#WeeklyColumn | May 10 to May 16 | It’s In Queens!
BY QEDC It's In Queens
It appears that the warming weather is making Queens residents dance and sing. The borough hosts various concerts, choreography performances, and combinations of the two this week. Other upcoming events include a James Caan film festival, sheep-shearing, guided tours, and some inside on the Catholic Worker movement.
May 10, Queensboro Dance Festival Opening, 5 pm. Meet members of the 26 participating companies and watch a 30-minute preview performance and a season overview video. The event kicks-off the 2018 tour that includes a vibrant array of genres including flamenco, hip-hop, tap, modern, cumbia, ballet, tango, jazz, and Chinese lion dance in borough parks, streets, and plazas. $5 suggested donation. Queens Theatre, 14 United Nations Ave. S., Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
May 10, York College Arts Festival, May 12. This inaugural year features dance, music, art, and theater. York College Performing Arts Center, 94-45 Guy R. Brewer Blvd., Jamaica.
May 10, Thursday Night Jazz Mix Series, 8 pm. Native Texan Sam Harris tickles the ivories. $10. Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning, 161-04 Jamaica Ave.
May 10, Bring It On The Musical, May 19. Tonya Pinkins, who co-starred with Gregory Hines in the Broadway play “Jelly’s last Jam,” directs this musical. May 10 and 17 at 11:30 am; May 11 and 18 at 11:30 am and 8 pm; May 12 and 19 at 8 pm. $25. Black Spectrum Theatre, Roy Wilkins Park, 177th Street and Baisley Boulevard, Jamaica.
May 11, The Caan Film Festival 2018, May 20. This annual series screens films by the Sunnyside-raised James Caan. Show times: “The Godfather,” May 11, 7 pm; “Freebie and the Bean,” May 12, 2 pm; “Harry and Walter Go to New York,” May 12, 4:30 pm; “Funny Lady,” May 12, 7 pm; “Red Line 7000,” May 13, 3 pm; “The Godfather,” May 13, 6 pm; “Thief,” May 18, 7 pm; “Thief,” May 20, 2 pm; “Hide in Plain Sight,” May 20, 4:30 pm; “Red Line 7000,” May 20, 6:30 pm. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.
May 11, World Premiere Tango-Flamenco Fusion, July 1. Music by Latin Grammy-winning bandoneón master Raul Jaurena and flamenco prodigy Diego Amador from Seville, Spain. Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm; Sundays at 4 pm. Thalía Spanish Theatre, 41-17 Greenpoint Ave., Sunnyside.
May 11, Song of the Trouvères, 6:30 pm. The early music ensemble Tenet plays lively tunes by French trouvères from the 12th and 13th centuries. Expect songs of courtly love with cheeky tales and eloquent odes. $15. King Manor Music, 153-03 Jamaica Ave., Jamaica.
May 12, Spring Fest, 11 am to 4 pm. It’s haircut time. This annual celebration includes sheep shearing demonstrations and fiber artists, who exhibit how wool is spun, woven, needle felted, and dyed. Plus, crafts, plant sale, live music by country western band Savannah Sky, farmer tours, hayrides, colonial cooking demos, and food trucks. $5. Queens County Farm Museum, 73-50 Little Neck Pkwy., Glen Oaks.
May 12, Cemetery Walking Tour, 2 pm. Learn about the interesting and influential permanent residents. Walk through the Monument Park area and find out the meaning of the Victorian funerary symbols and monument styles. $15. The Center at Maple Grove, 127-15 Kew Gardens Rd., Kew Gardens.
May 12, Spring Bird Walk for Beginners, 9:30 am. Walk around marsh with Nancy Tognan of the Queens County Bird Club to look for ducks, coots, grebes, swans, geese and more. Free. Alley Pond Environmental Center, 228-06 Northern Blvd., Douglaston.
May 12, Jewish Music through the Ages, 4 pm. Live music to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Israel’s founding and honor the many Jewish permanent residents. Free with RSVP/$5 for walk-ins. The Center at Maple Grove, 127-15 Kew Gardens Rd., Kew Gardens.
May 12, Tomorrow’s Artists Today Showcase, 7:30 pm. Young prodigies on track for professional music careers play Liszt, Brahms, Mendelssohn, and Sarasate. Musica Reginae’s Barbara Podgurski jams with the string players. $20/$10 for students. The Church-in-the-Gardens, 50 Ascan Ave., Forest Hills.
May 12, Dorothy Day, 1 pm. A talk about the founder of the Catholic Worker movement by writer and artist Geoffrey B. Gneuhs. In the late 1970s, he was the movement’s chaplain and gave the eulogy at Day’s funeral. He will talk about her life and important events that led to her conversion to Catholicism. $5. Greater Astoria Historical Society, 35-20 Broadway, LIC.
May 12, Opening for El Dorado/The New 49ers, 5 pm. This installation celebrates the 49 percent of New York households that speak a language other than English. It consists of 100 colored infant sculptures, 49 of them painted gold. The show runs until Oct. 14. Lewis H. Latimer House Museum, 34-41 137th St., Flushing.
May 12, Mexican Marimba Music, 2 pm. A fun and light-hearted program of traditional Mexican marimba music by Percussia. Watch three people play one marimba at the same time. Queens Ozone Park Library, 92-24 Rockaway Blvd.
May 13, Mostly Mozart Mother’s Day & Mo’ Concert, 7:30 pm. The Queensboro Symphony Orchestra celebrates Mother’s Day with Mozart’s “Jupiter Symphony (#41)” and his third “Horn Concerto.” The program includes the world premier of Paul Joseph’s “The Vanished Princess.” Free-will offering. Mary’s Nativity Church, 46-02 Parsons Blvd., Flushing.
May 13, Drawing Clouds, 1 pm. Taking inspiration from the exhibition “Miya Ando: Clouds” (on view through Aug. 19), participants in this drawing workshop investigate natural surfaces and forms. $20. The Noguchi Museum, 9-01 33rd Rd., LIC.
May 14, LGBTQ Voices, 5:30 pm. Selected via an open call, the performers are poet Davidson Garrett, dancer Xiang Xu, and soul musician Alfa Anderson. Free. Queens Center, 90-15 Queens Blvd., Elmhurst.
May 14, Live Drawing with Models, 6 pm. Held on the second Monday of every month, artists practice with a series of quick and long poses while listening to music in a relaxing, non-judgmental environment. $16/$10 for students. Flushing Town Hall 137-35 Northern Blvd.
May 14, Blue Pipa: From Harlem to Shanghai and Back, 2 pm. Min Xiao-Fen’s compositions are inspired by Chinese folk, regional operas and Taoist music. The pipa master from Nanjing and her trio perform her new project “From Harlem to Shanghai and Back,” which reinterprets the work of legendary jazz trumpeter and composer Buck Clayton, Chinese composer Li Jinhui, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington. Queens Fresh Meadows Library, 193-20 Horace Harding Expressway.
May 16, LIC Arts Open, May 20. Throughout the week, Astoria and LIC venues of varying size fill halls with every conceivable form of art work. On the final two days, from noon to 6 pm, artists open the doors to their studios and welcome the public for a glimpse into their often private worlds. Free.
May 16, Antarctica with a Side of Argentina, 8 pm. With photos and anecdotes, Bob Dieterich and Peter Lopez share their bird-watching trip to Antarctica, islands in the South Atlantic, and a side excursion to sub-tropical Argentina. Free. Alley Pond Environmental Center, 228-06 Northern Blvd., Douglaston.
Image: Queens County Farm Museum
#ItsInQueens #PickoftheWeek #Events #Calendar #Flushing