In the eagerly awaited return of a seasonal Quad Cities tradition, visitors can experience the wonders of a classic Victorian holiday season in Moline's unique Deere-family homes through 19th Century Christmas, the Butterworth Center's and Deere-Wiman House's annually beloved event boasting litany of yuletide treats including live music performances, interactive tours, make-and-take activities, refreshments, and, of course, a special visit by Santa Claus on December 7.
Family audiences are invited to the Vibrant Arena at the Mark from December 4 through 7 to experience the wonderful world of Disney – on Ice – in the delightful touring sensation Mickey's Search Party, with the Moline venue transformed into an enormous skating rink and some of the studio's most beloved characters joining Mickey Mouse and friends for an unforgettable adventure.
Local artisans, trolley rides, a lot of ugly sweaters, and, of course, appearances by St. Nick are among the guaranteed sights at the eagerly anticipated 41st-Annual Christmas in LeClaire weekend, with holiday-themed events and family activities scheduled at more than a dozen downtown locales between December 5 and 7.
An avidly anticipated holiday tradition returns to Augustana College from December 6 through 12 when the John Deere Planetarium hosts the week-long presentation Season of Light, a fascinating and beautiful holiday presentation hosted by the college's planetarium director and professor of physics Dr. Lee Carkner.
When Danielle Colby and other local women strut, create character, and gradually remove items of their costumes in on-stage routines at the Ecdysiast Arts Museum, they not only bare their bodies, but their souls, personalities, dreams, and desires – and have great fun in the process.
Congress’ “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which passed last summer, could prove to be far more damaging to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in Illinois than most people know. A SNAP “death penalty” is built into the budget reconciliation law.
You likely already know that U.S. Representative Jesus “Chuy” García, D-Chicago, dropped out of his re-election race in a way that essentially handed his seat to his top aide. García said his doctor advised him not to run again because of his heart condition, as did his spouse, who has multiple sclerosis that didn’t respond to her most recent treatment. And he and his wife had just adopted a grandchild after the death of his daughter. Amid all that, García said he decided the Friday before the Monday petition-filing deadline to drop out. And he decided the same day to back his chief of staff, Patty García, to replace him on the ballot.
House Democratic legislators received a stern lecture during the second week of veto session about leaks from their private party caucus meetings. During the first week of veto session in October, I posted a photo on my blog of a caucus PowerPoint presentation showing the range of revenue ideas under consideration in the House to fund mass transit ... while the caucus was still meeting. That apparently caused quite a stir.
https://www.theprofessorsrecord.comAnd I'm always shocked when I get these invitations to come speak because my heart is all about making sure that we defeat the great slave master. And it's in an unaccountable black box that we use in every single state. So while we chuckle about 81 million votes going to Joe Biden, we rarely turn the scalpel towards our own backyards. And it's especially difficult to give these speeches in red states. Very difficult, right? It's easy to say those Democrats have problems. But it's we we get really, really cautious about talking about, especially at a Reagan dinner, that our elections have problems.
This means there is real hope for growing the GOP in Scott County into a pack of American Republic advocates for nonnegotiable election integrity as spelled out below, the restoration of adjudication using petit juries and public access to grand juries, and a force for the people's purse power. This was apparent with the recent annual Reagan Dinner, held at Bettendorf's Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center, where the service was exceptional, the food uncommonly good for a large catered event, and for our entertainment, enjoyment, and self-improvement, four remarkable gentlemen provided much-needed perspective as front-liners to subjects that otherwise lurk in the corners of establishment politics as third rails.
The new recipient of the Academy Awards' 2026 Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and one of most beloved entertainers in American history, the Queen of County Music's stage spectacular Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol brings its national tour to Davenport's Adler Theatre on December 7, a new musical featuring songs by Dolly Parton and book by David H. Bell, adapted by Bell, Curt Wollan, and Paul T. Couch.
A glorious stage fairytale boasting a legendary score by an iconic composing duo, the Tony-winning Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella will be presented at Moline's Spotlight Theatre December 5 through 14, this beloved classic with its fresh script by Douglas Carter Beane an entertainment, according to the Associated Press, that "crackles with sweetness and freshness, combining a little Monty Python's Spamalot with some Les Misérables."
After years of struggle, Ivy Jensen is living her dream, on stage and off.
A legendary holiday-film perennial and thrilling song-and-dance showcase for Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye will be brought to theatrical life when City Circle Theatre Company presents Irving Berlin's White Christmas at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts, the show's December 5 through 14 run treating audiences to a Tony-nominated treat featuring timeless Berlin hits in “Blue Skies,” “Happy Holiday,” “Let Me Sing and I'm Happy,” and “I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.”
Lauded by Broadway World as an adults-only entertainment that sends "audience members off with a warm smile and probably exhausted from laughter," author Matthew Lombardo's one-woman comedy sensation Who's Holiday returns to Rock Island's Circa '21 Speakeasy for a six-performance run, this spiky December 4 through 19 treat also hailed by the New York Times as "a raunchy riff on a yuletide tale that dirties up Christmas while ultimately reveling in its spirit."
With RG magazine stating that his "music keeps you on your feet and not wanting to miss a single moment of magic," award-winning jazz pianist and accordionist Ben Rosenblum brings his trio to Davenport's Redstone Room on December 7 alongside French/American singer Laura Anglade, whose talents inspired All About Jazz to rave that "while Laura’s style is evocative of Julie London, Helen Merrill and Cyrille Aimée, her voice is uniquely her own."
On December 7, Rascals Live will host a very special event with an iconic musician from Brother Cane, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Thin Lizzy, Alice Cooper, and Black Star Riders, the Moline venue's An Afternoon with Damon Johnson treating fans to stories, acoustic songs, and more with the noted rocker, including a listening party for the forthcoming Brother Cane album Magnolia Medicine.
In addition to thrilling pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, attendees of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra's third Masterworks concerts of the season will be treated to a heartfelt masterpiece in Schumann Piano Concerto, the respective December 6 and 7 performances at Davenport's Adler Theatre and Moline's Bartlett Performing Arts Center boasting the skills of world-renowned pianist Yefim Bronfman.
Fronted by multi-award-winning tribute artist Jonathan Lyons of Jonny Lyons & the Pride, Christmas with Elvis will treat audiences at Mt. Carroll's Timber Lake Playhouse to a special holiday tribute to the King of Rock and Roll, its December 6 and 7 performances taking crowds back to the early years of a youthful and energetic Presley as he croons "Hound Dog," "Santa Claus is Back in Town," and many more rock and seasonal favorites.
With this year's series of seasonal concerts benefiting the FISH of Galesburg food pantry, the revered vocal ensemble Choral Dynamics presents its yuletide show The Beauty of Christmas at Galesburg's Orpheum Theatre December 5 through 7, director Alisa's production designed to celebrate the beauties of nature, tradition, decorations, seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child, home, family, friends, and the Nativity.
While Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is fun, it's mildly underwhelming fun – like that three-minute roller-coaster ride you realize wasn't worth the half-hour you waited in line for it.
Going to the cineplex or staying in and streaming this weekend? Every Thursday morning at 8:15 a.m. you can listen to Mike Schulz dish on recent movie releases & talk smack about Hollywood celebs on Planet 93.9 FM with the fabulous Dave & Darren in the Morning team of Dave Levora and Darren Pitra. The morning crew previews upcoming releases, too. Or you can check the Reader Web site and listen to their latest conversation by the warm glow of your electronic device. Never miss a pithy comment from these three scintillating pundits again
Thursday, December 4: After a week off, a lightning-round discussion of Wicked: For Good, Rental Family, Train Dreams, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, Sentimental Value, Eternity, and Zootopia, and previews of Five Nights at Freddy's 2, Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair, Hamnet, Merrily We Roll Along, and Fackham Hall ... the latter, because lof the FCC, a title the boys pronounce ve-e-e-ery carefully.
The only real reason to see this musical continuation is Ariana Grande, who deepens her portrayal of Glinda (née Galinda) to such a degree that both the character and the performer feel remarkably fresh, almost as though we're meeting them for the first time.
This opinion may seem counterintuitive, or even downright crazy. But I found director/co-writer Edgar Wright's The Running Man, a violent, profanity-laden dystopian thriller based on a Stephen King novel … kind of adorable.
Now playing at area theaters.
With the Davenport venue partnering alongside the German American Heritage Center and Museum for programming during the exhibit's run, the Figge Art Museum will house Fever Dreams: German Expressionism in the Lewis Gallery through December 7, this arresting exhibition featuring loans from the David and Sarojini Johnson Print Collection, and showcased in conjunction with the GAHC's companion exhibit German Expressionist Prints from the Johnson Collection.
With the project supported by Quad City Arts' re-granting program Arts Dollars, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, the Hubbell-Waterman Foundation, and the Quad Cities Community Foundation - Isabel Bloom Art Education Endowment, Lucas Berns' exhibition Artificial and Still: Woven Works on Paper is on display at St. Ambrose University's Morrissey Gallery through December 12, a Q&A and reception scheduled for November 6.
An eclectic mix of practical lettering and expressive pieces that involve letters, historical recreations, and three-dimensional collages, Cheryl Jacobsen's Lettering and Assemblage: (things I love, my art so far) is on display at St. Ambrose University's Catich Gallery through December 12.
An arresting exhibition of sculptural works is on display at the University of Dubuque's Bisignano Gallery through December 17, with Nature's Faces: Crow Haven Ceramics and Mississippi Mud Studios treating visitors to the talents of Dean Wellman and Denise McCullough, as well as Mississippi Mud Studios' Gary Carstens.
An arresting exhibition designed to capture the sensation of the memory of a place – its mood, its texture, its atmosphere – through imagery and abstraction, Kristin Quinn: Luminous Flux Paintings from the Watershed enjoys a showcase through December 28 in the Gildehaus Gallery of Davenport's Figge Art Museum.
You'll get both the current official narrative challenge and What's Happenin' in the Quad Cities.
(Did you know we publish a new Real Astrology and RCR Crossword every week?)
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