At Mt. Carroll's Timber Lake Playhouse from July 11 through 28, family audiences are invited to follow the yellow brick road toward a magical stage treat in the theatre's new production of The Wizard of Oz, a delightful stage adaptation of the L. Frank Baum tale boasting the beloved musical score from the MGM film and unforgettable songs including "If I Only Had a Brain," "Ding Dong, the Witch Is Dead," and, of course, the iconic "Over the Rainbow."

If you're still coming down from the sexy, full-throttle charisma assault of Luca Guadagnino's Challengers, you'll likely be lifted right back up with writer/director Jeff Nichols' The Bikeriders, which equals that tennis-throuple melodrama in allure and watchability – and co-stars Mike Faist, to boot.

As you’ve probably heard by now, Illinois Republican Party Chair Don Tracy announced his resignation last week, apparently effective the day after the Republican National Convention concludes on July 18.

Arriving right on time for Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s announced transportation plan, which includes $225 million to re-establish passenger train service between Moline and Chicago, the Putnam Museum & Science Center's exhibition All Aboard: Our Quad City Locomotive Legacy will, through October 13, provide an expansive look into railways while centering the conversation around our area's unique history.

Work of couture by Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Edgar Degas, Auguste Rodin, and other artists recognized around the world will be on vivid display in the Muscatine Art Center through September 22, with the venue's Fashionably Dressed exhibition pairing drawings, paintings, and prints of women, men, and children with historic clothing from the Muscatine Art Center’s permanent collection.

Touring in support of their 2023 debut Hope's Eternal, an album praised by The Big Takeover's Dave Franklin as "one of the most attractive musical propositions I have heard in a long time," Daniel Murphy and Jeff Arundel bring The Scarlet Goodbye to Davenport's Redstone Room on June 23, the alternative-rock ensemble lauded by Roots Music Magazine as an outfit that "takes their listener's hand and guides them through a vast and bright world."

With their stated mission to promote public goodwill toward the U. S. Coast Guard and the country they serve, and to preserve and honor the heritage, traditions, and history of our nation, the touring talents of the United States Coast Guard Band perform a special, open-to-the-public concert event at Moline High School on June 29, the ensemble's "Heartland Harmonies" tour taking the musicians through Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska following engagements in Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana.

Hailed by New York Observer reviewer Rex Reed as “one of the most powerful films about the Arab-Israeli conflict that has ever been attempted on the screen” the award-winning dramatic romance Out in the Dark will be presented as the fourth and final Pride Month event in the Figge Art Museum's 2024 Free Film at the Figge series, its June 30 screening treating audiences to what the Los Angeles Times deemed "an edgy tale fueled by do-or-die sociopolitical intrigue."

A 13-time Tony Award nominee that received four trophies including Best Musical, Lin-Manuel Miranda's exhilarating stage musical In the Heights serves as the season-opener for Eldridge's Countryside Community Theatre, the show's June 28 through July 7 run sure to demonstrate why the New York Times raved that "the energy it gives off could light up the George Washington Bridge for a year or two."