#WeeklyColumn | It’s In Queens! | Aug. 9 to Aug. 15
BY QEDC It's In Queens
Great things ─ orchids, surfing, classic movies, concerts ─ come in threes in Queens this week. Meanwhile, fantastic things ─ walking tours, dance, doughnuts ─ come in ones.
Aug. 9, Taiwan: A World of Orchids, Aug. 11. A stunning display of orchids with art, events, and culture organized in partnership with the Taipei Economic & Cultural Office. Queens Botanical Garden, 43-50 Main St., Flushing.
Aug. 9, NY Women’s Surf Film Festival, Aug. 11. This seventh-annual, two-night showcase presents diverse styles of story-telling from established and emerging directors, producers, and filmmakers. Feature films are from the United States, Canada, Indonesia, Jamaica, Mexico, Norway, and Spain. Rockaway Beach Surf Club, 302 Beach 87th St.
Aug. 9, Do the Right Thing, Aug. 11. It’s the 30th anniversary of Spike Lee’s film about an eventful summer day in Bed-Stuy. NBC Universal has issued a re-release, which shows five times on a big screen: Aug. 9 at 7:30 pm; Aug. 10 at 4:30 pm and 7 pm; and Aug. 11 at 4:30 pm and 7 pm. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.
Aug. 10, Renegade Performance Group, 3 pm and 6 pm. Watch “Ephemera,” an Afrofuturist, site-specific, dance-media piece. Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Blvd., LIC.
Aug. 10, Race, Sex & Hold the Mayo!, 1 pm. Screened as part of the Festival of Cinema NYC, this movie tries to make viewers laugh at racism. It’s accompanied by “SOS,” a series of micro-comedy sketches, and a panel discussion on entertainment in addressing issues like bias and xenophobia. Queens Museum, NYC Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
Aug. 10, Bubble Play, 10:30 am. A sensory play date for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. They design and make bubble-blowing tools from simple materials. New York Hall of Science, 47-01 111th St., Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
Aug. 11, Summer Winds!, 7 pm. The Queensboro Symphony Wind Quintet plays chamber music. Mary’s Nativity Church, 46-02 Parsons Blvd., Flushing.
Aug. 11, Steinway Village, 11 am. Greater Astoria Historical Society Executive Director Bob Singleton leads a tour of Steinway Village, a utopian settlement and “company town.” The Steinways planned everything: the placement of factories; model housing; retail districts; water and sewers; schools; a post office; and a fire company.
Aug. 11, Bang on a Can, 3 pm. Multi-instrumentalist Laraaji plays a mystical and uplifting combination of zither, vocals, and more. The Noguchi Museum 9-01 33rd Rd., LIC.
Aug. 11, Alive N’ Kickin, 5 pm. This band does classic Rock and Pop as part of the Katz Concert Series. Fort Totten Park, Cross Island Parkway between Totten Avenue and 15th Road, Bayside.
Aug. 12, Live Drawing with Models, 6 pm. Bring a sketch pad and drawing medium for a series of quick and long poses of nudes while listening to music in a relaxing non-judgmental environment. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd.
Aug. 12, Walk: Politics of Sharing Space, 6 pm. Join artist Rafael Domenech on a psycho-geographic ramble through Astoria with discussions about the textures of the industrial urban environment. The walk covers about one mile and ends at his exhibition, “Las Palabras Son Muros.” Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Blvd., LIC.
Aug. 13, Cumbia River Band, 7 pm. This high-energy group performs festive Colombian Cumbia and Riverside music as part of the Live at the Gantries program. Gantry Plaza State Park, vicinity of Center Boulevard and 47th Road, LIC.
Aug. 14, The Dark Crystal, Aug. 18. Daily screenings at noon of this 1982 Jim Henson film, a mix of puppetry, animatronics, special effects, and more. On a remote planet in the distant past, an elfin creature embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of a magical crystal, to restore order to his world. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.
Aug. 14, La Ciénaga, 7 pm. Free screening of this Argentine film with live music from Los Peores del Tango and food for purchase from Kiya’s Delicias Argentinas. Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Blvd., LIC. Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Blvd., LIC.
Aug. 14, Doughnuts, 10 pm. Make 1800s-style doughnuts over an outdoor fire as part of the final Making History workshop. King Manor Museum, 150-03 Jamaica Ave., Jamaica.
Aug. 15, Carmina Burana, 7:30 pm. The Forest Hills Choir, Oratorio Society of Queens, and Schola Sine Nomina sing this cantata which was written by Carl Orff in the 1930s. It’s based on 24 poems in a hybrid of old European languages, including Latin and Old Provencal. Queens College’s Aaron Copland School of Music professor James John conducts. The Church-in-the-Gardens, 50 Ascan St., Forest Hills.
Aug. 15, Woodside Summer Concert Series, 7 pm. Spitfire plays Rock-n-Roll and 1970s music. Sgt. Collins Park Triangle, Broadway and 58th Street.
Last Chance
Festival of Cinema NYC, until Aug. 11. More than 120 films from 40 countries screen as part of this third annual, 10-day event at Regal UA Midway, 108-22 Queens Blvd., Forest Hills. This includes features, documentaries, shorts, animation, and music videos. As part of the nearby fun, Forest Hills Library, 108-19 71st Ave., hosts free screenings, presentations, and workshops for five days.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (in 3D), until Aug. 11. Daily noon screenings of this 2018 animation that introduces Miles Morales, 13, who learns how to find the hero inside himself. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.
Images: Queens Botanical Garden (top); Socrates Sculpture Park (below)