Saturday In The Arts is a comprehensive weekly feature looking at a trend, personality, or major subject involving the Quad-Cities arts and entertainment scene. Making it through nearly five months of a paralyzing pandemic was bad enough, but for those of us in Iowa and the Quad-Cities, Aug. 10, 2020 and the days that followed seemed especially cruel. I’ll never forget that Monday afternoon, working on my laptop in the basement, a prisoner in my home trying not to go insane during a crazy year. The power suddenly went out, as a freak inland hurricane (or “derecho” – duh-RAY-cho – as everyone... Read More

Last year, spoken-word artist Aubrey Barnes and singer-songwriter Delores Westbrook-Tingle partnered to make a new song that summarizes what United Way of the Quad Cities is all about – “Together.” That inspiring song – which kicked off the July 2019 unveiling of United Way’s African-American Leadership Society (AALS) and was part of the September 2019 launch of “Amplify Quad Cities: The Soundtrack” – has now been made into a five-minute video to support the nonprofit’s racial equity effort. “We need to stand strong – walking together in this community,” sings Westbrook-Tingle.... Read More