‘Deck the Downtowns’ holiday events start

The Downtown Davenport Partnership, Downtown Bettendorf Organization and Downtown Rock Island are presenting “Deck the Downtowns” – a series of holiday promotions beginning today, Friday, Nov. 18 – and encouraging people to eat, drink, shop and be merry in Quad Cities Downtowns.

All three downtowns will host a hunt for a holiday ornament in local businesses through Jan. 1. Events include: 

  • In downtown Davenport, hunt for the holiday pickle ornament. Join the German tradition of hunting for a pickle ornament throughout downtown. Pick up an official card at one of the 40+ participating businesses to play. Find 10 pickles and turn in the completed card at either the German American Heritage Center or Davenport Public Library and win a pickle ornament for your own tree. Participants also will be entered to win gift cards and a grand prize basket. Visit downtowndavenport.com for a list of participating businesses.
  • In downtown Rock Island, hunt for the holiday train ornament. Hunt for custom-crafted train ornaments – created by Crawford Company and decorated by Jackson Autobody & Custom Paint – at 40+ businesses in downtown Rock Island. Find 10 holiday trains and turn in the completed card at the Rock Island Library, Quad City Arts or Quad City Botanical Center and win the custom train ornament for your own tree. Participants will also be entered to win gift cards and a grand prize basket. Visit downtownrockisland.org for a list of participating businesses.  
  • In downtown Bettendorf, hunt for the new I-74 bridge ornament. The Downtown Bettendorf Business Women commissioned the ornament featuring the artwork of Brad Bisbey with proceeds benefiting families in need and scholarships. Clues on where to find these limited-edition ornaments placed in businesses throughout downtown will be released on the Downtown Bettendorf Facebook page. Hunters are asked to take a photo of their find and share on social media.

To help celebrate the season, the downtowns also will be decorated for the holidays. Look for holiday and winter scenes in 10 storefronts in Bettendorf and more than 40 in Davenport. Local artist Atlanta Dawn will paint all the designs in Bettendorf and many of them in Davenport. In Davenport, visitors are invited to vote for favorite holiday displays and for a chance to win gift cards and goodies. The business will earn bragging rights with the Clark W. Griswold Jr. Award for Excellence Trophy. Vote at downtowndavenport.com.

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