Delivering a blend of local history, environmental issues, education, entertainment, and fresh air, Davenport's River Action will present a series of outdoor presentations in the second month-plus of the annual Channel Cat Talks and Riverine Walks: weekly programs that, from July 9 through August 3, will address such topics as the music of jazz artists Bix Beiderbecke and Louie Bellson, Nahant Marsh, local lock-and-dam systems, and the majestic Quad City pelican.

The whimsical world of Walter Wick has fascinated people of all ages since 1992, when his first children's book series I Spy found its way onto the bookshelves of millions of American households. And through November 17, admirers of the artist can delight to his elaborate images in Walter Wick: Hidden Wonders!, a dazzling collection of dozens of colorful wonders on display at Davenport's Figge Art Museum.

With the show boasting such timeless pop hits as "It's in His Kiss," "Heat Wave," "Under the Boardwalk," and "Yellow Polka Dot Bikini," the musical beach party The Bikinis makes its area debut at Rock Island's Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse from July 10 through August 24, this stage treat lauded by The Star Ledger as "a nostalgic funride" and by Talkin' Broadway as "a tidal wave of fun."

A tender and heartwarming tale of transatlantic friendship, playwright James Roose-Evans' 84 Charing Cross Road enjoys a July 11 through 21 engagement at Geneseo's Richmond Hill Barn Theatre, this moving work lauded by Love London Love Culture as "a celebration of literature and the English language, as well as the nostalgia for the time in which letter writing was a huge part of people’s lives."