WQPT, Quad Cities PBS is revisiting their original fundraiser “The Auction is at Your House.”  The new event is an on-air, on-line auction airing on WQPT January 28 and 29 from 8 to 10 pm, while the on-line part of the auction is live now at wqpt.org/auction. “Typically at this time of year we would be holding our gala Champagne on the Rocks, but due to Covid we had to think out of the box for our auction items, and we took a look at our history and decided to bring back The Auction is at Your House,” said interim General Manager, Dawn Schmitt. Items can be viewed before the on-air portion... Read More

PBS for the Quad Cities Region premieres their newest documentary “The Fight for the Women’s Vote.” The documentary will air November 1 at 9:00 pm and repeat November 12 at 8:00 pm.  Written and produced by WQPT Director of Marketing and Local Content Lora Adams and edited by Denise Hollmer, the documentary follows the timeline of the movement to acquire voting rights for women from the mid 1800’s to 1965 when The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. “We focused not only on the famous suffragettes like Alice Paul, but on our own homegrown suffragettes... Read More

It’s been a HUGE day for Tammy and Kelly Rundle and their Fourth Wall Films Crew! The morning began and the afternoon has continued with news of nominations for major awards! Tammy announced on her Facebook this morning: We awoke to some marvelous news! “Sons & Daughters of Thunder” has received a nomination for a Mid-America Emmy in the Arts/Entertainment category! “Thunder” was produced by Tammy Rundle, Kelly Rundle, Kent Hawley, and Executive Producer Kimberly Kurtenbach. The film is based on a beautiful play by Earlene Hawley and Curtis Heeter. Our gratitude... Read More

The 1953 Samuel Beckett classic “Waiting for Godot” has had a long wait for its premiere Thursday at Moline’s Black Box Theatre. But it’s perfect for a pandemic-plagued 2020. Directed by local theater veteran Mike Schulz (an Augustana College alum), he started rehearsals in May, originally as a partnership between QC Theatre Workshop and Mississippi Bend Players. A plan to do the mainly two-person play outside at a pavilion behind Brunner Theatre Center was later shelved, and it’s now going up independently at the small Black Box with a maximum audience of 26 – masks are required –... Read More

Saturday In The Arts is a weekly look at a personality, place, trend or topic of interest to the Quad-Cities. It runs every Saturday morning on your site for fun, free, local entertainment and features, QuadCities.com. Tom Vaccaro is seven years older than the beloved TV/film actor Michael J. Fox, but it was just a year ago that the Davenporter was diagnosed with the disease that’s long affected Fox – Parkinson’s. The veteran actor-musician-illustrator (who was featured in the Black Box Theatre’s radio play in August) thinks he had symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) before he was diagnosed... Read More

Being an artist means being creative and adaptable, and no one knows this more than longtime Quad-Cities theater veteran Lora Adams. Co-owner of the Black Box Theatre, 1623 5th Ave., Moline, she was the first in the area to reopen for an indoor production during the Covid-19 pandemic, on July 16 with Jeffrey Hatcher’s adaptation of “The Turn of the Screw,” starring Matt Walsh and Kayla Jo Pulliam (wearing clear face shields), with Walsh playing four different characters. The theater (which originally planned to open “Turn of the Screw” in late March) has been abiding by the state of... Read More

The Black Box Theatre in downtown Moline presents “Three Viewings” by Jeffrey Hatcher, opening on Thursday, September 24. “We decided to visit Jeffrey Hatcher again,” said co-founder Lora Adams. The Black Box opened the theatre four years ago with “Murderers” by Hatcher and recently produced “Turn of the Screw.” “Looking for pieces that allow us to follow safety protocols for both our actors and audience has taken some thinking and once again, Jeffrey Hatcher has provided the answer,” said Adams. “Like ‘Murderers’ this is a tryptic of monologues and they are both hilarious... Read More

WQPT is presenting a special online preview screening of clips from The Age of Nature followed by a discussion with local experts in the area of nature conservation. The event begins at 6:30 pm on September 23rd and is accessible by visiting wqpt.org/nature to register. Guest experts include: Kathy Wine from River Action, Brian Ritter from the Nahant Marsh Education Center, and Joel Vanderbush from Niabi Zoo. The film explores humanity’s relationship with nature and wildlife, as scientists and conservationists from all over the world examine ways we can restore our planet. This documentary series... Read More

The Black Box Theatre in downtown Moline presents “Three Viewings” by Jeffrey Hatcher, opening on Thursday, September 24. “We decided to visit Jeffrey Hatcher again,” said co-founder Lora Adams. The Black Box opened the theatre four years ago with “Murderers” by Hatcher and recently produced “Turn of the Screw.” “Looking for pieces that allow us to follow safety protocols for both our actors and audience has taken some thinking and once again, Jeffrey Hatcher has provided the answer,” said Adams. “Like ‘Murderers’ this is a tryptic of monologues and they are both hilarious... Read More

WQPT will host a 45 minute screening of the Ken Burns documentary “The Gene: An Intimate History” on Thursday, September 17 at 7:30pm at the Blue Grass Drive In as part of the Quad City Engineering and Science Council’s “Teacher’s Night Out” series. The Bluegrass Drive In Theatre is located just off of Hwy 61 in Blue Grass, Iowa at 774 W. Mayne Street. Educators who attend the screening will receive free SWAG and have the opportunity to win a 23&Me Health+Ancestry kit. Following the screening of THE GENE, attendees can stay for a second feature film – Jurassic Park.  The event... Read More