QC Bucket List: National Travel and Tourism Week

QC, That’s Where tourism empowers our regional destination. We've put together a Bucket List-type of list together highlighting differest aspects of the Quad Cities and things you can do this week to celebrate and support tourism in our regional destination on the world-renowned Mississippi River.

1. It's a Game

The QC River Bandits have a home game on Sunday, May 1 so we are starting with our sports teams and gaming.

Cheer on the home team! The QC has racked up some impressive sports stats such as:

• Voted #1 Minor League Sports Market in the Country by Sports Business Journal
• Voted #2 American Minor League City by Street and Smith’s Sports Business Journal Bi-annual Ranking of American Minor League Cities
• Modern Woodmen Park was voted the “Best Minor League Ballpark” by the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice Travel Awards
• The first NFL football game was played at Douglas Park in Rock Island in 1920.  The Rock Island Independents beat the St. Paul Ideals 48-0.
• Robert “Rube” Marshall, an end for the Rock Island Independents, was one of the first two African Americans to play for the NFL. 
• PGA TOUR caddies were allowed to wear shorts for the first time at the 1999 John Deere Classic in the Quad Cities for a first-time policy change in the PGA Tour's 83-year history.

Did you know the QC was the first area in the U.S. to offer riverboat gaming? In 1991, the Quad Cities launched a nationwide resurgence of riverboat gambling when the historic Diamond Lady in Bettendorf, Iowa, unveiled its games of chance, just 30 minutes before the President in Davenport, Iowa. One year later, the Rock Island Boatworks featuring the Casino Rock Island began its gaming cruises.  Today, three land-based casinos still operate in the Quad Cities.

2. QC Pillars

If anyone was putting together a must-visit list for the Quad Cities, I would bet these three things would be on the list. They are all foundations in the development of the region.

• John Deere Pavilion
• Rock Island Arsenal - Lock & Dam 15
• Black Hawk State Historic Site - Hauberg Indian Museum

3. Creative Heart of the Heartland

The Quad Cities’ arts and cultural scene flows throughout the region like the currents of the Mississippi River. The Quad Cities has a long appreciation for the arts that continues today (learn more about that here). Did you know the Figge Art Museum (then Davenport Museum of Art) is one of the oldest art institutions in the country and the first municipal art gallery (first started as Davenport Municipal Art Gallery)?

Some ways you can appreciate arts and culture this week:

• Listen to a song jazz legend and Davenport-native Bix Beiderbecke played
• Go to a show at Circa '21 or one of our other local theatres
• Seek out a local artist's work
• Go to a live music performance

4. Where should we go eat?

As I wrote for a guest article in the QC Business Journal, “I’m sure we all have a favorite place to dine.  We might have a favorite memory from a restaurant, and we probably have celebrated a milestone moment at a local restaurant.  There are Facebook groups dedicated to local food, QC food-related memes shared, and friendly arguments had about the best place to get _________ (fill in the blank).”

Whenever we start talking about QC food favorites, these are always mentioned:

• Whitey’s Ice Cream
• Lagomarcino’s
• QC-style Pizza (if you haven't heard of it, learn more here)
• Hungry Hobo
• Jim's Ribs
• Rudy's

5. Thirsty Thursday

This riverfront region has a long history of brewing beer, and the QC Ale Trail invites Quad Citizens and visitors to taste the top-quality pints from our current batch of brewers. Today the Quad Cities region is home to nearly 20 breweries (more than Madison, Wisconsin!) producing their own handcrafted beverages. It is proven that communities that have a strong local craft industry and scene are more successful in the tourism, economic development, and placemaking space. The QC brewing community is a unique place.

Mississippi River Distilling Company has been operating for 11 years in LeClaire, creating spirits with grains sourced from local farmers. “We’re into our eleventh year here in LeClaire and we feel in a way that it’s almost a rebirth with all the adjustments we’ve made in the past year,” said owner Ryan Burchett. “We're really, as a company, worrying less about selling stuff out on the shelves far away from here and now really investing back into our community.”

When we launched the QC Coffee Trail at the beginning of April, we had no idea how fast it was going to grow. There are more than 1700 people on the trail and more local coffee shops adding too.

The QC is just waiting to fill your glass – also check out our wineries.

6. Fun day Fri-YAY

From museums dedicated to art, science, military, trucking, and geology, to those honoring past eras and people, each of our museums delivers something completely different and each opens the doors to discovery and learning. Select a museum you haven't been to lately.

Niabi Zoo just opened for the season. Have you visited the new animals yet?

The sculptures of Iowa artist, Isabel Bloom, are easily recognizable.  As a student at the Stone City Art Colony studying under American master Grant Wood in the early 1930s, Isabel's style evolved into one of simple shapes and rounded features. The subjects she chose to depict - children, animals and mother/child motifs - revealed things that were important to her. 

7. Get Outdoors

Put your devices down [after you finish reading this blog post], get outdoors and breathe. We are all about activating the world-renowned Mississippi Riverfront, our global asset. There are so many must-experience outdoor adventures in the QC.

• Take a Riverboat cruise
• Freight House Farmers Market - outdoor market portion opens Saturday, May 7
• Walk or ride a bike on the riverfront bike path
• Pick a local park to visit and have a picnic, bring the dog, play on the playground, or go mountain biking.

But, wait…

Are there more iconic QC bucket list items that aren't even mentioned here? YES, of course! There are more things that happen in the summer that every Quad Citizen should do or go to at least once such as the ride the Channel Cat, watch the Backwater Gamblers, go to Mercado on Fifth, watch the John Deere Classic, go to an outdoor concert, etc.