Look Back On The Quad-Cities’ Year In Arts And Entertainment This Week With QuadCities.com
It’s been one hell of a year.
People always say this year is one we’ll never forget. In the case of 2020, that’s not hyperbole. Everyone will remember this year, and most people won’t remember it fondly.
In truth, it seems like it’s been multiple years in one. It began with a couple of months of normalcy, as the specter of coronavirus loomed but the government downplayed it and so people didn’t take it seriously.
Then came March. The first two weeks seemed a bit ominous, but nothing really prepared us for the shutdown mid-March, which was accompanied by people snapping up toilet paper and various food supplies and depleting grocery stores. That month in and of itself seemed like its own year.
By April, people had settled down a bit, and once the stimulus bill was passed, everyone chilled, enjoying takeout and “Tiger King,” and figuring this would all blow over by summer.
However, in May and June, the rioting and social upheaval began, and things took yet another quick turn downward.
July and August saw a repeat of January and February, as people tried to find something of a new normal, and things reached something of a new equilibrium with the weather allowing people to go outside, but it just wasn’t the same.
By September and October, it was obvious things were not going back to normal. The economy continued to roar horribly downward without any stimulus, and as we went into the November election, things looked anything but secure.
November and December showed that we were right to be cynical, as another lockdown hit, the economy continued to spiral for the working classes, and politicians did nothing but make things worse, as covid continued to ravage the country and case numbers and death tolls hit record highs and stratospheric tolls every day, but people just seem numb to it. The vaccine finally hit our shores, and gave us about a week or two of hope before news of different, worse, strains of covid emerged, shutting down England and starting to heat up in Africa.
In terms of the arts, entertainment and leisure scene, it’s all been a gigantic mess. Performance venues have been shut down, people have been on unemployment most of the year, and it’s been a nightmare for all of us whose livelihoods and sanity rely on our ability to connect 
with the larger public through our work.
What will 2021 bring?
Well, I don’t even want to speculate because I don’t want to jinx it somehow.
But hopefully, HOPEFULLY, we’ll see a much better year.
Hopefully.
Damn I hope I didn’t jinx it.
At any rate, as is our annual tradition – crappy year or not – today, we at QuadCities.com begin our look back on the year that was, with a rundown of some of the most impactful stories of the year. This is purely subjective, but the criteria for those included in this rundown are those which had the biggest impact upon the most number of people, which were the most unique, and which stood out in regard to their popularity on the site and in the big picture of the local arts and entertainment scene.
So, here we go. It’s time for our look back at the year that was in arts and entertainment, 2020. Every day between now and New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, we’ll be posting a story painting the big picture on the year, a couple months each day. We hope you enjoy the look back, and let’s all hope for a happy new year and a much, much, much, much better 2021!
