When you see a show and your biggest “complaint” was that the wine was too purple, you know you’ve seen something special. The Mississippi Bend Players have brought their A-game to the stage with the world premiere of Beginner’s Luck, a comedy that's not afraid to ask the big question “What do you want from life?” and manages to be completely satisfying without actually delivering a resolution.

A question for those of you who saw Disney's Christopher Robin over the weekend: While watching Ewan McGregor's titular character interact with vocal actor Jim Cumming's eerily lifelike Winnie-the-Pooh, did any of you immediately flash to Mark Wahlberg trading profane quips with his Teddy-bear best friend in Ted? Another question: If so, did you find yourself, as I did, kind of wishing you were watching Ted instead?

I do understand why museums intimidate us: We feel as if we won’t “get” what is meant to be gotten. But well-curated museums provide a broader experience than we often allow ourselves to have. What if we allowed our own interpretation to be the main goal? When there's nothing to “get” other than our own perspective, a museum visit can uncover a simple contentment, peace of mind, and happiness.

In 1992, the District of Rock Island hosted its very first outdoor festival with the debut of its Caribbean-themed celebration Ya Maka My Weekend. Twenty-six years later, the District's longest-running annual tradition will continue with the 2018 Ya Maka My Weekend on August 11, an event boasting a marketplace, arts and crafts vendors, ehtnic food of all flavors, and concert sets by four sizzling ensembles of musicians.

Winner of three 2009 Tony Awards and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the wildly acclaimed Broadway hit Next to Normal receives its debut staging at Moline's Black Box Theatre August 9 through 18, the New York Times raving that this pop/rock musical “throbs with an emotional intensity” and “is steeped in an inescapable, aching compassion for people crippled by pain.”

Those who love dinosaurs and all things Mesozoic will be in Putnam Museum paradise when the venue welcomes families to the August 10 through 12 celebration Dino Days – three afternoons of dinosaur-related information and entertainment that are sure to delight even those who can't distinguish a triceratops from a T. rex.

Delivering what Glide magazine called “a night of superb musicianship capable of time travel and otherworldliness,” acclaimed drummer Kofi Baker, son of legendary Cream drummer Ginger Baker, brings his three-man ensemble to the Redstone Room on August 10, his Kofi Baker's Psychedelic Trip trio reinventing the music of Cream and inspiring MusicEnthusiast.net to rave, “Across the board, these guys nail the sound and the feel without – and this is important – seeming like some Las Vegas tribute band. They're the real deal.”

Headlining a two-day music festival at the Codfish Hollow Barn, the South Carolina-based ensemble SUSTO brings its Americana and alt-country stylings to Maquoketa on August 10 and 11, the artists' Fine 2Day Fest demonstrating the skills that led SoundingBoardBlog.com to rave, “The band brings a level of passion and thoughtfulness to their performance, and the way they play engulfs your attention and resonates a sense of authenticity. You can see how this is one of those bands who truly love to play music.”

Saturday night's performance of Thesmophoriazusae was a bit like the talent show at the end of summer camp. Featuring a lot of inside jokes, jabs at society as a whole, and many familiar faces, director Bob Hanske’s production serves as the wacky capstone to Genesius Guild’s summer of entertainment in Lincoln Park.