#WeeklyColumn | June 1 – June 7 | It’s In Queens!
BY QEDC It's In Queens
Is there life after such a fantastic Memorial Day Weekend? Well, Queens continues the positive vibes with more barbecues, Grecian rock operas, GIFs, world music, fun runs, books, birds, and horseshoe crabs.
June 1, Opening for GIF Elevator, 7 pm. A panel discussion kicks off this six-artist exhibition. To run for a year, four-screen moving-image installations debut work by Mr. Div (Matt DiVito), Dain Fagerholm, Render Fruit (Clara Luzian), Lorna Mills, Paul Robertson, and Rafia Santana. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.
June 1, René McLean Quintet, 6:30 pm. Enjoy an outdoor concert led by a world-renowned saxophonist, composer, band leader, educator, and producer. Free. Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Blvd., LIC.
June 2, A Mexican Affair, 9:30 pm. An evening of food, music, candid stories, and spicy romance, created and performed by Rafa Reyes with arrangements by musical director Felipe Fournier. $25. The Paper Factory Hotel, 37-06 36th St., LIC.
June 2, Porphyra: A Grecian Rock Opera, June 3. St. Vladimir of Russia and Byzantium’s Anna Porphyrogenita are in love. The Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce presents this three-show extravaganza by the Dena Stevens Dance Project. (June 2 at 7 pm; June 3 at 4 pm and 8 pm.) $25/$20 in advance. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd.
June 3, International Music Festival, 1 pm. Outdoor shows, chats with the performers, and a main concert at 9 pm. Jamaica Performing Arts Center, 153-10 Jamaica Ave.
June 3, Saturday Cookout, noon. The Arrogant Swine provides the Carolina-style barbecue for this pig roast. Pulled pork with all the fixin’s for hours and hours. Nowadays, 56-06 Cooper Ave., Ridgewood.
June 3, LIC Post Waterfront 5K, 8:30 am. More than 1,000 harriers are expected for this fun run, which raises funds for the Hunters Point Parks Conservancy. A children’s dash takes place right after the 5K. Starting line is Center Boulevard and Borden Avenue, LIC.
June 3, Concert for the Environment, 7:30 pm. Gathering Time is a head-turning folk-rock harmony band akin to a high-energy Peter, Paul & Mary or a co-ed Crosby, Stills & Nash. $20. Alley Pond Environmental Center, 228-06 Northern Blvd., Douglaston.
June 3, LGBTQ Voices, 5 pm. Catch up-and-coming artists who identify as LGBTQ. They were selected via an open call for all disciplines, including music, dance, poetry, theater, and performance art. Free. 78th Street Plaza, adjacent to Travers Park on Northern Boulevard, Jackson Heights.
June 3, Horseshoe Crabs of Long Island Sound, 10 am. Board member Bill Nieter leads a morning hike during the new moon tide to observe the annual ritual of horseshoe crab mating. Stroll along the shoreline to observe these prehistoric creatures while exploring intertidal zone habitats. Free. Alley Pond Environmental Center, 228-06 Northern Blvd., Douglaston.
June 3, Mariel Pacific Concert, 5 pm. Enjoy forgotten musical treasures and light refreshments. Free. Maple Grove Cemetery, 125-15 Kew Gardens Rd., Kew Gardens.
June 3, Mrs. Miniver, 1 pm. Watch a 1942 romantic war drama based on an eponymous 1940 novel. The film shows how World War II touches the life of an unassuming housewife in rural England. Discussion afterward. Free. Greater Astoria Historical Society, 32-20 Broadway, LIC.
June 4, Soundtrack of War: The Last Poets, Rebel Diaz, and HaStyle, 1 pm. These headliners share their perspectives through music and conversation. Stay after the concert for Flamenco, music, and peace/protest workshops. Queens Museum, NYC Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
June 4, Sbongiseni Duma, 2 pm. This South Africa native mixes djembe drums, percussion, acoustic guitar, bass, vocal clicks, call-and-response, and dance for a family-friendly performance. New York Hall of Science, 47-01 111th St., Corona.
June 4, We Run For Hope 5K and 10K Run/Walk, 9 am. Compete, build awareness for cancer, and raise money for SHARE, a nonprofit that fights this disease and supports those who suffer from it. Starting line is at the north end of Meadow Lake in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
June 4, Book Fair, 10 am to 3 pm. Thousands of books in most genres. Many items cost $1 or less. The Towers, 34th Avenue between 80th and 81st streets, Jackson Heights.
June 4, The Gambler with James Toback in person, 7 pm. The culminating event in the James Caan series is a special screening of The Gambler with writer James Toback in person. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.
June 4, Cookbook Talk, Swap & Exhibition, 1 pm. This event is on the last weekend of the exhibition Feeding the Family: 20th Century Cookbooks. Historian and curator Kelsey Brow discusses cookbooks produced by companies from 1900 through the 1930s, exploring the gendered history of how these tomes were made and used. $5 suggested donation. Voelker Orth Museum, 149-19 38th Ave., Flushing.
June 4, Almost Home: Between Staying and Leaving a Phantom Land, 3 pm. A tour with curator Shlomit Drorand and artists Daniel Greenfield-Campoverde, Ayesha Kamal Khan, Dana Levy, and Karina Aguilera Skvirsky. Free. Dorsky Gallery, 11-03 45th Ave., LIC.
June 5, Rikers Island Lecture, 7 pm. Thomas McCarthy, a retired NYC Correction Department director and former spokesperson for the Queens District Attorney’s Office, presents on the island’s history from the New Amsterdam era to modern times. He gives a perspective on the current campaign to close the jail complex. Afterward, Executive Director Bob Singleton leads an open forum on the island’s future. $5. Greater Astoria Historical Society, 32-20 Broadway, LIC.
June 7, Astoria Park Carnival, June 11. Food, entertainment, rides, and thrills. Astoria Park, 100 Hoyt Ave.
Continuing, recurring fun:
June 1, Open Mic: Fathers, 6 pm. Held the first Thursday of each month and hosted by poet and storyteller Bobby González, Open Mic is for poets, storytellers, free style rappers, and emerging artists of all ages. Speakers need not follow each month’s suggested theme. Free. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd.
June 1, Summer Thursdays, 3 pm. Part of an ongoing weekly program of games, crafts, and activities. This Thursday features salsa lessons and performances by Thalía Spanish Theatre. Free. Bliss Plaza, 46th Street and Queens Boulevard, Sunnyside.
June 3, Bird Walks with NYC Audubon, 9:30 am. Spot and identify creatures of flight with experts. This is the final in a five-week series. Free with admission. Queens Botanical Garden, 43-50 Main St., Flushing.
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Top image: Porphyra; Bottom image: Queens Museum