On Thursday, April 19, the Family Museum in Bettendorf will celebrate its 10th anniversary with an open house from 5 to 8 p.m. The evening will include music by Ellis Kell and light hors d'oeuvres and refreshments. The open house will also include an awards ceremony celebrating the successes of the facility, the people who have helped make it what it is today, and the museum's millionth visitor. Admission to the Family Museum is free during this open house. For more information, visit (http://www.familymuseum.org).
As part of the third-annual West Music Battle of the Bands, the music store is holding open auditions and accepting music and video submissions from the area's youth rock groups. The open auditions will be held Saturday, May 19, by appointment. To register, contact Sherry Jackson at (563) 388-1519 or (sjackson@westmusic.com). CD, cassette, and video submissions will also be accepted until June 1. Submissions can be delivered to West Music at 5205 North Brady Street in Davenport. Bands from both sides of the river may enter. More information is available at (http://www.westmusic.com/local).
Quad Cities Greyhound Adoption's first bowl-a-thon event will be held Sunday, April 22, at Bowlmor Lanes (2952 Brady Street in Davenport) from 2 to 5 p.m. The cost is $15 per person and includes two games, shoe rental, a slice of pizza, and soda. All proceeds will go toward the continued care of greyhounds. RSVP to Jennifer Franklin at (563) 260-5760 or (jfranklin@mchsi.com). The event fee must be received prior to the event date and can be mailed or dropped off at: Quad Cities Greyhound Adoption, 9525 New Liberty Rd., Maysville IA 52773. Please note "bowl-a-thon" on your check.
Last fall Rock Island Clean & Beautiful announced that it was changing its name and beginning a marketing program. Keep Rock Island Beautiful is the organization's new name, with a new logo and a new Web site at (http://www.keepribeautiful.org). Keep Rock Island Beautiful plans and implements programs of education and awareness of litter control and recycling activities while promoting pride in Rock Island. To volunteer for Keep Rock Island Beautiful, call Carolyn Fuller at (309) 786-1334 or e-mail (cfuller@keepribeautiful.org). The Keep Rock Island Beautiful office is located on the second floor of the Argus Building, 1724 Fourth Avenue in Rock Island.
The Scott Community College Environmental Club is hosting an Earth Day fundraising event on Friday, April 20, at 7 p.m. at the Capitol Theater in Davenport. Doug Peacock, author and 2007 Guggenheim Fellow, will give a lecture and multimedia presentation titled "The Endangered Species Act in a Time of Global Warming: The Case for the Grizzly Bear." Admission is $5 for students and $8 for adults. Proceeds support the Scott Community College Environmental Club's prairie-restoration project. For more information, contact Mark Aronson at (563) 441-4100.
St. Ambrose University is hosting its first star party of the season at the S.G. Menke Observatory near Dixon, Iowa, on Saturday, May 5, beginning shortly after sunset. The planets Venus and Saturn will be prominent in the evening sky, high to the south and southwest. The moon won't rise until around midnight, making the sky dark enough for viewing deep-sky objects such as double stars, star clusters, galaxies, gaseous nebulae, and possibly even a few meteors from the Eta Aquarid shower. For more information, contact Robert Mitchell at (563) 333-6141. On the day of the event, the same number may be called for a recorded message that will either confirm the event or report a weather-related cancellation. For directions to the observatory, go to (http://www.sau.edu/astronomy/menke).
The Broadway neighborhood in Rock Island conducted a "great unveiling" on Saturday, April 14, at a home owned by Mark and Robyn McVey. The event, at 840 22nd Street, removed synthetic siding to reveal the house's original wood siding. The goal is to improve the neighborhood, raise the property value, draw attention to the historic neighborhood, and encourage other neighbors to do the same in the future. The "great unveiling" program has resulted in the beautification of many Broadway homes and has gained the neighborhood nationwide publicity, including articles in Midwest Living and This Old House magazines. (River Cities' Reader Managing Editor Jeff Ignatius is a member of the Broadway Historic District Association board.)
The annual plant-sale fundraiser for the Humane Society of Scott County will be Saturday, April 28, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Humane Society, 5001 North Brady Street in Davenport. The plant sale is an opportunity to purchase indoor and outdoor plants, used gardening tools, and decorative items at discounted prices. The Scott County Princesses will make an appearance at 11 a.m. to pose with pets; pet owners should bring their own cameras. The Humane Society will be accepting plants, tools, and decorative-item donations through Friday, April 27, at 5 p.m.. All proceeds will support the shelter's homeless animals. For more information, call (563) 388-6655 or e-mail (animalorbit@hotmail.com).
Quad Citians can celebrate Earth Day at the fourth-annual Earth Week Fair on Saturday, April 21, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the QCCA Expo Center in Rock Island. This year's fair offers more than 60 family-friendly, interactive booths, Boy Scout and Girl Scout badge opportunities, and a Recycled Fashion Show. The event is free and open to the public. Exhibitors, which are all environment-related organizations or businesses, will offer interactive games, demonstrations, quizzes, plantings, crafts, literature, giveaways, and environmental professionals to educate citizens about the importance of environmental stewardship. Registration is available at (http://www.qcearthweek.org).
Trinity Pathway Hospice will offer its 12th-annual Luminary Service of Remembrance at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 26, at Trinity at Terrace Park (4500 Utica Ridge Road in Bettendorf). After a brief gathering reception, the service will begin at dusk around the gardens and waters at Trinity at Terrace Park. Luminaries may be ordered by sending a check or money order to Trinity Pathway Hospice-Luminary, 4500 Utica Ridge Rd., Bettendorf IA 52722. A $5 donation is suggested.
