Windy City Pianos, Manny Lopez, Lojo Russo, Easter Activities And More Highlight Our FUN10!
It’s Sunday, and QuadCities.com proudly presents Fun10, a list of the top 10 things to do in the Quad Cities this week, and every week!
Every Sunday, we drop a new Fun10, to give you a head start on your week and a heads up on what’s going on over the coming seven days. Check out FUN10 every Sunday for the details on ten awesome events happening around town. It’s a cool read, and a great way to get started planning your entertainment for the week.
FUN10 — ten ways for you to have fun in the Quad-Cities, this week and every week, running every Sunday, only on your site for fun, free, local entertainment, QuadCities.com!
So what’s on the FUN10 for this week? Read on …
Let’s Start Off With Easter Activities!
It’s Easter weekend, and of course there are plenty of egg hunts for you and your little ones to check out this weekend.
Here’s a rundown of some of the ones the bunny is rolling in:
Camden Park in Milan is holding an Easter celebration, complete with the aforementioned bunny, an egg hunt, and more, today at 2 p.m. For more details, see here.
Also on Easter Sunday at 11 a.m. there’s an Easter Egg Hunt, along with a tune, track and race, going on at the Rock Island County Fairgrounds Dirt Track, that’s a way to get your engine roaring.
And, Davenport Parks and Recreation are hosting a city-wide egg hunt April 1-7; get the details here.
Civil Conservation Presentation Set Monday
Scott County Iowa Genealogical Society and the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center of the Davenport Public Library invites you to attend a presentation on the Civil Conservation Corps by Linda McCann on Monday, April 5th at 7:00 pm on Zoom.
McCann is an author of non-fiction Iowa history; including Prisoners of War in Iowa; Prohibition in Iowa; several books about the Civilian Conservation Corps in different areas of Iowa; and The Vanished Towns of the Cedar Valley series. She presents on many topics from her books.
Registration is required to receive Zoom meeting details. Register here: https://davenportlibrary.libcal.com/event/7611542
Keep up with our virtual programming on our Virtual Branch Calendar of Events at https://davenportlibrary.libcal.com/calendar/virtual.
This event is FREE and open to the public. For more information visit www.davenportlibrary.com or call the library at (563) 326-7832.
Virtual Lecture Slated At Western Illinois University
University of Illinois Communication Professor Leanne Knobloch will deliver Western Illinois University’s 30th annual Wayne N. Thompson 
Scholar Lecture via Zoom at 4 – 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 7. The lecture is sponsored by the WIU Department of Communication.
Knobloch will deliver “Navigating the New Normal: Communication of Military Families during the Transition from Deployment to Reintegration.” Her lecture will focus on the importance of communication in how military families transition from a family member being deployed to returning home.
Knobloch has conducted many studies on communication processes in military families, and focuses her research on developing insights into how people can have more satisfying relationships. She has received many teaching and research awards in her distinguished career.
The Wayne N. Thompson Lecture is named to honor WIU alumnus Wayne Thompson, who was a former professor of speech communication. An endowment in his name helps sponsor a number of department programs to enhance learning and scholarship in the field of communication, including this lecture by a prominent scholar in the field.
This lecture is open to anyone and can be joined at wiu.zoom.us/j/98880959400.
Piano Man Rollin’ In To Rock Island
Sing us a song, Charlie, you’re the piano man!
Lojo Returns With A New Gig
Being a full-time professional musician is hard enough. The Covid pandemic has made that a million times harder, as Davenport’s Lojo Russo learned over the past year.
Russo — whose diverse style includes roots, blues and Americana — dedicated 28 straight days recently to performing Celtic music online.
An ovarian cancer survivor, the popular singer-songwriter (unlike many Q-C bands and musicians) decided not to perform public gigs indoors. For St. Patrick’s Day this year, Russo did a private event at a company’s break room, while wearing a mask, and it was awkward.
On Tuesday night, April 6, Russo will return for the first time playing in public since October, at a special event. The “You First Music Celebration” – starting at 6 p.m. at Crawford Brew Works, 3659 Devils Glen Road, Bettendorf — is the brewery’s first co-sponsored public event with another organization involving live music.
It was created in conjunction with Realty One Group: Opening Doors to celebrate and support local musicians, as well as celebrate local real estate professionals and their clients, no matter what organization they are from. Free to the public, Russo and two other Q-C standouts – Bobby Ray Bunch and Molly Durnin – will each play 50-minute sets.
Manny Lopez Big Band Is Back At The Speakeasy
The Speakeasy folks are thrilled to announce that, after a year, the big band is back at the Rock Island Speakeasy!masks in the theater when you’re moving around.
day of the show. We have changed the schedule of the show. Doors now will open at 6 and the concert will be from 7 to 9 p.m. We will have our normal food items available for the concert.
We will not be able to reserve parties of 2 or 3. If you are a party of 2,3 or 5 please find friends to come with you! We’re sorry about the inconvenience but look forward seeing many of you on April 9. Tickets may be reserved by calling 309-786-7733, ext. 2.
WIU Hosting Spring Into Fun
The Western Illinois University Office of Student Engagement (OSE), in conjunction with numerous other campus offices, will host “Spring Into a Fun Semester” March 29- April 10 during the Spring 2021 semester.
The goal of the events is to help engage students and help them make meaningful connections.
The two-week schedule includes:
• Monday, April 5
– Campus Rec Esports Leagues (Rocket League & FIFA) Begins, virtual
– Kinder Monday (Financial Aid) – in person, located in Sherman Hall, (Time TBD)
– 11:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m. – MCC LGBT*QA Resource Center & Felicia Lonosky, WIU Honors Student present the “Honoring LGBTQ+ Musicians and Music” – in person, located on the MCC Lawn
• Tuesday, April 6
-11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – L.E.A.D. Series – Communication Through a Social Justice Lens- in person, located in the Capitol Room of the Union
– 3 p.m. – L.E.A.D. Series – Financial Literacy Workshop – in person, located in the Lamoine Room of the Union
• Wednesday, April 7
-11 a.m. – 1 p.m. – Wednesday’s with the Women’s Center – in person, located in the MCC Multipurpose Room
-6-7 p.m. – L.E.A.D. Series – Financial Literacy Workshop, virtual
-6-7 p.m. – WIU’s Zoom Social, virtual
– 7 p.m. – UUB Bingo, virtual
-5-7 p.m. – MCC LGBT*QA Resource Center/ MCC Casa Latina Cultural Center present Walter Mercado’s Documentary “Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado”- in person, located in the MCC
• Thursday, April 8
– 1-2 p.m. –Café y Hablamos – in person, located in the MCC Casa Latina Cultural Center
• Friday, April 9
-1 p.m. – L.E.A.D. Series – Know Your IX – in person, located in the Sandburg Lounge in the Union
– 4 p.m. – L.E.A.D. Series – Know Your IX – in person, located in the Sandburg Lounge in the Union
– 7-9:30 p.m. – MCC LGBT*QA Resource Center presents “Gaymer Night” – in person, located in the MCC
• Saturday, April 10
– Dolores Huerta Day of Service – TBD
For more information or links to virtual events, visit wiu.edu/PurplePost and click on “events.”
Decode The Weather Machine With New Discussion
In time for Earth Day 2021, let’s talk about climate change with a discussion of NOVA’s film Decoding the Weather Machine on Thursday, April 8th at 6:00 pm on Zoom. Be sure to view the stream of the film online or check out a copy of the DVD from the Library and bring your thoughts.
The film is available free to stream here: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/decoding-the-weather-machine/
This program is provided by Resilient Communities: Libraries Respond to Climate Change, a pilot program of the American Library Association.
Registration is required to receive Zoom meeting details. Register here: https://bit.ly/dpl-weathermachine
Keep up with our virtual programming on our Virtual Branch Calendar of Events at https://davenportlibrary.libcal.com/calendar/virtual.
This event is FREE and open to the public. For more information visit www.davenportlibrary.com or call the library at (563) 326-7832.
Quad City Arts High School Art Show On Display
Quad City Arts presents the 44th-annual High School Art Invitational at Quad City Arts Gallery in Rock Island, through April 29, 2021. The exhibition is free and open to the public.
The gallery (1715 2nd Ave., Rock Island) will be open extended hours — until 8 p.m. — on April 29th. A virtual award presentation is live on
Quad City Arts Facebook page , along with an online gallery where all of the entries can be viewed at www.quadcityarts.com/hs-invitational.html,
This exhibition features exemplary works of art selected by each high school art teacher in the region. On average, 16 schools, 28 teachers and over 170 students are provided the opportunity to show their artwork in a commercial art gallery and compete for over $4,000 in scholarships and prizes.
Primary sponsorship is provided by The William Butterworth Foundation. Scholarships are sponsored by the Morrisey Family Foundation, The Deere Employees Credit Union and Quad City Arts’ board members. Other awards are sponsored by Dphilms, Living Lands & Waters, Zimmerman Honda, the Left Bank Art League, The Rock Island Art Guild and local artists in the area of their expertise.
Quad City Arts is a nonprofit local arts agency dedicated to enriching the quality of life in the region through the arts. The Quad City Arts Center Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
For more information, visit www.quadcityarts.com.
Check Out The Blues Jam!
The Hilltop is THE neighborhood bar and grill of the Quad Cities. Featuring the best local draft beer selection and great food. It’s at 1228 38th St., Rock Island.
And every Wednesday night at 8 p.m. at the Hilltop you can check out some awesome local musicians at the open mic blues jam.
So if you like the blues, head to the Hilltop on Wednesdays!
