Quadsville

If you're headed to the Gallery Hop! tonight in The District of Rock Island, make sure you check out our interactive map to plan out your night.

It features all the Hop! venues, lists what artists will be at each location and even has links to the Web sites of the artists on display.

View Rock Island Gallery Hop! in a larger map

Show to see

Brooklyn-based KaiserCartel will perform in a Daytrotter Presents show at 5 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 5 at RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave., Rock Island. The all-ages show also features Omaha, Neb., band Thunder Power.

The show begins at 5 p.m. and admission is $5.

For those who are 21 years and older with an extra $4 to spend, Peoria, Ill., band Mindset Evolution takes the stage at 10 p.m. tonight.

For the family

Children in kindergarten through third grade can write and illustrate stories at the Reading Rainbow writing workshop, 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 7, at the Rock Island Public Library, 401 19th St.

The children will learn about the concepts of character, plot, setting and brainstorming.

Pre-registration is required and can be made by calling (309) 732-7323.

For teens

The Davenport Public Library's Teen Volunteer Council gives area teens the opportunity to get involved in their community. The council helps provide programming and materials for teens.

The next meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10, at the Davenport Public Library-Fairmount Street, 3000 N. Fairmount. The event is free.

He said what?

Benjamin Taylor, the only son of music megastars James Taylor and Carly Simon, had been billed simply as Ben Taylor for his first four albums, but he went to the long version of his name for the fifth, “The Legend of Kung Folk, Part One (The Killing Bite).”

“I feel like I’m growing up quick and I might as well use all the syllables I’ve been given,” Taylor, 32, said.

To read a story on Taylor published in the Quad-City Times, click here.

Our story on “Augustana Sights and Sounds,” a Bucktown exhibit that will feature the work of Augustana Photo Bureau students, is online along with a photo gallery of their works.

The event also featured a photo contest for high school students. Here are the winners:

First place — Maura Warner; Davenport Central High School, for “Reflection”

Second place — Jaclyn Rahn; James B. Conant High School, Roselle, Ill., for “The Field”

Third place — Erin White; Kimberly Center East High School, for “Crossing Over”

Other students whose works are included in the display include:

Ashley Vegter, Brandon Addison, Marissa Gooden and Desiree Skelley, all of Kimberly Center East High School.

If you go

What:

When: 6-9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 30

Where: Bucktown Center for the Arts, 225 E. 2nd St., Davenport

How much: Free 

I interviewed Augustana College students Ashley Biess and Matt Peters today for preview of Augustana Sights and Sounds, which will take place later this month at Bucktown Center for the Arts.

Sights and Sounds is a display of the photography by the Augustana Photo Bureau, which is comprised of students, such as Biess and Peters, who essentially capture events on and around the Augustana College campus in Rock Island. The students’ work is guided and critiqued by Marla Alvarado Neuerburg, the Photo Bureau adviser.

Neuerburg, a highly talented photographer in her own right, whom I’ve known since my days as a student there, has raised the bar when it comes to photographic talent at Augustana. I was around for the inception of the Photo Bureau in 2005 because I was the incoming editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, and organizers thought at the time that the Bureau and the newspaper’s photographers could work together.

As I hired photographers that spring for the following school year, the level of photography brought to me by applicants was nowhere near the quality that is showcased on the flyer for the upcoming event. Neuerburg has done a great job working with students to help them achieve a level of artistry with their photos.

Stay tuned for more on Augustana Sights and Sounds. In the meantime, here is the event information:

If you go

What: Augustana Sights and Sounds

When: 6-9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 30

Where: Bucktown Center for the Arts, 225 E. 2nd St., Davenport

How much: Free

Stephanie De Pasquale can be contacted at (563) 333-2639 or sdepasquale@qctimes.com.

I don’t really know what I was thinking when I wore a short-sleeved shirt, ballet flats and no gloves, scarf or hat to the Gallery Hop! I’ve been to the Hop! several times before as a caroler with the Augustana Women’s Ensemble when I was a student at Augustana College.

Back then, I’d bundle up in several layers of socks and sweaters, even donning two pairs of gloves and topping it all off with snow boots, scarves and a hat.

I realized my mistake as soon as I got out of my car and headed straight to Theo’s Java Club to get a mocha, which I desperately clung to as a hand warmer for the rest of the night.

Theo’s drew an eclectic crowd of most 20-somethings to see the artwork of Marty “M.J. Heat” Jones, who also performed with his band X+X. I saw some of Jones’ artwork when I interviewed him for a story to preview the Multimedia Happening, which was part of the Gallery Hop! But one very interesting piece that I didn’t get a chance to see was a skull made of keys from a broken electric board fixed to a black board.

When Jones and Multimedia Happening organizer William Martin took the stage to provide what Martin previously said would be some cool jams, there seemed to be far more instruments on stage than the two would need.

But soon Martin on cow bell and hand drums and Jones on guitar were joined by audience members who picked up the other instruments and started improving with them. The sound got very loud, very quickly with the highlight coming when Jones started to play the guitar with a violin bow, creating an eerie, sad sound.

Then for a completely different change of pace, I headed to Quad-City Arts, which was filled with a more mature crowd and young couples on dates. One woman on a date was wearing a thin, knee-length dress that made me feel less stupid about forgetting to bundle up.

One of the more interesting artists work on display for the event were carvings of wooden cottages by Larry Westmorland. One of his larger models looked like it could have been plucked right out of a fairy tale.

But the current exhibit by Matt Moyer, whose works of pipes and other industrial materials that have been fused together, are what drew in the most gazes by onlookers.

I found an even more mature crowd at Left Bank Art League, where wine and cheese were offered instead of the hot chocolate and sweets at other locations.

Artist Judy D. Gray was on hand, creating a piece while Hop! attendees looked on. She also had several works displayed depicting flowers painted with such vibrant blues, reds and greens that a three-dimensional effect was created.

The cold aside, it was a fun evening and I enjoyed seeing shops open in The District that normally are closed in the evenings.

What artists and stops on the Gallery Hop! did you all enjoy most?

Stephanie De Pasquale can be contacted at (563) 333-2639.