Local theatre organization

1. Circa '21

2. Quad City Music Guild

3. Comedy Sportz

Local theatre production

1. Cats (Circa '21)

2. White Christmas (Circa '21)

3. Grease (Circa '21)

3. It's a Wonderful Life (Quad City Music Guild)

3. The Nutcracker (Ballet Quad Cities)

Annual family event/festival

1. Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Fest

2. Mississippi Valley Blues Fest

3. Bix 7 Race

Place to view or buy art

1. Figge Art Museum

2. Putnam Museum & IMAX Theatre

3. Bucktown Center for the Arts

Local art-gallery show

1. Figge Art Museum

2. Bucktown Center for the Arts

3. Quad City Arts

Museum

1. Putnam Museum & IMAX Theatre

2. Figge Art Museum

3. Family Museum of Arts & Science

2006 concert

1. Blue Man Group

2. Godsmack/Breaking Benjamin/Hour Cast

3. River Roots Live

Place to take visitors

1. John Deere Commons & Pavilion

2. RIBCO

3. NorthPark Mall

Local get-away

1. Drive-in theatres

2. LeClaire

3. Geneseo

You might rightly think of drive-in theatres as relics of the past. According to (http://www.driveintheater.com), the number of drive-in screens in the United States dropped from nearly 5,000 in the 1950s to roughly 1,000 in 1990. But within an hour's drive of the Quad Cities, we have two drive-in theatres: the one-screen 61 Drive-In south of Maquoketa (http://www.maquoketa.com/61drivein), and the two-screen Galva Autovue in Galva, Illinois (http://www.galvaautovue.com). During the warm-weather months, both offer double features and a snack bar, and the Galva theatre even permits dogs, which allowed unofficial Reader mascot Bad Dog Ginger to watch Superman Returns last summer. (She opted to skip Poseidon.) Given the running times of many of today's summer blockbusters, a round trip to the drive-in from the Quad Cities can be a seven-hour proposition, but the experience still has loads of quaint charm, and it's inexpensive compared to a night out at the multiplex. - Jeff Ignatius

Bowling alley

1. Miller Time Bowling

2. 30 Lanes

3. Bowlmor

3. Highland Park Bowl

Park or playground

1. Vander Veer Park

2. Eastern Avenue Park

Place to play golf

1. Olathea Golf Course

2. Duck Creek Golf Course

3. Saukie Golf Course

Any marketer will tell you that it's much easier to sell a unique product than one that's just like everybody else's. The nine-hole Olathea Golf Course in LeClaire is certainly easy to differentiate from its competition, and that's likely why our readers picked it as the "best place to play golf." "You can see the Mississippi from any hole," said co-owner Susan Leander, and "it's a beautiful view of the river." The par-36, 3,032-yard, public course at 23200 Great River Road opened in June 1984. The land was in operation as a farm until Leander's husband, Randy, suffered a workplace injury in the early 1980s and decided to turn it into a golf course. He died in 1985 but lived long enough to play on his course. Susan Leander said she's not a regular golfer herself but noted that the Olathea course draws golf enthusiasts from Dubuque, Cedar Rapids, and Chicago. For more information on the course, call (563) 289-4653 April 1 through November 1. - Jeff Ignatius

Place to walk or hike

1. Black Hawk State Historic Site

2. Scott County Park

3. Ben Butterworth Parkway

Disc-golf course

1. Eastern Avenue Park, Davenport

2. Prospect Park, Moline

3. Camden Park, Milan

Public pool/waterpark

1. Wacky Waters (closed after 2006 season)

2. Riverside Riverslide

2. Whitewater Junction

Place to take kids on a rainy day

1. Family Museum of Arts & Sciences

2. NorthPark Mall

3. Putnam Museum & IMAX Theatre

Free entertainment

1. Libraries

2. Mojo's Coffee House

3. Riverfronts

Quad Cities scenery

1. Riverfronts

2. Lookout Point in Davenport

3. Black Hawk State Historic Site

Place to meet someone new

1. The District of Rock Island

2. Church

3. RIBCO

Category we neglected

1. Waitstaff

1. Barbecue/ribs

3. Babysitter/daycare

3. Bookstore

3. Car dealership

3. Local newspaper

3. Newspaper writer

3. Strip club

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written by QC resident, February 19, 2007

It is sad for this community if the best we can offer is NorthPark Mall as third best place to take a visitor. If your visitor isn't from a place that has a decent mall it is sad to hear they have to come here for something that exciting. Would be great if the QC area could grow to have more exciting events/locations to take visitors to other than the mall.

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written by QC Bowler, September 19, 2007

I was upset that Bowlmor Lanes did not win "Best Bowling Alley" in your survey, until I read the rest of the survey results. Olathea golf course as best golf course? How about Emeis, or even TPC Deere Run?...oh well, Bowlmor won the "Best Bowling Alley" survey for the QUAD CITY TIMES READERS CHOICE 2007, which I do believe trumps this little survey.

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