Common Chord, 129 Main St., Davenport, will serve up a literal feast for the senses in its first QC Flavor Fest, a new fundraising event Thursday, Oct. 5 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The special tasty treat (with a $40-per-person admission) offers over a dozen sampling stations from favorite Quad Cities restaurants and food providers, and also will have live music and over 55 unique and must-have silent and live auction items, with a few other ingredients in the mix for a recipe of flavorful fun and fundraising.

You can sample tastes from Antonella’s II, Front Street Pub & Eatery, Zeke’s Island Café, MexicanSoul, Crane & Pelican, NEST Cafe, The Bread Lady, Chi City Eatz, Chocolate Manor, The Diner, Pee Wee’s Restaurant, Cafe Express, Molly’s Cupcakes Quad Cities, and Smokin’ Butt BBQ.

100% of the proceeds from QC Flavor Fest will go directly to Common Chord’s music education programs. The night will include live music from Lojo Russo, then The Textures, and a cash bar.

The auction items include an autographed copy of Michael Jackson’s 25th-anniversary “Thriller” album, and a guitar Pat Travers and his band personally autographed when they played Davenport’s Redstone Room on Aug. 4, 2023.

One of the auction items is the 25th-anniversary “Thriller” album autographed by Michael Jackson.

“Common Chord embraces our role in the community as we activate music and seek to make a difference in the lives of our neighbors,” says Tyson Danner, executive director for Common Chord (formerly known as River Music Experience). “The love of music knows no boundaries, and working together, we are changing lives.”

Nourish Everyone Sustainably Together NEST Café Quad Cities (one of the Flavor Fest vendors) is a Pay-What-You-Can nonprofit restaurant creating a welcoming, healthy, and economically strong community by providing real, locally sourced food (when available) on a pay-what-you-can basis.

All year long, Common Chord provides a variety of educational and enrichment programs to area youth designed to provide access to musical experiences and build positive relationships. The programs are:

  • InTune Music Mentorship program – provided to students at Project Renewal in Davenport, the MLK Center in Rock Island, and Boys & Girls Club in Moline and also now in Davenport. InTune employs professional musician mentors to share a love of music with the kids, build healthy mentoring relationships, develop stronger support networks for at-risk youth, and show positive paths forward in life.
  • Jerry Brown’s Acoustic Music Club – a music enrichment program for youth and adults of all abilities that provides a fun musical experience. Provided in partnership with the Blackhawk Area Special Education Center, ARC of the Quad Cities, the Handicapped Development Center, and Empower House.
  • RiverCurrents – Common Chord’s flagship school program that teaches the history and evolution of American music along the Mississippi River. All Davenport 5th graders participate in this program, in addition to many other schools throughout the region.
  • Let’s Band Together – An instrument loan program, which refurbishes donated instruments and loans them for free to students interested in exploring music, ensuring that finances are not a barrier to any child.

You can get your QC Flavor Fest tickets at the Common Chord website HERE.