Alan Daniels, aka Anjila Cavalier, earns respect from southern Illinois to northern Iowa
As hundreds packed themselves into Bass Street Landing in downtown Moline, IL, on a warm June afternoon, Alan Daniels was readying himself for yet another performance. The routine is a familiar one for the Rock Island native turned drag queen. Cinched in a yellow...
Out and About in the Quad Cities with Clock Inc., Mary’s on 2nd, Edwards UCC, MCC of the Quad Cities
Get a glimpse at progressive events happening around you, with our revived and renamed photo galleries, Out and About. Our first return gallery features a few events from the Quad Cities over the past month; watch in the future for more Out and Abouts from all...
Black History Month Art from ‘Embracing Our Differences’
Embracing Our Differences has grown from a Florida effort to an international cause involving tens of thousands across 119 countries.
Its leaders gathered submissions that resonated with Black History Month and gave The Real Mainstream a chance to share that work here.
Check out this specially curated collection, featuring nine pieces from eight different artists exploring different themes of Black history, and excerpts from their Artists’ Statements.
Galena LitFest welcomes Angela Trudell Vasquez, Madison’s first-ever Latina poet laureate
Angela Trudell Vasquez is the first-ever Latino poet laureate for Madison, Wis., a community with a thriving poetry scene.
She’ll speak Thursday, Jan. 26, as part of Galena LitFest in a presentation available in-person and online.
Learn about Vasquez’ childhood in Iowa City and Des Moines, her commitment to both editing and free-writing, and her many projects to bring the beauty of poetry alive for students and others.
Her talk tonight starts at 6 p.m.; pre-registration is required for both online and in-person attendance.
New Bolingbrook youth program helps fill growing mental health support needs of LGBTQ youth
The new Bolingbrook Pride LGBTQ youth program provides a monthly drop-in “safe space” for youth in Bolingbrook and Romeoville.
Allies and partners in the project include the Valley View School District, a University of Chicago professor, a suburban Chicago all-LGBTQ+ counseling service, and PFLAG Bolingbrook. Read about how this new drop-in program helps build on existing efforts in public schools and by other groups to help LGBTQ+ youth feel safe and accepted.
From family to BLM to boudoir, Wezz de la Rosa captures special moments
Quad Cities photographer Wezz De La Rosa can often be found at Pride events like the Pride Party at Bass Street Landing 2022, capturing special moments like the cover shot of the Quad Cities all-female band Been There Done That performing live, or a pic of local drag legend Sinclaire Snaps hugging a young girl.
He also undertakes an annual photo effort to help document the area’s LGBTQ+ community by taking photos of everyday people he meets at LGBTQ+ events. And in 2020, De La Rosa focused on gathering members of the Quad Cities’ Black community holding variations of “Black Lives Matter” signs.
All the while, he’s also providing wholesome family portraits, classy corporate head shots, and tasteful boudoir shots, both indoor and outdoor. Check out a sample of his art here.
Body positivity, self-discovery through burlesque on stage in Moline at Striptease Academy Showcase
Burlesque as therapy, self-discovery, empowerment and exploring gender will all be part of tonight’s Striptease Academy 2022 Showcase at The Spotlight Theatre in Moline. It’s one of the year’s last big events for Mary Quite Contrary’s House of Burlesque. It’s one of the year’s final events for MQC’s, a Quad Cities burlesque troupe that’s been performing and providing burlesque and striptease education for six years.
Tim Sullivan thrives despite 1965 expulsion during “gay purge” at UNI
Before Stonewall, there was the gay purge. It happened at universities across the country, mostly targeting gay male students and professors, as far as any reports know.. The University of Northern Iowa is one of the few universities nationwide that have publicly...
Elias pioneered cannabis policy in Iowa before House run
Michelle Servadio’s cannabis policy advocacy began when she met cancer patient Benton MacKenzie of the Quad Cities.
