With the National Touring production of Wicked having played to sold-out crowds at the Prairie Alliance Theater in Peoria, Galesburg's Orpheum Theatre has its own hugely enjoyable, similarly themed performance in store with the May 16 national tour of A Wicked Evening with Louise Dearman, a showcase for the British talent who made history as the first (and, to date, only) actress to play both of that musical's lead roles, Glinda and Elphaba, full time under contract.

Appearing as the final guests in Quad City Arts' 2025-26 Visiting Artist series, a residency that finds the talents leading educational workshops from May 11 through 15, the dancers' area tenure concludes with a Friday-night performance by Ballet Folklórica del Rio Grande, who will demonstrate their astounding athletic prowess and and grace in a full-length program at East Moline's United Township High School.

On May 15 and 16, the Rock Island Arsenal invites the public from the greater Quad Cities and beyond to join in the fun and tribute of the annual Armed Forces Day Celebration, a two-day event boasting live music, races, wrestling, food trucks, military displays, fireworks, and more at your island home for military history and heritage.

With her 2025 novel Katabasis lauded by the New York Times Book Review as a work that "shines with devastatingly real characters and absorbing world building," a bestselling, award-winning takes part in the May 20 virtual conversation Babel-On with R.F. Kuang, a thoughtful and entertaining look into the author's process hosted by Illinois Libraries Present, and offered through the Rock Island and Silvis Public Libraries.