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 December 3 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.
In a beloved seasonal tradition, family audiences are invited to the Vibrant Arena at the MARK from November 30 through December 3 to experience the wonderful world of Disney – on Ice – in the brand-new touring sensation Find Your Hero, 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.
Inviting audiences to feel the beat of the drum, experience the hypnotizing power of dance, and enjoy the rhythm of music, the gifted dancers and committed educators of Native Pride Productions enjoy a December 3 through 9 tenure as guests in Quad City Arts' Visiting Artists Series, the group's four public performances demonstrating and sharing the cultural history, traditions, ways, beliefs, and spiritual importance of indigenous peoples.
The transformation of East Second Street in downtown Davenport is truly remarkable. And The Last Picture House (TLPH) movie theater that launched its soft opening at the corner of Second and Iowa Streets is a phenomenal transformation.
Delivering a a thought-provoking conversation about mental health in anticipation of the winter holiday season, a New York Times bestselling author and co-host of the Dear Therapists podcast will present a special virtual program on December 6 presented by the Rock Island and Silvis Public Libraries, with Surviving the Holidays with Lori Gottlieb made possible by the statewide collaboration Illinois Libraries Present.
I don’t know whether or not the legislative Democratic leadership would’ve allowed a vote, but it is puzzling to me that the people behind the extension of the state’s Invest in Kids Act program didn’t at least try to run a bill that would’ve wound the program down over a period of years.
Reading the words of Common Sense, the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers, and the Constitution makes obvious to me how learned our founders were in governance and human nature, and how they captured both in the idea of our nation.
Last Tuesday, November 7, Chicago Teachers Union lobbyist Kurt Hilgendorf told the Illinois Senate Executive Committee that the union had only “one problem” with Senate President Don Harmon’s elected Chicago school board bill. Hilgendorf praised much of the bill during his testimony. But the Chicago Teachers Union has claimed for years that it wants a fully-elected school board, just like every other school district in the state. Right now, all board members are appointed by the mayor.
There are various compassionate and generous efforts afoot in the Quad Cities that greatly alleviate animal suffering. Movers for Mutts is one of them, and as animals' families, guardians and stewards, we have an obligation to do all that we can to assist this worthy effort.
On October 24, 2023, Iowa Senator Charles (Chuck) Grassley sent a demand letter to Department of Justice (DOJ) Attorney General Merrick Garland and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray, instructing them to provide his Senate Committee on the Budget with all records and relevant information from an enumerated list of 15 items pertaining to the Biden family investigations into foreign entanglements and associated finances during the past five years. The deadline for AG Garland and Director Wray to respond is November 17, 2023.
Hailed by Newsday as “a lusciously written, strangely poignant, dizzyingly modern spin on life,” and by Time Out New York as “utterly spellbinding,” playwright Will Eno's Middletown enjoys a November 30 through December 3 run in Scott Community College's Black Box Theatre, this expansive series of vignettes also lauded by the New York Times as a “delicate, moving, piercing, tart, funny, gorgeous” play that “glimmers from start to finish.”
A sweetly nostalgic look at holiday traditions and life in rural America, the touring production of the musical-comedy hit Away in the Basement: A Church Basement Ladies Christmas will be performed in the University of Dubuque's Heritage Center on December 5, the family-friendly production a holiday-themed sequel to the national audience favorite Church Basement Ladies.
A delightful pastiche of holiday songs - some familiar, some created with tongue firmly in cheek and double entendre abounding - The Ho Ho Ho Show makes its area debut at Moline's Black Box Theatre December 7 through 17, adding a little naughty and nice to theatregoers' yuletide season with a cabaret-style entertainment boasting music by Eric Lane Barnes, Michael Duff, Beckie Menzie and Tom Sivik and writer Cheryl Coons.
Boasting warmth, humor, magic, and unforgettable songs including "A Spoonful of Sugar," "Chim Chim Cher-ee," "Let's Go Fly a Kite," "Step in Time," and "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," an Oscar-winning family classic becomes a Tony-winning stage spectacular in the theatrical version of Mary Poppins, the latest production by the City Circle Theatre Company that enjoys a December 8 through 17 run at the Coralville Center for the Arts.
Lauded by Theatre Reviews Limited's Carolyn Albert as "the sort of grand spectacle that leaves us with our eyes wide open and our mouths agape," a delightful take on Charles Dickens by Tony Award winners Alan Menken and Lynn Ahrens arrives in the Spotlight Theatre's December 1 through 10 run of A Christmas Carol: The Musical, with Albert adding that this yuletide family treat is "a magnificent way to celebrate the season with loved ones."
Delivering a live performance of iconic country and folk tunes blended with seasonal favorites, Los Angeles' Rick Schuler brings his touring tribute act Rocky Mountain High Experience: A John Denver Christmas to Davenport's Adler Theatre on December 3, presenting a salute to the music legend that will boast unforgettable songs from Denver's Grammy-winning repertoire alongside heartwarming inspirational carols and holiday classics from his memorable TV specials and Christmas albums.
Winners of two Loudwire Music Awards for Live Act of the Year, and one of the only groups to achieve top-five Billboard success on both the Hard Rock and Comedy charts, Steel Panther brings its unique blend of glam metal and hilarious lyrics to East Moline's The Rust Belt on December 3, the California musicians appearing on their "On The Prowl Winter Holidaze Tour," and lauded by Blabbermouth as “a genuinely brilliant '80s-inspired heavy metal band.”
Continuing their 2023-24 season with performances at Davenport's Adler Theatre on December 2 and Moline High School's Bartlett Performing Arts Center on December 3, the stunning musicians of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra deliver a spectacular seasonal treat in Masterworks III: Winter Wonders, a repertoire of Mozart, Handel, and other classic composers boasting extraordinary solo work by QCSO Principal Oboe Andrew Parker.
Headlining a December 5 concert in support of their 2023 release OK to Wonder, an album that Americana Highways said "provides listeners of bluegrass with revelry, wonder, and whimsy on 11 distinctive insightful songs," the touring artists of Arkansauce play Davenport's Raccoon Motel on December 5, their latest recording also inspiring Americana Highways to state, "The musicians perform in a tightly improvisational style within the structure of some tightly knit melodies."
In the 2020s, the “doom” or “sludge” tag is increasingly self-applied, as an ethos as well as an aesthetic, by bands who create oppressive, cathartic music intended as a reflection of our dismal times. Such are the three bands – Body Void, SERAC, and Everlasting Light – playing Davenport's Raccoon Motel (315 East Second Street) on Friday, December 8.
The deservedly lauded homegrown talents Scott Beck and Bryan Woods are clearly In Demand, which makes it all the more impressive and special that they would dedicate time, money, and resources to giving the Quad Cities what we've sorely lacked: a beautiful, conveniently located establishment devoted to the collective moviegoing experience that will provide, as Beck and Woods insist, something for everyone, and on a weekly basis.
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, November 30: Discussion of nine movies including Napoleon and Wish, previews of seven movies including Dream Scenario and May December, lengthy appreciation of Albert Brooks (fear not, he's still alive), an update on Davenport's new movie theater, and more. Sheesh, you take one lousy week off ... !
Walking into our auditorium for Ridley Scott's Napoleon and not entirely looking forward to the experience, I half-jokingly told my brother and sister-in-law that we were at least catching the two-hour-40-minute version, and not the promised four-hour director's cut that will at some point stream on Apple+. But while I had more than my fill of turkey over Thanksgiving weekend, I'm happy to now eat a little crow, because Scott's historical epic is utterly sensational – bold, thrilling, unusual, and frequently very, very funny.
The rare prequel that actually makes a solid case for its existence, director Francis Lawrence's terrific dystopian thriller kept me invested for the entirety of its two-and-a-half hours – even if it was slightly odd that this big-budget, large-scale return of cinematic YA lit is wholly stolen by its grown-ups.
Now playing at area theaters.
A traditional Mexican holiday is being celebrated in high style at Davenport's Figge Art Museum through the exhibit Day of the Dead: Remember, Honor, Celebrate, an installation – on display through December 3 – that explores how we celebrate and remember the lives of our lost loved ones through the collective traditions, art-making, and storytelling that are among the holiday's integral elements.
Boasting 36 unique examples of jewelry as well as nine of the artist's signature sculptures created over a span of five decades, the Figge Art Museum exhibition Quanta of Space: The Bosom Sculpture of Ibram Lassaw will be on display in the Davenport venue through December 3, its Katz Gallery showcase demonstrating the artistic gifts of the Russian-American sculptor revered for his non-objective construction in brazed metals.
Presenting a pair of exhibitions that seamlessly marry classical painting styles with a contemporary edge, Dubuque's Voices Studio, from December 1 through January 28, will showcase the works of two remarkably talented artists, with the arresting pieces by Timothy Rees of Maquoketa and Evan Ventris of Dubuque embodying an evocative blend of traditional techniques with a touch of modern sophistication.
A series of fascinating works by a noted Romanian post-war and contemporary artist are decorating the walls of the University of Dubuque's Bisignano Gallery through December 29 in What You See Is What Might Be: Visual Narratives by Ioana Mamali, an exhibit that invites and challenges patrons as they wrestle with the stories displayed in Mamali’s paintings.
Once upon a time … Isabel Scherer enrolled as a student at the Stone City Art Colony in the depths of the Great Depression. The colony, organized by Grant Wood with two partners, offered classes and created a supportive community for artists during the summers of 1932 and 1933.
You'll get both the current official narrative challenge and What's Happenin' in the Quad Cities.
(Did you know we publish a new Amy Alkon Advice Goddess, Real Astrology, Red Meat cartoon and RCR Crossword every week?)
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