What's Happenin'

  • Jan 31, 2023
    Ballet Quad Cities' “Love Stories,” February 10 and 11

    With the professional company's annual, yet all-new, presentation of Love Stories – being staged at Davenport's Outing Club on February 10 and 11 – audiences for the 2023 edition will be treated to a little bit of everything: classical dance, modern dance, lyrical dance; Bach, Debussy, Sonny Rollins with the Modern Jazz Quartet. But while the performances come with either a served dinner or desserts available for purchase, Artistic Director Courtney Lyon has has another food reference for what patrons can expect: “It's kind of like a buffet,” she says. “You get to try to a lot of different things.”

  • Feb 01, 2023
    “Sol Butler: The Greatest Athlete You've Never Heard of,” February 11

    A track-and-field Olympian who was also an NFL player who was also a 1915 graduate of Rock Island High School will be celebrated on February 11 in Sol Butler: The Greatest Athlete You've Never Heard of, a Rock Island Public Library presentation by local author David Sebben on the Quad Citian who played for the Rock Island Independents football team and competed in the long jump in the 1920 Olympic games.

  • Feb 08, 2023
    “Lincoln & Hoover: Comparisons & Contrasts,” February 16

    Presented on February 16 as part of the Davenport Public Library's 3rd Thursday at Hoover's Presidential Library & Museum series, the virtual program Lincoln & Hoover: Comparisons & Contrasts will find Herbert Hoover Presidential Library & Museum director Dr. Thomas Schwartz discussing the U.S. presidents driven to succeed in spite of the lowly circumstances of their births, and men who were never quite content with their enormous successes.

  • Feb 01, 2023
    “Birth of the Computer: The John Atanasoff Story,” February 23

    With the focus of its celebration a 1990 recipient of the United States National Medal of Technology – the highest national honor conferred for achievements related to technological progress – the February 23 program Birth of the Computer: The John Atanasoff Story will be held in Augustana College's Wallenberg Hall, offering attendees insight into the inventor of the electronic digital computer and his reported ties to the Quad Cities area.

  • Sep 20, 2022
    “The White Rose: The Student Resistance Against Hitler, Munich 1942-1943,” through February 26

    A fascinating exhibition commemorating the bravery and integrity of a group of students in the face of political evil and popular indifference, The White Rose: The Student Resistance Against Hitler, Munich 1942-1943 will be on display at Davenport's German American Heritage Center through February 26, the informative and thought-provoking touring exhibit on loan from the White Rose Foundation in Munich, Germany.

Commentary

  • Feb 06, 2023
    Tom DeVore Shows Us How to Net $42K in One Measly Campaign

    State records show that Dan Proft’s People Who Play by the Rules PAC spent almost $36 million during the second half of 2022, mostly on advertising boosting Senator Darren Bailey’s gubernatorial bid and opposing Governor JB Pritzker. Of that, $2.4 million was spent on consulting. Former ABC7 political reporter Charles Thomas was paid $100,000 in two $50,000 installments. Thomas appeared in some of Proft’s ads praising Bailey.

  • Uncle Scam Cartoon by Ed Newmann Feb 2023 River Cities Reader.png
    Feb 01, 2023
    Who Knew About These Firsts?

    Publisher Todd McGreevy recounts the highlights and content of the River Cities' Reader's February 2023 printed edtion, as well as links to the same stories online herein. Illustration of "Uncle Scam" is by Ed Newmann. 

  • 6th Annual Fake News Awards - The DINOs by CorebettReport.com
    Feb 01, 2023
    The 6th Annual Fake News Awards

    And now, from an undisclosed location deep beneath the Earth's surface, it's the 6th Annual Fake News Awards! Shining the spotlight of ridicule on the dumbest disinformation, the silliest smears and the most ludicrous lies of the mainstream-media dinosaurs of the past year! Which press-titutes will walk away with a DINO of shame? What mendacious government mouthpiece will commit seppuku after being exposed as a deceiving sack of excrement ? And who will walk away with the greatest dishonor of them all: the Fake News Story of the Year? Find out in this year's exciting Award Show Extravaganza ... .

  • Something really stinks about Operation Warp Speed
    Feb 01, 2023
    Operation Warp Speed Is Using a CIA-Linked Contractor to Keep COVID-19 Vaccine Contracts Secret

    [Publisher's note: This article was originally published at the Web site The Last American Vagabond on October 6, 2020, and is more relevant than ever today.] $6 billion in COVID-19 vaccine contracts awarded by Operation Warp Speed have been doled out by a secretive government contractor with deep ties to the CIA and DHS, escaping regulatory scrutiny and beyond the reach of FOIA requests.

  • Feb 01, 2023
    Correction for the “Noble Lies Are No Excuse For Ignoble Acts” Article

    My sincere apologies! In last month's article “Noble Lies Are No Excuse For Ignoble Acts," I carelessly, erroneously reported, “In nearly 100 percent of the cases to date, the punishment is far worse than the crime and severely disproportionate to rulings for far worse bad acts by BLM and Antifa rioters during their rampages just a year prior, where hundreds of police officers died with billions in damages.”

Theatre

  • Jan 23, 2023
    Broken Box Mime Theater, February 7 through 9

    Performing a rich, funny, and astonishing blend of stagecraft and silent slapstick, the gifted clowns of New York's nationally touring Broken Box Mime Theater will appear as the latest 2023 guests in Quad City Arts' Visiting Artists Series, delivering one full performance and two abbreviated ones – in addition to their numerous presentations for local students – between February 7 and 9.

  • Jan 31, 2023
    “Barefoot in the Park,” February 10 through 19

    Opening its eagerly anticipated 2023 season with one of the most hilarious and beloved romantic comedies in theatrical history, Neil Simon's timeless Barefoot in the Park enjoys a February 10 through 19 run at Moline's Playcrafters Barn Theatre, this Tony-winning stage sensation – and inspiration for the Robert Redford/Jane Fonda movie – lauded by Life magazine as nothing less than “one of the funniest comedies ever.”

  • Jan 31, 2023
    “The Wind in the Willows,” February 11 through 19

    A literary classic adapted for the stage by a remarkable trio of professional talents, author Kenneth Grahame's beloved The Wind in the Willows enjoys a student-performed rendition at Davenport Junior Theatre from February 11 to 19, its creators including the Olivier Award-winning Mary Poppins team of composer/lyricists George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, and its book writer Julian Fellowes, the Academy Award and Emmy winner responsible for Gosford Park and Downton Abbey.

  • Feb 06, 2023
    Warning Tornado: “Natural Shocks,” at the Black Box Theatre through February 11

    I'm often impressed upon my first glance at the set when I enter the Black Box Theatre: the opulent, creepy one of The Turn of the Screw; the enigmatic jumble of portraits and ripped flags for Assassins; the varying, multiple-locale settings for Little Women: The Musical. (This venue's crews find the most wonderful furniture and set dressing, too.) However, the set for playwright Lauren Gunderson's Natural Shocks, the Black Box's current production, blows them all away. I think I actually froze in astonishment.

  • Jan 10, 2023
    “A Walk in the Woods,” January 26 through February 12

    A Tony Award nominee for Best Play and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Lee Blessing's two-man classic A Walk in the Woods opens the 2023 lineup at Iowa City's Riverside Theatre, this witty and fascinating dramatic comedy lauded by LA Smash as "a memorable and thought-provoking evening in the theatre."

Music

  • Jan 31, 2023
    The Judds: The Final Tour, February 10

    Embarking on a special national tour honoring the life and legacy of her late mother Naomi, Wynonna Judd performs alongside special guests Martina McBride and Little Big Town in The Judds: The Final Tour, the avidly awaited February 10 event at Moline's Vibrant Arena at the MARK designed to celebrate one of the most successful acts in country-music history.

  • Jan 31, 2023
    Rookie of the Year, February 10

    Touring in support of a forthcoming album in a concert co-presented by River+City Collective, the indie rockers of Rookie of the Year headline a February 10 concert at the Rock Island Brewing Company, the group's credits including top-10 placement on the Billboard charts and popular music videos ranging from 2007's “Liars & Butterflies” to 2018's “Empty House.”

  • Jan 31, 2023
    The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra, February 10

    Nearly 30 years after his passing, pianist and bandleader William James "Count" Basie is an American institution that personifies the grandeur and excellence of jazz, and on February 10, his spirit will be reignited at the University of Dubuque's Heritage Center, with director Scotty Barnart's the Legendary Count Basie Orchestra performing alongside guest vocalist Carmen Bradford.

  • Jan 31, 2023
    Grand Funk Railroad, February 11

    The evening of February 11 is sure to be “Some Kind of Wonderful” at the Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center as the Davenport venue hosts a night with Grand Funk Railroad, with the chart-topping, platinum-selling rockers currently celebrating their 53rd year of professional performance and a discography that boasts 13 studio album, four live albums, a dozen compilation albums, and more than two dozen singles.

  • Jan 31, 2023
    “Up Close with ATLYS,” February 11 and 12

    Composed of Jinty McTavish on violin, Rita Andrade on viola, Genevieve Tabby on cello, and the Quad City Symphony Orchestra's own Sabrina Tabby also on violin, a lauded crossover string quartet with share their gifts in Up Close with ATLYS, their February 11 and 12 area performances demonstrating why the group has been lauded for their passionate and dynamic sound and mesmerizing, interactive concert experiences.

Movies

  • Feb 06, 2023
    Jersey Girls: “80 for Brady,” “Knock at the Cabin,” and “The Amazing Maurice”

    Among the quartet of living legends who star in 80 for Brady, Jane Fonda plays a romance-hungry author of steamy, football-themed fan fiction. Director Kyle Marvin's buddy comedy could hardly be called steamy, but it, too, is football-themed fan fiction, and about as winning as movies of its type ever get.

  • Feb 02, 2023
    Mike Schulz with Dave & Darren on Planet 93.9 FM

    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, February 2: Discussion of Infinity Pool, Women Talking, Living, and To Leslie.

  • Jan 31, 2023
    “The Ground Between Us,” February 12

    Screening at Augustana College on February 12 and ailed by Video Librarian as "an amazing documentary that comes with interesting images and striking sound bites," The Ground Between Us serves as the fourth presentation in River Action's annual QC Environmental Film Series , the work lauded by ArtsFuse as a "timely new documentary casts an ambitious wide-screen, full-color gaze on public lands in America."

  • Jan 30, 2023
    Talking, Living, Drinking, Dying: “Women Talking,” “Living,” “To Leslie,” and “Infinity Pool”

    The January 24 reveal of this year's Oscar nominees brought with it the usual amount of pleasures, disappointments, and surprises, as well as our annual reminder that not every movie voters get to see is one Quad Citians have been able to see. Two of the stragglers, however, managed to secure local releases this past weekend. Another contender has been available for rental and purchase for weeks, but found itself as perhaps the title that Academy Awards completists wanted/needed to catch up with above all others.

  • Feb 07, 2023
    Now Playing: Friday, February 10, through Thursday, February 16

    Now playing at area theaters.

Art

  • Corrine Smith, Matt Moyer, James Bowden art at the QC International Airport February 2023
    Feb 01, 2023
    Nine Questions for Three Artists Exhibiting at the Quad Cities' Airport Through February 28

    The current art exhibit at the Quad Cities airport is one of the most enjoyable I have seen in the nearly 20 years Quad City Arts has curated such displays. If you've never paused to browse the gallery in your travels while flying, or paid the $1 for 30 minutes of short-term parking to take in what is a world-class, museum-level art-display space, you should do so on the next opportunity.

  • Feb 01, 2023
    “Sporting Fashion: Outdoor Girls 1800 to 1960,” February 11 through May 7

    On view to Figge Art Museum members on February 11 and 12 and to the general public from February 14 through May 7, the touring exhibition Sporting Fashion: Outdoor Girls 1800 to 1960 will be on view in the Davenport venue's third- and fourth-floor galleries, and boasts 64 fully accessorized ensembles comprised of more than 480 historic objects.

  • Sep 20, 2022
    “Caroline Kent: An Improvisation of Form,” through February 12

    With the exhibit on display through February 12, the Figge Art Museum welcomes guests to view the talents of a Chicago-based artist in Caroline Kent: An Improvisation of Form, an installation that will transform the Davenport venue's Katz Gallery into an immersive exhibition of paintings, site specific interventions, and sculptures, surrounding visitors in a unique synthesis of language and abstract forms.

  • Feb 08, 2023
    “In Conversation: Zaiga Minka Thorson, Dana Keeton, & Ryan Vizzions,” February 23

    A lauded painter, a noted art therapist, and an award-winning photojournalist will share their histories and thoughts at the Figge Art Museum on February 23 when the Davenport venue hosts In Conversation: Zaiga Minka Thorson, Dana Keeton, & Ryan Vizzions, an informal and enriching conversation about how artists address personal trauma through their artistic practices.

  • Feb 07, 2023
    International Photo Exhibit: Photos by UD Students, Staff, & Faculty, through February 24

    Boasting works by more than a dozen gifted young artsist, the University of Dubuque hosts the locally produced International Photo Exhibit: Photos by UD Students, Staff, & Faculty through February 24, offering visitors an opportunity to travel abroad without leaving the comfort of the Bisignano Art Gallery.

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