#WeeklyColumn | July 27 to Aug. 2 | It’s In Queens!
BY QEDC It's In Queens
National Night Out Against Crime 2017 is on Aug. 1, and police precincts across the borough will offer block parties, cookouts, entertainment, a petting zoo, a softball tournament, and other free activities. At other times, Queens hosts Tom Petty, a powwow, puppetry, a battle of the bands, and various outdoor concerts and screenings.
July 27, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 6:30 pm. These Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees are on a 40th anniversary tour. They share the stage with special guest Peter Wolf, a former member of the J. Geils Band. Forest Hills Stadium, One Tennis Place.
July 27, Third Annual Battle of the Bands, 7 pm. Apollo 4, Dirty Spoons, Global Warming, Metal Hawks, Raging Phoenix, and Summer Haze show off their talent and compete for gift cards and a chance to perform in Forest Park. Colden Auditorium, Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing.
July 27, Passport Thursdays, 7 pm. This weekly international dance, music, and film series explores North Africa. Arab music-and-dance ensemble Zikrayat performs before a screening of The Longest Kiss, which follows youngsters searching for their identity before South Sudan’s secession from Sudan. Free. Queens Museum, NYC Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
July 27, Waterfront Concert Series, 7:30 pm. Tribute band Streetfighter evokes the Rolling Stones. Free. Astoria Park Great Lawn, 19 19th St.
July 27, Woodside Summer Concert Series, 7 pm. Laughing Boy does R&B. Free. Christ Lutheran Church, 58th Street and Broadway, Woodside, 718.205.1030.
July 28, Park Plays, Aug. 6. Shorts exploring Flushing Meadows Corona Park make world premieres. Topics include romance, alien invasion, dragon boats, and dreams. Shows are Friday and Saturday at 8 pm; Saturday at 2 pm; Sunday at 3 pm; and Thursday, Aug. 3, at 7:30 pm. $18/$15 for students and seniors. Queens Theatre, 14 United Nations Ave., S., Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
July 28, Thunderbird American Indian Mid-Summer Powwow, July 30. NYC’s oldest and largest powwow features intertribal Native American dance competitions. More than 40 nations and a large selection of jewelry, art, crafts, and food (6 pm on Friday, 10 am on Saturday and Sunday). $10/$5 for children. Queens County Farm Museum, 73-50 Little Neck Pkwy., Oakland Gardens.
July 28, New Asia Chamber Music Society and Friends, 7 pm. Local talent performs opera and classical music at this fundraiser for the host. $10/$30. Flushing Town Hall, 135-37 Northern Blvd.
July 28, Labyrinth, 7 pm (July 30 at 2 pm and 6:30 pm). Watch this Jim Henson-directed fantasy film that stars David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly. Bowie plays the teasing, tempting seducer whom Connelly must want and reject in order to learn the labyrinth’s lessons and save her brother. $15. Museum of the Moving Image, 35-01 36th Ave., Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.
July 28, Classic Hitchcock Film Fridays, dusk. Watch the 1958 psychological thriller Vertigo, about a detective whose fear of heights causes the death of a fellow officer and the girl he was hired to follow. Insanity ensues after he sees a double of the girl, causing him to transform her image onto the dead girl’s body. Free. Rufus King Park, Jamaica Avenue at 153rd Street, Jamaica.
July 29, Noshwalks: Corona, 1 pm. An experiences guide leads a stroll to Lemon Ice King, an Italian bakery, a Mexican deli, Ecuadorian and Colombian spots, and maybe even a Peruvian joint. $57, includes food, but not beverages/$20 for children ages 6-12/free for children under six. Meet at La Despensa Ecuatorian, 102-08 Roosevelt Ave., Corona.
July 29, York College Summer Jazz Concert, 2 pm. This annual concert showcases outstanding musicians from a tuition-free, audition-only York College jazz performance program for high school students attending NYC public schools. $10. Louis Armstrong House Museum, 34-56 107th St., Corona.
July 29, Gourmet Food Circle: Flushing Food Tour, 2 pm. Co-hosted by the China Institute, Queens Tourism Council’s official foodie Joe DiStefano leads this tour through neighborhood favorites. Start on Main Street and end at Flushing Town Hall. $55.
July 29, Book Launch of Indo-Caribbean Feminist Thought: Genealogies, Theories, Enactments, 1 pm. Lisa Outar and Gabrielle Hosein promote their co-edited anthology. Roundtable discussion at 1 pm; light refreshments, sales, and signing at 3 pm. Queens Museum, NYC Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
July 29, Corona Youth Music Project Concert, 4:30 pm. A show by members of a tuition-free music-education program. Free. Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Blvd., LIC.
July 29, SummerSounds, 6 pm. Orquesta Afinke does Latin Jazz as part of a series hosted by Kupferberg Center for the Arts. Free. C.C. Moore Park, vicinity of Broadway, 45th Avenue and 82nd Street, Elmhurst.
July 30, Lollipops for Breakfast, 11 am & 2 pm. Sylvie decides to have lollipops for breakfast, even if she has to make her own from scratch in this puppetry performance by Bonnie Duncan with live music by The Gottabees. Watch Sylvie and her pet bird search for missing ingredients, wrestle with giant candy machines, and get lost in a magical pop-up cookbook. $13/$8 for children. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd.
July 30, Alive N’ Kickin’, 6 pm. This cover band plays favorites from the 1960s to today as part of the Summer 2017 Katz Concert Series. Free. Fort Totten, 15th Road and Totten Avenue, Bayside.
Aug. 1, Samba, NY!, 7 pm. Brazilian music and dance with a little capoeira as part of the Live at the Gantries series. Free. Gantry Plaza State Park, 4-09 47th Rd., LIC.
Aug. 1, The Generations, 7 pm. This band plays classic rock. Free. 80th Street and Juniper Boulevard North, Middle Village.
Aug. 2, Queens Symphony Orchestra, 7 pm. This 19th annual outdoor concert includes arias by tenor Christopher Macchio and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5. Free. St. John’s University Great Lawn, 80-00 Utopia Pkwy., Jamaica.
Aug. 2, Outdoor Film Series, 7 pm. Food, entertainment, and a screening of The Challenge, a documentary on the surreal world of wealthy Qatari sheikhs who practice amateur falconry with no expenses spared. Free. Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Blvd., LIC.
Aug. 2, Paper Quilling, 1 pm. Local artist Phyllis Ger puts a modern spin on a centuries-old craft. Quilling, also known as “paper filigree,” involves rolling, shaping, and gluing strips of paper to create decorative designs. $5. Voelker Orth Museum, 149-19 38th Ave., Flushing.
Aug. 2, Monthly Jazz Jam, 7 pm. Held on the first Wednesday of every month, these sessions are a fun way for musicians to hone skills and jam with peers. The house band is led by saxophonist Carol Sudhalter. All are welcome. Don’t play? Come listen! $10. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd.
Aug. 3, Woodside Summer Concert Series, 7 pm. Pop and Broadway tunes with Jenny Marino & Co. Free. Christ Lutheran Church, 58th Street and Broadway, Woodside, 718.205.1030.
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Top image: Samba New York!; bottom image: Queens County Farm Museum