One of the most fascinating of all oceanic creatures will be given an up-close-and-person look at the Putnam Museum & Science Center through February 4, when the venue displays the Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibit Narwhal: Revealing an Arctic Legend, an examination of the water-based wonders from their depiction in the 1500s as angry sea monsters to their present status as icons of pop culture.

With the professional company's annual, yet all-new, presentation of Love Stories being staged at Davenport's Outing Club on February 10 and 11 – audiences for the 2023 edition will be treated to a little bit of everything: classical dance, modern dance, lyrical dance; Bach, Debussy, Sonny Rollins with the Modern Jazz Quartet. But while the performances come with either a served dinner or desserts available for purchase, Artistic Director Courtney Lyon has has another food reference for what patrons can expect: “It's kind of like a buffet,” she says. “You get to try to a lot of different things.”

On February 8, the Rock Island Public Library, Moline Public Library, and Illinois Libraries Present will host a special virtual program in which participants will learn how to harness the power of words and storytelling for change, with the award-winning author of 36 books author taking part live in Saying Yes to Your Story: A Conversation with Kwame Alexander.

Designed to offer a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see our incredible national symbol in its natural habitat, the inaugural LeClaire Eagle Festival will, on January 21 and 22, treat visitor to live eagle demonstrations and educational presentations, as well as opportunities to watch bald eagles soaring through the skies high above the Mississippi River.

Presented on January 19 as part of the Davenport Public Library's 3rd Thursday at Hoover's Presidential Library & Museum series, the virtual program Iowa & the Great Depression will find Park Ranger Peter Hoehnle speaking on how Iowans experienced the 1930s, with discussion on the ways that they survived hard times, and how some residents turned to radical action in response to the ordeal.

Presented by the Davenport Civil Rights Commission, the Davenport Public Library's February 2 event Black History: The Fight For Civil Rights in Davenport invites visitors to the Fairmount Street Branch for a discussion about local, historical Black people from the Quad Cities, including one of the community's most prominent one-time citizens: Dred Scott.

In conjunction with the German American Heritage Center's current exhibition The White Rose: The Student Resistance Against Hitler, Munich 1942-1943, the Davenport venue sponsored a poetry contest seeking original works inspired by the theme of “resistance.” All individuals chosen for the slam were between 13 and 20 years of age, with their poems five minutes or less in length, and the contest winners received $100 as compensation for their entries.

An eagerly awaited wintertime treat, an annual celebration of Jack Frost's powers returns to downtown Davenport in Icestravaganza 2023, with this safe and family-friendly event – taking place from January 13 through 15 – boasting favorite monuments carved out of ice and lit up with gloriously colorful LED lights.

A native of Zion, Illinois, whose touring act was deemed “Unbelievable!” by USA Today, master illusionist Bill Blagg brings his his astonishing and hilarious prestidigitation to the University of Dubuque's Heritage Center in January 13's The Magic of Bill Blagg Live!, delighting crowds with the sleight-of-hand and audience rapport that led the Chicago Tribune to call the show “a side-splitting spectacular.”

With this year's theme inspired by the Civil Rights leader's famous quote "Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle," Rock Island's Martin Luther King will host the virtual presentation of the 40th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Service & Awards on January 16, an online event boasting a variety of performances and presentations in honor of Dr. King, plus the awarding of two scholarships.

Pages