An American Idol champion and Iowa native returns to her home state on December 19 in Maddie Poppe's Acoustic Christmas, a festive holiday concert featuring seasonal tunes and songs from the artist's albums Songs from the Basement and Whirlwind, the latter described by Guitar Girl magazine as boasting “unforgettable melodies and cultivated songcraft.”

Delivered as part of the Davenport Public Library's virtual 3rd Thursday at Hoover's Presidential Library & Museum programming, the museum's archivist Craig Wright will present the December 17 Zoom webinar The 1929 Christmas Eve White House Fire, telling of the four-alarm emergency that led to dozens of engines and ladder companies working to extinguish the inferno.

An annual, eagerly awaited holiday-music tradition will be given a virtual twist on December 12 when the professional vocal ensemble the Nova Singers delivers its live-stream concert Peace, Love, Joy!, a seasonal celebration featuring solos, small group performances, and yuletide numbers performed by the entire ensemble.

For the second presentation in radio station WVIK and the Quad City Symphony Orchestra's 2020-21 Signature Series, the area instrumental ensemble gets seasonal, and virtual, in its December 12 concert event Holiday Brass, a repertoire of traditional pop and classical tunes that will be available for additional viewing a full 30 days after the Saturday-evening program ends.

Presented in conjunction with the venue's current exhibition Haitian Masterworks, a Virtual Scholar Talk on Haitian art will be presented by Davenport's Figge Art Museum on December 10, with participants invited to learn more about the rich history of the region and the exhibit that focuses on such prevalent artistic themes as spirituality, transformation, the natural world, everyday life, and Haitian history.

Audiences are invited to enjoy a beautiful and memorable seasonal celebration from the comfort of their homes when Davenport's Adler Theatre, on December 15, presents A Virtually Celtic Christmas, a festive holiday concert filmed at the National Opera House of Ireland and featuring the ethereal voice of top Irish tenor Michael Londra as backed by the Irish Concert Orchestra.

Held in conjunction with the current exhibition T.J. Dedeaux-Norris Presents The Estate of Tameka Janean Norris, a special, virtual, members-only Q&A with the exhibit's creator Norris will take place on December 10, with the online guest discussing the complex legacy of an artist's identity after their passing, as well as the question at the exhibit's center: “What part of yourself must you hide or bury for another to survive?”

Continuing the musicians' season-long celebration of composer Ludwig van Beethoven's 250th birthday, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra and piano soloist Marian Lee will deliver a moving performance of the third Masterworks program Beethoven Symphony No. 3, a tribute to Beethoven's boundary-breaking composition Eroica available for home viewing (and listening) on December 6.

Delivered by curators Joshua Jackson and Vanessa Sage, a virtual, members-only tour of the new exhibition Haitian Masterworks will be presented on December 9, with participants given insight into the works selected and the history behind them – a collection focusing on prevalent themes in Haitian art including spirituality, transformation, the natural world, everyday life, and Haitian history.

Described by DC Theatre Theatre as “a magical experience” and by Goldstar magazine as “a fresh spin on Charles Dickens' beloved holiday tale,” playwright Paul Morella's one-man adaptation of the yuletime classic A Christmas Carol will be viewable from November 27 through December 13 in a virtual presentation hosted by Iowa City's Riverside Theatre, a production directed by the venue's co-founder Ron Clark and starring popular Iowa performer John William Watkins.

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