Boasting thrilling auctions, a bustling swap meet, and an atmosphere steeped in Americana charm, the Rust Belt Americana Antique Swap & Auction takes place at East Moline's Bend XPO from August 6 through 8, the event hosted hy Rob Wolfe of American Pickers fame, and promising rare items and unforgettable moments on the beautiful bank of the Mississippi River.
The latest event in the German American Heritage Center's popular “Kaffee und Kuchen” series, Cornbelt Camouflage Experts: The Untold Role of Iowans in Modern Camouflage will be presented on August 9, Dr. Roy Behrens delivering a richly illustrated slide talk about the little-known involvement in modern camouflage by artists, architects, stage designers, and scientists, a surprising number of whom were originally from Iowa.
Returning to the area for its incredible 106th 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 2026 Mississippi Valley Fair, its August 4 through 9 engagement at Davenport's Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds boasting, as always, grandstand performances by chart-toppers, multi-platinum sellers, and multiple-award winners.
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, the city's The Last Picture House will host the August 12 event TEDxDavenport, a local, self-organized event that brings people together to share a TED-like experience, and that will find six gifted speakers – including Quad Cities residents – sparking deep discussion and connection through a number of fascinating subjects.
Taking place in two states and among more than 40 local venues, the popular summertime traveling festival Alternating Currents returns to downtown Davenport and other Quad Cities locales from August 13 through 17 – an area-wide celebration of music, film, comedy, and the arts boasting more than 200 music performances, comedy sets, film screenings, local art displays, and family activities.
Senator Rand Paul recently revealed an interesting, albeit jarring, fact about Congressional oversight of the intelligence community in D.C. Senator Paul explained that only eight members of Congress, four from the House Permanent Select Intelligence Committee (HPSIC) and four from the Senate Select Intelligence Committee (SSIC), are privy to the activities of the CIA and the FBI.
House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch promised the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) last week that he will “lead” the effort to send more state money to Chicago Public Schools during the upcoming fall veto session.
By now, you’ve probably read at least something about the scandals surrounding former state Representative Harry Benton, D-Plainfield. In a nutshell, a young female district office staffer alleged Representative Benton sexually harassed her in 2023.
On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was unanimously adopted by the second Continental Congress of the 13 united states, and soon after sent to King George III to serve as notice of the 13 former colonies' separation from Great Britain, including future jurisdiction and all subsequent authorities of the Crown.
The Illinois Republican Party filed its quarterly campaign finance report on the July 15 deadline. The party reported having just $223,000 in the bank. The next day, the party sent a letter to the Illinois State Board of Elections saying they were “reconciling” their records after a leadership change, and then noted that their actual end balance was $101,000 higher than it had reported the day before. But that bit of found money was basically the end of the “good news” for the GOP last week.
A creepy and beguiling stage piece drawn from author Edgar Allan Poe’s most chilling works, playwright Jeffrey Hatcher's Murder by Poe makes its debut at Moline's Playcrafters Barn Theatre from August 7 through 16, this theatrical treat hailed by the New York Times as an "eerie delight ... as if the theatre were a laboratory and we were students watching humans turn themselves into experiments."
Hailed by the New York Times as “entirely adorable,” and with Variety stating that “only the most bitter misanthrope could resist its charms,” The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee closes Quad City Music Guild's 2026 summer season at the Prospect Park Auditorium, the show's August 7 through 16 run sure to demonstrate why reviewer Terry Teachout's Wall Street Journal headline read “It's Spelled W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L.”
Based on the Oscar-winning modern classic that stands as one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time, Disney's Frozen enjoys an August 7 through 16 run at Moline's Spotlight Theatre, this magical family enchantment a three-time Tony Award nominee hailed by The Guardian for its "theatrical razzmatazz" and "the sense of a real, beating heart in the relationship between the two tortured sisters."
A three-time Tony Award nominee that the New York Times said "sings sincerely and with a rough-edged humor of the dusty margins of American life," Hands on a Hardbody makes its area debut with an August 7 through 16 run at Mt. Carroll's Timber Lake Playhouse, the high-energy show with a book by Pulitzer Prize and Tony winner Doug Wright also hailed by New York Magazine as "musical theatre heaven."
Praised by Metro as "hilariously heartfelt" and by the New York Times as "a fast-paced romp" that "exudes a jovial, winking fondness for all things Harry," author Matt Cox's stage comedy Puffs enjoys an August 6 through 15 run at Moline's Black Box Theatre, this riotous and touching tale about the hangers-on of a certain boy wizard a show that, according to Nerdist, "never goes more than a minute without a laugh."
With the artists blending their chart-topping, pop-rock talents for the August 8 grandstand show at the Mississippi Valley Fair, the fair's Saturday night will boast performances by Goo Goo Dolls, whose "Iris" spent 11 consecutive months on the Billboard Hot 100, and Neon Trees, whose first single "Animal" climbed to number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number one on the Alternative Songs chart.
With Distorted Sound Magazine praising their 2022 album See Where the Night Goes as "very groovy, jammy, and a lot of the songs dive deep into improving and loving yourself," the roots and blues rockers of Goodbye June headline an August 8 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the group's 2024 release Deep in the Trouble also praised by HeadBangers Lifestyle as "a jumpy and entertaining affair, where deep emotions and good old hard rocking go hand in hand."
Touring in support of their 2025 album Borderlands, the sibling musicians of the Talbott Brothers headline an August 8 concert at Maquoketa's Codfish Hollow Barn. In its rave review, Holler Country Music stated that Borderlands "navigates the emotional frontiers suggested by its name – where heartbreak leads to healing, grief discovers joy, sadness gives way to happiness, anger finds forgiveness, and indifference becomes love. It’s a sonic exploration of finding the courage to leave home, while always carrying a piece of it with you."
A pair of country-music superstars will wrap up the 2026 grandstand performances at the Mississippi Valley Fair, this celebratory August 9 evening granting fans an audience with two chart-topping Tennessee natives: Craig Morgan and Neal McCoy.
Touring in support of his most recent album Headcase that Americana UK said boasts "strong Southern rock that has lost none of its edge," singer/songwriter Rob Leines and his band the Filthy Heathens headline an August 9 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, Saving Country Music adding that on the artist's latest, Leines "puts all of his hard-earned odometer time on the open road into work hard and play harder road stories."
There are essentially three plotlines fighting for space in director Destin Daniel Cretton's Spider-Man: Brand New Day – even though, given its generous 145-minute running length, you wouldn't think any in-fighting was necessary.
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, August 6: Discussion of Spider Man: Brand New Day, and previews of One Night Only, I Want Your Sex, Maddie's Secret, Ice Cream Man, and Super Troopers 3. Mike claims he's never seen a Super Troopers before. One minute after the segment ended, Dave proved him wrong by pulling up Mike's 2018 review of Super Troopers 2. Not a good sign of how memorable the third one might be.
It's not that the characters can't talk. They just don't, or do without our being able to hear them, and that makes many of the goings-on here silly to the point of absurdity.
Christopher Nolan appears seriously invested in our enjoyment, and there are many, many sequences in this grandly scaled adventure as thrilling, juicy, and ticklish as any that 2026 has thus-far produced. Those demanding fidelity to Homer are likely gonna hate it.
Now playing at area theaters.
New works by a pair of gifted artists, working in vastly different mediums, will be on display at the Quad City Arts Center from August 13 through October, staffers at the Rock Island venue proud to house paintings by Colleen McCarty-Tomlinson and marbled-paper works by Connie Sherman.
Taking as its inspiration a beloved television series starring Lynda Carter, visual artist Dara Birnbaum's Technology/Transformation: Wonder Woman will be on view in Davenport's Figge Art Museum through August 16, the video one of the best-known creations from the talent who borrowed imagery and sound to compose powerful, politically charged video works.
A fascinating collaborative art installation that invites viewers to return to a place before definition, Amniotic Ambiguity: Comparative Embryology to Queering a Space will be on display in Augustana College's Wallenberg Hall through August 20, artists Maggie Adams and Aykeem Spivey demonstrating how, in this period of incubation, black-or-white thinking is disrupted by a bold labor of love.
With its venue transformed into a space to honor and celebrate the creativity of four graduating digital art and design majors before they step into the world as professional designers, the 2026 DART Senior Thesis Show will be on display at the University of Dubuque's Bisignano Art Gallery throughout the summer, this annual exhibit an energetic mix of illustration, motion design, and digital painting.
With the artists encouraging their audience to pause and find hidden details in their work., two Midwestern talents are showcasing pieces at the Quad City Arts International Airport Gallery through August 31, the Bowden & Shultz-Hetrick exhibit hosting abstract paintings by Peotone, Illinois' James Bowden and fused-glass art by Cedar Rapids' Barbara Shultz-Hetrick.
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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