Bettendorf – NBC's America's Got Talent introduced the nation to the self-proclaimed "greatest purveyor of chain reaction gadgets in this and the 17 known universes," the Kinetic King. Viewers fell in love with the Minnesota charm ("you betcha" / "whoo hoo") and the impressive chain reactions made from tongue depressors, ping pong balls, plastic cups, and more. View his debut appearance on YouTube. The King will be packing his gadgets and heading to the Quad Cities to build several super-cool kinetic structures at the Family Museum in Bettendorf, Iowa. He will host daily detonations Thursday, March 21 - Saturday, March 23 at 4:00pm.

Last year at the Family Museum, the Kinetic King broke the world record for Clever Levers with a total of 728 - watch the YouTube video here.

The Kinetic King, aka Tim Fort, holds the Guinness World Record for the "Largest Stick Bomb" using 3,864 tongue depressors. It was detonated on June 20, 2010 at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Fort creates displays all over the country (some successful and some not). Many of these attempts he posts to his YouTube page (username LunaTim). The Kinetic King placed 13th overall in season 6 of America's Got Talent.

"Oh wow!" -Howie Mandel, Season 6 America's Got Talent

"Wow!" -Nick Cannon, Season 6 America's Got Talent

"Do it again!" -Nick Cannon, Season 6 America's Got Talent

"Weird, but interesting." -Sharon Osbourne, Season 6 America's Got Talent

"Whoo hoo!" -The Kinetic King, Season 6 America's Got Talent

Find out what the buzz is about March 21-23 at the Family Museum. "It's way beyond your grandma's domino tumbling!" -The Kinetic King

Sponsored by the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
WEST BRANCH, IOWA– Visual artist Vivian Hyelim Kim and writer Emily Melhorn will be the 2013 Artists-in-Residence at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. Vivian Hyelim Kim will be in residence this spring from April 1 to May 25; Emily Melhorn this fall from September 12 to November 2. During their residencies Ms. Kim and Ms. Melhorn will be available to interact with park visitors as they work in the park. Each may also present a public program. The Artist-in-Residence (AIR) Program at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site promotes creative means of communicating the park's national significance and its relevance to visitors.

Vivian Hyelim Kim was born in South Korea and was raised in the U.S. She received her MFA in Painting from Pratt Institute in New York and BFA from Arizona State University Herberger College of Fine Arts. She has had solo shows at Chashama Gallery in New York City and in Seoul, South Korea. She has also participated in numerous group shows and is a recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. She has been awarded residencies at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, New York Mills Residency, Paducah Artist in Residence, Vermont Studio Center and the Contemporary Artists Center. "I wish to observe the plants, flowers, and other organic elements at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site," said Ms. Kim, "and use their forms and patterns in my paper cut outs."

Emily Melhorn is a writer currently living in Los Angeles. She was a former journalist for The Gettysburg Times, The Evening Sun, and NoHo News.  Ms. Melhorn wrote a column "Living the Dream" for many years for The Gettysburg Times. She has had short stories and plays published in Red Weather, received the John V.A. Weaver Prize in Poetry, and Fiction Honorable Mention for Hayden's Ferry Review. Ms. Melhorn was Artist-in-Residence at Homestead National Monument of America in 2012. She is looking forward to writing at the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site and adding to the depth of work about Herbert Hoover. "I would like to put my writings about Herbert Hoover in the context of current issues and events," said Ms. Melhorn.

Herbert Hoover National Historic Site and the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum are in West Branch, Iowa at exit 254 off I-80. Both are open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time. Parking is limited so please allow extra time to find a parking space. For more information go online at www.nps.gov/heho or call (319) 643-2541.

Herbert Hoover National Historic Site
110 Parkside Drive
PO Box 607
West Branch, Iowa 52358

Twitter: @HooverNPS Facebook: HerbertHooverNHS Photographs may be available upon request.
NOW ON EXHIBIT!


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COMING SOON!



Cub Scout Event:

Health Matters
March 15 - 6 - 9 p.m.


Join us March 18 - 22 from 11 am - 2 pm
as we learn about the human body systems  and the sometimes gross ways it works.
Grossology week features FREE family-friendly activities with
your Exhibit Hall admission

Theater Throwbacks

Saturday

Night Fever

Thursday
March 14 - 6 p.m. & 8:30 p.m.

Click for more details!




Theater Throwbacks

Back to the

Future

NEXT WEEK
March 21 - 6 p.m. & 8:30 p.m.








Lost Nation:

The Ioway

2 & 3

March 17 - 6:30 p.m.
Click for more details!








50th Anniversary

The Birds

March 26 - 1pm, 4 pm & 7pm


Oz: Great and Powerful COMING IN MAY!


What to see it where it was
meant to be seen!
Oz: The Great
and Powerful
Putnam Museum
1717 W 12th St
Davenport, Iowa 52804
563-324-1933

"Muscatine's Golden Key" is the title of a new painting which is making its public debut in the exhibition, "The Other Side of the Earth" by Chun Arthur Wang. The painting depicts Xi Jinping, soon to be announced or newly announced (press note: this depends on the timing of the story) President of the People's Republic of China. In the foreground is a portrait of then Vice President Xi during his 2012 visit to Muscatine while the background features Xi receiving the key to the City of Muscatine during his 1985 visit. Xi Jinping is believed to be the only person to hold the honor of receiving two keys to the City of Muscatine - one in 1985 and the other in 2012.

Artist Chun Arthur Wang states, "Most Chinese had never heard of 'Muscatine' until the Chinese and global press reported on Xi Jinping's return visit to this Iowa town in 2012. People were touched by the story that Mr. Xi did not forget the local family that hosted him for three days during his visit in 1985. The profound friendship between Mr. Xi and ordinary American people impressed many Chinese people, including me."

Wang was preparing for his exhibition at the Muscatine Art Center when his family and friends encouraged him to create a painting about Xi Jinping's connection to Muscatine. Xi is depicted twice in the painting - once as a younger man and once as the new leader of China today. Wang describes his depiction of then Vice President Xi: "Mr. Xi looks high-spirited and vigorous as the dignified and confident new leader. He holds the second key to the City of Muscatine in his left hand while using his right hand to wave to his old friends in Muscatine. From his mild eyes we find his joyfulness in reuniting with his old friends. And from his smile we seem to hear an emotional voice from his heart, 'Muscatine, I am back after twenty-seven years'."

The Mississippi River and the Muscatine Bridge are also featured in the painting. The friendship between America and China is symbolized by the Mississippi River both of which "will never be interrupted", as described by Wang. Behind the clouds, Wang has painted two traditional Chinese vermillion red gates which are open in the middle. These gates are intended to symbolize the opening of friendship between the two countries and also the blending of two different cultures.

The painting, "Muscatine's Golden Key," along with 18 other works of art by Chun Arthur Wang will be on view at the Muscatine Art Center through April 21, 2013. Wang will be in Muscatine from March 17th through 19th. An Artist Reception will be held on Sunday, March 17th from 1 to 5 p.m. Wang will speak at 1:30 p.m. The reception is open to the public, and admission is free. On March 18th and 19th, Wang will visit local classrooms and meet with community leaders.

The Muscatine Art Center is located at 1314 Mulberry Avenue in Muscatine, Iowa. Hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Thursday evenings until 7:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Admission is free. Donations are appreciated.

Muscatine's Golden Key.jpg

McCausland, IA / March 21st, 2013:  Peaceful River Trading Co. is hosting a gallery opening for artist and crafter, Cathy Carton. The event will take place Thursday, March 21st from 4:00pm to 7:00pm at 302 North Salina Street in McCausland, Iowa.

Cathy Carton is an avid crafter and an experienced seamstress. She enjoys spending her free time working on new craft ideas and sitting at her sewing machine. Whether she's creating kitchen towels, placements, table runners or American Girl doll clothes, many of her craft ideas come from a passion to decorate her home for the holidays in new and unique ways. "This shop does a wonderful job of showcasing work like mine. I am so happy to have the opportunity to work with Peaceful River.  They really are a great find." says Cathy Carton.

Owner, Sheila Bosworth, is looking forward to the gallery opening. "Cathy is not only talented at what she does, but she truly loves being an artist. We are excited to have the opportunity to feature her work". Peaceful River Trading Co. offers a place for local artists and crafters to display and sell their creations.

Peaceful River brings visitors back to a simpler time and is housed in a beautiful, circa-1916 bank building, formerly the home of McCausland State Bank. They carry many items from arts and crafts to antiques, gifts, and collectibles. Peaceful River Trading Co. is open from 10am to 5pm Wednesday through Saturday and 11am to 4pm on Sundays.  McCausland is located about 20 miles northeast of Davenport, just off Utica Ridge Road on F33 and 5 minutes north of Scott County Park.  Explore Peaceful River Trading Co. at www.peacefulrivertradingco.com.

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The Thirty-seventh Annual Rock Island Fine Arts Exhibition, an annual juried competition co-sponsored by the Rock Island Art Guild and Augustana College, will be displayed at the Augustana College Art Museum through April 21, 2013. The competition was open to visual artists working in any media except video, and residing within a 150-mile radius of the Quad Cities. There were 100 participating artists. Juror Pamela Blotner quipped "It may be snowy and cold outside, but the Augustana College Art Museum radiates with color and energy. Inside the galleries one finds a 'patchwork quilt' of the Quad City area, its cityscapes, rivers, forest and farmlands." Blotner selected 50 art works from 41 artists for the final exhibition More than $3,500 in awards will be presented at the reception on Friday, April 5, at 5:40 p.m

The awards include :

First Prize ($1000): Pam Echeverria (Cedar Falls, IA), Qutang Gorge, acrylics

Second Prize ($500): Teresa Mesich (Rock Island, IL), Bird Circus, acrylic on canvas

Founder's Award ($300) for 2013 in Honor of Mr. and Mrs. G. Pierson (Pete) and Ruth Brauch:

Tom Voss (Bettendorf, IA), East by West, wood?black walnut and American chestnut

Sally MacMillan Watercolor Award ($500): Rosalie Waranius Vass (Batavia, IL), Spinning, opaque watercolor

Two-dimensional Entry Award in Memory of Bernice and Stanley Harris ($500): Peter Xiao (Rock Island, IL), Six Heads to be Hatted, oil on canvas with wood

Three-dimensional Freestanding Entry Award in Memory of Zeivel Harris ($500): Dean Kugler (Davenport, IA), Blind Control, resin

4 Honorable Mentions, Each $100:

Peter Van Ael (Montgomery, IL), Swimmingly, reduction woodcut montage

Richard Ankeney (Galesburg, IL), Lobster Buoys, digital photograph

Jane L. Koski (Rock Island, IL), "Stillness" on a Cool Summer Morning, watercolor

George Olson (Woodhull, IL), Prairie Study: White Vervain, watercolor

During the exhibition visitors can vote on the People's Choice and Children's Choice awards of $50 each. Hours for this exhibition are noon to 4 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays, and Sundays in April excepting the Easter break of March 29-April 3.

The 2013 juror is San Francisco Bay Area artist and curator Pamela Blotner. Over the last 20 years, much of Blotner's work has been informed by her experiences as an Illustrator/Mission Specialist on missions for Human Rights Watch, Physicians for Human Rights, and the Human Rights Center at the University of California at Berkeley. Blotner is an adjunct professor at John F. Kennedy University and St. Mary's College, on the faculty of Pixar University at Pixar Animation Studios, a member of the Women Environmental Artists Directory, and an advisor to the board of Artist's Rescue Mission in Houston, Texas. She concludes "The artists in this exhibition draw upon their native surroundings, but they take us to worlds beyond our borders. And it is a wonderful journey."

For more information, contact 309-794-7231 during weekday business hours.
DUBUQUE, IA. - The spring installment of Art Gumbo, a quarterly soup dinner that supports local art projects with community-supported micro funding, is scheduled for Thursday, March 21, 6-8 p.m., at St. Mark Community Center, 1201 Locust Street in Dubuque.

Art Gumbo is an independent community-based initiative that funds local arts projects using money collected at quarterly soup dinners. During each Art Gumbo funding cycle, artists and arts organizations are alternately invited to submit a brief project proposal that demonstrates an impact on the Dubuque community. The public is invited to attend and vote for their favorite proposal. A $10 donation at the door on March 21 entitles the attendee to soup and home-baked bread by East Mill Bakeshop & Catering and the opportunity to review all submitted proposals, and one vote for their favorite.

The March 21 soup dinner will feature seven proposals submitted by local arts organizations or creative groups whose project demonstrates an impact on the Dubuque community. The proceeds from the door will fund two proposals, first and second place, splitting the funding in a 70/30 fashion. A special group exhibit by Fun A Day Dubuque will feature the work of area individuals who met the challenge to engage in a daily creative activity each day of February. The work will be on display during the Art Gumbo event.

Art Gumbo dinners and micro-funding program are an independent effort initiated by local arts activists Paula Neuhaus and Megan Starr. The project's mission is to bring artists together with art patrons to explore and fund projects, create working relationships, and to build an all-arts network. Since the project's launch in September 2010, Art Gumbo has raised $8,565 to fund 16 creative projects. The March 21 soup dinner is open to anyone interested in attending the event. For more details about Art Gumbo and to review the proposals submitted for this funding cycle visit artgumbodubuque.blogspot.com or contact Paula Neuhaus at art.gumbo.dbq@gmail.com.

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A Reading Featuring the Work of Thax Douglas, Al Johnson's Final Flu, & Ryan Werner

[Dubuque, IA] DubuqueFest Fine Arts Festival will host a reading entitled "Hockey, Welding, & Ice Cream: A Love Story" on Saturday, March 30, 7-9 p.m. at Eronel Art +Music Venue, 285 Main Street. The evening features a reading of original work from writers Thax Douglas, Al Johnson, & Ryan Werner. This rock-n-roll inspired reading serves as a fundraiser for the 36th annual DubuqueFest Fine Arts Festival scheduled for May 17-19, 2013 in downtown Dubuque.

American rock poet Thax Douglas is famous for creating literary snapshots of popular bands' performances and as a long-time fixture on the Chicago, New York, and Austin music scenes, reading his original poems inspired by bands as introductions to their sets. His self-published work includes several collections of poetry inspired by music. Al Johnson pushed the boundaries and destroyed the rules of rock as founder and front man of the band U.S. Maple. Al Johnson's Final Flu is now pushing boundaries in the field of writing as a contributor to Vice Magazine as well as his writing website, AlJohnsonisDecent.com. Local fiction writer and rocker Ryan Werner's short story collection Shake Away These Constant Days was recently published by Jersey Devil Press. His work is quirky, world-wise, and as joyfully rambunctious as your favorite punk rock song.

The public is invited to meet the writers, enjoy the reading, and buy their books. DubuqueFest t-shirts and signed, limited edition silk-screened posters by artist Rich Rossignol will be available for purchase. A sliding scale donation of $5-$10 is suggested. All proceeds from the door support DubuqueFest Fine Arts Festival. More information or donate directly at dubuquefest.org

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COMING SOON!

 

Get your tickets TODAY!


Opening this weekend -

March 9

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Theater Throwbacks

E.T.

March 7 - 6 p.m. & 8:30 p.m.
March 10 - 4:30 p.m.


Theater Throwbacks

Saturday

Night Fever

NEXT WEEK
March 14 - 6 p.m. & 8:30 p.m.




Lost Nation:

The Ioway

2 & 3

March 17 - 6:30 p.m.

Davenport, IA- Crafts! Food! Eggs! The German American Heritage Center will be hosting an "Eiermarkt" or Egg Market Spring Craft Fair on Saturday, March 23rd from 10 am until 3pm. Local and regional vendors will be selling their springtime wares including decorated eggs, carvings, baked goods, and much more! Free admission to the Eiermarkt!

To become a vendor, please call soon, there are only a few tables left!!!

GAHC is located at 712 W.2nd St. Davenport, IA. Call 563-322-8844, visit www.gahc.org, or email kelly.lao@gahc.org for details!

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