On September 22, Quad City Arts will officially kick off its 53rd season of the Visiting Artist Series at the organization's venue in downtown Rock Island, the public invited to enjoy refreshments, meet and connect with new executive director Ben Gougeon, and learn more about the artists and experiences headed to schools and communities throughout the Quad Cities in the 2026-27 season.

With the fourth offering in its series described by Time magazine as a "wonderfully funny exercise in nonstop nuttiness," the German American Heritage Center continues its “The Lost Years of German Cinema: 1948-1963" film screenings with Billy Wilder's 1961 comedy One, Two, Three, which enjoys a September 23 screening at Davenport venue The Last Picture House.

Outdoor adventurers are again invited to paddle, mountain bike, and run their way to the top in the eagerly anticipated, 20th Taming of the Slough Mississippi River Adventure Triathlon, the River Action-sponsored test of endurance set to take place on Saturday, September 12.

Presented as the latest event in the German American Heritage Center's popular “Kaffee und Kuchen” series, The DAR, Hannah Caldwell Chapter Contributions to Davenport History will, on September 13, find Hannah Caldwell Chapter Regent Terri Putnam Toppler discussing the Daughters of the American Revolution, a nonprofit, non-political volunteer organization dedicated to education, historic preservation, and patriotism.

On September 17, a second-generation Holocaust speaker will share the remarkable story of her mother, Adela Goldberg, in the Moline Public Library program Memories of the Holocaust, Ruth Yablonsky speaking on one vital woman's life as a survivor, witness, and keeper of an important piece of history.

With the third offering in its series directed and co-written by legendary director and Italian neorealist pioneer Roberto Rossellini, the German American Heritage Center continues its “The Lost Years of German Cinema: 1948-1963" film screenings with Germany, Year Zero, which enjoys a September 16 screening at Davenport venue The Last Picture House.

With the third-floor exhibition boasting masks, prints, sculpture, and other mediums reflecting the richness of traditional Mexican art forms, Mexican Roots: Masks, Prints, & Traditional Arts of Mexico will be on display at Davenport's Figge Art Museum September 12 through February 21, its fascinating works a celebration of the blending of Indigenous and European cultures that emerged after the Spanish conquest.

Described by Time Out New York as an “insanely fun mixtape musical” and by Variety as a show that “gleefully apes the worst excesses of the era's pole-dancing, crotch-grinding, big-hair-tossing movies,” the Broadway smash Rock of Ages enjoys a September 16 through November 7 run at Rock Island's Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, treating audiences to a celebration of 1980s chart-toppers that NY1 called “so cleverly staged and impressively performed that it's an irresistible, offbeat trip of a show that hits all the right notes.”

Lauded by the New York Times as a "big bearhug of a musical" in which "even the most stalwart cynics may have trouble staying dry-eyed," the Tony Award-winning Come from Away enjoys a September 11 through 22 at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts. Presented by City Circle Theatre Company, this deeply moving entertainment is being staged in honor of the 25th anniversary of 9/11, and was hailed by Broadway World as "inspiring, funny, and kick-ass beautiful.”

A country-music singing/songwriting legend with 14 Grammy nominations to her name, Martina McBride brings her eagerly awaited national tour to Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center on September 13, the neo-traditionalist talent beloved for smash hits including "Independence Day," "Blessed," and "Concrete Angel."

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