A celebration of the individuals and organizations that best represent the spirit of true river action in regard to our mighty Mississippi, River Action's Fish & Fire Fundraiser Dinner enters its 24th year with an April 30 event at Bettendorf's Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center, the evening's events including a social hour, silent auction, plated dinner and dessert, live auction, and the presentation of the annual Eddy Awards.

With the event co-presented by the World Affairs Council of the Quad Cities (WACQC) and the Bettendorf Public Library, the special lecture presentation Turkiye Beyond the Headlines: Culture, Food, and Everyday Life will be held at the library on April 28, this fascinating program offered by the married team of Yasemin and Seref Onder.

The co-editor of the Pitt Poetry Series and a professor of creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College, esteemed author Jeffrey McDaniel will be the featured guest in the latest SPECTRA Reading Series event hosted by the Midwest Writing Center, his April 23 engagement at Rock Island's Rozz-Tox treating literature lovers to an evening of poetry, an open-mic event, and a community writing hour.

With the in-person event held in conjunction with the monthly meeting of the Rooting Out Poverty Book Club, Augustana College graduate, former Moline teacher/coach, and Superintendent of Rock Island-Milan Public Schools Dr. Dave Markward will discuss his memoir at the Moline Public Library on April 22, From Dubuque to Selma & Beyond: My Journey to Understand Racism in America available by request through PrairieCat, Libby, or Hoopla.