With the Midwest Writing Center's literary magazine THE ATLAS celebrating the publication of its 21st volume, a release party, open-mic night, and KAS concert honoring the Young Emerging Writers (YEW) program will be held at Rock Island venue Rozz-Tox on August 13, the evening boasting readings from YEW alumni and copies of new and back issues of THE ATLAS available for purchase.

Presented as a special event in the Quad Cities Latino Cinema Series, the Oscar-nominated inspirational-teacher drama Stand & Deliver enjoys an August 19 screening at Davenport venue The Last Picture House, writer/director Ramón Menéndez's 1988 film the winner of the Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature, and a work selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

A dramatic landmark whose 2026 Broadway return recently won six Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Play, Arthur Miller's timeless Death of a Salesman serves as the debut production in a new collaboration between the Mockingbird on Main and Black Hawk College, the show's August 20 through 29 run at Black Hawk treating audiences to an undisputed classic playing locally fewer than two weeks after its New York run ended.

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."