A beloved, longtime Augustana College Professor of Art and the college's Paul A. Anderson Chair in the Arts who is also a gifted, prolific artist in his own right, Peter T. Xiao enjoys his first solo exhibition at the Figge Art Museum in the venue's A Room That One Is In (And All Things In It), an installation of recent paintings on display through June 23.

Held in conjunction with his new exhibition A Room That One Is In (And All Things In It), beloved local artist and the Paul A. Anderson Chair in the Arts at Augustana College Peter Xiao will deliver a public artist talk at the Figge Art Museum on December 14, the night designed to celebrate Professor Xiao's very first solo exhibition of work at the Davenport venue.

A Broadway-style presentation centered around an infusion of contemporary circus arts, the touring sensation Cirque Dreams Holidaze lands at Davenport's Adler Theatre on December 13, delivering an exciting seasonal production filled with new sets, scenery, and storylines sure to put a twinkle in the eye of every member of the family.

An avidly anticipated holiday tradition returns to Augustana College from December 9 through 15 when the John Deere Planetarium hosts the week-long presentation Season of Light, a fascinating and beautiful holiday presentation hosted by the college's planetarium director and professor of physics and astronomy Dr. Lee Carkner.

An original, critically acclaimed love story that explores the boundaries of artificial intelligence and the evolving nature and risks of intimacy in the modern world, writer/director Spike Jonze's Her will enjoy a special Free Film at the Figge screening on December 14, with the Davenport art museum's patrons invited to socialize and discuss the Oscar-winning movie afterward with a complimentary glass of wine.

On December 9 and 10, music fans are invited to ring in the holiday season with members of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra's brass and percussion sections in the yuletide delight Holiday Brass, an uplifting repertoire of classical and seasonal favorites being performed at Rock Island's Second Baptist Church and Davenport's St. Paul Lutheran Church.

Touring in support of their fifth full-length recording Past the Light which is slated for December release, the Chicago-based musicians of Old Shoe play an album-release concert at Davenport's Redstone Room on December 8, the five-piece ensemble a frequently touring outfit that, according to WSUM.org, “incorporates rock, bluegrass, jazz, and a little folk, creating nothing but an upbeat atmosphere."

Headlining a December 5 concert in support of their 2023 release OK to Wonder, an album that Americana Highways said "provides listeners of bluegrass with revelry, wonder, and whimsy on 11 distinctive insightful songs," the touring artists of Arkansauce play Davenport's Raccoon Motel on December 5, their latest recording also inspiring Americana Highways to state, "The musicians perform in a tightly improvisational style within the structure of some tightly knit melodies."

Walking into our auditorium for Ridley Scott's Napoleon and not entirely looking forward to the experience, I half-jokingly told my brother and sister-in-law that we were at least catching the two-hour-40-minute version, and not the promised four-hour director's cut that will at some point stream on Apple+. But while I had more than my fill of turkey over Thanksgiving weekend, I'm happy to now eat a little crow, because Scott's historical epic is utterly sensational – bold, thrilling, unusual, and frequently very, very funny.