#WeeklyColumn | It’s In Queens! – QEDC

#WeeklyColumn | It’s In Queens!

BY QEDC It's In Queens

Lunar New Year fun continues this week, while mixing with Motown, local films, traditional and re-imagined Irish music, romantic crooning, and some Sanitation Department art.

Jan. 29, Chinese Theatre Works, 1 pm + 3 pm. Two performances of Budaixi-style puppetry with live music. This year’s production stars a rabbit that presides over puppet skits, dances, popular songs, and well-known Chinese sayings celebrating the wit and wisdom of the 12 Zodiac animals. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd.

Jan. 29, Lunar New Year at the Museum, 1 pm. Three hours of folk and lion dance, Kung Fu demonstrations, and hands-on activities for all ages (i.e. calligraphy, puppets, lanterns). Queens Museum, NYC Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

Jan. 31, Brigid, 7 pm. A staged reading of a new play by Maura Mulligan featuring songs from the Grammy-winning vocalist Susan McKeown. Plus, the Cuala Foundation presents a post-reading panel, “Reflections on Modern-Day Brigid Connections,” followed by a reception. (St. Brigid’s Feast Day is Feb. 1.) New York Irish Center, 10-40 Jackson Ave., Long Island City.

Feb. 1, Author Talk, 7:30 pm. Sergey Kadinsky talks about his book, Hidden Waters of New York City, which surveys 101 hidden lakes, creeks, inlets, ponds, and reservoirs within New York City. These minor waterways — including Fort Totten Pond, Crocheron Pond, Oakland Lake, and Alley Pond — serve a vital role in promoting sustainability. Bayside Historical Society, The Castle, 208 Totten Ave., Fort Totten.

Feb. 2, The Dragon King, 10 am + 11:30 am. The Tanglewood Marionettes troupe offers an underwater puppetry fantasy based on Chinese folklore. A drought has turned the world brown and lifeless, and people wonder why the Dragon King, who rules the waters, has not brought rain. An intrepid grandmother journeys to the bottom of the sea to talk to the monarch. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd.

Feb. 2, Señor Bolero, Feb. 26. A comedic musical about love in the times of the bolero, a slow, danceable genre that arose in Cuba at the end of the 19th century. A famous 1960 singer is hired to perform a concert without imagining that fate will lead her to find the love of her life in the least expected way. Shows are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8 pm and Sundays at 4 pm. Thalía Spanish Theatre, 41-17 Greenpoint Ave., Sunnyside.