Kevin Maynard was as busy as a Christmas elf last Friday afternoon, as he distributed sugar cookies in the area to help promote the 35th-annual Festival of Trees. In fact, the Quad City Arts executive director dressed as an elf to deliver the Olde Towne Bakery treats (topped with the Festival logo) to his home-based co-workers and other Festival supporters. Among Maynard’s cookie run was for Kelly Oberhardt of KONE Spares (a team of the local KONE company), who covered the cost of her cookies and she matched donations of her team – raising a total of about $500 for Festival of Trees. “Things... Read More

Happy Thanksgiving week! Want something to be thankful for? QuadCities.com proudly presents FUN10, a list of the top 10 things to do in the Quad Cities this week, and every week! Every Sunday, we drop a new FUN10, to give you a head start on your week and a heads up on what’s going on over the coming seven days. Check out FUN10 every Sunday for the details on ten awesome events happening around town. It’s a cool read, and a great way to get started planning your entertainment for the week. FUN10 — ten ways for you to have fun in the Quad-Cities, this week and every week, running every Sunday,... Read More

Saturday In The Arts is a weekly look at a personality, place, trend or topic of interest to the Quad-Cities. It runs every Saturday morning on your site for fun, free, local entertainment and features, QuadCities.com. After Covid claimed Davenport Central High School’s planned spring 2020 musical, “Anything Goes,” drama director Thea IntVeld took that “anything goes” attitude when planning for the fall semester. For the murder mystery “Clue,” she not only thought outside of the box. IntVeld thought outside the school, and their gorgeous Performing Arts Center, which opened in 2017.... Read More

At Quad City Arts in Rock Island, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, as the 35th anniversary of Festival of Trees will look different this year, but the holiday magic will continue in a whole new way. Kaleigh Trammell is in her second year of coordinating Festival of Trees at Quad City Arts, and while the focus for the first time will be online and on TV, there also will be a gift shop and window displays at the Rock Island Gallery from Nov. 21 to 29. “It has been a challenge,” she said recently. “When we made this decision, we were trying to look ahead to what November was going... Read More

The Virtual Writers Studio hosted by Ryan Collins and the Midwest Writing Center will scribble in online from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Here are the details: Writer’s Studio will be meeting virtually in the private Facebook Group listed below at the regular time (1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month, 11am-1pm). Writer’s Studio regulars or anyone interested in sharing and discussing their work in a constructive space, we’ve started a private group on Facebook for writers to connect while not meeting in-person. Please see the link below to join the group We will also be sharing other writing... Read More

A maid’s song in Jacob Bancks’s new opera “Karkinos” has painfully relevant lyrics – “Slowly, slowly, what is your hurry? Little by little the bird builds a nest. Patience obtains all things. Sooner or later a seedling will climb. Wait, and all that has life will flourish in time.” Patience is certainly what we all need in the Covid era, as the premiere of “Karkinos” – a collaboration between the Quad City Symphony Orchestra and Living Proof Exhibit – again has been delayed, until February 2022. The opera, penned by Bancks (an Augustana associate professor of music), was first... Read More

We are bringing the magic of Festival to you this year! Tune into the Festival of Trees Holiday Special on KWQC-TV6 on November 21 at 10 am to kick off the season with us. This first-ever Festival experience will include CenterStage performances, Festival memories, and interviews – plus, a chance to learn more about how you can make a difference by supporting Festival of Trees Day of Giving. And of course, hear a message from Santa himself! Spread holiday cheer by supporting the arts and making a gift to the Festival of Trees Day of Giving campaign. Festival of Trees provides funding support... Read More

QuadCities.com proudly presents FUN10, a list of the top 10 things to do in the Quad Cities this week, and every week! Every Sunday, we drop a new FUN10, to give you a head start on your week and a heads up on what’s going on over the coming seven days. Check out FUN10 every Sunday for the details on ten awesome events happening around town. It’s a cool read, and a great way to get started planning your entertainment for the week. FUN10 — ten ways for you to have fun in the Quad-Cities, this week and every week, running every Sunday, only on your site for fun, free, local entertainment, QuadCities.com! So... Read More

Saturday In The Arts is a weekly look at a personality, place, trend or topic of interest to the Quad-Cities. It runs every Saturday morning on your site for fun, free, local entertainment and features, QuadCities.com. The composer George Frideric Handel wrote his masterwork oratorio “Messiah” in 24 days in 1741, in 53 movements across three major parts. While long considered a Christmas favorite, it premiered during Lent on April 13, 1742. A beloved Quad-Cities tradition – performed under the baton of Augustana College music professor Jon Hurty – has been revived in a virtual format now... Read More

The Western Illinois University School of Music will present the WIU Jazz Guitar Ensemble, under the direction of Assistant Professor of Guitar George Turner, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12. Due to the restrictions currently in place, there are no general admission performances in the COFAC Recital Hall. This performance will be broadcast on the School of Music’s YouTube Channel and Facebook page. PROGRAM: The Four of Us – Steve Shenkel Stylin’ – Dave Frackenpohl Recordame – Joe Henderson/arr. George Turner In a Sentimental Mood – Duke Ellington/arr. Mark Tonelli The... Read More