The Quad City Clown Troupe is once again offering its annual "Clowning Around" clown class through the Davenport Park and Recreation Department.  The eight-week beginner clown class will meet Thursdays beginning June 4th from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at the Annie Wittenmyer Complex, Cottage 16, next to the Junior Theater.  It will culminate with a clown show performed by the students at the Junior Theater on August 1 at noon.  There will be no class on July 2.  The class is open to ages 10 to 110 at a cost of $44 for Davenport residents and $55 for non-residents. A limited number of income based scholarships are available through Davenport Park and Recreation for Scott County youth 18 years and younger.  Scholarships are provided through partnership with Community Action of Eastern Iowa.

Every year the Davenport Parks and Recreation Department and the Quad City Clown Troupe (QCCT) team up to offer the summer clown class.  It is taught by members of the QCCT, which is a not-for-profit (501c3) organization.  Students will learn some history of clowning, clown code of ethics, proper makeup application, beginning skills of juggling, balloon sculpturing, skits, and magic, with an overall theme of having fun.

The QCCT has some distinguished instructors, including Jim 'BC' Caffrey who in 2012 was awarded the Life Time Achievement Award from the Midwest Clown Association for his years of contribution to the art of clowning and then inducted into the Midwest Clown Associations Hall of Fame in 2013.  Another is Ron 'Toto' Johnson, who was a graduate and instructor at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Clown College, as well as earning some prestigious international awards for his clown work overseas.

The clown class is open to anyone with an interest in clowning, from those who have no previous exposure to the art to those who have given it a try before.

BANDITS GET BY KERNELS WITH 9TH-INNING RUN

Quad Cities bumps its division lead to 6 ½ games over Cedar Rapids and improves to a baseball-best 29-8

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (May 17, 2015) - Quad Cities River Bandits center fielder Bobby Boyd hit three doubles Sunday afternoon, right fielder Sean McMullen homered, and catcher Jacob Nottingham went 3-for-4 with a tie-breaking RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning of a 6-5 rubber match road victory over the Cedar Rapids Kernels at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The River Bandits (29-8) clinched a sixth straight road series victory to open the season and extended their lead in the Midwest League Western Division standings to 6 ½ games over second-place Cedar Rapids (22-14), which left 14 runners on base in Sunday's game. Quad Cities also earned its 16th comeback win of the season to keep its hold of the best record in professional baseball for a 12th straight day.

The game was scoreless through the first two innings, but the River Bandits took the lead against Kernels right-hander Jared Wilson in the top of the third inning. Second baseman Mott Hyde and designated hitter Derek Fisher hit consecutive one-out singles to right field, and Nottingham walked to load the bases. Third baseman Nick Tanielu lifted a sacrifice fly to left field for a 1-0 Quad Cities lead.

In the bottom of the third inning, Cedar Rapids rallied against right-hander Joshua James. Second baseman Pat Kelly hit a leadoff triple down the right-field line, and James hit center fielder Tanner English with a pitch before shortstop Blake Schmit hit a game-tying single to center field. James then hit left fielder Trey Vavra with a pitch to load the bases with no outs. James got a lineout and popout but hit third baseman T.J. White with a pitch to force in a run. James also hit Schmit in the fourth inning, coming within one of the league single-game record of five hit batters. In the fifth inning, James allowed White's two-out infield single and a single by catcher Brett Doe before throwing a wild pitch to bring in a run. James lasted five innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits and two walks with one strikeout.

Wilson kept the 3-1 Kernels lead until the sixth inning, when Tanielu drew a leadoff walk and right fielder Sean McMullen drove a 3-1 pitch over the right-field fence to tie the game with his third home run of the season. It was the first of the year allowed by Wilson, who went six innings Sunday, allowing three earned runs on seven hits and three walks with four strikeouts.

In a 3-3 tie, River Bandits right-hander Ryan Thompson (1-0) began the bottom of the sixth inning. Schmit reached on a one-out error by Hyde, and right fielder Max Murphy reached on a two-out error by shortstop Kristian Trompiz. Designated hitter Zack Larson finished a 10-pitch at-bat with a go-ahead RBI single to center field.

With a 4-3 lead, the Kernels brought in right-hander Zack Tillery to begin the seventh inning. Boyd, who led off an inning with each of his five at-bats Sunday, doubled down the left-field line. Hyde was hit by a pitch, and Fisher grounded into a fielder's choice that retired Hyde at second base. Fisher stole second base - his second steal of the game - and Nottingham lined a game-tying single to right-center field, before Tanielu's sacrifice fly to right field gave Quad Cities a 5-4 edge.

Thompson held the one-run lead until the bottom of the eighth inning, when Vavra led off with his fourth home run of the season over the left-field fence. Thompson finished the eighth inning to match his season high of three innings in relief, allowing two runs - one earned - on four hits and no walks with two strikeouts.

In the ninth inning, Boyd led off with a double to right field and went to third base on Hyde's sacrifice. Tillery struck out Fisher, but Nottingham lined the very next pitch to left field for an RBI single. With a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the inning, right-hander Eric Peterson allowed first baseman Tyler Kuresa's one-out double before fanning Kelly and getting English to ground out to earn his fourth save.

With a 15-3 record on the road this season, the River Bandits open their first four-game road series in Clinton at 6:30 p.m. Monday, when River Bandits right-hander Brock Dykxhoorn (2-2) is scheduled to face LumberKings right-hander Tyler Herb (1-1).

UP NEXT: The River Bandits need your vote in two online contests. The team's logo is in Baseball America's Logo Mania, and the R.I.A. Federal Credit Union Lane Evans Patriot Seats are up for "Best Seat in the House" on MiLB.com. Links to vote are at riverbandits.com. Individual tickets are on sale at the River Bandits box office and online at riverbandits.com. Ticket plans of 12 to 70 games - which include free parking, reserved seats, merchandise discounts, and guaranteed giveaways - are available by calling 563-324-3000.

ABOUT THE BANDITS: The River Bandits ownership in 2014 made one of the biggest improvements to Modern Woodmen Park since the ballpark was first built back in 1931! A new Ferris wheel, standing 105 feet over the playing field, opened May 24, Space Camp opened June 20; the new Drop'N Twist debuted in July; and the newly expanded 300-foot long zip line also reopened.

KERNELS WALK OFF RIVER BANDITS, 4-3 IN 13 INNINGS

Quad Cities loses first road game since April 17 but keeps the best record in professional baseball at 28-8

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (May 16, 2015) - Cedar Rapids Kernels third baseman T.J. White hit a walk-off RBI single to right field to score designated hitter Max Murphy from second base with one out in the bottom of the 13th inning to lift the home team to a 4-3 victory and snap the Quad Cities River Bandits' 10-game road winning streak on Saturday night at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The River Bandits (28-8) lost their first road game since April 17 in what was their longest game since a 6-3, 14-inning win in Beloit on May 31, 2013. Despite its first walk-off loss since a 4-3 loss at Kane County last Aug. 12, Quad Cities still holds the best record in professional baseball and a 5 ½ game lead over second-place Cedar Rapids (22-13) in the Midwest League Western Division standings.

After Kernels right-hander Felix Jorge pitched a perfect top of the first inning, the Kernels posted their first run in the bottom of the inning against right-hander Austin Chrismon. Center fielder Tanner English beat out an infield single to third baseman Kristian Trompiz, stole second base before shortstop Nick Gordon walked, and went to third base when left fielder Trey Vavra singled to center field, loading the bases. Murphy then grounded to Trompiz, who began a double play, but a run scored for a 1-0 Kernels lead.

Jorge kept the lead by retiring the first seven River Bandits batters, until River Bandits right fielder Bobby Boyd reached with one out in the third inning on an error charged to Jorge for being late to cover first base. Shortstop Thomas Lindauer singled to center field to put Boyd at third base, and catcher Jamie Ritchie hit a two-out double down the right-field line to score both runners for a 2-1 Quad Cities lead.

The Kernels tied the game in the second inning. Second baseman Pat Kelly hit an infield single, went to second base on English's sacrifice, to third base on Gordon's groundout and scored on Vavra's single to right-center field. In the third inning, right fielder Zack Larson hit an infield single, went to second base on White's single, and scored after ground balls by first baseman Tyler Kuresa and catcher Rainis Silva for a 3-2 Kernels lead. Chrismon worked five innings for a fifth straight start, allowing three earned runs on six hits and one walk.

Jorge maintained the one-run lead for the Kernels until the seventh inning, when Quad Cities first baseman Jacob Nottingham led off with a double off the left-field wall, went to third base on a groundout by designated hitter Ryan Bottger and scored when Trompiz hit a first-pitch, one-out RBI triple high off the angled part of the left-field wall. Jorge walked Boyd before being removed after 6 1/3 innings, allowing three runs - one earned - on five hits and one walk with three strikeouts. Right-hander Trevor Hildenberger came in to strike out Lindauer before walking Martin to load the bases. Ritchie flied out to end the inning with a 3-3 tie. Hildenberger went on to work 2 2/3 scoreless innings, while left-hander Cam Booser shut out Quad Cities for the 10th and 11th innings, and right-hander Randy LeBlanc did the same in the 12th and 13th. The closest Quad Cities came to taking the lead was when center fielder Derek Fisher led off the eighth inning with a double and went to third base on a sacrifice, but he was thrown out at home plate when Nottingham grounded to third base.

For Quad Cities, right-hander Daniel Mengden started the sixth inning and stranded runners at third base with inning-ending strikeouts in both the sixth and seventh innings. His four shutout relief innings extended his scoreless streak - begun April 23 - to 25 innings. The streak is the longest by a River Bandit since Nick Additon pitched 32 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings in from May 10 to June 19, 2008. Left-hander Reymin Guduan followed with a season-high three innings of one-hit, one-walk, shutout relief for the 10th through 12th innings.

The two teams' bullpens combined for 13 2/3 scoreless innings until the bottom of the 13th inning, when Murphy greeted left-hander Jordan Mills (0-1) with a ground-ball double down the third-base line, and after Larson grounded out to shortstop, White hit a 1-1 pitch to right field, and Murphy slid across home plate as Ritchie dropped Boyd's throw just to the first-base side of home plate.

BANDITS WEAR OUT KERNELS IN 10TH STRAIGHT ROAD WIN

Quad Cities draws a season-high 10 walks and goes to center or opposite field for first eight of nine total hits

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (May 15, 2015) - Quad Cities second baseman Mott Hyde had a career-high four hits and became the first River Bandit with a four-hit game this season, while the lineup drew a season-high 10 walks in its 10th straight road win by a 10-3 final over the Cedar Rapids Kernels at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium Friday night.

With their longest road winning streak in at least 12 years and wins in 15 of their last 16 games overall, the River Bandits (28-7) kept the best record in professional baseball and increased their Midwest League Western Division lead to 6 ½ games over Cedar Rapids (21-13).

Quad Cities opened the scoring in the second inning against Kernels right-hander Michael Cederoth (1-3). Hyde led off with a single to right field for the team's first hit and went to third base after designated hitter Alex Hernandez and right fielder Ryan Bottger drew the first two walks of the game in succession with one out. First baseman Bryan Muñiz then grounded a double down the first-base line to score Hyde and Hernandez, and shortstop Thomas Lindauer grounded out to third base to score Bottger for a 3-0 lead.

For the first time in its last 15 games taking a lead, Quad Cities did not hold it until the end. Cedar Rapids tied the game in the bottom of the second inning with three runs off right-hander Brandon McNitt. Kernels right fielder Zack Larson drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second base on a passed ball, before designated hitter Jorge Fernandez singled to center field, and third baseman Blake Schmit launched a two-run triple on a fly ball to left-center field. McNitt struck out catcher Rainis Silva, but second baseman Pat Kelly hit a one-out double to right-center field that scored Schmit to tie the game, 3-3. Center fielder Tanner English then drew a walk, and shortstop Nick Gordon grounded out to first base to put runners at second and third bases, but McNitt struck out first baseman Trey Vavra to end the inning. McNitt went on to strike out a career-high eight batters in four innings and retired the final six batters he faced after a third-inning leadoff double by left fielder Max Murphy. After that, the Kernels never advanced a runner to second base.

Quad Cities quickly retook the lead in the top of the third inning against Cederoth. Leading off the inning, catcher Jamie Ritchie was hit by a pitch, extending his team season-high on-base streak to 15 games. With one out, Hyde singled to right field, and both runners advanced on Cederoth's wild pitch thrown high off the glove of Silva. Third baseman Nick Tanielu walked to load the bases, and Hernandez hit a ground ball that got through Vavra at first base, allowing two runs to score and Tanielu to reach third base. Bottger then lined a single to left field to score Tanielu for a 6-3 Quad Cities lead. Muñiz grounded into an inning-ending double play, but Cederoth was finished after three innings, allowing six runs - five earned - on four hits and three walks with two strikeouts.

Following Cederoth, Kernels left-hander Sam Clay pitched a scoreless fourth inning but allowed another run in the fifth. Tanielu hit a leadoff single to right field and reached third base after consecutive one-out walks by Bottger and Muñiz, who each drew three walks in the game. Lindauer then hit a sacrifice fly to right field to bring in Tanielu for a 7-3 lead. The River Bandits added two more runs without a hit in the seventh inning. Kernels right-hander C.K. Irby began by walking Hernandez, Bottger, Muñiz and Lindauer in order to force in a run. Left fielder Jason Martin hit a sacrifice fly to center field to bring in the second run for a 9-3 lead. In the ninth inning, Muñiz walked, went to third base when Lindauer doubled down the left- field line - the only one of nine River Bandits hits that was pulled by a batter - and scored on Martin's second sacrifice fly to center field for a 10-3 lead.

River Bandits right-hander Kevin Comer (3-0) tossed a scoreless fifth inning, getting a strikeout, allowing a single and getting Murphy to ground back to the mound for a double play. Right-hander Akeem Bostick began the sixth inning and allowed only two base runners - on a sixth-inning error by Muñiz and ninth-inning single by Silva - to work four shutout innings for his first save since 2013.

Already among the most recognizable and popular trademarks in the game of baseball, the Quad Cities River Bandits' logo is in the field of only 32 logos selected for Baseball America's Logo Mania, which gives fans the chance to vote for their favorite logos online in a bracket format to decide the top logo in the Minor League Baseball over the next two weeks.

Each round of Baseball America's Logo Mania (#BALogoMania) will consist of three days of online voting, with the winner of each head-to-head matchup moving to the next three-day round until a champion is crowned. Voting for the first round goes through Thursday, May 14, with the second round beginning at 9 a.m. Central on Friday, May 15. A link to vote is at riverbandits.com, and there is no limit to the number of votes cast per day.

Placed in the "Creatures" quadrant of the bracket, the River Bandits' primary logo features the team's raccoon mascot, Rascal the River Bandit, and two arches of the Centennial Bridge that is a signature of the ballpark's backdrop and an iconic feature within the Quad Cities.

"The selection of the River Bandits logo for Baseball America's Logo Mania is a further celebration of the special identity of our team with our great community," said team owner Dave Heller. "The image of Rascal the River Bandit is a beloved symbol in the Quad Cities, as it represents a region that has so many special characteristics and has become emblematic for affordable, fun, family-friendly entertainment."

Released anew in November 2013, the primary logo clearly grounds the River Bandits within the club's home community of the Quad Cities, while the secondary logos complete the story of the River Bandits by showing just the raccoon's head (adorned with his trademark fedora and bandana). The raccoon is shown taking batting practice, riding the team's 110-foot tall Ferris wheel, and holding a baseball in his paw. The final secondary logo is an homage to the old River Bandits logo of the baseball with a bandana, by showing it splashing into the Mississippi River.

"When we introduced the new River Bandits logos, we are excited to tell more of the story of the River Bandits and our unique location in the Quad Cities," said River Bandits General Manager Andrew Chesser. "We are thrilled to see these logos are already considered among the very best in the game of baseball."

In recent seasons, fans across the baseball world have recognized the River Bandits and Modern Woodmen Park. The ballpark was voted the Best Minor League Ballpark in a fan vote by USA TODAY and 10Best.com, the River Bandits' home cap was voted the best in all of Class-A baseball, and the team's name was voted as one of the top eight in all of Minor League Baseball in a Sporting News contest. Also, as of Wednesday morning, fans voting on MiLB.com had ranked Modern Woodmen Park's R.I.A. Federal Credit Union Hon. Lane Evans Patriot Seats as the No. 2 "Best Seat in the House" in a contest to decide the best seating view in minor league ballparks.