Democrat JB Pritzker spent $21 million on his gubernatorial campaign through the end of September and recently opened his 10th campaign field office. The billionaire spent more money on staff and consultants last quarter ($1.5 million) than any of his primary opponents raised.

The spending appears to be paying off. A new Capitol Fax/We Ask America poll of 1,154 likely Democratic primary voters has Pritzker with 39 percent of the vote, far ahead of the rest of the pack

Presented in conjunction with its current exhibition Celebrating Day of the Dead, on display through December 17, the Figge will treat visitors to October 29's Day of the Dead Family Fiesta, an all-ages celebration of the Mexican holiday boasting live performances and hands-on art activities.

Two exhibitions by one gifted artist will soon be on display at St. Ambrose, with paintings, textiles, installations, and more by the Iowa-based Greta Songe viewable in the Catich and Morrissey Galleries, both located in the university's Galvin Fine Arts Center.

A masquerade-themed fundraiser for the Vera French Foundation, the Unmasking Mental Health Gala will raise money and awareness at the Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center in an event boasting cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, dinner, live and silent auctions, and a presentation by guest speaker and acclaimed author Joan Becker.

Arriving in tandem with the 30th anniversary of its film-musical counterpart, Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage will fill the Adler auditorium with beloved songs from 1987's beloved movie, including the Oscar-, Golden Globe-, and Grammy-winning “(I've Had) The Time of My Life” smash originally recorded by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes.

Appearing as the headliner in the River Music Experience's and Great Sounds Promotions' annual Smooth Jazz Fall Festival, chart-topping saxophonist Darius will share his talents that are comparable to those of the all-time greats, with JazzReview.com calling him “right up there with the Najees, the Gerald Albrights, and the Art Porters – he's that good.”

When director Catherine Bodenbender took center stage at the show's precise curtain time, she reminded the audience to silence their phones and provided a few additional tidbits of information. And then – like a stage manager would typically do behind the scenes – she yelled, “Actors: Places!”, and the cast marched out from their backstage dressing area and took their seats behind the audience. I thought: “This is gonna be cool.”

Reginald Hudlin's period/courtroom/race drama – the pleasant start to my latest quadruple feature – is actually inspired by a 1941 case in the career of Thurgood Marshall, who, of course, later became the first African-American appointed to the Supreme Court. In other words, it's kind of like an origin story for the hard-living, harder-fighting lawyer, and the movie's great surprise is that it's closer in spirit to an enjoyable comic-book yarn than the prototypical Oscar Bait its subject matter would seem to dictate.