#PickoftheWeek | Culture + Fresh Air! Watch ‘The Gift of the Magi’ at Queens Farm
BY QEDC It's In Queens
The hosts don’t advise people to sell their hats and gloves to buy tickets for this event – but it would fit in well with the story.
Queens County Farm Museum will offer a special, outdoor presentation of The Gift of the Magi on Saturday, Dec. 19, at 1 pm.
Kevin R. Free, a multi-talented entertainer who once worked at Queens Theatre, will read and animate this classic O. Henry story in Queens Farm’s three-acre pasture. This is a first for the host and actor, whose long resume includes stints with “Law & Order,” “Murphy Brown,” and NPR’s “News & Notes.”
Admission is free, but advance registration is required to manage capacity during the COVID pandemic. Blankets, coats, fleeces, gloves, hats, lawn chairs, winter boots, and woolies are strongly encouraged.
First published in “The New York Sunday World” in 1905, The Gift of the Magi is a 2,163-word fable that explores the real meaning of Christmas with underlying themes of generosity, love, and poverty. It’s just before the holiday, and newlyweds Della and Jim Young are down on their luck. Della secretly cuts her enviable, below-the-knees hair and sells it to raise enough money to buy Jim a platinum fob chain for his only valuable possession, a watch. Meanwhile, Jim secretly sells his beloved watch so he can buy Della ornamental combs for her beautiful locks.
Each protagonist has given – and received – an unusable present, but both have learned that their love is priceless. The tale ends with a title reference as the narrator compares Della and Jim to the three New Testament Magi, who visited Baby Jesus with gifts of frankincense, gold, and myrrh.
William Sydney Porter, who used the alias O. Henry, allegedly wrote The Gift of the Magi at Pete’s Tavern in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. (The tavern, which some claim is New York City’s oldest continually operating drinking establishment, and Queens Public Library are co-sponsors of this event.) Henry published the tale in a collection of short stories, “The Four Million,” in 1906. It was a hit that quickly became part of the Christmas tradition. The story has had such long-term popularity that it’s been tailored countless times in various media, even by “Sesame Street,” “The Simpsons,” and “The Honeymooners.”
Spread out over more than 47 acres with an entrance at 73-50 Little Neck Parkway in Glen Oaks, Queens Farm is NYC’s only working, undisturbed farm with livestock, heavy machinery, planting fields, and a vineyard. It’s also a historic landmark that’s been in operation since 1697.
There’s free onsite parking and a bicycle rack.
Images: Queens County Farm Museum