Bix 7 Fest and Alternating Currents Return to Downtown Davenport This Summer
After getting canceled last summer due to Covid, the popular Bix 7 weekend festivities and Alternating Currents Festival are returning to
Kyle Carter is executive director of the Downtown Davenport Partnership.
downtown Davenport this summer.
Bix 7 race related activities draw some of the largest crowds to the Quad-Cities annually, and now the Downtown Davenport Partnership (DDP) is introducing a new event model to capture its thousands of attendees to immerse them in the downtown experience July 23-24, the Quad Cities Chamber announced Thursday.
The traditional Street Fest model — featuring traveling vendors — is being replaced with a local focus. New this year, Bix Block Parties will celebrate the neighborhood with multiple blocks of events programmed by adjacent business owners throughout downtown. DDP will provide businesses assistance with funding,
The Downtown Davenport Partnership is having a more local focus in Bix 7 parties this July.
marketing, and coordination.
“After years of successful placemaking efforts, downtown has reached a point where DDP no longer needs to host its own event on 2nd Street to fill the downtown during Bix7 weekend,” DDP executive director Kyle Carter said Thursday.
“This Bix 7 weekend, we want Quad Citizens to come and spend local, attend block party events, and experience the restaurants, bars, and retailers of our downtown neighborhood,” he said. “This is a great opportunity to celebrate the people, places and local flavor that make us who we are as we lift up small businesses who need our support.”
In addition, DDP organizers for the Alternating Currents Festival have announced the music, film, comedy and art experience will return
Bettendorf natives Scott Beck (left) and Bryan Woods showed their horror hit “A Quiet Place” at the end of the 2018 Alternating Currents Film Festival.
Aug. 19-22, 2021. The event will happen throughout the Quad-Cities, including Downtown Davenport, where you’ll find dozens of restaurants, shops, bars and more beyond its official venues.
More than a dozen films — from across the country and by local filmmakers — were shown Aug. 23-26, 2018 in the first Alternating Currents Film Festival, capped by a Sunday screening of “A Quiet Place” and Q&A with Bettendorf natives Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. 2018 was the second year of AC, when it was first expanded to four days after the first year was two days.
Specific events, acts and venues for this year’s AC will be announced in early summer, according to the chamber.
Organizers are now accepting 2021 Alternating Currents Film Festival submissions. Early bird
Alternating Currents, which started in 2017 in downtown Davenport, will return Aug. 19-22, 2021 throughout the Quad-Cities.
deadline is April 5, with final entries due no later than June 1. Selection notifications will be made June 30, 2021.
DDP will continue to embrace recommended Covid-19 protocols this summer and pivot festival planning as needed as health and safety precautions evolve in 2021, the chamber said.
DDP is in the midst of its first Downtown Derby, launching this month. It’s a pine car racing derby (inspired by Boy Scouts days). Its schedule of race days includes:
- Abernathy’s — March 23, 7 p.m. (Hosted at Mac’s Tavern)
- Major Art & Hobby — March 24, 7 p.m.
- Oh So Sweet — April 5, 7 p.m.
- Lopiez Pizza — April 6, 7 p.m.
- Quad Cities River Bandits — April 7, 7 p.m. (Modern Woodmen Park)
- Front Street — April 12, 7 p.m.
- Mac’s Tavern — April 11, 4 p.m.
- Freight House Farmers Market — April 17, 1 p.m.
For instructions on the derby and more information about downtown, visit www.downtowndavenport.com.
