Are you ready for the greatest Beer Festival in the Quad Cities?  Bierstube hosts two weekends of Oktoberfest on September 30/October 1 and October 7/8.  Dig out those lederhosen and head down to the Stube for traditional German beer, food, games, prizes and live music direct from Austria. Don’t forget to stop by Moline’s new open air market, Mercado on Fifth, on September 30 and October 8.  Shop for healthy produce and unique items, learn about the culture of the area and even watch a movie on their outdoor patio.  The Mercado will be open from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. every Friday... Read More

It’s usually a bad thing when you get a run in your hose, but this weekend, running in an event named after hose will lead to a lot of good things, charity-wise. The Lederhosen 5k will be held on Saturday, Oct. 1 at Schwiebert Riverfront Park in downtown Felsen Insel (Rock Island). People are encouraged to dress up for the run/walk in your best lederhosen or dirndl. There’s even a half-mile fun run called the Kinderlauf for the kids. Afterwards there will be a Oktoberfest Post-Race Party from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. supported by City Limits Saloon & Grill and Euclid Beverages with German... Read More

You’ve heard of Bonnaroo, this weekend you’ll get to experience Bonnieroo. The benefit for Bonnie Elkins will take place from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday at The Mound, 1029 Mound St., Davenport. Bonnie Elkins was diagnosed with small lymphocytic lymphoma Stage 4 with bone marrow involvement. Throughout her struggle with cancer she has lost her job and is in need of your help. Her daughters, Tara and Lela, are holding the benefit. Bonnieroo 2016 will feature music performed by Winterland, The Dawn, The Low Down, Zach Harris and The 3rd Street Villains. There will be benefit raffles, 50/50 drawing and... Read More

Pretty much everything I loved as a pre-teen (and that I continue to love) has been wrapped up into one band called Magic Sword, which will perform with opening acts Idpyramid and Alex Body from 7 to 11 p.m. Thursday at Daytrotter, 324 Brady St., Davenport. Advance tickets to the show are just $5. Magic Sword is a combination of Daft Punk, John Carpenter, Dungeons and Dragons culture, Tron, comic books, progressive rock, synth pop and more. But hey, don’t just believe me. Truly, they need to be seen rather than described. To hear tracks off their Legend EP, click here: https://soundcloud.com/magic-sword. To... Read More

On Saturday, September 24, 2016, the Family Museum will open Voyage to Vietnam: Celebrating the Tết Festival, a new exhibition to promote understanding of Vietnamese culture. Children and their parents throughout the country will delight in the opportunity to discover the beauty, sights, and sounds of Vietnam through its most important celebration of the year, Tết. Funded through a highly competitive national initiative by the Freeman Foundation Asian Culture Exhibit Series and developed by Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose, the Voyage to Vietnam exhibition is traveling to nine... Read More

The freedom to read and access ideas can transform lives – but when books are challenged or banned outright, readers are blocked from seeing all viewpoints and perspectives. That’s one of the reasons why libraries and bookstores focus on the harm of censorship during Banned Books Week, Sept. 25 to Oct. 1, 2016. On Tuesday, Sept. 27, local authors, librarians and other lovers of freedom will stand up for their right to read during a public reading of banned and challenged works at the Rock Island Main Library, 401 19th Street. The free event takes place in the library Community Room,... Read More

Everything from fall crafts to ice cream to art to a marathon is helping Moline Centre feel like fall this coming week. The Moline Rotary Club is sponsoring a FREE ice cream social on Sept. 22 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Taking place along 6th Avenue between 16th and 17th Streets the purpose of this event is to showcase and dedicate the Rotary Plaza in downtown Moline.  Bring the entire family and enjoy free music and refreshments, catch a glimpse of Rascal the River Bandit, Pete the Purple Bull and inspect the police and firefighter vehicles and equipment that will be on display. The Moline... Read More

The streets of the Quad Cities can get pretty rough for some of these kids. There is not much to do outside of getting into fights and causing trouble in some instances. Some kids have less than perfect lives. Some of them never make it out of this lifestyle. Drugs and jail time end up being norms and dreams fade away and die. But some kids find that something inside of them that drives them to go for it. Some kids fight to change their stars. One kid I know that grew up with my oldest son, Curtis Bell, did just that. At a certain point, he decided he wanted to do something with his incredible... Read More

Drag queens, kings of comedy and princesses of burlesque will make up the royalty of upcoming events at the Speakeasy, 1828 3rd Ave., Rock Island. Reservations for all shows can be made at www.thecirca21speakeasy.com or by calling (309) 786-7733, Ext. 2. Anyone attending a show at the Speakeasy must be 18 or older except for the big band concert. Viva La Divas, the area’s premiere drag show with award winning performers will spangle their way into the venue with a show Sept. 23. Doors: 7:00 – Show: 8:00 – Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. The Quad City Lip Sync Battle,... Read More

Ford Photography is sponsoring a film series at the Figge Art Museum, beginning  Sept. 23. “Expect to see films from established directors/giants like Jarmusch, Herzog, Kubrick, Lynch as well as emerging directors like Jeremy Saulnier, Panos Cosmatos and Chloe Zhao,” said Joshua Ford, the director of the series and president of Ford Photography. “Each evening will begin with a short film program, including short films from local filmmakers,” Ford said. “Jason Parris and Justen Parris will be providing their amazing beer and local musicians like Dennis Hockaday and Idpyramid will be performing. “And... Read More