Iowa Presenters Network
IPN News!
Here is the latest news from the Iowa Presenters Network!
Please note that our Membership Directory and Block Booking Calendar are currently under construction.
They will be available soon.
Fall Retreat Information
Our Fall IPN retreat will be held in the Quad Cities November 23-25.
Detailed retreat info is found below. Non-Iowa Presenter Network organizations or individuals are welcome to attend all of Monday's activities for $50 per person or Mon/Tues activities for $75 per person. Sunday night social/dinner is $25 extra for everyone.
Please register no later than October 31 using this link.
If your org is not currently a member of Iowa Presenters, consider joining now! As a member, up to 2 individuals from your organization may attend Mon & Tues activities at no charge (beyond membership dues). This is a major member benefit and to enhance that, your membership will be good through June 30, 2026, getting you valuable access to our listserv, members-only portion of our website, virtual meet-ups, and another in-person gathering in Summer 2026. To become a member, go here: https://www.iowapresenters.net/become-a-member
Fall Joint Iowa/Illinois Presenters Retreat in Quad Cities
Sun Nov 23 through Tues Nov 25, 2025
HOTEL INFO:
You can reserve your room NOW at the Hotel Blackhawk at a discounted rate!
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Sunday, Nov 23 (optional pre-retreat activities)
5:00pm Dinner & Social Gathering at Location TBD
7:00pm Private Tour - Quad Cities Arts' Festival of Trees at RiverCenter in Davenport
Monday, Nov 24 (OFFICIAL RETREAT DAY No. 1)
8:30am Continental breakfast
9:00am Welcome & introductions & poll on roundtable topics
9:30am Official Welcome from Quad Cities Tourism Officials & Surprise Dignitaries
10:00am Session on Contemporary Ticketing Issues - Led by Ticketmaster
11:00am Keynote Interview: Steve Duchrow and Chris Vallillo "Lessons from the Field" (see below)
12:00am Lunch
12:45pm Showcase: Steve Duchrow presents "Carl Sandburg's Lincoln: A Living Portrait"
1:15pm Showcase: Chris Vallillo presents "Forgottonia: A Multi-Media Love Letter to Rural America"
1:45pm Break
2:15pm Presentation & Panel: Advocacy 101 (or another topic TBD)
3:45pm Break
4:00pm Tours - Adler Theatre, Putnam Museum, Figge Art Museum, or other downtown Davenport venues
5:30pm Dinner & Social Gathering at Location TBD (with possible showcase)
Tuesday, Nov 25 (OFFICIAL RETREAT DAY No. 2)
8:30am Continental breakfast
9:00am Welcome & introductions / roundtable discussions TBD
10:00am Introduction to National Independent Venues Association (NIVA) --- Andre Perry, President
11:00am SHOWCASE (artist TBD)
11:30am Box Lunch & Business Meetings (Iowa Presenters & Illinois Presenters)
1:00pm Adjourn
Chris Vallillo
Chris Vallillo is a singer/songwriter and roots musician who makes the people and places of “unmetropolitan” America come to life in song. Having spent the last 30 years in the rural Midwest, he has a natural affinity for American roots music. Performing on six-string and bottleneck slide guitars, Vallillo weaves original, contemporary, and traditional songs and narratives into a compelling and entertaining portraits of the Midwest. Dirty Linen Magazine described the music as, “vivid, original story songs” while Folk Wax Magazine Editor, Arthur Wood said “Vallillo’s guitar playing flows like warm honey and is a true aural delight.”
Steve Duchrow
Steve Duchrow has performed in theatres, colleges, museums, historic landmark homes, State Libraries, Frank Lloyd Wright historic landmarks, Chautauqua style tent festivals and county fairs. He is proud to have performed in the historic home of Vachel Lindsay, in Springfield, and Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg, IL.
Steve writes, adapts and performs theatre works. He created two plays adapted from the writings of Illinois prairie poets, Carl Sandburg and Vachel Lindsay. The latest play is: Carl Sandburg’s Lincoln: A Living Portrait. This play is an evening of vivid stories of Lincoln through the Pulitzer Prize poet Carl Sandburg. Lincoln walks off the page in vivid detail provided by sharp senses of poet Sandburg. Sandburg’s spent decades as a newspaper reporter and his Lincoln research in dusty newspaper archives paints a Lincoln that no artist’s brush dared to catch.
