistant Seymour Krelborn stumbles across a new breed of plant he names “Audrey II” —... Read More

The Late Nite Shows featuring Wisenheimer plays The Black Box Theatre in downtown Moline on Saturday, September 25 at 7:30 pm.   Wisenheimer – the best in long form improvisational comedy celebrates 10 years this coming December. The troupe of Leslie Mitchell, Jeff De Leon, and Jen Kuhle have a myriad of improv training from nationally renowned institutions, and travel the country performing at comedy festivals. In 2015, the troupe launched Wisenheimer: The Podcast – available on Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Opening for Wisenheimer is Des Moines stand-up comedian Jameson Cox. Originally... Read More

Looking for some fun this weekend? This week, and every week, you can check out our Weekend in 2 Minutes podcast — the longest-running podcast in Quad-Cities history, going into its sixth year! Weekend in 2 Minutes gives you a quick rundown of some of the fun things going on in and around the area, and as always, it’s FREE to listen to as much as you want. This week, it’s one of the last weekends for outdoor live music, and you can get the rundown of some of the shows in our Weekend in 2 Minutes, along with updates on Mercado, new shows at the Spotlight and Circa ’21, comedy... Read More

The unveiling of the first prototypes of the public art to mark the locations of killings from the 1919 Chicago Race Riot was held in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, in July. A bicycle and trolley tour of key sites related to the history of the city’s worst-ever incident of racial violence as well as of the Black community, and in support of the public art project, was held at the same time. Approximately 350 people attended, about 300 of whom joined the two-hour bike tour. The art project, the Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project (CRR19), was founded by Western Illinois... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – This fall, Western Illinois University is experiencing the highest international student enrollment in 30 years, and is also seeing an increase in new graduate student enrollment. The number of international students enrolling this fall – 658 total, which includes new (424) and returning (234) international students – is a historical record for Western. According to the Office of Institutional Research and Planning, the last peak in international enrollment occurred in 1987 with 574 students. New entering graduate student enrollment has increased by 36.7 percent, while... Read More