In celebration of the Figge Art Museum's 15th anniversary, the Davenport venue will be hosting an exclusive virtual tour of New York's William Louis-Dreyfus Collection on August 13, with the online events including an overview of the collection with the foundation's Christina Kee and Mary Anne Costello, as well as interviews with artists Hester Simpson and John Newman.

After a lengthy illness, British director and two-time Oscar nominee Alan Parker passed away on July 31 at the age of 76. At the time of his death, Parker hadn't made a film since 2003's The Life of David Gale, which isn't exactly the fondest of cinematic farewells. But he could always be counted on to get critics talking. In 1982, a reviewer called his latest work “perhaps the most revealing American movie of the era.” In, 1987, a reviewer wrote, “Alan Parker has technique to burn … and that's what he should do with it.” And it was the same reviewer.

Iconic Italian film composer Ennio Morricone passed away on July 7 at the age of 91. Active as a musician and composer from the late-1940s (!) all the way up to his death, Morricone ranks among the most acclaimed artists in the medium of film music. However, it’s safe to say, as the iconoclastic New York composer John Zorn asserted in his New York Times obituary/tribute, that the influence of Morricone's work moved far beyond the paradigm of film scoring and that he should rightly be considered one of the greatest composers of the 20th century, full stop.

Davenport's LoPiez is celebrating the completion of its first full year in business. The self-described "Rock & Roll New York style" by-the-slice pizza joint has decided to celebrate its anniversary in style, with a socially-distanced three-band outdoor bash in the parking lot across the street from its Third Street location. It's a joint venture with Rock Island's Wake Brewing, and will serve as the Rock Island "riff-infused" brewery's Iowa debut, with its signature metal-inspired beers being made available across the river for the first time.

The mysterious beauty of our oceans and the creatures who reside there will be explored and celebrated on dry land from August 7 through 27, with Bettendorf's Beréskin Gallery & Art Academy displaying colorful, fascinating works by a gifted local artist in the new painting exhibition Brian Buckles: Art for the Sea.

Appearing in a special Signature Series program courtesy of WVIK Public Radio and the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, concertmaster Naha Greenholtz and pianist Marian Lee will join musical forces for the August 7 concert event Fantasie, a repertoire of four classical compositions that will be performed live in St. Ambrose University's Galvin Fine Arts Center and also, through multiple high-definition camera setups, simulcast via Livestream for those wanting to enjoy the music from home.

To download a PDF of the puzzle, click here.

A couple of days after the July 17 disclosures in ComEd's deferred-prosecution agreement with the US Attorney's office, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan called individual House Democrats to try and reassure them that all would be well.

According to multiple legislators, the House Speaker told his members that he had done nothing wrong and that he never did things like recommend unqualified people for jobs, and fully expected that, if they were hired, they would actually show up for work.