The last time Angela Rathman performed on stage was over two years ago – in Prenzie Players’ “Macbeth,” in January 2019 – when she embodied a witch, a murderer, a thane and a doctor. The Prenzie veteran – who also co-starred in Genesius Guild’s “Taming of the Shrew” (as Kate) in 2011 – is making her debut at the four-year-old Black Box Theatre of the Quad Cities, 1623 5th Ave., Moline, in a familiar staged reading. Starting Thursday night, Rathman joins Susan Perrin-Sallak, Liz Coin, Joanna Mills, Kim Kurtenbach, and Kayla Jo Pulliam in Nora and Delia Ephron’s “Love, Loss... Read More

A year after being canceled because of Covid-19, the annual bi-state Red, White and Boom fireworks display in downtown Davenport and Rock Island will return this year and is scheduled for July 3, 2021. Red, White and Boom is the largest fireworks display in the Quad-Cities, shot from two barges in the middle of the Mississippi River. “We are thrilled to welcome people back to the riverfront for our regional celebration of America’s Independence Day,” said Mike Matson, Mayor of Davenport. “Our new Quinlan Court will be open, and activities in Modern Woodmen Park and LeClaire Park are being... Read More

Renew Moline invites the public to a virtual presentation Wednesday, April 21, by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Advisory Services Panel to discuss downtown Moline and the future redevelopment in the I-74 area. Renew Moline, along with the City of Moline, The Deere Foundation, and MetroLINK contributed to fund technical assistance by ULI to develop a strategy surrounding the future I-74 redevelopment area. The panel is comprised of development experts in a variety of disciplines, including retail market assessment, housing development, finance, economic/community development and urban design. The... Read More

In conjunction with the new Ken Burns PBS documentary on author Ernest Hemingway, WQPT will hold a special 30-minute virtual screening and discussion with Mary V. Dearborn, a Hemingway biographer featured in the film, on April 27. The free virtual event will take place that Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. and attendees will have the opportunity to ask Dearborn their Hemingway-related questions. Participants will also have the chance win copies of Dearborn’s 2017 Hemingway biography, a Google Home smart speaker, and other great prizes. “Hemingway has this public image of being this extraordinarily masculine,... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: In a race marked by divisiveness and strife, with a flashpoint of dark money fliers featuring misspelled accusations sent out to voters, Sangeetha Rayapati has defeated Stephanie Acri for Moline Mayor. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Rayapati had 61 percent of the vote to Acri’s 39 percent. with 6, 319 votes cast. Acri won the mayoral race in 2017 as a write-in over incumbent Scott Raes after Raes challenged her candidacy and the candidacy of then-challenger Bob “Mr. Thanksgiving” Vogelbaugh over them allegedly misnumbering their applications. At the time,... Read More

Saturday in the Arts is a weekly feature covering a trend, subject, event or personality of local interest. It runs every Saturday morning on your site for the best entertainment and arts coverage in the area, QuadCities.com! Especially after this past year, we could all use more joy, color, light and life in our lives, and backers of a new public art plan for Moline want that all for downtown. This past week, Moline Mayor Stephanie Acri and the City Council heard a presentation on the new 102-page Public Art and Placemaking Plan, commissioned by Renew Moline and the city. A nine-member Public... Read More

John Deere is known the world over for its signature green – in its iconic deer logo; its gleaming ag equipment, and literal link to the land. But another kind of green is playing a larger role in the Moline-based institution as it continues a long tradition to devoting time and treasure to communities it serves, through corporate citizenship and charitable contributions. This week, the John Deere Foundation announced it will invest $200 million over the next 10 years in initiatives that will bring to life John Deere’s higher purpose: “We run so life can leap forward.” That recalls the... Read More

Two icons of the Quad-Cities indie scene celebrate birthdays today, as Moline’s CoOp Records and Rock Island’s Rozz Tox are both blowing out the candles (Rozz Tox’ are probably on cupcakes), and although they’re both suffused with a spirit of fun, their success is serious testament to hard work and an example of how to do local business right. It was 26 years ago that music scene fixture and die-hard Replacements fan Reid Robinson decided to take the leap and open up CoOp at 3727 Avenue of the Cities, Moline. Little did he know he was getting in when the getting was about to get anything... Read More

The timing of the Quad Cities International Airport (QCIA) announcing its ambitious, sleek renovation plans Tuesday was no coincidence. The public unveiling of more than $20 million in passenger terminal improvements came the day before President Joe Biden today announced his ambitious $2-trillion infrastructure plans, dubbed “The American Jobs Plan” – which includes $25 billion for airport improvements nationwide. “A lot of the funds we get, we pull in federally into the community. So we’re not big on pulling taxes from our neighbors,” QCIA executive director Benjamin Leischner... Read More

The Quad Cities International Airport in Moline will be getting a dramatic, $20-million-plus facelift. Several concepts and images were unveiled Tuesday by airport officials that include added amenities for passengers and represent the first major investment in the aging facility since 2001. The landside terminal, which includes ticketing and baggage claim, has not been updated since 1985. “The travel industry has changed dramatically since 1985 but our airport has had to take a patchwork approach to keep up,” QCIA executive director Benjamin Leischner said Tuesday. “With the work being done... Read More