Due to coronavirus concerns, for the first time the 15th-annual David R. Collins Writers’ Conference will be held online, Thursday to Saturday, June 25-27. Paid workshops will be held via Zoom; free public events will be available on Zoom and via livestream to the Midwest Writing Center’s YouTube channel . The conference registration fee is $50 for MWC members, $65 for non-members; and $260 for full conference registration (four workshops + master class); $210 for three workshops; $160 for two workshops, and $85 for one workshop. Book pitches are $15 each. Attendees can hone their craft in... Read More

Transitions Mental Health Services is excited to announce that their 10th Annual Golf Outing, scheduled for July 24th, will continue as planned. As a precaution due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all guidelines put forth by the Governor, as well as the recommendations from the CDC will be followed. Transitions also said this year’s golf outing will place high focus on unity, comradery, positivity and, of course, mental health. The event will take place at Highland Springs Golf Course, 9500 35th Street West, Rock Island, with sign-up beginning at 11:30am and start time scheduled for 1:00pm. Registration... Read More

MACOMB, IL – Organizers of Western Illinois University’s Leatherneck Country Meats – The Purple and Gold Standard of Western Illinois, are preparing for the group’s next sale, this time with a shifted focus to pork raised outdoors. Leatherneck Country Meats is a student-run organization that offers pork sales to the public. This is the third year LCM has been holding sales. This year, LCM is raising Berkshire hogs on the University Farm. The first piglets have already been placed outdoors. This year’s retail sale is expected in early October. “Raising berks on pasture... Read More

Like most entertainment around the world during coronavirus, the Levitt AMP Galva Music Series moved online this summer. All recipients of a 2020 national grant for a free summer music series will be part of a virtual free broadcast, all available on levittamp.org/virtual. Galva’s entry kicked off the series on June 20, with performances by Chicago Farmer and Edward David Anderson. “Each recipient of the Levitt AMP grant will be featured in one concert over the course of the summer as part of the national series — we just happened to be the first,” said John Taylor of Cambridge, president... Read More

Rhythm City Casino Resort is pleased to announce the Steel Panther – Heavy Metal Rules Tour will be performing on the Event Center stage Thursday, January 28, 2021 at 8 PM. Tickets for this show go on sale Friday, June 26 at 10 AM CST. This show is a reserved seating show with prices ranging from $25 to $50. Tickets can be purchased online , by phone at 844-852-4FUN or in person at The Market gift shop inside Rhythm City Casino Resort. As political correctness suffocates and squeezes the last drop of fun from popular culture, four men boldly plant their flag (and maybe another appendage) into... Read More

Mark McGinn’s love of the theater is literally in his blood. His father Jack (who died in 2000) started performing at Quad City Music Guild in Moline within two years of its founding in 1949, and was in dozens of shows. Mark, a 67-year-old Bettendorf resident, started with Guild at Prospect Park in 1972, playing clarinet for “Fiddler on the Roof,” and his first stage role was in 1976’s “Jesus Christ Superstar” (as one of the apostles). McGinn has since been involved in more than 70 other shows (including last summer as John Wilkes Booth in Black Box’s “Assassins” in Moline), mostly... Read More

QuadCities.com, the area’s fastest growing and most trusted arts and entertainment resource, wants to produce your short screenplay! Filmmakers and QuadCities.com team members Khalil Hacker and Tristan Tapscott will produce the winner of our ShortScreenplaySearch and the short film will be showcased on our website and social media platforms. The winner will be part of the entire production process and be given an inside look at independent filmmaking in the Quad-Cities. The guidelines: -All original material -Quad City resident -No more than 5 pages -Using iconic Quad City locations How it works: The... Read More

Saturday In The Arts is a weekly look at intriguing personalities and trends on the local arts scene, presented every Saturday morning, on your site for fun, free, local entertainment and features, QuadCities.com.   October 1978 was a heavenly time to be a Billy Joel fan. Just days before I got to see “The Piano Man” live for the first time (in Milwaukee), I bought his new record, “52nd Street” at the mall, and nearly floated all the way my walk home, devouring the lyrics on the back cover. Despite the technological advances of CDs, MP3s, YouTube, and digital streaming services, many... Read More

At a time of unprecedented economic, racial, social and health upheaval, some Quad-Cities LGBTQ leaders are taking comfort in the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on workplace civil rights. But during Pride Month, they say much still needs to be done. “It’s the most important LGBTQ decision to date,” Michelle Royal of Moline, a transgender activist and vice president of QC Pride, said this week of the June 15 high-court ruling that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees against discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. “It’s better than marriage... Read More

Got a cool, imaginative, creative eye for home decorating that ISN’T all about how much money you spent? Is your home a fun, funky, interesting spot? Do you have cool places in your home or interesting decor that you did on a low budget, and just followed your imagination and individual taste? QuadCities.com is debuting a NEW online show, ABODES, about cool, imaginative, creative abodes and ways of living! We want to highlight people whose living places are as imaginative and intriguing as they are, and that show off their character and cleverness, rather than just their checkbook! So if... Read More