The Black Box Theatre in downtown Moline presents the dramedy “I and You” by Laura Gunderson through Saturday. The plot: One afternoon, Anthony (Michael Alexander) arrives unexpectedly at classmate Caroline’s (Adrienne Jane) door bearing a beat-up copy of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, an urgent assignment from their English teacher. Homebound due to illness, Caroline hasn’t been to school in months, but she is as quick and sardonic as Anthony is athletic, sensitive, and popular. As these two let down their guards and share their secrets, this seemingly mundane poetry project unlocks... Read More

It’s Bix 7 weekend, Rock Island County Fair Weekend, Mercado weekend and more! Also get the lowdown on all the theater going on around town, outdoor concerts and more in the latest Weekend in 2 Minutes! Listen HERE!  Read More

Artists in Conversation is a weekly column running Wednesdays on QuadCities.com. It features a conversation with a local creator or creators going into their artistic process, projects and more. Get to know your local arts scene and local creators better on QuadCities.com with Artists In Conversation! If you’re a local creator and would like to be featured, please email us at Sean@QuadCities.com or Tristan@QuadCities.com! This week’s Artist In Conversation is Michael Alexander! He’s starring in “I And You” at Moline’s Blackbox Theatre! “I and You” runs July... Read More

After a brutal and long past 16 months, many major cultural organizations and venues in the Quad-Cities have been awarded badly-needed federal Covid relief, through the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program of the Small Business Administration. As of July 19, $5.4 million has been approved in the region (out of $6.8 billion nationwide so far), including $2.3 million for the TaxSlayer Center, among the following grants: Figge Art Museum, Davenport — $368,499 Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, Davenport — $564,903 Putnam Museum & Science Center, Davenport — $163,843 Quad... Read More

Summer is in full swing and there are so many things to feel sunny about in the Quad-Cities! There’s always lots of positive news out there and we highlight some of the awesome things going on every month in this column, What’s The Good News, featured here on QuadCities.com and on KWQC-TV6’s “Paula Sands Live!” So, what’s the good news for July 2021? Here are some of the headlines… Quad-Cities Podcast Hub Debuts! Looking for your new favorite podcast? Shop local! With the Quad-Cities Podcast Hub! The site, located on QuadCities.com at quadcities.com/podcasts, offers over 50 podcasts... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL — Amber Schultz, former vice president for enrollment management at Edgewood College, Madison, WI, has been named Western Illinois University’s new vice president for enrollment management, effective Aug. 1. Schultz served as the vice president for enrollment management at Edgewood College from 2019 through 2021. In this role, she led the enrollment management division, which encompassed undergraduate and graduate admissions, marketing and strategic communications, student services, financial aid and scholarships. During her tenure at Edgewood, Schultz achieved the... Read More

I wanted to like the African-American drama “The Piano Lesson” at Playcrafters Barn Theatre much more than I did. It truly has all the ingredients to make something special, but Saturday night’s version appeared undercooked and not quite ready to serve as a fully satisfying meal. The Pulitzer Prize-winning play by August Wilson (1945-2005), who died of liver cancer at age 60, is part of the playwright’s epic “American Century Cycle” that documents the Black experience. Each of the 10 works reflects a different decade of the 20th century, and “The Piano Lesson” is set in 1936, as... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL — COVID-19 has created challenges for many college students and their families across the nation, and Western Illinois University is working to ease the financial stress that is affecting its students as a result of the pandemic. According to WIU Financial Aid Director Bobbi Smith, the WIU Office of Financial Aid has in place the financial circumstance appeal to generate a new review of financial aid eligibility using projected 2021 income versus earned 2019 income. “If students and their families have been financially impacted by the pandemic, we encourage our students... Read More

In a message from Western Illinois President Guiyou Huang, he mentions that WIU students and staff are expected to be vaccinated against covid going into the fall semester. His message in full, released yesterday, reads: Dear University Community, As we prepare to resume the traditional in-person experience this fall at Western Illinois University, to further safeguard the members of our WIU family (and beyond), we expect members of our University community to get their COVID-19 vaccine prior to the start of the semester, which begins August 23. Getting vaccinated will help our communities mitigate... Read More

The Bass Federation Inc. (TBF) will be bringing the 2021 TBF Junior World Championship (JWC) to the Quad-Cities! The event is set for July 28-30 on the Mississippi River in the Quad Cities bi-state regional destination in Illinois and Iowa. The 2021 JWC includes a two-person team format and three days of competition, launching from Rapids City, Illinois. The TBF Junior program includes all anglers 8th grade and under at the time they qualified through their home state’s Junior program. Only the top Junior angler teams from each state’s sanctioned program are invited to attend and compete for... Read More