As we previously reported FIRST on QuadCities.com, and then we saw duplicated by WQAD-TV8 (I mean, really, TV8? You’re gonna steal our ideas??? We can’t even!), the Quad-Cities has been buried in the brine of a sour battle royale over the past five days or so — yeah, that’s right, we’re talking about PICKLE WRAP WARS. So here’s the dill… to recap in my own original words (imagine me reading this in Morgan Freeman’s voice, cool as a cucumber): For those unaware, the owner of Cafe Fresh made a lengthy post the other day claiming that her Cafe was in... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – Athena Brooks, administrator of Heartland Health Care Center in Macomb, has been named the senior executive assistant to the president at Western Illinois University, effective June 21. Brooks has served as the administrator at Heartland since 2015. She had previously served as the administrator at LaHarpe Davier Health Care Center since 2009. Brooks has also served as the director of Courtyard Estates in Bushnell and as a regional marketing director for Petersen Health Care’s Assisted and Supportive Living division. In her roles as administrator, Brooks managed the... Read More

The Peace Corps Fellows Program, within the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs (IIRA) at Western Illinois University, learned this week it is one of 13 programs statewide receiving federal grant funding from AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and community volunteerism. The WIU program, the only downstate program to receive federal grant funding this fiscal year, will get $185,748, and an additional $76,140 in Segal AmeriCorps Education Award funding. The grant money helps the Peace Corps Fellows program recruit returned Peace Corps volunteers, who then enroll in one of 10 graduate... Read More

It’s last call to see a trio of local theater shows! So if you’ve been meaning to check them out, today is your last chance! Last Chance To See ‘Charlie Brown’ At Spotlight The last remaining performance of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” will be 2 p.m. Sunday, June 13! Tickets are $20 in advance ($25 at the door), available at 309-912-7647 or www.thespotlighttheatreqc.com. Last Call For ‘Spamalot’ It’s last call also for Music Guild’s “Spamalot!” Quad-City Music Guild’s first complete musical in a year and a half, “Monty... Read More

Sixteen months after the Spotlight Theatre staged its last major musical, it’s provided the pitch-perfect, post-pandemic production – “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” Simple, sweet, nostalgic – both exuberantly childlike and loaded with the weight of the world on its young shoulders – the beloved 1967 musical based on the classic “Peanuts” characters has deeply resonated with me my whole life. First, I’m sure like many socially awkward boys, I always closely identified with the title “Everyman” role. Charlie Brown is the cartoon reflection of “Mister Cellophane” (from... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – Western Illinois University-Macomb COVID-19 summer test clinics will be held from 8 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, through Thursday, Aug. 12, in the University Union Sandburg Lounge. Fall 2021 test clinic times and days will be announced prior to the start of the fall semester, which is set to begin Monday, Aug. 23. WIU-Macomb faculty, staff and students will have the SHIELD Illinois fast-turnaround saliva-based COVID-19 tests created by the University of Illinois available. The SHIELD test requires individuals to deposit a small amount of saliva in a vial,... Read More

A new regional video project is shining the spotlight on our Downtown Quad Cities and all they have to offer residents and visitors alike. The fast-paced short video promotes the vibrancy, fun and uniqueness of all our downtowns with scenes from their signature events and festivals, venues and their businesses. View the video here: https://youtu.be/ojBA-4sDgcg  The video features seven cities, which were coordinated by Downtown Bettendorf Organization, Downtown Davenport Partnership, East Moline Main Street, City of LeClaire, Moline Centre, Development Association of Rock Island, Silvis Main Street.... Read More

I really wanted to enjoy Quad-City Music Guild’s first complete musical in a year and a half, “Monty Python’s Spamalot,” which is available to be streamed online June 11 and 12 at 7:30 p.m., and June 13 at 2 p.m. But due more to its supremely silly, groan-inducing, seemingly unending source material than its eminently capable cast and crew, this two-hour-plus filmed version is disappointingly lifeless and unsatisfying. Despite opening on the day where the state of Illinois is allowing all theaters to open at full audience capacity, the Guild months ago decided to stage “Spamalot” with... Read More

Playcrafters Barn Theatre’s first production in 15 months, the new drama “Princeton’s Rage,” is deeply personal for both its Quad-Cities playwright and director. In the Don Faust play (rated R for language and adult content), Princeton Yale left his hometown of Chicago over 30 years ago, turning his back on an abusive past at the hands of his high school classmates and never looking back. But through a series of happenstances, Princeton’s past comes to pay him a visit, in the form of one of his former tormentors, Reece “Rage” Johnson, and more than just talk about “the good... Read More

The Black Box Theatre in downtown Moline will be presenting the comedy “Hate Mail” by Bill Corbett and Kira Obolensky through June 12. Performances begin at 7:30 pm except Sundays, which begin at 2:00 pm “Hate Mail” follows Preston Dennis, Jr. who writes a furious letter to a store demanding a refund for a broken snow globe. In his increasingly heated exchanges with the assistant manager Dahlia, who gives as good as she gets, he gets her fired – and finds a vengeful epistolary match. These two begin an epic, often acrimonious correspondence as their lives intertwine. ”Whether Preston... Read More