Local and regional artists and crafters are sharing their talents for a great cause this holiday season, and the Muscatine Art Center invites everyone to join in the fun. The beloved Heartfelt & Handmade Ornament Competition, its decorations on view through December 5, has returned, and the first day to purchase these ornaments on December 6, at the Heartfelt & Handmade Family Festival and Market.

Local artisans, trolley rides, a lot of ugly sweaters, and, of course, appearances by St. Nick are among the guaranteed sights at the eagerly anticipated 41st-Annual Christmas in LeClaire weekend, with holiday-themed events and family activities scheduled at more than a dozen downtown locales between December 5 and 7.

The new recipient of the Academy Awards' 2026 Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and one of most beloved entertainers in American history, the Queen of County Music's stage spectacular Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol brings its national tour to Davenport's Adler Theatre on December 7, a new musical featuring songs by Dolly Parton and book by David H. Bell, adapted by Bell, Curt Wollan, and Paul T. Couch.

Touring in advance of their forthcoming European dates and in support of the band's most recent album Truth Killer – a top-three Billboard smash that Metal Injection called "focused and streamlined with plenty of catchy songs and a few surprises" – the Grammy-nominated alternative-metal artists of Sevendust return to East Moline venue The Rust Belt on December 6, performing from a repertoire that includes 14 studio albums, one live album, and two compilation albums,