#WeeklyColumn | It’s In Queens! | Oct. 11 to Oct. 17
BY QEDC It's In Queens
It’s the season when the weather seems to change every 10 minutes. A bit of a hassle, but Queens greets the fluctuations with a ridiculously diverse group of fun activities. French comedy? Oui, oui. German film? Ja, ja. Arte Cubano? Si, si. Even the harvest fest has an ethnobotany angle.
Oct. 11, (All Female) Tartuffe, Oct. 27. This version of Molière’s comedic masterpiece about deception, hypocrisy, and false morality has an all-female cast. Ten shows at 4 pm and 7:30 pm. Queens Theatre, 14 United Nations Ave. S., Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
Oct. 11, Kobo Town, 8 pm. Founded and fronted by Trinidadian émigré Drew Gonsalves, this group blends lilting Calypso wit, dancehall reggae, and trombone-heavy brass. Workshop at 7 pm. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd.
Oct. 11, In My Room, Oct. 20. Ten screenings of the latest film by rising German director Ulrich Köhler. In German with English subtitles, the plot follows a man who is lost in life and beset by a recent death. One morning, he awakes to discover that seemingly all of humanity has disappeared. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.
Oct. 12, 400 Years of Inequality: A People’s Observance For A Just Future, noon. A free public event recognizing the anniversary of the first Africans sold into bondage on North American soil in 1619. Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Blvd., LIC.
Oct. 12, New York International Children’s Film Festival, Oct. 20. An afternoon of short films that premiered as part of “Sesame Street” with special guests. Four dates at noon on Oct. 12, 13, 19, and 20. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.
Oct. 12, Fall Festival, noon. Play games, make corn husk dolls, churn butter 19th century style, press apple cider, interact with an historic interpreter, and learn ethnobotany. King Manor Museum, 150-03 Jamaica Ave., Jamaica.
Oct. 12, Time to Leave, 5 pm. Opening reception for a show by Aileen Bassis, who got inspiration from the forces that make people migrate from their homelands. Each etching includes “It was time to leave when…” Lewis Latimer House Museum, 34-41 137th St., Flushing.
Oct. 12, Matthew Greybil Piano Concert, 4 pm. Live music celebrating conductor George King Raudenbush (1899-1956), a permanent resident. Maple Grove Cemetery, 127-15 Kew Gardens Rd.
Oct. 13, Frights and Phantoms of Flushing, 3 pm. The tour company Boroughs of the Dead offers a trek with ghoulish and ghostly stories. Remaining walks: Oct. 19 at 7:30 pm; and Oct. 26 at 3 pm and 7:30 pm. Meet outside Flushing Quaker Meeting House, 137-16 Northern Blvd.
Oct. 13, Neil Berg’s 50 Years of Rock & Roll, 2 pm. Berg’s show pays tribute to such icons as Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, and Bruce Springsteen. St. John’s University’s Marillac Hall, 80-00 Utopia Pkwy., Jamaica.
Oct. 13, Old Astoria Village, 11 am. Greater Astoria Historical Society Executive Director Bob Singleton leads a tour that includes Native-American villages, the Hell Gate and Triborough bridges, and the spot of NYC’s greatest maritime disaster. Find meet-up location upon registration.
Oct. 13, Harvest Fest, 11 am. A fun-filled, family-friendly afternoon with a Pumpkin Patch. Activities include live music, petting zoo, and garden demonstrations. Queens Botanical Garden, 43-50 Main St., Flushing.
Oct. 13, French Horn Recital, 5 pm. Frank Donaruma plays classical songs by Alec Wilder, Francis Poulenc, and Alessandro Stradella on French horn, piano, and tuba. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd.
Oct. 13, Harvest Festival, noon. Free pumpkins for the first 500 children, marketplace, magic show, bouncy house, bouncy ride, and cider labs for adults. (Rain Date: Oct. 14) Onderdonk House, 1820 Flushing Ave., Ridgewood.
Oct. 13, Center of Attention, 3:30 pm. An hour-long discussion on Isamu Noguchi’s “Trinity (1945),” which is featured in the special exhibition “Noguchi: Body-Space Devices.” The Noguchi Museum, 09-01 33rd Rd., LIC.
Oct. 14, Discovering (the new) America, noon. Jack Eichenbaum, the official Queens historian as per a designation from Borough President Melinda Katz, leads a tour from the Unisphere in Flushing Meadow Corona Park to Diversity Plaza in Jackson Heights. He discusses history, demographics, current events, architecture, and other topics. Meet on the Africa side of the Unisphere. Register via jaconet@aol.com.
Oct. 14, Live Drawing with Models, 6 pm. Adults draw from a live nude model in a relaxing, non-judgmental environment. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd.
Oct. 15, Magnificent Bridges of New York City, 7 pm. Dave Frieder discusses, sells, and signs his book containing unbelievable photos of Big Apple spans. Rocco Moretto VFW Post 2348, 31-35 41st St., Astoria.
Oct. 16, The Invasion of the Tree Snatchers, 8 pm. NYC Parks educator Jason Stein discusses the challenges that non-native plants pose to healthy forests at this Queens County Bird Club event. Alley Pond Environmental Center, 228-06 Northern Blvd., Douglaston.
Oct. 16, Arte Cubano, 6 pm. Opening reception for an exhibition of diverse works by 25 Cuban artists. On display until Feb. 20, 2020. The Godwin-Ternbach Museum, 405 Klapper Hall, Queens College, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing.
Last Chance
La Golondrina, until Oct. 13. This play follows Amelia, a voice teacher, and Ramón, who wants to improve his skills to sing “La Golondrina” at his mother’s funeral. The lesson proves incredibly emotional for both. In Spanish with English supertitles. Friday and Saturday at 8 pm; Sunday at 4 pm. Thalía Spanish Theatre, 41-17 Greenpoint Ave., Sunnyside.
El pueblo de los Olvidados, Part 1, until Oct. 12. Antonio Ramos offers dance-theater in the SciFi genre, prompted by his research of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. The Chocolate Factory Theatre, 5-49 49th Ave., LIC.
Images: Queensboro Dance Festival (top); The Godwin-Ternbach Museum (bottom)
#ItsInQueens #WeeklyColumn