With the virtual program boasting an interview with the bestselling author of six books including his most recent, Pulitzer Prize-winning King: A Life, the Rock Island and Silvis Public Libraries join Illinois Libraries Present in hosting Bringing History to Life with Jonathan Eig, this January 13 event finding the author in conversation with The Interview Show's Mark Bazer.

Exploring the transformative role immigrants played from 1880 to 1924 as the United States shifted from farmland to factory floors, Why We Need Immigrants and Why That Causes Conflict will be presented by Peter Kivisto at the German American Heritage Center, this fascinating January 11 talk the first 2026 event in the Davenport venue's popular "Kaffee und Kuchen" series.

An Augustana College graduate, former Moline teacher/coach, and Superintendent of Rock Island-Milan Public Schools takes part in a conversation about his recent memoir From Dubuque to Selma & Beyond, a pair of January 15 "Community Connections" book talks with Dave Markward that finds the author, at the Bettendorf Public Library, sharing his personal journey of understanding racism in America.

On December 31, holiday celebrants can deck the halls with boughs of bawdy at Davenport's burlesque-themed Ecdysiast Arts Museum, with the venue hosting a night of live performances, delicious cocktails, and the ringing in of 2026 in the QC New Year's Reverie, which will feature special pre- and after parties in addition to the main event.

Court-ing fans in their eagerly anticipated return to Moline, the electrifying athletes of the Harlem Globetrotters bring their “100 Years of Thrills" tour to the Vibrant Arena at the MARK on January 7, thrilling crowds with phenomenal basketball action, comic hijinks, ankle-breaking moves, jaw-dropping swag, and rim-rattling dunks in a fully-modernized amphitheater production.

Enabling visitors to explore the remarkable ways in which animals across 500 million years have adapted armor for survival, and how these adaptations continue to inspire human innovation, the traveling exhibition Animal Armor takes residence in Davenport's Putnam Museum & Science Center through February 15, the fascinating exhibit exploring the evolutionary battle between protection and predation.

Through January 4, guests of Davenport's German American Heritage Center are invited to explore themes of nostalgia, community, nature, and perspective in the wonderful collection The Prints of David & Sarojini Johnson.

An engaging and fascinating exhibit developed by the Davenport venue's curatorial staff, the Putnam Museum & Science Center's Indigenous Roots of Mexican Americans will, through March 22, treat guests to artifacts and textiles from areas in Mexico that are housed together alongside some 250,000 objects from the Putnam’s collections.

With the December 21 event designed to inspire holiday cheer and nostalgia through the crooning of classics including "O Tannenbaum" and "Stille Nacht," guests of Davenport's German American Heritage Center are invited to join the fun of the German Holiday Sing-Along, a celebration of beloved compositions presented in the final "Kaffee und Kuchen" program of 2025.

A group of dedicated student dancers will bring their talents to Galesburg's Orpheum Theatre on December 19 and 20 when Monmouth, Illinois' Dancer's Studio presents two performances of The Nutcracker, the timeless holiday ballet by composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

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