Mercado on Fifth, the Quad Cities’ premier Latino cultural market and small-business incubator, will kick off its 10th Anniversary Season with a vibrant Opening Day Celebration on May 22, the scheduled events including live music, a marketplace, food and beverage vendors, and cultural activities throughout the evening.

Delivering a night of prestidigitation that, according to The Bash, "could not have been better," touring artist Jason Hudy brings his show Mesmerizing Magic to Mt. Carroll's Timber Lake Playhouse on May 16, the man's gifts inspiring Studio City Casino's Franz Harary to rave, "To tell you that his professionalism, performance, and overall way of being is outstanding does not give him nearly enough credit."

On May 12, guests of Davenport's Figge Art Museum are invited to a special live dance performance in the Quad City Bank & Trust Grand Lobby, as the first movement of Interwoven Worlds: A Dance Journey Between Three Iowa Cities explores how art, movement, and place connect across communities, turning visual artwork into live performance while honoring each original artist’s work.

Appearing as the final guests in Quad City Arts' 2025-26 Visiting Artist series, a residency that finds the talents leading educational workshops from May 11 through 15, the dancers' area tenure concludes with a Friday-night performance by Ballet Folklórica del Rio Grande, who will demonstrate their astounding athletic prowess and and grace in a full-length program at East Moline's United Township High School.

On May 15 and 16, the Rock Island Arsenal invites the public from the greater Quad Cities and beyond to join in the fun and tribute of the annual Armed Forces Day Celebration, a two-day event boasting live music, races, wrestling, food trucks, military displays, fireworks, and more at your island home for military history and heritage.

Headlining a joyously untraditional night of comedy at the Raccoon Motel, touring standup sensation Dave Losso takes over the downtown-Davenport stage on May 14, the funnyman's Stand Up! Records album A Careless Whisper of a Man having reached number two on the iTunes comedy chart and number four on Amazon's chart.

With her 2025 novel Katabasis lauded by the New York Times Book Review as a work that "shines with devastatingly real characters and absorbing world building," a bestselling, award-winning takes part in the May 20 virtual conversation Babel-On with R.F. Kuang, a thoughtful and entertaining look into the author's process hosted by Illinois Libraries Present, and offered through the Rock Island and Silvis Public Libraries.

With the second part of presenter Richard Baldner's program, guests of Davenport's German American Heritage Center will be treated to An Introduction to Germany's Imperial Rhine on May 17, a fascinating exploration of Western Europe's second-longest river interpreted and illustrated within the context of historic imperial Germany, and delivered as part of the venue's popular "Kaffee und Kuchen" series.

To honor America’s 250th birthday this year, the Bishop Hill Heritage Association will be hosting a variety of activities that look at various aspects of early U.S. history in the 2026 Bishop Hill Civil War Day, the May 16 events including an artillery demonstration, a speech by Union General John Logan, a Civil War music concert, an evening Civil War-era Ball, and, of course, a staged battle.

With the first part of presenter Richard Baldner's program, guests of Davenport's German American Heritage Center will be treated to An Introduction to Germany's Imperial Rhine on May 3, a fascinating exploration of Western Europe's second-longest river delivered as part of the venue's popular "Kaffee und Kuchen" series.

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