A Midwestern comedian, New York Times bestselling author, Emmy-winning journalist, and musician whose content for his various social platforms has amassed more than five million followers, Charlie Berens takes the stage at Davenport's Adler Theatre on September 10, the Wisconsin native famed for his appearances on Comedy Central, Funny or Die, and MTV News.

On September 1, the winners of the Midwest Writing Center's 2021 and 2022 Great River Writer's Retreats will share their talents at the Rock Island Public Library's downtown branch, with the public invited to appreciate the literary stylings of this year's recipient Jo Ivy Young and last year's honoree Jeffrey Wolf.

For the third year in a row, the professional dancers of Ballet Quad Cities bring their considerable talents outdoors in the company's latest incarnation of Ballet on the Lawn – a trio of August 28 performances at Davenport's Outing Club that will deliver, as artistic director Courtney Lyon states, “mostly all-new pieces. Which is surprising to me, because at first I thought, 'Oh, we'll kind of ease into the season … !' But somehow, we decided to instead do new pieces, or pieces that haven't been on stage for a long time, so they're all new to the dancers.”

The literary gifts of more than a dozen area teens will be both celebrated and showcased in a special outdoor event on August 18, with the Rock Island venue Rozz-Tox hosting a release party for the Midwest Writing Center's 17th edition of literary journal THE ATLAS, an evening boasting performances of original work by 14 gifted and burgeoning talents.