River Action's Channel Cat Talks and Riverine Walks, through September 4

Channel Cat Talks: Tuesday, August 3 through Thursday, August 26

Riverbend Commons Dock, 2951 East River Drive, Moline IL

Riverine Walks: Wednesday, August 4, through Saturday, September 4

Various Quad Cities Locations

Delivering a blend of local history, environmental issues, education, entertainment, and fresh air, Davenport's River Action concludes its series of 2021 outdoor presentations in the final month of the annual Channel Cat Talks and Riverine Walks, weekly programs that, from August 3 through September 4, will address such topics as early Civil War history, Mississippi River flood levels, the history of Campbell's Island, and iconic musicians Bix Beiderbecke and Louie Bellson.

Channel Cat Talk participants tour the Mississippi River aboard the Channel Cat Water Taxi, with boarding taking place at Moline's Riverbend Commons Dock. Experts will provide narration on the themed surroundings, with the Channel Cat Talks for August including: “Beiderbecke and Bellson” (August 3 and 5), with local musician Josh Duffee exploring Bix and Louie through recorded music, recently discovered historical information, anecdotes, and the artists' connections to the Quad City area; “River Landscape Mosaic” (August 10 and 12), in which Augustana College's Dr. Norm Moline and Dr. Reuben Heine discuss why the river here flows east to west and how human beings have changed the processes of the Missisippi; “Quad City's 'First Residents'” (August 17 and 19), which finds Putnam Museum curator Christina Kastell examining the prehistory of the Quad Cities and why Sac warrior Black Hawk went to war with the United States; and “Anticipating the Flood” (August 24 and 26), with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Jessica Brooks discussing the historic characteristics of flood levels, the forecasting of river levels, and spring flooding.

Riverine Walk participants explore the Quad Cities through a series of guided strolls through various area locales, with the August and early-September Riverine Walks series featuring: “Patriots of the Prairie: John Brown Strides Down Main Street” (August 4 and 7), historian Karen Anderson's program on how abolitionists of Davenport helped Brown ignite the Civil War; “Renewing Moline: Redevleoping the Riverfront” (August 11 and 14), with Renew Moline's Alex Elias offering an overview of redevelopment along the city's “front porch”; “Confluence” (August 18 and 21), in which Dr. Norm Moline discusses how the confluence of rivers – including the Rock and Mississippi Rivers – provides unique environments and fascinating histories; “Stubb's Eddy and Village of East Davenport” (August 25 and 28), with Karen Anderson returning to explore the oldest intact rafting district in Iowa and why it was a gathering point for hundreds of years; and “Legacy of Campbell's Island” (September 1 and 4), a Susan McPeters presentation that provides early stories about conflict, history, and the work that has been required to preserve Campbell's Island.

Channel Cat Talks take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9 a.m. and are $15 per person, while Riverine Walks are held on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 9 a.m., with admission $6 per person. For more information on the “Explore the River Series” presentations, call (563)322-2969 and visit RiverAction.org.