A Labor Day-weekend tradition once again blasts into the District of Rock Island in this year's Xtream Rock Island Grand Prix, the August 30 and 31 vent in which hundreds will cheer as participants, from one inch off the ground, traverse city streets at speeds approaching 100MPH.

A delightful fundraiser for music education and an evening with exhilarating tribute rockers are on the August 30 agenda on Davenport's Credit Island, with Common Chord hosting the 2025 rendition of its popular Great River Ducky Derby, and joining the City of Davenport in presenting a Big 9 Concert Series night with the Steely Dan celebration Steely Dane.

A beloved local tradition designed specifically for seniors continues into its 26th year when River Action, on September 4 and 5, hosts two days worth of self-guided Senior Citizen Golf Cart Tours, with his year’s event including a tour of the Arsenal Island taking place in the early evening, allowing for a normally unseen look at the Mississippi River and the historic island.

“Yeah, we're Off the Lawn,” says Ballet Quad Cities Artistic Director Courtney Lyon. “We were asking ourselves, 'What are we gonna call it?' As a joke, kind of tongue-in-cheek, someone said, 'Ballet Off the Lawn'? And we were like, 'Ummm … okay!' Because it has the same feeling as the Ballet on the Lawns – it has great energy, and everything's really engaging and theatrical. It's just gonna be indoors.”

With more than 250 Corvettes from across the county expected to attend the eagerly awaited event, the city of LeClaire's annual Vettes on the River: Vettes Supporting Vets will be held at the LeClaire Levee on August 23, the day-long happening boasting raffle drawings, a color guard ceremony, an awards presentation, and much more.

A popular summertime weekend event making a welcome return in 2025, the Quad City Air Show roars back above and throughout the Davenport Municipal Airport on August 23 and 24, this exhilarating aerial celebration featuring airborne performances, aerobatic teams, helicopters, squadrons, information booths, vendors, musical entertainment, and much more.

Presented as a kickoff to next month's German Film Series at The Last Picture House, and offered as part of the German American Heritage Center's popular "Kaffee und Kuchen" series, the August 24 program From Hitler to Hollywood will find Emmy-winning local filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundles of Fourth Wall Films hosting a screening of PBS' Cinema’s Exiles documentary, and leading a dynamic post-film discussion about some of this period's most influential films, actors, and directors.

Providing a tour of some of the original sites for the Industrial Revolution in the early days of America, as well as a history of why we celebrate the holiday, the video and lecture program The History of Labor Day will be presented at the Rock Island Public Library's Downtown Branch on August 25, with host Dave Stotts of Drive Thru History delivering an engaging and informative look at our collective U.S. past.

On August 20 at the Moline Public Library, guests are invite to bring an appetite for sizzling storytelling when the library presents an online author talk with Casey McQuiston, the writer's program "Returning to Romance Through Food & Flirty Fun in Fiction" a virtual hour with the New York Times bestselling author of Red, White, and Royal Blue and last year's acclaimed romantic comedy The Pairing.

Delivering a blend of local history, environmental issues, education, entertainment, and fresh air, Davenport's River Action will present a series of outdoor presentations in the third and final month of the 2025 Channel Cat Talks and Riverine Walks: weekly programs that, from August 5 through 30, will address such topics as the U.S. Coast Guard, area water quality, the Quad Cities' locks and dams, and spooky tales of Nahant Marsh.

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