Lars Rehnberg, vice-president for Davenport's seasonal tavern Miracle at the Freight House, discussed the pop-up venue's origins, operations, and challenges in this pandemic year, along with the yuletide décor that might make Disneyland only the second-happiest place on Earth. We spoke on Wednesday, December 2.

History and Christmas buffs will be treated to a ho-ho-whole lot of entertaining factoids in a new virtual presentation on December 1, with the Davenport Public Library (in conjunction with the German American Heritage Center) hosting an online, holiday-themed treasure trove of world history in From Turkey to Germany and Beyond: The Legend & Celebrations of St. Nicholas Day.

Hosted by Eastern Iowa Community Colleges and Muscatine's Stanley Center for Peace & Security, the virtual discussion Empathy in Times of Crisis will gather community members for a conversation on some of the most pressing social issues of our times, with the 90-minute presentation boasting insight and opinion from author Imbolo Mbue, whose novel Behold the Dreamers garnered her the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and the Blue Metropolis Words to Change Award.

A special Zoom party hosted by the Davenport Public Library, the Figge Art Museum, and special guest “JAPANNA” Anna Ito, the November 211 Virtual Teen Anime Day will allow ages 11 to 19 to celebrate their love of the art through a live party featuring a trivia contest with prizes, greeting-card-making activities on Japanese calligraphy and creative-Zen meditation, group drawing activities, demonstrations, and much more.