Wrapping up the annually popular outdoor programs that have provided Quad Citians with entertainment and education for years, topics such as flood preparation, downtown Rock Island, and construction of the I-74 Bridge will be explored in River Action's season-ending presentations of Channel Cat Talks and Riverine Walks – “Explore the River Series” celebrations of the Quad Cities' unique culture and landscape taking place several times weekly from August 4 through 29.
-
-
This feature collects articles published online by Quad Cities-area media outlets and by CapitolFax.com and the state-politics sections of the Des Moines Register and the State Journal-Register.
-
With the Bettendorf venue again open to the public and welcoming children of all ages, the Family Museum will house the interactive touring exhibition Curious George: Let's Get Curious! from June 6 through September 13, leading visitors on a fun math-, science-, and engineering-based adventure while emphasizing the central roles played by parents and caregivers.
-
Whatever your outdoor wants and needs, our area's many parks and recreation facilities can provide. The following is your guide to more than 120 great places to get some much-needed and much-deserved outdoor time in the Quad Cities, with the locations delineated by city and mentions of specific amenities included.
-
Ryan Lounsbury, Marketing Director for the Rhythm City Casino Resort in Davenport, discusses the venue's operations during this period of social distancing. We spoke on Thursday, July 2.
-
The calls were mostly brief and to the point, recipients said. House Speaker Michael Madigan just wanted to know where his members stood last week after two of his members demanded he step aside as House Speaker and Democratic Party of Illinois chairman. Did they agree with their fellow Democratic state Representatives Terra Costa Howard and Stephanie Kifowit that he should resign? he asked.
-
A couple of days after the July 17 disclosures in ComEd's deferred-prosecution agreement with the US Attorney's office, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan called individual House Democrats to try and reassure them that all would be well.
According to multiple legislators, the House Speaker told his members that he had done nothing wrong and that he never did things like recommend unqualified people for jobs, and fully expected that, if they were hired, they would actually show up for work.
-
There’s a reason the Trump Administration is consulting with John Yoo, the Bush-era attorney notorious for justifying waterboarding torture-tactics against detainees. They’re not looking to understand how to follow the law and abide by the Constitution. Rather, they’re desperately seeking ways to thwart the Constitution. As Harvard constitutional law professor Laurence Tribe recognizes, “The dictatorial hunger for power is insatiable. This is how it begins. This is how it always begins. Don’t be fooled into thinking any of this will change when the next election rolls around.
-
One of the most politically powerful entities in this state, ComEd has basically admitted bribing the most politically powerful person in this state, House Speaker Michael Madigan, and agreed to pay $200 million and continue cooperating with federal investigators for at least the next three years.
-
For nearly 27 years, the Reader has provided the Quad Cities with alternative news and perspectives. By “alternative,” I mean alternative to the mainstream media, and this unyielding mission has served the community well. This policy as it applies to COVID-19 is no different, especially due to the vast volumes of information that are being withheld, even censored, from the American public.
-
English people have a deserved reputation for rigid politeness, avoiding embarrassment, and keeping improprieties secret. These personality traits help drive much of the comedy of English farces. They drive this English story in an entirely different direction. Inside the proper tea kettle of this crowd, there's a bubbling mass of depravity and perversion threatening to boil, shriek, and spew forth secrets. Here, the unspeakable is spoken – for the most part … eventually … – with plenty of mystery yet to wonder over.
-
Described by the Los Angeles Times as “an ingenious twist on an old-school ghost story” and, according to the British Theatre Guide, boasting “plenty of moments that are funny, frightening, or exciting,” playwright Jeffrey Hatcher's take on Henry James' classic chiller The Turn of the Screw enjoys a four-performance run at Moline's Black Box Theatre July 16 through 19 – the Quad Cities' first stage production since theatres nationwide closed in mid-March.
-
A longstanding, beloved Quad Cities entertainment troupe will soon be delivering distinctly 2020 performances, with the striptease artists and comedians of Bottoms Up Quad City Burlesque, on June 19 and 20, hosting live-streaming presentations of their two latest productions.
-
Dan Danielowski, executive director of the Timber Lake Playhouse in Mt. Carroll, discusses the theatre's operations during this period of social distancing. We spoke on Wednesday, May 20.
-
Brett Hitchcock, director of audience development at the Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse in Rock Island, discusses the venue's operations during this period of social distancing. We spoke on Thursday, May 7.
-
Iconic Italian film composer Ennio Morricone passed away on July 7 at the age of 91. Active as a musician and composer from the late-1940s (!) all the way up to his death, Morricone ranks among the most acclaimed artists in the medium of film music. However, it’s safe to say, as the iconoclastic New York composer John Zorn asserted in his New York Times obituary/tribute, that the influence of Morricone's work moved far beyond the paradigm of film scoring and that he should rightly be considered one of the greatest composers of the 20th century, full stop.
-
Appearing in a special Signature Series program courtesy of WVIK Public Radio and the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, concertmaster Naha Greenholtz and pianist Marian Lee will join musical forces for the August 7 concert event Fantasie, a repertoire of four classical compositions that will be performed live in St. Ambrose University's Galvin Fine Arts Center and also, through multiple high-definition camera setups, simulcast via Livestream for those wanting to enjoy the music from home.
-
Lauded by Fanfare for his “dazzling technique and white-hot interpretations” and by News Review for his “stunning mastery of the instrument,” the classical pianist, composer, and recording artist Julian Gargiulo performs a virtual concert in celebration of the Figge Art Museum's 15th anniversary, the streaming August 8 event sure to demonstrate why the Huffington Post advised Gargiulo's listeners to “revise any preconceived notions you have about classical-music concerts.”
-
Davenport-based experimental folk artist/singer-songwriter/“???”-core producer Bo Jaywalker has dropped no less than eight individual releases on his Bandcamp page since the last time we checked in with him regarding his Bo Jaywalker LP in April.
-
The very act of paring down your favorite albums will always have value. There’s something warm and cozy about imagining those albums existing as discrete milestones in music history, having reached so many ears in their compact form, entertaining outside of the framework of infinite availability and almost too-comfortable omni-selection that streaming has produced. With that in mind, here are my picks.
-
After a lengthy illness, British director and two-time Oscar nominee Alan Parker passed away on July 31 at the age of 76. At the time of his death, Parker hadn't made a film since 2003's The Life of David Gale, which isn't exactly the fondest of cinematic farewells. But he could always be counted on to get critics talking. In 1982, a reviewer called his latest work “perhaps the most revealing American movie of the era.” In, 1987, a reviewer wrote, “Alan Parker has technique to burn … and that's what he should do with it.” And it was the same reviewer.
-
If you've got a few hours to spare, you can do a deep dive into all of the contenders at the Emmy Awards' official Web site. But if you're looking for something shorter, less comprehensive, and certainly less authoritative considering just how much TV I don't see on a yearly basis, here are a dozen personal, arguably meaningless takeaways from yesterday's announcement.
-
The following five films from 1957 to 1985 were all the first feature-length releases by directors who have been, or were, significant cinematic forces for more than 30 consecutive years. Don't even try fighting me over inclusion three, because you know you love it, too. Um … right?
-
Now playing at area drive-ins.
-
Appearing in conjunction with his forthcoming ceramics exhibition Mountains, Faces, Stories, & Stacks, noted Midwestern artist and educator Robert Lipnick guides viewers through his process in a Virtual Artist Talk on August 6, with the exhibit's August 15 through November 8 engagement at Davenport's Figge Art Museum co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities and Schafer Interiors.
-
The mysterious beauty of our oceans and the creatures who reside there will be explored and celebrated on dry land from August 7 through 27, with Bettendorf's Beréskin Gallery & Art Academy displaying colorful, fascinating works by a gifted local artist in the new painting exhibition Brian Buckles: Art for the Sea.
-
From June 26 through August 14, two gifted photographers from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, will enjoy one shared venue in Rock Island, Illinois, when the Quad City Arts Center gallery hosts a pair of new fascinating new exhibitions: David Van Allen's Assembled Portraits, and Ron Meyer's Jazz Noir: Images from the Iowa City Jazz Festival.
-
With its showcased talent acclaimed for his mixed-media paintings and prints that utilize a variety of techniques including woodcarving and collage, the exhibition Didier William: Lakou graces Davenport's Figge Art Museum from June 9 (the day of the museum's re-opening) through August 23, its artist drawing on Haitian history, mythology, and personal experience to explore significant themes of cultural identity.
-
Interactive exhibits don't get any more interactive than Remote Control, the new, community-created exhibition at Davenport's Figge Art Museum. On display from July 10 through August 30, this response-driven collection is part game, part art showcase, and all celebration of our local collective imagination – the rare exhibit that literally doesn't exist without the participation of its viewers.
