#WeeklyColumn | Feb. 22 to Feb. 28 | It’s In Queens!
BY QEDC It's In Queens
There’s a huge meat festival in Queens this week. But vegetarians and carnivores can unite to enjoy many other options, including science and science fiction, plays seeking audience input, ballet, art, jazz, dance, and some fascinating conversations.
Feb. 22, Opening for HEAD, 5 pm. Responding to the theme “HEAD,” artists produced an exhibit that demonstrates the limitless imagination that a simple word can activate. Show runs until March 30. The Factory LIC, 30-30 47th Ave., LIC.
Feb. 23, Eric Alexander Quartet, 8 pm. A talented tenor saxophone improviser performs with his mentor, pianist Harold Mabern, with John Webber on bass and Joe Farnworth on drums. $16. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd.
Feb. 23, Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Festival, Feb. 24. This sixth annual festival pays tribute to the master of the science fiction genre by screening Ayla on Feb. 23 at 6:30 pm and The Child Remains on Feb. 24 at 6:30 pm. $15. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.
Feb. 23, Purgatorio, 7 pm. The Astoria Performing Arts Center and the Beehive Dramaturgy Studio present this play-in-development by Andrea Thome. A child named “Pilgrim” journeys through a landscape with a guide who may be a poet, a trickster, or a figure from the child’s imagination. Free with reservation. The Zukor Theatre at Kaufman Astoria Studios, 35th Street between 34th and 35th avenues, Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.
Feb. 24, Charcuterie Masters, 6 pm. The best cold cut artisans in the U.S. and Canada—makers of sausages, patés, hams, salumi, and more—vie for top honors during this third-annual showcase. All you can eat with beer from LIC’s Fifth Hammer Brewing and selections from Brooklyn Cider House. $65. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd.
Feb. 24, See It Big!, March 11. This series presents classic films over many weeks. Watch Wuthering Heights on Feb. 24 and 25 at 4 pm and Gone with the Wind on the same days at 6:30 pm. More info later. $15. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.
Feb. 24, Editing Our Evolution: Rewriting the Human Genome, 3 pm. A discussion on editing the human genome. Should it be regulated? Should it be banned? Who should make these decisions? Participants must be age 16 or older. New York Hall of Science, 47-01 111th St., Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
Feb. 24, United African Dance, 7:30 pm. The troupe offers drumming and dance honoring the ancestors of the African Diaspora. $15-$25. Jamaica Performing Arts Center, 153-10 Jamaica Ave.
Feb. 24, Chat and Chew, 1 pm. A video presentation and discussion of the Black Political and Social History of Corona and East Elmhurst. Senior Center, 98-19 Astoria Blvd., East Elmhurst, 803.851.5631.
Feb. 25, The Beauty of Ballet, 1 pm and 3 pm. How do ballerinas dance on their toes? How do dancers spin and turn without getting dizzy? These questions and others will be answered during a performance of ballet moments from The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, and Swan Lake with faculty member Katrina Killian and advanced students from the School of American Ballet. Free. Queens Theatre, 14 United Nations Ave. S., Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
Feb. 25, Rarely Shown Films on Sea Creatures and Scientists in the 1930s, 2 pm. A screening with live music and a discussion with scientist Howard Rosenbaum and aquanaut and filmmaker Fabien Cousteau. $15. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.
Feb. 25, Sunday Jazz Brunch, noon. A buffet and smooth jazz by The Carl Bartlett Jr. Quartet. $45. Bayside Historical Society, 208 Totten Ave., Bayside.
Feb. 27, John Guare Live, 7 pm. A conversation with a Tony Award-winning playwright moderated by Time Out NY editor and chief theatre critic Adam Feldman. LeFrak Concert Hall, Queens College, vicinity of Kissena Boulevard and Reeves Avenue, Flushing.
Feb. 27, The More They Stay, 7 pm. The Astoria Performing Arts Center and the Beehive Dramaturgy Studio present this play-in-development by Ricardo Pérez González, who wants feedback. After a lifetime spent surviving segregated gay bars, the AIDS crisis, and each other, Tom and Russell are in their 80s. They’re hosting a dinner for their adopted son and his boyfriend. It’s a dinner to say goodbye, but on whose terms? Free with reservation. The Zukor Theatre at Kaufman Astoria Studios, 35th Street between 34th and 35th avenues, Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.
Feb. 28, In the Shadows of Auschwitz: The Experience of Polish Jews under Nazi Occupation, 12:10 pm. Dr. David Engel, Holocaust scholar and author of multiple books on the subject, lectures about the treatment of Jews specifically in Poland during the Holocaust. Kupferberg Holocaust Center, Queensborough Community College, 222-05 56th Ave., Bayside.
Top image: Queens Theatre; bottom image: Joe DiStefano
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