Authors of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and more will share their talents and help strengthen the talents of others during the Midwest Writing Center's 2025 David R. Collins Writers Conference at Augustana College's Sorensen Hall, a June 26 through 28 celebration of the written word boasting workshops, readings, book pitches, and more, with special events planned at several additional Quad Cities locales.
With the author visiting the Davenport venue to discuss his new book Bridges as Structural Art that features the the Quad Cities' I-74 Bridge, Miguel Rosales takes part in a June 26 author talk at the Figge Art Museum, his conversation followed by a Q&A session with the audience and a book signing.
Delivering a weekend of family fun that blends history with excitement, the city of LeClaire and its Buffalo Bill Museum are proud to treat guests to the outdoor delights of The Buffalo Bill Wild West Show, the June 28 and 29 celebration at LeClaire's Cody Elementary School boasting horse-riding events, children's activities, live music, food vendors, and much more.
Delivering a blend of local history, environmental issues, education, entertainment, and fresh air, Davenport's River Action will again present a series of outdoor presentations in the first month-plus of the annual Channel Cat Talks and Riverine Walks: weekly programs that, through June 28, will address such topics as Brazil's Amazon River, invasive species, area raptors, and the home of the Quad City River Bandits.
A fascinating exploration of both a well-known German-American blacksmith and a revolutionary addition to the transportation industry, Immigrant Innovators: The Fruehauf Trailer Company will be on display at Davenport's German American Heritage Center through June 29, the exhibit offering insight into the company’s origins, its development over the decades, and its ultimate downfall after the Fruehauf family’s involvement.
I asked Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch last week about the failure to pass an omnibus energy bill (the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act) during the just-ended spring legislative session.
As I write this, multiple news outlets have reported that the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency is preparing to deploy its Special Response Teams to five major U.S. cities, including Chicago, in the very near future. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s chief of staff Cristina Pacione-Zayas told reporters last week: “There will be tactical teams, mini-tanks, other tools they use in which they plan to do raids, as we saw in Los Angeles.”
I reached out last week to several members of the “19” – the Democratic House members who refused to vote to re-elect House Speaker Michael Madigan in 2021, thereby forcing him into retirement. I asked for their reaction to Madigan’s 90-month federal prison sentence handed down a few days earlier. Because it was a holiday (Father’s Day), I didn’t expect to hear much back.
The watchers are no longer being watched by the people. At least in Scott County, Iowa, that is.
Inexplicably, for decades, incurious American voters refuse to remove el
Presented by Journey Live Production, a performing-arts organization dedicated to uplifting communities through the transformative power of African American storytelling, organization founder Curtis B. Lewis Jr. will stage his debuting play The Half at Davenport's TMBC Lincoln Resource Center, the emotional drama a two-person showcase for co-stars Lewis and area performer, author, and spoken-word artist Aubrey "Aubs." Barnes.
A beloved biblical musical boasting seven Tony Award nominations and a chart-topping U.K. single in “Any Dream Will Do,” the Broadway smash Joseph & the Amazing Technical Dreamcoat enjoys a June 26 through July 6 run at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre, this theatrical classic the first-ever publicly staged work by the legendary stage team of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.
A one-act version of the Broadway-musical hit praised by Variety for its "off-the-wall humor, endless visuals and aural delights, [and] tuneful music and wicked lyrics," Beetlejuice Jr. enjoys a June 26 through 29 run at Mt. Carroll's Timber Lake Playhouse, this adaptation of the Oscar-winning Tim Burton smash boasting a gifted cast of young talents and all the favorite characters audiences have loved for a generation-plus.
One of the most adored hits in the Disney/Pixar canon will be brought to delightful stage life at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts from June 27 through 29 when the student talents of the Young Footliters present Finding Nemo Jr., a 60-minute adaptation of the Oscar-winning animated comedy boasting new music by the songwriting team of Kristen Anderson-Lopez and double EGOT winner Robert Lopez.
There are three main villains from childhood fiction that still occasionally haunt my nightmares – my terror trifecta, if you will: the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Barnaby from Babes in Toyland, and Miss Viola Swamp from Miss Nelson Is Missing! So naturally, I was both excited and terrified when I took my seat at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre.
Touring in support of their latest forthcoming recording Gone for Good scheduled for release on July 18, the Midwestern musicians of The Last Revel headline a June 26 concert event at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the ensemble lauded by Rift magazine as "a force to be reckoned with" for their "soaring vocal performance and powerfully stirring lyrics.”
Delivering what The Daily Vault hailed as "old-school, full-bodied soul music with strong funk and gospel overtones," the touring artists of St. Paul & the Broken Bones headline a June 26 concert event at Maquoketa's Codfish Hollow Barn, treating audiences to an evening with the band that, according to Americana Highways, is "simply sensational, and on any given night one of the best in the business."
Performing in Bettendorf as part of the venue's Summer Concert Series, the nationally known, Quad Cities-based power-pop artists of Einstein's Sister play The Tangled Wood on June 27, the outfit's previous singles “Begin Again / Standing Still" mastered by Abbey Road Studios' Miles Showell, who also mastered and cut vinyl for Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, Queen, The Police, and The Beatles.
Lauded by Album of the Year for his "vivid imagination and a strong sense of surrealism," Emperor X, the indie-rock project of Chad Matheny, headlines a June 27 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, his talents inspiring Echoes & Dust to label him "one of the most subversive American songwriters" who "is f---ing on fire now."
Treating audiences to heartland Americana steeped in an amalgamation of country and rock, and lyrically swinging from bluegrass to the blues, Logan Springer & the Wonderfully Wild perform on the rooftop of Davenport venue The Last Picture House on June 28. The event is being presented as part of the 2025 Big 9 Concert Series (sponsored by the City of Davenport and Common Chord) bringing live music to downtown hotspots and riverfront parks that highlight Davenport’s nine miles of Mississippi riverfront.
With 28 Years Later, we appear to be exiting the realm of realism and entering the land of the mythic, and I'm not sure that, inspiration-wise, trading George A, Romero for J.R.R. Tolkien is any kind of upgrade.
Going to the cineplex or staying in and streaming this weekend? Every Thursday morning at 8:15 a.m. you can listen to Mike Schulz dish on recent movie releases & talk smack about Hollywood celebs on Planet 93.9 FM with the fabulous Dave & Darren in the Morning team of Dave Levora and Darren Pitra. The morning crew previews upcoming releases, too.
Or you can check the Reader Web site and listen to their latest conversation by the warm glow of your electronic device. Never miss a pithy comment from these three scintillating pundits again.
Thursday, June 19: Discussion of How to Train Your Dragon, Materialists, and The Life of Chuck; a review scoop on the debuting Elio; and previews of 28 Years Later and Bride Hard, the latter an action comedy set at a wedding reception. You know someone's gonna wind up dead in the punch bowl.
No one can singlehandedly revive the fading genre of the swoony big-screen romance. Yet with only two features under her belt to date, Celine Song is certainly giving it a good shot.
Although the movie isn't very funny until it begins hitting us with its really creative gory deaths, there was a moment not long into director Len Wiseman's Ballerina – a continuation being helpfully marketed as From the World of John Wick: Ballerina – that made me and others among our Thursday-afternoon crowd laugh out loud.
Art you can view and art you can wear (though not during its local showcase) will be celebrated at the Quad City Arts Center gallery from June 27 through August 8, with the Rock Island venue proud to host the collective exhibition Bales & Papageorge: an arresting showcase of sculptural fashion by Judy Bales and fiber wall pieces by Louise Pappageorge.
Highlighting the importance of sustainability in the arts and encouraging their audience to see the beauty of Earth’s resources and ecosystem, a trio of Illinois and Iowa talents enjoy a collective exhibition at the Quad City Arts International Airport Gallery through June 30, Olson, Stampfli, & Sunderman showcasing a beautiful assemblage of quilted art by Lindsay Olson and Jessie Stampfli and sculpture by Robert Sunderman.
Located on the north bank of the Mississippi River in Davenport, boasting an encyclopedic collection, and serving as the major art museum for the eastern Iowa and western Illinois region, the Figge Art Museum celebrates the 20th anniversary of its opening on August 6. And from July 1 through August 31, this landmark cultural center will be celebrated in the venue's Model Museum, an exhibition saluting what was among British architect David Chipperfield's first architectural commissions in the United States.
A variety of artistic mediums will be showcased at the Quad City Arts International Airport Gallery from July 3 through August 27 in the engrossing exhibition Bada Maloney & Jagitsch, a fascinating collection of charcoal drawings and sculpture by Deana Bada Maloney and white-pencil drawings by Matt Jagitsch.
Bringing together the compelling works of mother and daughter artists Sandra Louise Dyas and Jamie Elizabeth Hudrlik, the arresting exhibition Double Vision will be on display at Dubuque's Voices Studios through July 26, this showcase of talent a powerful visual dialogue that spans generations, mediums, and personal histories.
You'll get both the current official narrative challenge and What's Happenin' in the Quad Cities.
(Did you know we publish a new Real Astrology and RCR Crossword every week?)
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