Several Quad-Cities artists were honored this past weekend with awards at the 29th-annual Iowa Motion Picture Association (IMPA) award ceremony. Due to Covid-19, the Aug. 8 event was held online this year. The IMPA recognized outstanding creative and technical achievement in Iowa’s moving image production industry, in all its forms. “Sons & Daughters of Thunder,” a docudrama produced by Moline-based Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films, received seven awards, out of eight IMPA nominations. It won five top Awards of Excellence: Best Live Action Entertainment — Long Form... Read More

Live music returns to the RME Courtyard! Kick off your weekend with FREE live music in the RME Courtyard (129 N Main Street Davenport)! Live@Five is totally free, for all ages, and features the best local bands to come rock out for everyone to enjoy. 5 – 7 p.m. each Friday in August and September. Here is the 2020 lineup of bands: Aug. 14: Playthangs – Sponsored by Estes Construction Aug. 21: Fair Warning – Sponsored by Estes Construction Aug. 28: The Velies – Sponsored by Estes Construction Sept. 4: Hal Reed & Mississippi Journey – Sponsored by the Mississippi... Read More

Take me out to the movies. Take me out with the socially-distanced crowd! Enjoy outdoor movies at Modern Woodmen Park (209 S Gaines St. Davenport) this Friday Aug 14 and Saturday Aug 15 at 8 p.m. Gates and box office open at 6:30 p.m. if tickets are available. Movie Night #1 (Friday Night) will feature Space Jam. Movie Night #2 (Saturday Night) will feature The Goonies. All tickets are $5 per seat and everyone will be seated in the seating bowl with social distancing. Tickets can be purchased now at the Quad Cities River Bandits’ box office Monday-Friday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., by calling (563) 324-3000... Read More

Welcome to the QuadCities.com Virtual Art Gallery! In this feature, we’re spotlighting area artists and their work. Every Tuesday we’ll feature a new local artist. It’s free and our way of showcasing awesome area artists and allowing them to include a link to their own online gallery or patreon! If you’d like to be included in the gallery, just send your bio, a headshot pic of yourself and up to a half-dozen .jpgs of your art to Sean@QuadCities.com. We look forward to adding YOU to the gallery! This week’s artist is Davenport-based Simon Tangent, whose works have graced the covers... Read More

It’s a bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Hot Air Balloons! After the difficult decision to cancel this year’s Quad Cities Balloon Festival, something magical happened. While Tether Rides, food vendors and socialization will not be available at this year’s event – the color spectacle in the sky is still on! More than ten pilots have graciously volunteered to fly their hot air balloons over the Quad Cities this weekend. The balloons will launch from the Rhythm City Casino (7077 Elmore Ave Davenport) and will take a quick jaunt around the area. The public is welcome to watch all flights but... Read More

Saturday In The Arts is a comprehensive weekly feature looking at a trend, personality, or major subject involving the Quad-Cities arts and entertainment scene. Though he’s been unemployed for months, like millions of Americans, due to Covid-19, St. Ambrose University alum Brian Hemesath got good news late last month. For the third time out of eight nominations, the 48-year-old Iowa native won a Daytime Emmy Award for his costume design work on “Sesame Street.” Hemesath – who earned his bachelor’s in theater and art in 1994 from SAU – was among a team of 21 designers to tie for the... Read More

As bars and restaurants have been back open in the Quad-Cities, the two major movie multiplexes in the area plan to reopen this month, both with new health and safety restrictions. Cinemark, at 3601 E. 53rd St., Davenport, will open Aug. 14, and Regal, at 4100 38th St., Moline, will be back and running Aug. 21. Cinemark is doing a phased reopening nationwide – 16 theaters are now open, with 43 more on the 14th and the rest by Aug. 31 – and Regal is reopening all its U.S. locations on the same day. “There’s nothing quite as powerful as great cinematic storytelling on the big screen,” Cinemark... Read More

Things are not looking good for this fall in regard to covid-19. Numbers are spiking, the government has been pathetically inept in terms of dealing with the crisis, and the economy is once again on the verge of completely tanking. Unemployment is up, some industries are shut down through the end of the year, and others are teetering on the precipice of being shut down, maybe for good. I don’t know about you, but I’m so pessimistic I’m starting to stock up on toilet paper. That’s why it’s more important than ever to shop at your locally-owned small businesses now. Local... Read More

Join the Nahant Marsh Education Center (4220 Wapello Avenue Davenport) this Saturday Aug 8 from 10 – 11 a.m. for Families in Nature: Prairie Insects. Insects are the most numerous animal group on the planet, and this time of the year we find them all over the prairies. Learn more about these fascinating insects while catching (and releasing) as many as you can. To register for this event, please visit https://nahantmarsh.org/our-events/families-in-nature-wild-about-wildflowers-2/. For more information, including healthy safety precautions, please visit https://www.facebook.com/events/3334492796614237/.   For... Read More

QC Festival of Praise is back! The festival will take place all day Saturday, Sept. 5 at LeClaire Park in Davenport. The headliner is Christian Contemporary Artist Big Daddy Weave. “After months of social distancing, and planning, we are mindful of safety measures for attendees, and delighted to gather together and moving forward to celebrate with our community,” said organizer Babette Howard. “LeClaire Park improvements should be complete by then as well. We feel the community is hungry for gathering and celebrating for a Praise Fest.” Festival of Praise is the first... Read More