An eagerly awaited springtime touring event rides, jumps, and spins into the Vibrant Arena at the MARK on May 4 as the Moline venue hosts Monster Jam 2024, the amphitheater event that brings a new level of high-flying, four-wheel excitement to the entire family with racing, two-wheel skills, donuts, and freestyle competitions.

An actor, writer, producer, and former Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement will take part in a special Illinois Libraries Present event hosted by the Rock Island and Silvis Public Libraries, the May 7 virtual program The Many Lives of Kal Penn offering an audience with the author of You Can’t Be Serious and the co-star of entertainments including The Namesake, The Santa Clauses, and the Harold & Kumar franchise.

Delivered in conjunction with the final day of the venue's Breaking Barriers: Walls Throughout History exhibition, Berlin: Before & After the Wall Fell will find Davenport's German American Heritage Center continuing its popular "Kaffee & Kuchen" series on May 5, with guests invited to view the departing first-floor exhibit either before or after presenter Russell Baldner's fascinating program.

Deemed "a side-splitting spectacular" by the Washington Blade, the touring celebration of a beloved and iconic TV sitcom comes to Davenport's Adler Theatre in Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue, an adult-themed comedy that, with its all-male cast, Play Off the Page described as "a wonderful blend of nostalgia and witty dialogue mixed with the sex appeal of drag."

Enchanting audiences of every age with dramatic storytelling using myths and fables from ancient and modern Japan, Kuniko Yamamoto enjoys a residency as the latest guests in the Quad City Arts Visiting Artist series, her area performances from April 29 through May 4 spiced with social revelations to educate and amuse.

The latest guest in the college's River Readings at Augustana series, renowned author and poet Anders Carlson-Wee will deliver examples of his lauded works at Augustana's Wallenberg Hall on April 23, his 2023 poetry collection Disease of Kings lauded by The Los Angeles Review as a work in which "readers are presented with readable poetry that resonates with the heart of humanity," adding that the work "reveals our deepest secrets and failings with complex sympathy."

Presented by Dustin Joy, director of Muscatine's National Pearl Button Museum, Iowa's Pearl Button Industry continues the popular "Kaffee und Kuchen" series at Davenport's German American Heritage Center, the April 28 program designed to explore the fascinating history behind the state's formerly massive export, as well as its lingering legacy.

With special attention paid to Roddewig Schmidt Candy Company, Velma Chocolates, and other former Quad Cities institutions, Davenport's German American Heritage Center will, through May 19, explore different candy manufacturers in our area in the exhibition Sweet Treats: German Influence on the QC Candy Industry, demonstrating how the Quad Cities were once home to numerous candy manufacturers of German heritage popular both locally and regionally.

Boasting objects of significance from its vast collection, as well as ancient Asian, Middle Eastern, and Roman artifacts on loan from the Putnam Museum, the German American Heritage Center will treat guests to a fascinating historical exploration in Breaking Barriers: Walls Throughout History, the new homegrown exhibition on display in the Davenport venue's first-floor gallery through May 5.

Curated by Christine Chandler, curator of Natural Sciences at the Putnam Museum & Science Center, the enthralling exhibition Tales from Tails: Storybook Beasts will be on display at the Davenport venue through May 28, inviting guests to embark on a wild adventure through the world of literature.

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