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Bloomberg kicks off Winter Festival 2003

“Winter in New York City is one of the most beautiful and magical times of the year,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday morning in front of a podium made of ice as children sipped hot chocolate behind him.

As this winter proves itself to be more snow-filled than any other New York City winter in years, Queens arts institutions and ones in the other boroughs are preparing to participate in a citywide arts festival in celebration of the snowy season.

Winter Festival 2003 was kicked off Monday morning at Central Park’s Lasker Rink with a snow-themed celebration (though the festival doesn’t officially begin until Saturday), and will conclude on Groundhog’s Day, Feb. 2, at the Staten Island Zoo.

In between, each borough has lined up family-themed events along with activities geared specifically to children and to adults.

“When the temperature drops, our City sparkles with great things to do and see, including indoor and outdoor activities for New Yorkers and visitors of all ages at our non-profit cultural organizations and parks,” the mayor said. “I invite you to explore all that New York City has to offer to keep you warm through the winter and encourage all to take advantage of the special events opportunities extended during Winter Festival 2003.”

“Winter weather is a poor excuse to stay indoors and turn into a couch potato,” Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said. “New Yorkers can participate in winter sports and cultural activities, or simply enjoy the beauty of our 28,000 acres of parks.”

Other citywide Winter Festival 2003 events include a world chocolate exhibition at the New York Botanical Garden and the luge at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx; a Lunar New Year celebration at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and luge/curling at Prospect Park in Brooklyn; Latin jazz performances at the Museum of the City of New York and professional ice dancing and speed skating at Central Park in Manhattan; arts and crafts at the Colden Center and Queens Museum of Art in Queens; and tours of Historic Richmond Town and several nature settings in Staten Island.

In Queens, Flushing Meadows Corona Park and Long Island City have been designated winter “hot spots,”

Some of the Long Island City venues participating in the festival are the American Museum of the Moving Image, PS 1 Contemporary Art Center, Isamu Noguchi Museum, MoMA QNS, Socrates Sculpture Park and the Museum for African Art.

The Flushing Meadows Corona Park hot spot features the New York Hall of Science, the Queens Museum of Art, Queens Theatre in the Park, the Queens Historical Society, Queens Borough Public Library and the Colden Center for the Performing Arts.

Outside of Queens, hot zones include the downtown theater district, DUMBO, the Grand Concourse, Harlem, the heart of Brooklyn, Lower Manhattan, Museum Mile and Staten Island.

Beyond the hot spots where the festival will focus, there are many other venues that will participate. The Louis Armstrong House & Archives will kick off a four-month jazz festival Jan. 16; the Thalia Spanish Theatre will present “La Vida es Tango” starting Jan. 23; and Chinese Theater Works will present the Peking Opera Jan. 25.

For a complete listing of Winter Festival 2003 events, call 800-NYC-VISIT, or visit www.nyc.gov/winterfest.

This weekend at the Winter Festival 2003

American Museum of the Moving Image

35th Avenue (at 36th Street)

718-784-0077

DigitalMedia (ongoing)

Sixteen new-media works allow visitors to interact with the real-time creation of digital moving images.

Behind the Screen (ongoing)

This environment takes visitors through the process of producing, marketing and showing movies and television programs.

George A. Romero (Jan. 11–26, Sat. & Sun.)

A complete retrospective devoted to this horror film master, director of “Night of the Living Dead,” “Dawn of the Dead” and “Martin.” Check Web site for screenings times and titles.

Repertory Nights

Sat. & Sun. 6:30 p.m.

Screenings of classic American and international films: “The Tales of Hoffman” (Jan. 11 & 12); “Shock Corridor” (Jan. 18 & 19), “Alphaville” (Jan. 26 & 27) and “Fistful of Dollars” (Feb. 1 & 2)

Two-for-one adult admission

Alley Pond Environmental Center

228-06 Northern Boulevard (on Northern Boulevard, just east of the Cross Island Parkway)

718-229-4000

Dream Catchers

Jan. 11, 10:30 a.m.–noon

Learn about the ancient Native American tradition of constructing dream catchers. For ages 9–12.

Perfectly Penguin

Jan. 12, 10 a.m.

Feathers, photos, stories and dramas to explore how penguins survive and raise chicks in the freezing cold. For ages 5–6.

Colden Center for the Performing Arts at Queens College

65-30 Kissena Boulevard

(off the eastbound service road of the Long Island Expressway)

718-544-2996

KidsClassics—Brass

Jan. 12, 3 p.m.

This concert takes a lighthearted look at four brass instruments—trumpet, tuba, French horn and trombone. The program includes pieces by Handel, Tchaikovsky, Sousa and Sir Elton John.

$2 off ticket price to “KidsClassics—Brass”

P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center

22-25 Jackson Avenue (at 46th Street)

718-784-2084

Building Structures (through Feb.)

A group show featuring New York and international artists who re-stage the context and usage of architectural techniques and appropriate its principles.

Video Acts: Single Channel Works from the Collections of Pamela and Richard Kramlich (through April)

Works by artists such as Vito Acconci and Pippiloti Rist examine the relationships between video and performance.

Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum

36-01 43rd Avenue (at 36th Street, three blocks from MoMA QNS)

718-204-7088

Noguchi: Sculpture & Nature (through Jan. 13)

This exhibition focuses on one of the artist’s lifelong concerns—the transposition of natural forms into manmade objects and spaces and its reverse.

Museum of Modern Art, Queens

45-20 33rd Street (on Queens Boulevard)

212-708-9400

HanD HearD (ongoing)

A site-specific film made by Garry Hill in concert with the museum’s continuing series of projected works in the MoMA QNS lobby.

Masterworks of German Expressionism (through Feb. 24)

MoMA presents a group of important works on paper from its collection, including new acquisitions, and features early 20th-century masters such as Kirchner and Beckmann.

Mediascope (ongoing)

Focusing on experimentation with form and content, this bi-weekly Monday program features both emerging and recognized artists. Filmmakers discuss their work with the audience. Check Web site for screening times and titles.

Positif Champions: Fifty Years of Cinema (through Jan. 30)

An exhibition of 50 films championed by the French journal. Check Web site for screening times and titles.

To Be Looked At: Painting and Sculpture from the Collection (ongoing)

7,500 square feet of the Queens space is devoted to the permanent collection.

New York Hall of Science

47-01 111th Street

Flushing Meadows-Corona Park (at 48th Avenue)

718-699-0005

New York City’s only hands-on science and technology center houses more than 225 exhibits exploring the wonder and excitement of biology, chemistry and physics.

One child admitted free with paying adult

Queens Museum of Art

New York City Building

Flushing Meadows Corona Park

718-592-9700

“Image of Japan”

Jan. 11, 2 p.m.

A performance by the Harmonia Opera Company.

A Walking Tour of the Panorama

(ongoing; Sat.–Sun. 3:30–4:30 p.m.)

Guided tours of this astonishingly detailed, 9,500-square-foot, three-dimensional model of New York City.

The Pointed Pen: William Sharp’s Courtroom Drawings, Political Caricatures and Book Illustrations from the 1930s to the 1950s” (through March 2)

The first retrospective devoted to this refugee from Nazi Germany who settled in Forest Hills.

World Dancing

Jan. 12, 2 p.m.

Audience members learn dances from around the world with cultural choreographer Beth Anna Ferguson.

Socrates Sculpture Park

Broadway (at Vernon Boulevard)

718-956-1819

2002 Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition (through March 30)

Socrates park’s annual exhibition features the works of 10 young artists. Sculptures can be seen in the park against a breathtaking view of the Manhattan skyline.

Queens Council on the Arts

79-01 Park Lane South (at Oak Ridge)

718-647-3377

Second Annual Members’ Exhibition (Jan. 6–31)

A juried exhibition of 25 Queens-based artists. Opening reception Jan. 11, 4–6 p.m.

Queens Theatre in the Park

Flushing Meadows–Corona Park

(exit 9E off Grand Central Parkway)

718-760-0064

“American Dreams: Lost & Found”

Jan. 11, 2 & 8 p.m.; Jan. 12, 3 p.m.; Jan. 13–14, 10 a.m.

Studs Terkel dramatizes interviews with an embittered Miss USA, farm boys, a Boston Brahmin and members of the KKK, among others, to reveal the dreams and aspirations of Americans.

“Birdwoman: The Story of Sacagawea”

Feb. 1–2, 2 p.m.

Ric Averill’s play reconstructs the life of the Shoshone guide and celebrates the bicentennial of Lewis and Clark’s expedition.

Museum for African Art

36-01 43rd Avenue, 3rd floor

718-784-7700

Facing the Mask (through Feb. 2)

The inaugural exhibition at the museum’s new (temporary) home in Long Island City includes 70 masks, representing this diverse pan-African art form and revealing its richly varied traditions.

Two-for-one admission

Queens Historical Society

143-35 37th Avenue

(between Bowne Street and Parsons Boulevard)

718-939-0647

The 20th Century Borough: 100 Years of Modern Architecture in Queens (through March 2)

Contemporary and vintage photographs document the history of modern building and planning in Queens.

10% off on bookshop purchases

National Art League

44-21 Douglaston Parkway

(near the corner of Douglaston Parkway and Northern Boulevard

718-224-3957

Photoart Exhibition (through Jan. 31)

A juried photo exhibition.

Queens Borough Public Library

Flushing Branch

41-17 Main Street

(at Kissena Boulevard)

718-661-1200

Dialogue of Civilizatons: Selected Works from the Golagha International Cartoon Competition (through Feb. 24)

Peace, violence, world domination, technology and the human condition are all serious topics that are taken on in these witty and beautifully illustrated political cartoons.

Long Island City Artists

at Citibank atrium

1 Court Square

Long Island City (at the intersection of Jackson Avenue and 44th Drive)

Long Island City Artists Showcase

Jan. 3–March 26

Exhibition of small works by Long Island City artists.

Queens Borough Public Library

89-11 Merrick Boulevard

(at 89th Avenue)

A Carnival of Animals: Beasts, Birds and Bugs (through March 15)

Ninety illustrations from children’s books, on loan from the Mazza Museum for this exhibition.