The fourth full season of Mississippi Bend Players will feature a total of five performers over three productions this summer at Augustana College’s Brunner Theatre Center. After it was forced to cancel its 2020 in-person season, the 2021 lineup will be: “Red” (June 17-20), by John Logan, directed by Catherine Bodenbender and featuring MBP favorites Mike Schulz and Tristan Odenkirk. Master abstract expressionist Mark Rothko has just landed the biggest commission in the history of modern art, a series of murals for New York’s famed Four Seasons Restaurant. In the two fascinating years... Read More

The Augustana College Department of Theatre Arts will present “One Flea Spare,” directed by Jennifer Popple, Thursday through Sunday, May 6 to 9, at Brunner Theatre Center, 3750 7th Ave., Rock Island. Darkly comic and deeply moving by turns, “One Flea Spare” is set in plague-ravaged 17th-century London, where social roles and the boundaries that describe them have turned upside down. The definition of morality is up for grabs. Upper and lower class are forced to live in quarantine together and the secrets and sins of the four shut-ins are laid bare. The social hierarchy collapses, and... Read More

In response to the Sept. 11, 2011 attacks, rocker Bruce Springsteen implored us to “Come on up for the rising.” In his 2015 musical “Hamilton,” Lin-Manuel Miranda implored others to “rise up.” Goodwill and United Way in the Quad-Cities are both picking up the hopeful, aspirational “Rising” theme in two new initiatives, aiming for a better post-pandemic world for us all. Goodwill, the leading workforce provider in North America, on Tuesday announced a new, first-of-its-kind coalition called Rising Together, which will work to create an equitable economic recovery and provide job... Read More

Take a hike! Do you want to? Well, check out QCTrails.org if you do. QCTRails is a free user-friendly, interactive, and mobile responsive website that serves as a comprehensive resource that highlights multi-purpose trails, parks, and side paths in the bi-state region. QC Trails is an exciting tool for encouraging and improving local outdoor physical activity throughout the year. Join us on Thursday, May 6th at 6:30 pm for a virtual presentation by Nicole Carkner from the Quad City Health Initiative and Bryan Schmid from Bi-State Regional Commission about QCTrails org. They will discuss how and... Read More

Star Wars fans can show their galaxy full of knowledge at the Rock Island Public Library’s “May the Fourth Be With You” online trivia game. The free event for all ages will be offered via Zoom from 5:30 to 6:30 pm on, you guessed it, Tuesday, May 4. Play solo or with a team and see how much you know about a certain galaxy far, far away. One lucky participant will win a Star Wars prize pack! To play, register at the library’s online calendar and the meeting link will be sent via email. For more news from the Rock Island Public Library, visit www.rockislandlibrary.org, follow the library... Read More

The covid-19 numbers are thankfully going down in the Illinois Quad-Cities. Just a week ago, there was some talk about the Quad-Cities potentially being in danger of another lockdown due to rising numbers in its Region 2 spurred by skyrocketing numbers in the Peoria area. However, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said that numbers wouldn’t automatically trigger another lockdown and that they would be taken in a case-by-case basis and perspective. Today’s latest numbers from the Rock Island County Health Department show that Illinois-side Quad-Cities covid numbers are beginning to stabilize... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Douglas Adams would be so proud. Today, it was announced by the Rock Island and Scott County Health Departments that the Quad-Cities has reached the point where 42 percent of the population over 16 years old has been vaccinated against covid-19. The Rock Island Health Department announced the following today: Congrats, Quad Cities, for achieving 42% COVID-19 vaccination of our 16+ population! Let’s keep the momentum going…for ourselves, our neighbors, and our community! #vaccinateqc #VaxUpIL Find vaccination options here: https://togetherqc.com/2021/04/covid19-vaccine-options/. The... Read More

After a long time in quarantine, things are finally starting to open up, people are getting vaccinated, and things are looking up for our country, and the Quad-Cities! That’s good news! And every month, we bring YOU more good news! In conjunction with our partners at KWQC-TV6’s “Paula Sands Live,” we bring you What’s The Good News, a rundown of some of the positive things going on in our community. So, what’s the good news for May? Let’s take a look… New Theater Coming To Davenport! A new theater experience, The Mockingbird On Main is coming to 320 N. Main St., in downtown... Read More

With warmer weather and plans for summer outreach in the works, the Rock Island Library2Go mobile bookmobile will roll out a new schedule starting Monday, May 3. The days and times for Mobile Library stops stay the same: Three stops daily, Monday through Thursday, but some locations have changed (see starred routes for changes.) Bookmobile routes through July 29 are as follows: Monday 10:00 am to 11:30 am: St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 2930 31st Avenue, Rock Island 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm: Blackhawk State Park, 4801 11th Street, Rock Island * 4:00 to 5:30 pm: Martin Luther King Community Center,... Read More

The Ghost of Vaudeville is fading away, at least for now. After a decade as the emcee and co-leader of the Bottoms Up Burlesque Troupe, Joshua Kahn, “The Ghost of Vaudeville,” is doing his last shows this weekend, before taking an extended sabbatical to celebrate the birth of his child and to spend time with his wife and family. Bottoms Up announced the move about a month ago on social media, after Kahn had announced it live at their late March shows. They posted: “Well the cat is out of the bag, and the Ghost of Vaudeville is leaving the building. After dedicating 10 years of... Read More