Elephant & Piggie, Spamalot, Reading Groups For Kids And More In This Week’s 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 …
‘Elephant & Piggie’ Coming To Circa ’21
Are you and your children big fans of Elephant & Piggie?
Then Rock Island’s Circa ’21 has got the show for you, running June 11-July 2.
Get ready for a musical experience, ripped from the pages of Mo Willems’ beloved, award-winning, best-selling children’s books, that will leave audiences doing the “Flippy Floppy Floory” dance all night long! In Elephant & Piggie’s “We Are in a Play!”, Gerald and Piggie take to the stage in a rollicking adventure that is perfect for young audiences. An elephant named Gerald and a pig named Piggie are best, best, “bestus” (a word Gerald and Piggie made up that means “very best”) friends. Which means they have LOTS of fun together. But sometimes they face tough questions.
What do you wear to a fancy party? Should you share your ice cream? Can two friends play with just one toy? Gerald the Elephant is cautious and Piggie is…well, NOT. She’s even happier and more excited than usual. That’s because she and Gerald are invited to a party hosted by the Squirrelles, three singing squirrels who love to have a good time. And so begins a day when anything is possible.
Filled with beloved characters and lively songs, get ready for a hilarious musical experience as two of Mo Willems’ most delightfully amusing characters come to life on stage in their Very First Play!
All performances of this children’s musical are show-only and with performances at either at 10 a.m. or 1 p.m. depending on the day. Performances take place on Friday, Saturday and Sundays and all tickets are $9.50 per person.
For reservations, call (309) 786-7733, ext. 2.
‘Spamalot’ On The Menu At Music Guild
Feeling like a little SPAM?
Quad City Music Guild is presenting Spamalot: The Musical , June 11 & 12 7:30 pm, June 13 2pm. The show is an online Streaming, no in-person performances.
Tickets are:
Single Stream Pass- $12
Couple Stream Pass- $18
Family Stream Pass- $30
You may purchase tickets by calling the box office at 309.762.6610 or by visiting the QCMG website, www.qcmusicguild.com
Have Storytime Outdoors With The Kids
Join us outside at the Eastern Ave. Branch (6000 Eastern Ave.) Story Circle for songs and books every Tuesday in June and July at 10:00 am! Registration for each session is required at https://bit.ly/dpl-outdoorstorytime.
When signing up, please indicate how many children will participate and how many additional people will be present. Space is limited in order to maintain social distancing. If possible, please limit the number of non-participating attendees.
In case of inclement weather, storytime will be cancelled.
This event is FREE and open to the public. For more information visit www.davenportlibrary.com or call the library at (563) 326-7832.
Here’s The Dill On Figge’s New Exhibit
Artist Lesley Dill, a renowned New York-based artist, brings historical and literary figures from America’s past to life in a new exhibition curated by the Figge Art Museum, 225 W. 2nd St., Davenport.
Opening this past weekend, Lesley Dill, Wilderness: Light Sizzles Around Me features a collection of hand-painted and sewn textile sculptures and banners created by Dill over the past six years. Her work carefully interweaves imagery, text, and historical visionaries into
An image from the new exhibit, Lesley Dill, Wilderness: Light Sizzles Around Me, which features a collection of hand-painted and sewn textile sculptures and banners created by Dill over the past six years.
stunning three-dimensional encounters.
Gracefully suspended from the ceiling, the clothing of each figure is delicately embellished with words and symbols drawn from their writings and experiences, according to a museum release. Hand-painted banners hang on every wall of the gallery with further texts and imagery elaborating on their incredible stories. The exhibition demonstrates how far we have come as a country and how far we have yet to go, the release said.
This is the first time the exhibition will be seen. After its presentation in the Q-C, it will travel to five other museums in the South and the Northeastern U.S., including the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts in Alabama and the Munson Williams Art Institute in Utica, N.Y.
“We are honored that Wilderness: Light Sizzles Around Me will debut right here in the Quad-Cities,” Figge executive director Michelle Hargrave said. “When visitors see these colossal and impressive works, they will be in awe. We hope they will be inspired by the personas and reminded of how the powerful words, experiences, and spirituality of these brave individuals helped shape our nation’s history.”
The exhibit will be on display through Aug. 22. For more information on the artist, visit www.lesleydill.net.
Gwendolyn Brooks Dedication Taking Place Next Weekend
“Do not desire to fit in. Desire to oblige yourselves to lead” – Illinois Poet Laureate Gwendolyn Brooks.
The new Gwendolyn Brooks Memorial Park Dedication will take place on the Western Illinois University Macomb campus beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday, June 12. The Park is located on the corner of Adams and Normal streets on the WIU-Macomb campus, on the site of the former Gwendolyn Brooks Cultural Center (GBCC). As COVID-19 restrictions remain in place, the event will be limited to 100 participants, 
by invitation only. The dedication will also be livestreamed on WIU’s YouTube channel at bit.ly/WIUYouTubeChannel
The Gwendolyn Brooks Memorial Park was created is to honor the legacy of an American icon and award-winning poet, the Illinois Poet Laureate, Pulitzer Prize winner, nurturer of excellence and Western’s first Honorary Doctorate recipient.
According to Carl Ervin, program coordinator for the WIU Multicultural Center, the park is located on the ancestral lands of the Illinois (Inoca) indigenous people, and on the site of the former Black Cultural Center (BCC). The BCC was established in 1969 as a result of the WIU Black Student Association and a WIU student task force. It was dedicated as the Gwendolyn Brooks Cultural Center on March 21, 1970. The GBCC, also known as “The Black House,” served as a home away from home for 32 years before moving to the Multicultural Center in August 2009.
‘Princeton’s Rage’ Raging Into Playcrafters
Playcrafters Barn Theatre’s first production in 15 months, the new drama “Princeton’s Rage,” is deeply personal for both its Quad-Cities playwright and director.
Adrienne Jane Evans and Gary Talsky (who plays the former bully) in “Princeton’s Rage.”
In the Don Faust play (rated R for language and adult content), Princeton Yale left his hometown of Chicago over 30 years ago, turning his back on an abusive past at the hands of his high school classmates and never looking back. But through a series of happenstances, Princeton’s past comes to pay him a visit, in the form of one of his former tormentors, Reece “Rage” Johnson, and more than just talk about “the good old days” will be revealed. Will their lives ever be the same?
Though a work of fiction, Faust (a 27-year Playcrafters acting veteran), based the story on growing up bullied in Chicago.
“As a victim of bullying myself, I can attest to the fact that the lingering effects don’t end once diploma is in hand,” the 57-year-old Davenporter, who works as a claims adjustor for Sentry Insurance, wrote for the program. “Mine was worse in grade school and junior high than high school, but I digress. Like Princeton, I left my home in Norwood Park, Chicago, as soon as I could, and never looked back.
“Princeton’s Rage” will be presented on June 4-6 and June 11-13.
“Too many bad memories, and yet, in spite of the nearly three hours distance and several decades between me and my childhood, I can never quite escape its grip on me,” Faust wrote. “Walking down the street, I see a group of kids approaching me, and my kid brains immediately goes back to wondering what they might do to me. Someone’s angry tone sends me into shutdown mode, thinking it’s yet another prelude to getting hit or shoved once again.
“Occasionally, I still see my former tormentors in my dreams (or, more accurately, nightmares),” he said. “They’re chasing me and finding me no matter where I go, no matter where I hide. Like many trauma survivors, the effect from bullying are alive and well just beneath this 57-year-old’s otherwise calm exterior.
The new play is supported by Quad City Arts, through the Arts Dollars re-granting program, supported by the Illinois Arts Council Agency and the Hubbell-Waterman Foundation.
Performances will be 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, June 11-12, and 3 p.m. Sundays, June 13. Playcrafters tickets are $12 for the general public, and $10 for military and seniors (62+), available at playcrafters.com, or by calling 309-762-0330.
Black Box Delivers ‘Hate Mail’
The Black Box Theatre in downtown Moline will be presenting the comedy “Hate Mail” by Bill Corbett and Kira Obolensky through June 12.
The Black Box Theatre is at 1623 5th Ave., Moline.
Performances begin at 7:30 pm except Sundays, which begin at 2:00 pm
“Hate Mail” follows Preston Dennis, Jr. who writes a furious letter to a store demanding a refund for a broken snow globe. In his increasingly heated exchanges with the assistant manager Dahlia, who gives as good as she gets, he gets her fired – and finds a vengeful epistolary match. These two begin an epic, often acrimonious correspondence as their lives intertwine. ”Whether Preston and Dahlia are joining cults, having breakdowns, shipping each other deceased lizards, or falling in love, “Hate Mail” is a two-person comedy full of surprises at every turn” says Playscripts.
“Hate Mail” is the opposite of “Love Letters,” which the Black Box produced several seasons ago. The show features adult language and content.
Starring as the two mismatched, bickering sometime lovers are Matt Walsh and Wendy Czekalski with BBT co-founder Lora Adams 
directing.
Tickets may be purchased online at theblackboxtheatre.com.
Record Store Day Spinning In Rock Island
Add Color to Your Summer with Rock Island Library Events this week
Summer reading and events at the Rock Island Public Library begin the first week of June in full technicolor style with a summer reading “colorama” kickoff, a take-home pinwheel kit for kids, the start of Summer2Go events around the library bookmobile, a Friends and Family seminar with NAMI, and more.
From June 1 to July 31, Reading Colors Your World summer reading challenges and events at the Rock Island Public Library will encourage readers of all ages to be creative, try new things, explore art and color, and see the beauty of diversity.
Library summer reading programs help children and teens catch up on reading for fun, reduce summer learning loss, and connect to a lifelong pastime. The library’s summer reading contests encourage children, teens, and adults to continue reading with pre-set goals and rewards. Participants may enter and track anytime through July 31 with the library’s Beanstack site or app. A downloadable print log for all 
ages is also available via the Library’s website.
Check Out Art At The Airport
The newest Quad City Arts’ Art at the Airport exhibit is all in the family — paintings by Kristin Quinn of Davenport, with ceramic creations by
her sister, Megan Quinn, of Rock Island, on display through June 30.
Megan Quinn is a professor at Augustana College in Rock Island, while Kristin Quinn is a professor at St. Ambrose University in Davenport. Megan is a ceramic artist, and Kristin is a painter.
The two sisters grew up in a family of five children with parents who were educators, and their dad was a physicist who specialized in optics and provided access to visually stimulating apparatuses: prisms,
lenses, holograms, etc. Along with lessons on the natural world, they were encouraged to ask questions.
Growing up learning to really look at things and question how things work or what causes things to be the way they are, informs the way they look at art and how they approach their work, according to a Quad City Arts release. Although Megan and Kristin are different artistically, both enjoy experimentation and are inspired by nature and science.
These sister artists approach their very different art forms with a similar sensibility. In addition to the airport gallery, the artist’s works can be seen and purchased online: https://www.quadcityarts.com/art-at-the-airport.html.
Art at the Airport in The Quad Cities International Airport gallery is easy to find. It is just across from the gift shop and restaurant and right before the security checkpoint. The gallery never closes, and you will pay just a dollar for parking.
