Delivering a blend of local history, environmental issues, education, entertainment, and fresh air, Davenport's River Action will again present a series of outdoor presentations in the first month of the annual Channel Cat Talks and Riverine Walks: weekly programs that, from May 31 through July 2, will address such topics as commercial fishing, steamboating, the Quad Cities River Bandits, the Hauberg Estate, and the history of Arsenal Island.

On May 29, patrons of Davenport's German American Heritage Center will be treated to a fascinating presentation on one of the longest-running religious traditions in world history, with The Oberammergau Passion Play: Tradition & Renewal Since 1633 exploring the work that was performed every year from 1634 to 1680 – and, with a few exceptions, every 10 years since 1680 – by the inhabitants of the village of Oberammergau in Bavaria, Germany.

Hosted by the Quad Cities Bicycle Club and returning to the Village of East Davenport for the first time since 2019, an eagerly anticipated Memorial Day tradition returns for its 55th year in the Quad Cities Kwik Star Criterium – a May 30 event featuring hundreds of adult and youth cyclists from across the U.S., Canada, and Europe participating in nearly a dozen bicycle races, with thousands of dollars in cash prizes awarded throughout the day.

Praised by ChicagoNow for his “warm, engaging stage presence and inventive, impeccable joke writing,” touring comedian Michael Palascak brings his standup set to Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Rhythm Room on May 26, the noted funnyman having performed at nearly 200 colleges and universities (including Davenport's St. Ambrose) over the years, as well as on talk shows including The Late Show with David Letterman, Kevin Hart's LOL Lounge, and Conan.

Appearing virtually in a special event made possible by Illinois Libraries Present, a pair of gifted writers will participate in the May 25 presentation An Evening with Jessamine Chan and Emily Maloney, an entertaining and informative night featuring Chan, the New York Times bestselling author of The School for Good Mothers, and Maloney, the critically lauded author of the essay collection Cost of Living.

While most of the presentations in the Davenport Public Library's monthly 3rd Thursday at Hoover's Presidential Library & Museum series have focused on former president Herbert Hoover, the series will take an overdue look at the extraordinary contributions of his wife when speaker Annette B. Dunlap, on May 19, delivers her fascinating virtual program A Woman of Adventure: The Life & Times of First Lady Lou Henry Hoover.

An instantly recognizable stage presence who has served as a Las Vegas headliner for close to 20 years, the madcap comedian Carrot Top brings his prop comedy and observational humor to Davenport's Adler Theatre on May 19, his career of more than a quarter-century boasting everything from voice-over duties for the Cartoon Network to appearances on such Emmy-winning television series The Larry Sanders Show and Scrubs.

Visitors to Davenport's Putnam Museum & Science Center can receive insight into problem solving and abstract thinking using mathematics, physics, and design with fun, simple building materials in the venue's Build! Create! Innovate!, an exhibition that, through September 4, boasts 3,600 square feet of building space and more than 15,000 KEVA Planks, along with photography of local architecture and a pre-built bridge, Kone Tower, and the Putnam’s iconic Velie automobile.

Visitors to Davenport's Putnam Museum & Science Center can learn all about the birds and the bees – and the butterflies, and the moths – in the venue's latest Pollinators' Palooza, a May 14 event dedicated to nature's springtime pollinators that will boast presentations, a film screening, and arts and crafts for children.

A gifted musician and noted author discusses her music career and beloved bestseller Crying in H Mart: A Memoir when the Rock Island and Moline Public Libraries present An Evening with Michelle Zauner, a virtual May 18 program that allows participants an audience with the talented writer and Grammy-nominated singer/guitarist who creates blazing indie pop under the name Japanese Breakfast.

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