The local arts scene took a huge blow this spring when Covid-19 shut down the entertainment industry. But it takes a lot more than a pandemic to get Quad-Cities artists down and out. And it takes even more to get the big idea makers to stop dreaming. Enter Royce Barnett, Mr. Crunk Chocolate. Barnett, a Quad City resident and popular voice on social media and podcast platforms, where he often posts under the name Crunk Chocolate, has launched Quad-Cities Repping, a one stop shop Spotify playlist of Q-C artists. “The Ultimate Goal is to have The most complete Q-C Anthology of our local artists,”... Read More

The Quad City Botanical Center is expanding services in alignment with the phase four guidelines set by the State of Illinois with COVID-19 protection protocols in place. All guests are REQUIRED to wear a mask inside the building and highly ENCOURAGED to wear a mask outdoors. Online ticket purchases are ENCOURAGED to reduce close contact with guest services staff. Payment upon admission is accepted, members receive free admission. The gardens, including indoor and outdoor areas, have a restricted capacity of 100 guests who must practice social distancing. The building is open to visitors, including... Read More

QuadCities.com has debuted a new commercial! It’ll be running on local TV, cable channels and internet sites, and you can check it out here:  Read More

The Rock Island Public Library will introduce limited building access and hours starting Monday, July 6 at both its Downtown and Southwest Library locations. This phase of the library’s gradual reopening coordinates with Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois plan. Buildings will be open to the public at both locations from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Saturdays are reserved for curbside pickup only, which is from 9:00 am to noon. Face coverings and social distancing must be maintained while inside library buildings. Library books, magazines, and audiovisual collections will be available... Read More

Join the Quad City Botanical Center (2525 4th Avenue Rock Island) this Sunday Jul 5 from 7 – 9 p.m. for a special nighttime version of the popular Sunday Funday family program. Learn about fireflies and why the populations are falling. If you have fireflies at home, catch them and bring them for a nighttime release at the gardens! This event is free for members or included in paid admission. No RSVP is required. For more information, please visit https://www.qcgardens.com/.   For more fun things to do in the Quad Cities this week, check out the latest issue of FUN10QC.  Read More

The Quad Cities has a new remedy for all that ails them, as Dr. San Guinary brings his Creature Feature T.V. program to the Saturday night airwaves at 11 p.m. starting on July 4 on COZI 6.3. The one-hour program, hosted by Doc and his cast of cutie nurses and wacky characters, showcases a wide variety of horror and science fiction schlock classics, as well as locally produced material and shorts from around the globe. The show, which sometimes gets a little risqué with its cheesy comedy, is aimed at teenagers and adults, with lots of pop culture references and in-jokes from the last 40 years,... Read More

Few people outside the small local comedy community realized that Andrew King moved away from the Quad-Cities this month. Few people outside the small local comedy community know who Andrew King is. But the departure of the soon-to-be-30-year-old King, who finally made a long covid-postponed move to Providence, R.I. in late June, is a real creative diminishment to the local arts scene. King was one of the most original characters on the Quad-Cities entertainment scene. He brought a unique voice, persona and artistic vision to the local stage. With an asymmetrical poof of hair, bookish glasses,... Read More

Rock Island-based Quad City Arts was the only organization in the immediate Q-C to earn funding Wednesday from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act grant. Like most of the 855 organizations funded nationwide, the regional nonprofit will get $50,000, on top of a previously approved $30,000 NEA grant last month that was unrelated to Covid-19 relief. Quad City Arts this spring did get Covid-19 relief funding through the federal Paycheck Protection Program, executive director Kevin Maynard said Thursday. Part of the criteria for new funding... Read More

Creating art is typically a solitary activity. For Black Hawk College students this spring, it was more isolating than usual, as they worked together – while physically apart – to produce a 36-page art magazine. ArtFusion magazine is produced every other year by and for BHC visual communications students. It features essays, digital drawing, photography, painting and other student works. When the college’s Art 248 – Production and Prepress class (about 14 students) went completely online in mid-March – because of Covid-19 — creating the collaborative, full-color publication became... Read More

You can help make a child’s first day at school a lot more special by helping The First Day Project. Over 25,000 kids receive free or reduced lunches, and therefore they qualify for free school supplies through the project, which relies on the generosity of locals in the community to help out. The First Day Project used to partner with the Postal Service to collect the school supplies but three years ago they Postal Service stopped the program and United Way stepped in to help. “In the past, we worked mainly with our business community to collect the items but the need is too great... Read More