Held in conjunction with the Davenport venue's fascinating exhibit Urban Exposure: The American City Seen, an opening program featuring the latest set of Curator Talks will be held at the Figge Art Museum on September 1, with curatorial department members Joshua Jackson, Vanessa Sage, and Andrew Wallace discussing why specific works were chosen and the process they went through to create the exhibition.

To download a PDF of the puzzle, click here.

If you’re looking for a sentimental story that slowly sneaks up on you, might I suggest The Christmas Letter Writing Club at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre?

The two days of partisan political events during the Illinois State Fair are like miniature, stripped-down, informal versions of national political conventions. They serve as a sort of kick-off to our fall campaign season, so they are usually closely watched by reporters who cover campaigns and by insiders.

Running in downtown Davenport August 25 through September 3, the latest stage comedy by the Haus of Ruckus team of T. Green and Calvin Vo is Random Access Morons, and as those first two words and the title's acronym suggest, the show is technology-themed. But despite this latest Mockingbird on Main presentation reacquainting audiences with Green's and Vo's familiar and beloved characters Fungus and Johnny, the duo's third theatrical adventure since November doesn't find the goofball slackers playing video games. Not externally, at any rate.

Evocative works by a pair of gifted central-Illinois artists will have their talents showcased at the Quad City Arts Center through October 7, with the Rock Island venue housing beautiful color-field paintings by John Nelson of Quincy, as well as arresting mixed-media portrait paintings in the Dictators & Dreamers exhibition by Jennifer Lynn Bates.

Appearing locally in a special fundraiser co-hosted by the Mississippi Valley Blues Society, singer/guitarist Ivan Singh headlines an August 25 Summer Concert Series event in Rock Island's Schwiebert Riverfront Park, the 28-year-old Argentinian praised by Chicago's WGN radio as "one of the most-known blues guitar players in his country who has a unique can-box guitar and a particular way of playing it."

Performing from a repertoire boasting such iconic hits as “Raspberry Beret.” “1999,” “When Doves Cry,” “U Got the Look,” and the title song for the Oscar-winning Purple Rain, frontman DaVaughn Weber and the touring tribute artists of the Prince Project take the stage at Rock Island's Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, their August 25 concert offering a thrilling “Kiss” in celebration of the legendary rocker.

Interestingly, in a weekend that saw the arrival of precisely zero new major-studio movies, the three local releases we did get all featured significant characters who earned a living through their podcasts, YouTube channels, and/or Instagram accounts. Once upon a time, on-screen professionals focused on careers in advertising and architecture. Now they're only focused on themselves. Eh, it's 2022. Guess that makes sense.