From August 10 through 12, an eagerly awaited summertime tradition returns both on and in between the LeClaire and Port Byron Levees, as the 2023 Great River Tug Fest delivers outdoor family fun with carnival attractions, live music, arts and crafts vendors, fireworks displays, and the hotly anticipated tug-of-war over the Mississippi River.

Being the daughter of an international yo-yo champion and a professional foosball player made for a humor-filled life at a young age, and now, comedian Kelsey Cook brings her national tour to Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Rhythm Room, her August 4 stand-up set landing mere months after the debut of her comedy-special smash The Hustler.

Returning to the area for its incredible 103rd year, an eagerly awaited six-day festival boasting games, competitions, vendors, and concert sets by more than two dozen national and local acts returns with the 2023 Mississippi Valley Fair, its August 1 through 6 engagement at Davenport's Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds boasting, as always, grandstand performances by chart-toppers, multi-platinum sellers, and multiple-award winners.

Returning to downtown Davenport for the 49th time, the Quad-City Times Bix 7 will again find runners and walkers taking on a seven-mile foot race alongside live bands and cheering crowds, the July 29 event famed for being the largest non-marathon race in the Midwest, having captured the imaginations of thousands upon thousands of enthusiasts from both the United States and countries around the globe.

Held in conjunction with both the annual endurance test the Quad-City Times Bix 7 and the national biking event RAGBRAI, a brand-new, two-day party will debut on July 28 and 28 in BixBRAI weekend, with attendees treated to activities and live music throughout east, central, and west downtown Davenport locations spanning from the Rock Island Arsenal Bridge to Centennial Park.

A terrifically popular touring comedian whose credits include the release of three comedy albums and guest-starring on the Emmy Award-winning Inside Amy Sxchumer, Mark Normand performs four individual standup sets at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, his July 29 and 30 shows treating audiences to the talent whom, in 2019, was recognized by Jerry Seinfeld as "the best young up-and-coming comic that we should keep our eyes on.”

Delivering a blend of local history, environmental issues, education, entertainment, and fresh air, Davenport's River Action will again present a series of outdoor presentations in the third and final collection of the annual Channel Cat Talks and Riverine Walks: weekly programs that, from August 1 through September 2, will address such topics as plastic pollution, commercial fishing, Nahant Marsh, and the "creepiness" of the Quad Cities.

A gifted comedian, actor, writer, and podcaster whose appearance in the Oscar-nominated Babylon led to a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, Rory Scovel brings his standup tour to Davenport's Raccoon Motel on July 23, the prolific performer also boasting dozens of film and TV credits along with five comedy specials, including Netflix's Rory Scovel Tries Stand-Up for the First Time.

Reading from and discussing her acclaimed 2022 memoir as part of a multi-state tour to support libraries and minorities being targeted by book bans, poet and essaying Diana Goetsch delivers an artist talk at the Davenport Public Library's Eastern Avenue Branch on July 26, her lauded The Body I Wore described by the New York Times Book Review as an "achingly beautiful" work written "with such clarity it bowls one over."

A Pakistani-American author and interfaith activist once featured in Oprah Magazine as a woman making a difference in her community, Saadia Faruqi will make a quintet of public appearances as the latest guest in Quad City Arts'; Visiting Artist series, her accolades include being a Sydney Taylor Notable for 2021's A Place at the Table co-written with Laura Shovan and earning a South Asia Book Award Honor for A Thousand Questions.

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