Local theatre organization
1. Circa '21
2. Quad City Music Guild
3. Comedy Sportz
Local theatre production
1. Cats (Circa '21)
2. White Christmas (Circa '21)
3. Grease (Circa '21)
3. It's a Wonderful Life (Quad City Music Guild)
3. The Nutcracker (Ballet Quad Cities)
Annual family event/festival
1. Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Fest
2. Mississippi Valley Blues Fest
3. Bix 7 Race
Place to view or buy art
1. Figge Art Museum
2. Putnam Museum & IMAX Theatre
3. Bucktown Center for the Arts
Local art-gallery show
1. Figge Art Museum
2. Bucktown Center for the Arts
3. Quad City Arts
Museum
1. Putnam Museum & IMAX Theatre
2. Figge Art Museum
3. Family Museum of Arts & Science
2006 concert
1. Blue Man Group
2. Godsmack/Breaking Benjamin/Hour Cast
3. River Roots Live
Place to take visitors
1. John Deere Commons & Pavilion
2. RIBCO
3. NorthPark Mall
Local get-away
1. Drive-in theatres
2. LeClaire
3. Geneseo
You might rightly think of drive-in theatres as relics of the past. According to (http://www.driveintheater.com), the number of drive-in screens in the United States dropped from nearly 5,000 in the 1950s to roughly 1,000 in 1990. But within an hour's drive of the Quad Cities, we have two drive-in theatres: the one-screen 61 Drive-In south of Maquoketa (http://www.maquoketa.com/61drivein), and the two-screen Galva Autovue in Galva, Illinois (http://www.galvaautovue.com). During the warm-weather months, both offer double features and a snack bar, and the Galva theatre even permits dogs, which allowed unofficial Reader mascot Bad Dog Ginger to watch Superman Returns last summer. (She opted to skip Poseidon.) Given the running times of many of today's summer blockbusters, a round trip to the drive-in from the Quad Cities can be a seven-hour proposition, but the experience still has loads of quaint charm, and it's inexpensive compared to a night out at the multiplex. - Jeff Ignatius
Bowling alley
1. Miller Time Bowling
2. 30 Lanes
3. Bowlmor
3. Highland Park Bowl
Park or playground
1. Vander Veer Park
2. Eastern Avenue Park
Place to play golf
1. Olathea Golf Course
2. Duck Creek Golf Course
3. Saukie Golf Course
Any marketer will tell you that it's much easier to sell a unique product than one that's just like everybody else's. The nine-hole Olathea Golf Course in LeClaire is certainly easy to differentiate from its competition, and that's likely why our readers picked it as the "best place to play golf." "You can see the Mississippi from any hole," said co-owner Susan Leander, and "it's a beautiful view of the river." The par-36, 3,032-yard, public course at 23200 Great River Road opened in June 1984. The land was in operation as a farm until Leander's husband, Randy, suffered a workplace injury in the early 1980s and decided to turn it into a golf course. He died in 1985 but lived long enough to play on his course. Susan Leander said she's not a regular golfer herself but noted that the Olathea course draws golf enthusiasts from Dubuque, Cedar Rapids, and Chicago. For more information on the course, call (563) 289-4653 April 1 through November 1. - Jeff Ignatius
Place to walk or hike
1. Black Hawk State Historic Site
2. Scott County Park
3. Ben Butterworth Parkway
Disc-golf course
1. Eastern Avenue Park, Davenport
2. Prospect Park, Moline
3. Camden Park, Milan
Public pool/waterpark
1. Wacky Waters (closed after 2006 season)
2. Riverside Riverslide
2. Whitewater Junction
Place to take kids on a rainy day
1. Family Museum of Arts & Sciences
2. NorthPark Mall
3. Putnam Museum & IMAX Theatre
Free entertainment
1. Libraries
2. Mojo's Coffee House
3. Riverfronts
Quad Cities scenery
1. Riverfronts
2. Lookout Point in Davenport
3. Black Hawk State Historic Site
Place to meet someone new
1. The District of Rock Island
2. Church
3. RIBCO
Category we neglected
1. Waitstaff
1. Barbecue/ribs
3. Babysitter/daycare
3. Bookstore
3. Car dealership
3. Local newspaper
3. Newspaper writer
3. Strip club