Called “hilarious and sharp-spoken” by The Huffington Post, and described by BookStr.com as a poet who “has taken no small steps toward proving her brilliance, strength, resilience, and power,” author, activist, and spoken-word artist Olivia Gatwood headlines a special engagement at Davenport's The Stardust on August 31, her recent release New American Best Friend lauded by Thought Catalogue as “the book I wish I had as a teenage girl.”

More than two dozen local, regional, and national comedians will be bringing the funny to this year's Alternating Currents festival, with August 24 and 25 standup sets – plus one hilariously awful movie – scheduled to make patrons roar with laughter at four venues in downtown Davenport.

An Emmy-winning, Grammy-nominated comedian will make a rare area visit to the TaxSlayer Center on August 15, with the Moline venue presenting an evening with film, television, and standup star Jim Gaffigan, the bestselling author and multi-platinum-selling artist appearing in the latest stop on his acclaimed “The Fixer Upper Tour.”

From August 9 through 11, an eagerly awaited summertime tradition will take place both on and in between the LeClaire and Port Byron Levees, as the 32nd Annual Great River Tug Fest delivers outdoor family fun with carnival attractions, live music, arts and crafts vendors, fireworks displays, and the hotly anticipated tug-of-war over the Mississippi River.