#WeeklyColumn | It’s In Queens! | Sept. 20 to Sept. 26
BY QEDC It's In Queens
There are busy weeks, extremely busy weeks, and these kinds of weeks. Queens might just burst at the seams from all the fun on the upcoming schedule. A chocolate show, pig roast, country fair, backlot festival, ghost story series, and boulevard stroll are just a few of the options. Salsa brunch and peace lanterns are also on tap.
Sept. 20, Ghost Stories, Oct. 20. Watch some of the greatest ghost movies of all time on a huge screen. Lineup includes “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir,” “The Innocents,” “Poltergeist,” and “Kwaidan.” Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.
Sept. 20, Season Opening Party with Cuban Jams, 7 pm. Flushing Town Hall kicks off its new season with three-time Grammy nominee Jane Bunnett and her all-female band Maqueque, who play a rich Afro-Cuban gumbo. FTH, 137-35 Northern Blvd.
Sept. 20, Celebrate LIC, 5:30 pm. Join the Long Island City Partnership for a celebration of LIC and its 40th anniversary. Music, food, art, and that iconic LIC sunset. Plaxall Gallery, 5-25 46th Ave., http://bit.ly/2lYEdxa.
Sept. 20, Queens Social Night + Queensboro Dance Festival, 6:30 pm. Dinner and performances, including Indian, African, Contemporary, and Ballroom. Studio M, 36-51 Main St., Flushing.
Sept. 20, Weekend of Dance, Sept. 22. The Take Root program presents Enterart and Arim Dance on Sept. 20 and 21 at 8 pm. Then, the Fertile Ground program showcases works-in-progress by multiple artists on Sept. 22 at 7 pm. Green Space, 37-24 24th St., Ste. 211, LIC.
Sept. 21, The Big Chocolate Show, Sept. 22. Cocoa experts, artisans, celebrity chefs, and aficionados from around the world offer samples, tastings, and live demos. Resorts World Casino NYC, 110-00 Rockaway Blvd., South Jamaica.
Sept. 21, Backlot Festival, 2 pm. A six-hour celebration of art, music, and community with local vendors, food, drink, and everything from an all-woman Brazilian drumline to the first-ever Queens Mutt Show. The Backlot @ Kafuman Astoria Studios, 34-12 36th St., Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.
Sept. 21, Queens County Fair, Sept. 22. A taste of life in rural America with pie-eating contests, maze tours, live music, and corn dogs, 11 am to 6 pm both days. Queens County Farm Museum, 73-50 Little Neck Pkwy., Glen Oaks.
Sept. 21, Viva La Comida, noon. A seven-hour, multicultural celebration of local food and music. Arepas, tortillas, chuzos, ceviche, grilled squid. Jazz, Cumbia, Flamenco. On 82nd Street between Roosevelt and Baxter avenues, Jackson Heights.
Sept. 21, Salsa Brunch, noon. A five-hour party with food, drinks, and fantastic dancing to Latin music. The event raises funds for relief in the Amazon and Bahamas as proceeds go to The Rainforest Foundation and HeadKnowles. Juquila Kitchen & Bar, 39-05 29th St., LIC.
Sept. 21, Frights and Phantoms of Flushing, 7:30 pm. This two-hour tour explores the haunted aspects of Flushing. It repeats on Oct. 5 (7:30 pm), Oct. 13 (3 pm), Oct. 19 (7:30 pm), and Oct. 26 (3 pm and 7:30 pm). Meet outside Flushing Quaker Meeting House, 137-16 Northern Blvd.
Sept. 21, Parsons Dance, Sept. 22. This troupe fuses the gestures and movements of contemporary dance with the precision of the classical genre. Shows on Sept. 21 (2 pm and 8 pm) and Sept. 22 (3 pm). Queens Theatre, 14 United Nations Ave. S., Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
Sept. 21, New Music Horizons: Collaborative Artists in Concert, 2:30 pm. Classical composer Matt Koraus, who is known for his inventive contemporary style for vocal and instrumental, and jazz composer Mark Wade, a top bassist in 2016 and 2018 as per DownBeat Magazine. Each musician presents a set of original work with an informal Q&A. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd.
Sept. 21, Peace Lanterns Festival, 2 pm. Celebrate the UN International Day of Peace with kayaking, meditation, interfaith prayers, children’s activities, and floating peace lanterns. Gantry Plaza State Park, Center Boulevard and 49th Avenue, LIC.
Sept. 21, QDF Diversity Day, 1 pm. The Queensboro Dance Festival presents an afternoon of performances and workshops. Diversity Plaza, vicinity of 74th Street and 37th Road, Jackson Heights.
Sept. 21, Center of Attention, 3:30 pm. Visitors explore Isamu Noguchi’s “Sounding Stone” via a guided discussion. The Noguchi Museum, 9-01 33rd Rd., LIC.
Sept. 22, Sunday Stroll, noon. Bayside Village BID organizes family activities, live music, and outdoor dining. Events include slime-making, pizza-eating, Piano Man Mike Tedesco, and Queens Dance Project. Bell Boulevard between 38th Avenue and Northern Boulevard, Bayside.
Sept. 22, Pata Negra Pig Roast, noon. Don Rodrigo Duarte (aka The King of Hams) roasts a Portuguese Alentejano hog, the same beast that won the grand prize at Pig Island 2018. He also serves presunto, Portuguese style ham, and other charcuterie from this delectable pig. Proceeds benefit Immigrant Families Together, a nonprofit network. Anable Basin Sailing Bar & Grill, 4-40 44th Dr., LIC.
Sept. 22, Lara Hope and the Ark-Tones, 4 pm. Experience New York’s premier roots rock ‘n’ roll, rockabilly, rhythm & blues outfit. Queens Botanical Garden, 43-50 Main St., Flushing.
Sept. 22, Zalmen Mlotek’s Magical World of Yiddish Song, 3 pm. An enriching, enlightening, and highly entertaining Yiddish program with Mlotek on piano and fantastic singers. St. John’s University’s Marillac Hall, 80-00 Utopia Pkwy., Jamaica.
Sept. 22, Forgotten NY Tour: Astoria to Northern Roosevelt Island, noon. A two-borough tour with visits to churches, a lighthouse, and a former insane asylum that has become luxury residences. Meet in front of Melting Pot, 36-01 Vernon Blvd., Astoria.
Sept. 22, Hot Club: Jazz Listening Session, 12:30 pm. Starting in the 1930s, “Hot Clubs” were basically book clubs for jazz lovers. Fans would get together to play records for each other. Today, the Neo Hot Club movement is about hearing classic and rare jazz records on their original 78RPM format, which offers the best sound possible. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd.
Sept. 22, Kew Gardens Community Arts Day 2019, 11 am. Seven hours of art experiences that celebrate the borough’s rich diversity. Austin Street, Lefferts Boulevard, and neighboring streets, Kew Gardens.
Sept. 22, Introduction to Beekeeping, 2 pm. HnH Apiary co-owners Helen Colhoun-Wassinger and Howard Wassinger teach basic techniques, the care-cycle, costs, supplies, perils, and rewards. Voelker Orth Museum, 149-19 38th Ave., Flushing.
Sept. 22, Forest Bathing, 10 am. The Natural Areas Conservancy offers this low-intensity activity based on the practice of shinrin-yoku, which focuses on gently engaging mind, spirit, and body with the natural environment. Expert guide Nancy Kopans from Urban Edge Forest Therapy leads the fun in Forest Park. Meet-up instructions provided upon registration.
Sept. 25, Evening Under the Sphere, 6 pm. Great food and drink, music, and non-stop dancing with DJ David Paul of DP Productions, free parking, and a great cause (proceeds go to the Alliance for Flushing Meadows Corona Park). The Unisphere.
Images: Viva La Comida! (top); Clay Williams (bottom)
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