Lauded by Cleveland magazine for their "historical preservation and top-notch musicianship" and by New Frontiers as a group that "bridges the divide between native and first-generation ancestors to the current descendants," the Italian-folk musicians of Alla Boara serve as the latest guests in the Quad City Arts Visiting Artists series, their February 27 through March 3 concerts demonstrating why The Jambor called their sound "a journey that takes you in and makes you forget where you are."

Bettendorf Public Library patrons on February 25 are invited to take a magical trip to outer space with the official launch of local author Nyilah Sulaimana's Mason & Milo: A Journey Through the Stars, a family event boasting activities, refreshments, raffles, goodie bags, a Mason and Milo Space Ship photo booth, an author signing, and Sulaimana and her son Mason - the story's real-life inspiration - delivering a live reading of the tale.

Currently touring in support of his latest album The Red Locusts, a tribute to the Beatles and power-pop bands of the 1980s and 1990s, music and daytime-drama icon Rick Springfield takes the stage at East Moline venue The Rust Belt on February 26, the chart-topping rock singer/songwriter a longtime fan favorite for hits including "Affair of the Heart," "Love Somebody," and the Grammy Award-winning "Jessie's Girl."

On March 1, the Rock Island Public Library, Moline Public Library, and Illinois Libraries Present will host an entertaining and hilarious virtual evening with a New York Times best-selling science author in The Weird & Wonderful World with Mary Roach, with the author discussing her frank approach to science, the importance of humor, and her exploration into the weird, wonderful world in which we live.