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

“Do not desire to fit in. Desire to oblige yourselves to lead” – Illinois Poet Laureate Gwendolyn Brooks. The new Gwendolyn Brooks Memorial Park Dedication will take place on the Western Illinois University Macomb campus beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday, June 12. The Park is located on the corner of Adams and Normal streets on the WIU-Macomb campus, on the site of the former Gwendolyn Brooks Cultural Center (GBCC). As COVID-19 restrictions remain in place, the event will be limited to 100 participants, by invitation only. The dedication will also be livestreamed on WIU’s YouTube channel at... Read More

The Quad City Storm will open the 2021-2022 season Friday October 15th, 2021 at the TaxSlayer Center.  The game will be the first for the Storm since Sunday March 8th, 2020 and will end a 505 day stretch without professional hockey in the Quad Cities. The Storm’s full home schedule, opponents, road schedule and promotional schedule will all be announced later this Summer. Quad City Storm hockey returns to the TaxSlayer Center Friday October 15th and season tickets are on sale now.  Fans can call 309-277-1343 to secure their seats today or email brian@quadcitystorm.com for more information.  Read More

The day that Illinois Quad-Cities theaters and concert venues have long waited for arrives today, on Friday, June 11 – when they can remove Covid-related restrictions on audience capacity. Today, the state of Illinois is moving into Phase 5 of the pandemic, which lifts all limits on indoor and outdoor festivals, concerts and other live performances, which will affect many Q-C venues. “We are thrilled to be able to go back to full capacity in both venues. Nothing but a positive for us,” said Brett Hitchcock, director of audience development for Circa ’21 and The Speakeasy, Rock Island. In... Read More

Feeling like a little SPAM? Quad City Music Guild is presenting Spamalot: The Musical , June 11 & 12 7:30 pm, June 13 2pm. The show is an online Streaming, no in-person performances. Tickets are: Single Stream Pass- $12 Couple Stream Pass- $18 Family Stream Pass- $30 You may purchase tickets by calling the box office at 309.762.6610 or by visiting the QCMG website, www.qcmusicguild.com  Read More

It was mid-March of last year when we first heard the news. There was going to be a shutdown. But what did that mean? None of us had ever lived through anything like that. What was that even going to entail? How would our lives change, if at all? Already, events had started to get canceled. Sports games for kids. School. Arts activities. Concerts. Theater shows. Everything was going on hold for a couple of weeks. But it was just going to be a couple of weeks. A month, max. And, hell, it was winter, the weather was terrible anyway, we weren’t going to be going outside as it was. It wasn’t... Read More

When Esmeralda Portillo crossed the commencement stage in May, at age 19, she became the youngest Latina woman to graduate from Western Illinois University in its history. Portillo, of Chicago Heights, IL, received her degree in Law Enforcement and Justice Administration (LEJA) during the University’s Commencement weekend May 14-16. Although age requirements to work for police departments prevent her from applying for a career position yet, since graduation she has been working as a records clerk at the Harvey (IL) Police Department. She will begin work toward a master’s degree in Fall... Read More