Reader issue #694 The River Cities' Reader's second Annual Manual for the Arts features more than 250 listings covering art, theatre, music, dance, and the literary arts, from places to see an art exhibit or live music to organizations that offer classes to major festivals in and around the Quad Cities.

Whether you're an artist, an aspiring artist, or simply an arts patron, we hope you find the Annual Manual for the Arts useful - a resource to keep year-round. It's the only publication in the Quad Cities that comprehensively lists arts venues and organizations, and it includes street addresses, Web addresses, phone numbers, and other useful information. A pdf of the Annual Manual for the Arts can be downloaded by clicking here .

We've updated and added to our listings, and our aim is to be as comprehensive and accurate as possible. If there's something incorrect, or if you'd like to be included in next year's Annual Manual for the Arts, please e-mail (jeff@rcreader.com) with the words "Annual Manual" in the subject line.

We're always looking for ways to improve the Annual Manual, too, so if you have ideas for making it better, send a note to the e-mail address above.

 

Ingrid Michaelson It has been a furious two days, as late this Monday we confirmed what is just one of a number of flood-benefit shows that we're looking at staging here in the Quad Cities over the next month. We've been talking with some great bands about coming in here and donating their talents to help out those who lost a lot in the recent floods here in Iowa. All door proceeds for the show will go to local flood victims.

So, the fox says to the farmer, "Hey, don't fix the hen-house door; just buy more chickens."

That's pretty much the same advice that you, as Illinois voters, are about to be spoon-fed.

Buddy Guy - Skin Deep Special guests abound on two new CDs and a seven-inch single from a blues legend, a former pop superstar, and a one-hit Scottish songwriter. On tour now with George Thorogood & the Destroyers, Buddy Guy has just released Skin Deep on the Silvertone Records imprint. Featuring songs "Smell the Funk" and "Lyin' Like a Dog," the Chicago blues powerhouse is joined by Eric Clapton, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, and Robert Randolph.

The State Library of Iowa has announced that the Davenport Public Library has met the conditions for state accreditation. Of Iowa's 543 public libraries, 331 - including the Davenport Public Library - are accredited. The Davenport library has been recognized for its efforts in all areas of library administration, including governance and funding; staffing; library collection; services; public relations; and access and facilities. The accreditation is valid through June 30, 2011. Accredited libraries receive a higher rate of compensation through the State Library of Iowa's Enrich Iowa/Direct State Aid program.

 

Reader issue #693 After voters cast their ballots, they think they've voted for the candidates of their choice; they take their "I voted" stickers and await the outcome.

But not all votes get counted. In a 2006 election in Sarasota, Florida, the votes of more than 18,000 people who went to the polls never made it into the final tallies.

Ani DiFrancoThe Ani DiFranco appearing at the Capitol Theatre on Saturday might not be the same Ani DiFranco who became something of a legend over the past two decades.

The old Ani averaged a record a year from 1989 through 2006, toured incessantly, and was a punkish-folk, feminist, do-it-yourself, and bisexual icon.

The new Ani has a nearly-18-month-old child and a "baby daddy" (her words, referring to producer Mike Napolitano), and will be releasing her first studio album in two whole years in September: Red Letter Year.

Daytrotter We're busy as always this week, bringing in a number of bands that will be playing this week's Pitchfork Festival in Chicago. The sessions that we'll be recording here in Rock Island include visits by Candle, Bear Country, The New Year, The Icy Demons, Jennifer O'Connor, Secret Machines, The Dutchess & the Duke, the Prairie Spies, Ani DiFranco, and Supergrass.

Natalia Zukerman Natalia Zukerman might as well have been born on the road. She is the child of two classical musicians who traveled a lot. (Her father is violinist, violist, and conductor Pinchas Zukerman.) She said last week that she got on a plane for the first time when she was six weeks old, and "I've learned to pack and unpack since I was a little kid.

"Having a regular, stay-at-home home life, that's the challenge for me and my family," she continued. "I love that it's something that is definitely in my blood. My grandfather was a klezmer musician and a gypsy of sorts. Traveling troubadour is part of my DNA."

She's carrying on the tradition.

On Wednesday, July 23, a team of cyclists participating in the "Journey of Hope" will arrive in Davenport as part of a nine-week, 4,000-mile cycling event across the country to raise funds and awareness for people with disabilities. The team expects to arrive in the afternoon and then have dinner and a friendship visit, with details to be determined, at 4:30 p.m. The Journey of Hope is a program of Push America, the national philanthropy of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity, which raises funds and awareness for people with disabilities. The Journey of Hope team consists of men from Pi Kappa Phi chapters across the country. The team will cycle an average of 75 miles per day, beginning in San Francisco and ending in Washington, DC, on August 16. For more information about this event or more on Push America's summer programs, contact Adam Phillips at (704) 504-2400 extension 160 or visit (http://www.pushamerica.org).

 

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