Rick's House of Hope hosts a sweet kick-off to its fall support groups with the annual Giant Banana Split and Fall Kick-Off Party on Thursday, August 23 at 6 p.m. Tours of the facility, a meet-and-greet with staff, and a 20-foot long banana split will highlight the event, designed to introduce families to the services available from Rick's House of Hope, a grief and trauma recovery center for children. Through its programs for young people and their families, Rick's House of Hope - located at 4867 Forest Grove Drive in Bettendorf - provides support, understanding and compassion during painful periods of grief or traumatic loss. For more information, call Rick's House of Hope at (563) 324-9580, or Genesis Medical Center's Spiritual Care Department at (563) 421-7970.
The Iowa Machine Shed hosts an Antique Tractor Pull on Sunday, September 2 at 11 a.m. There will be fifty to sixty antique tractors varying in age, make and model, and the event is free to the public. Watch the tractors pull their load to the finish line, or register your own tractor at the Iowa Machine Shed, located at 7250 Northwest Boulevard in Davenport, Iowa. For information, call (563) 391-2427.
On September 9, a 3 p.m. harp concert will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church in Davenport. Harpist Lillian Lau and flautist Ellen Huntington, both of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, will perform together, and Lau will also play several solos in this event promoting the start of a new, Quad Cities-based chapter of the American Harp Society. Donations will be accepted at the door, and a reception and introductory meeting to the Quad City American Harp Society chapter will be held following the concert.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded $840,101 in Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFGs) to local fire departments and emergency medical-service organizations in the state of Iowa. Nationally, the 2007 AFG awards will ultimately provide over $490 million to fire departments and non-affiliated, emergency medical service organizations throughout the country.
Dr. Kathleen Buckwalter delivers a program entitled "A View of Alzheimer's" at the Muscatine Holiday Inn on August 21. Dr. Buckwalter is the director of the John A. Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence, Associate Director of the Gerontological Nursing Interventions Research Center, and holds joint appointments in the University of Iowa College of Medicine's departments of psychiatry and internal medicine. The event, lasting from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., will include dinner prior to the presentation for the first 75 people in attendance. Reservations are required by August 17, and more information is available by calling (563) 324-1022 or e-mailing (Jerry.Schroeder@alz.org).
On August 13, the Rock Island Police Department and Rock Island Housing Authority were recognized by Mayor Mark Schwiebert and the Rock Island city council for their Community Policing Program. Both organizations were presented with a NAHRO (National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials) Housing and Community Development Merit Award on July 20, given during the NAHRO summer conference at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago. The nationally recognized success of the program is in no small part due to the dedication and commitment of the Rock Island Housing Authority's Liaison Police Officer, DyTanya Robinson.
St. Ambrose University will hold a physical therapy open house for interested high school and college students and advisers on September 15, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will be held in the Rogalski Center, located at the corner of Ripley and Lombard Streets, and registration is encouraged. The open house will provide information on SAU's physical therapy program and orthopaedic clinical residency program, as well as the opportunity to meet SAU faculty and hear from practitioners and graduates. Lunch and a tour of the physical therapy department and SAU campus will be provided; space is limited. To register or for more information, call (563) 333-6403.
The Quad City Flames have announced the schedule for their inaugural season in the American Hockey League (AHL). The schedule features 80 regular season games - 40 at home and 40 on the road - and the team will play their first game as the AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames on Saturday, October 6 at the i wireless Center in Moline. A fellow AHL expansion squad, the Rockford IceHogs, will be the opening-night opponent for the Flames. Season tickets for Quad City Flames hockey are available now; lower-bowl season tickets are $500, and upper-bowl season tickets are $340. Youth season tickets, for any seats in the building, are available for $200. Mini-plan packages and individual tickets will be on sale soon. Call the Flames office at (309) 764-7825 to order tickets, or for information on corporate partnerships.
Motown moves to the Quad City riverfront when The Contours, featuring Sylvester Potts, join the Quad City Symphony Orchestra for the 25th annual Riverfront Pops. The Contours' show is jam-packed with dazzling, high-energy choreography, impeccable harmonies, and lush orchestrations that perfectly complement some of the greatest and most enduring popular music of the 20th century. The Riverfront Pops is being held at LeClaire Park in Davenport on September 8, and will end with the traditional "1812 Overture," followed by "Stars and Stripes Forever" and fireworks. The park opens at 3 p.m. for seating, with the concert beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 at the gate and $19 for seniors (children 12 and under are admitted free), and can also be purchased in advance at all area Wells Fargos, Whitey's Ice Cream Parlors, and other area locations.
More than $550,000 has been added to endowment funds at the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend, benefiting nonprofit organizations serving our communities. In January, the foundation's board of directors challenged local organizations to raise $10,000 in new money toward their endowment fund at the Community Foundation, and in return they would receive a $5,000 match.
