If you’re at the Food Truck Fight on LeClaire’s levee tonight, or the Saturday Farmers Market at the Davenport Freight House, there’s a good chance you’ll see a bright blue and green newcomer. Buddy Bison – a big, colorful fiberglass statue – was painted this week by 28-year-old Moline artist Atlanta Dawn, to help promote the ambitious Bison Bridge project, to repurpose the existing I-80 bridge. She has volunteered with Living Lands & Waters over the years, the environmental nonprofit led by Chad Pregracke, who in March announced the Bison Bridge plan. Dawn’s boyfriend Cody Breecher... Read More

The most popular improv comedy show in Speakeasy history is back on June 19! LEAVE THE KIDS AT HOME FOR THIS SHOW!! Shots ‘n’ Giggles mixes adult beverages and improv comedy into one wild and crazy spectacle! What can possible go wrong with that combination? The talented improv performers are drinking along with the audience during the show. From toasts to shots to audience participation, there’ something new and fun each show! Reserve your tickets by calling 309-786-7733 ext 2 or online at www.thecirca21speakeasy.com. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 the day of the show. Because of the nature... Read More

Imagine me sitting in a car like Brad Pitt in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood giving finger guns to Mike Schulz and saying, “You’re Mike F-ing Schulz! Don’t you forget it.” He deserves this level of hype, this level of praise, this level of Lets-Put-An-Actor-On-An-Unecessary- Pedastal-ness for Mississippi Bend Players’ new “Red.” All. Of . It. Schulz is pretending at new and frightening heights giving a performance that I found myself simultaneously getting lost in AND studying so I could get bring even a small percentage of this bloke’s grace, believability and sheer... Read More

Varieties Nightclub, 822 W. 2nd St., will be hosting a Juneteenth event titled Black Magic: Juneteenth Edition. The event begins Saturday, June 19 at 10:30 p.m. While there are other venues which host Drag nights and events, Varieties Nightclub is the only Drag Bar in the Quad Cities, which is a fitting place to celebrate both Queer and Black liberation this June. This will be their first event commemorating Juneteenth as a newly-adopted federal Holiday. Saturday’s show features Calvin K, Milange Cavalli, Kaylynn Snaps, Karina Passion and Nikki Turner. The club is regularly open Thursday-Saturday... Read More

Join Silvis Public Library, 1101 4th Ave., at 5 p.m. July 27 for a COMMUNITY CONVERSATION that will connect teens to community nonprofits for engaging volunteer opportunities! Refreshments will be provided. Two attendees will have the chance to win a $25 gift card! Attend in-person at the McGehee Center or register to attend via GoToMeeting: http://engagedpatrons.org/EventsRegister.cfm?SiteID=1170… This conversation is made possible by the Libraries Transforming Communities Grant!  Read More

Summer reading and events at the Rock Island Public Library begin the first week of June in full technicolor style with a summer reading “colorama” kickoff, a take-home pinwheel kit for kids, the start of Summer2Go events around the library bookmobile, a Friends and Family seminar with NAMI, and more. Through July 31, Reading Colors Your World summer reading challenges and events at the Rock Island Public Library will encourage readers of all ages to be creative, try new things, explore art and color, and see the beauty of diversity. Library summer reading programs help children and teens... Read More

Pop Art pioneers Roy Lichtenstein, Takashi Murakami, Andy Warhol, and more will truly pop at Figge Art Museum this summer with Pop Power from Warhol to Koons: Masterworks from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation. The newest exhibition to arrive at the Figge (225 W. St., Davenport) features more than 100 works that have never been seen in the Quad-Cities before. An exclusive members-only preview will open the powerhouse exhibition on Friday, June 25 with a special tour given by Jordan D. Schnitzer, who has collected the masterpieces in the show throughout his life. The... Read More

“What’s all this pickle stuff?” Someone had the gall to ask me this yesterday. “All this pickle wrap stuff… what is it? Why is everyone posting about it? I don’t know what they’re talking about.” That’s a tragedy, folks. A real tragedy. An absolute shame that someone should be so ignorant and ill-informed on something so vital and important to our local well-being and civil moral and social fabric. But being a responsible journalist, I felt I needed to educate this person. And so, too, any of you who might be wondering what exactly has been... Read More

Western Illinois University sophomore Kanika Palecanda, of Laramie, WY, and sophomore Madalynn Boyd, of Plymouth, IL, have been awarded this year’s Elkin-Larkin Award, given to outstanding students in the University Advising program. Palecanda and Boyd were chosen for the awards based on their outstanding academic background and their University involvement. They were each awarded $250 for the Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 semesters and their names will be added to a permanent plaque in the First Year Advising Center. The award is given in honor of the late Robert Elkin and the late Jeanne Larkin,... Read More

Words and art are my business – as tools, objects of affection, contemplation and worship, ways to make sense and meaning of life – as they are for “Red,” the brilliant, caustic, literate John Logan play given a fantastic, thrilling new production by Mississippi Bend Players at Augustana College. Over an emotional 90-minute rollercoaster — in an action-packed, dialogue-dense one act, first-class director Cait Bodenbender and peerless actors Mike Schulz and Tristan Odenkirk grab your attention and never let go. It’s as riveting, passionate, thought-provoking – and deeply committed... Read More