A public Marketplace opens Thursday at Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, competitions take place Friday and a downtown Davenport parade begins at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
By Hola America News
DAVENPORT, Iowa — Shriners from across the Midwest are gathering in the Quad Cities this week for the 2026 Central States Shrine Association Ceremonial Session, with three days of public events beginning Thursday, Aug. 20.
The public schedule includes a Marketplace at Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds from Thursday through Saturday. Meanwhile, motor corps, patrol and drone competitions take place Friday before a large parade moves through downtown Davenport Saturday morning.
The Central States Shrine Association represents 22 Shrine centers from seven states. Davenport’s Kaaba Shrine is hosting the regional gathering, which runs from Aug. 19 through Aug. 22.
Shriners International is a Masonic fraternity known for its community events, distinctive parade units and support of Shriners Children’s pediatric health care system. In addition, the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds lists the public fairgrounds activities as free and open to the public.
The Marketplace runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 20–22
The Marketplace opens Thursday, Aug. 20, at Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 Locust St. in Davenport.
It will operate from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
The Marketplace is one of the public portions of the regional convention. The fairgrounds also lists food and other activities during the gathering.
The 2026 Mississippi Valley Fair itself ended earlier this month. By comparison, the Shriners gathering is a separate event using the fairgrounds.
Related: Mississippi Valley Fair 2026 brought concerts, rides and special admission days to Davenport.
Motor corps, patrol and drone competitions take place Friday
On Friday, Aug. 21, the public schedule moves into competitions at Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds.
Motor corps, patrol and drone competitions will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The competitions are part of a larger convention schedule that also includes meetings and activities for registered CSSA participants.
However, the main public events are concentrated at the fairgrounds and at Saturday’s parade in downtown Davenport.
The downtown Davenport parade starts at 10:30 a.m. Saturday
Then on Saturday, Aug. 22, the Shrine Parade begins at 10:30 a.m. in downtown Davenport.
The parade will include specialty vehicles, marching groups and representatives from the Shrine centers participating in the regional association.
A parade route map is available with the CSSA visitor information for the weekend.
The parade is open to the public.
Kaaba Shrine is hosting groups from seven states
Davenport-based Kaaba Shrine serves as the host organization for the 2026 Central States Shrine Association gathering.
CSSA includes 22 Shrine centers from seven states affiliated with Shriners International.
Beyond the public events, the wider Ceremonial Session includes activities for convention participants, such as meetings, a golf tournament, a pub crawl and a closing banquet.
For the general public, the main schedule includes the Marketplace from Aug. 20–22, Friday’s competitions and Saturday morning’s downtown Davenport parade.
The full schedule, event updates and visitor information are available through the Central States Shrine Association 2026 event guide from Visit Quad Cities.
Finally, the last public event on the published schedule is the Shrine Parade at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, in downtown Davenport.
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