The LGBTQ+ community center Clock Inc. will hold an extra special art auction fundraiser Thursday, June 25, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Figge Art Museum, 225 W. 2nd St., Davenport.
Clock Inc., at 4102 46th Ave., Rock Island, is dedicated to creating a safe and supportive community center, offering vital resources, mental health programs, empowerment, and advocacy for the LGBT+ community to thrive without fear of discrimination.
The Thursday fundraiser (during national Pride Month) will feature works from local artists, celebrating creativity, diversity, and self-expression while raising critical funds to support programs, resources, and services for LGBTQ+ individuals in the Quad Cities community.
Guests will have the opportunity to bid on one-of-a-kind artwork (including a new live art auction for the first time), while helping ensure that the center can continue to provide an affirming space for all.
For the first time, they will auction off a piece of Quad Cities LGBTQ+ history live from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., where you will have the chance to bid on two incredible pieces -- two original outdoor signs from Mary's on 2nd. Mary's on 2nd (832 W. 2nd St., Davenport) was a treasured piece of QC LGBTQ+ history, which closed earlier this year after more than 25 years of providing a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community.
It was a place to gather, a safe night life -- it hosted community events and fundraisers, drag shows, Pride Festivals and so much more. It was considered the gay “Cheers,” according to Clock Inc.
This is the first time Clock Inc. has held a live auction during the event.
“It was something I wanted to do just for funsies,” Mary Francis, Clock’s event and program coordinator and community outreach, told WVIK in an interview Saturday, June 20. “And we got lucky enough that the person who had the Mary's on 2nd sign donated them to us to use for our art auction. And then I was like, what if we did this live? You know, I think this would be so fun. If we did a live auction, add little numbers and paddles.”
A Clock Inc. volunteer knew who owned the signs and arranged it for the nonprofit, she noted.
Mary’s was not named for a specific person, but rather the longtime generic nickname for a gay man, Francis said.
“It’s like how now we say like, oh girl, you know. It was like, oh Mary, like they'd call each other Marys,” she said. “It was just kind of like a queer, safe term. So that's why it was called Mary's.”
“I loved Mary's,” Francis (herself a queer burlesque performer) said. “They opened in 2000, and it was a huge part of Quad Cities, local LGBTQ+ history, because in that block, especially when they first opened, it was called the Rainbow District because we used to have Mary's, and then there were two other bars, clubs that were LGBTQ called Fusion and Liquid.
"And they were all like— Mary's and Liquid were actually next door to each other. Fusion was just across the street. So our local LGBTQ+ community, like, that's where you went on the weekends because you would start in one place and you would just be able to cross the street, now I'm here, and then end at Mary's for a chill night kind of thing.”
The Rainbow District was where the QC’s first Pride Festival was held.
Francis – who owns and operates Mary Quite Contrary’s House of Burlesque – has performed at Pride Fest since about 2012, and it’s been held at Rock Island’s Schwiebert Park for the past four years, she said.
In the past few months, the former Mary’s on 2nd has been reopened and rebranded Together on 2nd.
“It’s Together on 2nd because their owner now wanted to have a place for everyone to go to. It is still like a queer-friendly bar,” Francis said. “They do drag bingo, and they have had drag shows as well. But they wanted to call it Together on 2nd to be a community space. They are really like community-oriented and focused.”
Counseling and support groups
Including executive director Chase Norris, Clock Inc. there are two mental health counselors, and several support groups that meet regularly. The center started in 2019.
“We have a food pantry, a community closet, and a lending library all at our center that is 100% free for our community,” Francis said. “They can come shop our closet, shop our food pantry, and we serve everyone with that. It's not like a demographic, just you can come and shop what you need, take what you need. It's all free. We also have support groups for all ages and community events. Like, we're open on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day for a free community meal.”
Weekly support groups meet just about every day, Monday through Thursday.
“We have a high school group that meets one day a week. You know, a middle school group that meets twice a month. We have an adult group that meets once a week. We have a Stitch and Bitch group, a potluck group, a family dinner group. We have something for everyone,” Francis said.
Counseling services are based on insurance, but Clock offers free counseling if they have interns, she noted.
Especially on the Iowa side, where there are anti-trans and anti-gay rules and regulations, the LGBTQ community continues to face challenges, Francis said.
“We have a great community here in the Quad Cities, we have a great LGBTQ+ community, and we are happy to serve them and be here,” she said. “The climate nationally right now, how in 2025, how transgender humans don't even have civil rights in Iowa, and how, we don't have any federal our national funding because we are an LGBTQ+ community center as well.”
“The political climate right now, they are coming for the LGBTQ+ community, especially our transgender humans,” Francis said. “That is why we are, we are making sure to be here, and that is how this fundraiser helps keep our doors open. You know, our art auction that is happening next week is one of two annual fundraisers we host because our numbers have only been growing.”
The Clock support groups typically have 20-30 people, she noted.
“Taking on another counselor is great because people are looking for a safe space to seek mental health care, gender-affirming care,” she said, noting the organization relies on grant and donor funding, since it doesn’t get any government support. Clock’s other main fundraiser is Quad City Icon in September, and this will be the fourth art auction, always held at the Figge.
The donated art for sale is all made by local artists or from local collectors, Francis said.
“A lot of our youth makes art for our art auction as well. So, I love seeing that,” she said. “That's labeled what's like just youth and then local artists from all over our area.”
There are 140 pieces up for auction, and people can view them ahead of time HERE.
You can place a bid online, and whoever has the highest bid by 8 p.m. that night (in person or online) will get that piece, Francis said.
“If there’s a situation of, ‘Hey, I wasn't available that day to make it,’ you are still able to bid as well. So, what's great is we wanted to make it accessible,” she said. “That's why we do it electronically. But it does close at 8. So regardless if you are there or not, at 8 p.m., whoever has the highest bid, will win that piece.”
For the live auction, you must be present to bid, and the live auction will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. For more information on Clock Inc., click HERE.
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