(Quad Cities) - The courtyard on 2^nd Street between Brady and Main in downtown Davenport will be transformed into a winter wonderland on Sunday, February 17th during the first-ever Icestravaganza. Icestravaganza has been rescheduled after being initially postponed due to inclement weather.

The free event will include horse-drawn carriages, an ice skating rink, live music, a "Diamond in the Ice" competition, children's stories and art stations. Icestravaganza will also feature a new shopping experience with unique items from Handmade City and downtown Davenport vendors, showcased high above the Mississippi River in the sky bridge.

An "ice science" display will demonstrate the experimental unveiling of an ice-powered car; professional ice carvers will create works of art out of 400-pound blocks of ice and adults can register at Necker's Jewelers for a chance to win a $1,000 shopping spree in the "Diamond on the Ice" competition. A limited number of ice skates will be available at no charge.

If you go:

Where: The courtyard on 2^nd Street between Brady and Main Streets Downtown Davenport, in the River Music Experience, and the Skybridge. Free parking available in the Redstone parking ramp.

When: Sunday, February 17^th from Noon to 6:00 p.m.

Cost: Free

For more information visit www.DowntownDavenport.com

Icestravaganza  is presented by the Downtown Davenport Arts and Culture committee and is made possible through the support of sponsors: Necker's Jewelers, Genesis Health System, Fox18, B100, Master DJ, Iowa American Water, One-Step and the City of Davenport Parks and Recreation Department.

A record number of women are Fortune 500 CEOs.

Women are launching businesses at 1.5 times the national average.

There are now 8.2 million American women running their own companies.

"The numbers are notable," says executive and business coach Debora McLaughlin, author of "The Renegade Leader: 9 Success Strategies Driven Leaders Use to Ignite People, Performance and Profits," (www.TheRenegadeLeader.com).

"From 1997 to 2011, the number of U.S. women-owned businesses increased by 50 percent," McLaughlin says. "And in 2011, the median compensation for female CEOs was 13 percent more than for male CEOs," according to NerdWallet Financial Markets.

According to Catalyst, a non-profit organization, as of Jan. 1, there were 21 women running Fortune 500 companies, including IBM and PepsiCo, That's up from seven in 2002-2003. Among the Fortune 1000 companies, there are twice as many, including the CEOs of Neiman Marcus Group, Cracker Barrel and Dun & Bradstreet.

"Nonetheless, business women still face hurdles," McLaughlin notes. "Keep in mind, while 21 are Fortune 500 CEOs -- a record high - that's only 4.25 percent of the total and the figures hold for Fortune 1000 companies, less than 5 percent have a female at the helm."

A recipient of the 2012-13 Women of the Year award presented by the National Association of Professional Women, McLaughlin watches the financial trends. While women are launching more businesses, they have an upward climb; studies show that women-owned companies are less likely to hit the $1 million mark and are more likely to fail.

"To claim, own and keep the keys to the corner office, women executives need to be seen, heard and to lead with greater influence and impact," McLaughlin says. She offers three key tips:

• Develop your personal brand: Let people get to know you, your core story of experiences and how they relate to your drive and vision. As Steve Jobs said, "connect the dots," then use transparent communication to share your story. People make better connections with people who tell a great story, and they're most interested in the story behind the person at the top. Transparency encourages greater communication, team building and leadership.

• Develop and use your personal network. Find a mentor and be a mentor; seek out other women at your level; and accept the strength, ideas and energy your connections have to offer. It is no longer necessary to blaze trails alone, and women have more power than they may realize. According to a Dow Jones report, startups with five or more female executives have a 61 percent success rate. It goes further and says that odds of success "increase with more female executives at the VP and Director levels."

• Stand for something; position yourself as a strong thought leader. It's not easy being at the top. Women tend to distrust powerful women, and men may view women as weak or too collaborative and sensitive. Take a firm stand on something you care about deeply and rally the organization around that objective. You will gain the respect of your peers, customers and stakeholders.

As the numbers clearly demonstrate, business is changing. Women account for 73 percent to 85 percent of consumer decisions in the United States, which gives female CEOs yet another advantage -- insight into their customers' values, McLaughlin says.

About Debora McLaughlin

Debora McLaughlin, best-selling author of "The Renegade Leader: 9 Success Strategies Driven Leaders Use to Ignite People, Performance and Profits;" the forthcoming book, "A League of Her Own," and CEO of The Renegade Leader Coaching and Consulting Group combines her experience as certified executive coach and as a top sales performer in New York City and Boston to help CEOs, business leaders and organizations achieve accelerated results.

The Muscatine Art Center will provide visitors with an escape from Iowa winter with the opening of an exhibition of works by Beth Van Hoesen. This exhibition will be the first opportunity for the public to view the twenty-six prints and drawings of flowers gifted to the Art Center in 2012. The exhibition will be on view from February 1 through June 16, 2013.

Van Hoesen's flowers are richly colored and draw attention to the idea of art being all around us. Van Hoesen takes everyday objects and highlights the sublime hidden in small things. Her works are nearly scientific in detail but also quite charming.

For much of her career, Van Hoesen functioned outside of the "fleeting and fashionable" movements of the time. Van Hoesen was a realist when many artists tended towards abstraction. Her printmaking technique was highly regarded, and her work is represented in the collections of major art museums. These include the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Art Institute of Chicago, Boise Art Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Cincinnati Art Museum, Honolulu Academy of Arts, Smithsonian Institution and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Born in Boise, Idaho in 1926, Van Hoesen studied art at Stanford University, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1948. After graduating from Stanford she studied art in France and later at the California School of Fine Arts (San Francisco Art Institute). Her career spanned more than five decades.

The E. Mark Adams and Beth Van Hoesen Trust of San Francisco, California gifted the works to the Muscatine Art Center. The collection includes the medias of graphite, colored pencil, watercolor, aquatint, etching, drypoint, engraving and lithography.

The Muscatine Art Center is located at 1314 Mulberry Avenue in Muscatine, Iowa. Hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Thursday evenings until 7:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Admission is free. Donations are appreciated.

PEORIA CIVIC CENTER THEATER - PEORIA, IL
THURSDAY, JUNE 6th at 7pm & 9:30 pm
On Sale Friday, February 8th at 10am

Peoria, Ill. - The SMG managed Peoria Civic Center, Live Nation and Comedy Central welcome "The June Gloom Tour" with Daniel Tosh and special guest, Jarrod Carmichael to the Peoria Civic Center Theater on Thursday, June 6th, at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. The tour kicks off on May 30th in Salt Lake City and travels to over 25 cities across the United States.

"Tosh.0" currently airs on Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on Comedy Central and consists of 30 episodes throughout 2013. The series premiered on June 4, 2009 and features the razor-sharp humor and biting commentary from comedian Daniel Tosh and delves into all aspects of the Internet from the absolutely absurd to the incredibly ingenious in this weekly, topical series.

Tickets are $49.50, $65.00 and go on sale Friday, February 8th at 10 a.m. at Livenation.com, Ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations, at the Peoria Civic Center Box Office or by phone at 800-745-3000.

All tickets subject to applicable service charges and fees. Dates and times subject to change without notice.