Greek celebration in Astoria
Assemblymember Michael Gianaris and Borough President Helen Marshall will host their annual Greek Independence Day celebration with a variety of cultural performances and activities on Thursday, March 26 at 6 p.m. at the Hellenic Cultural Center in Astoria.
During the event, the leaders will honor four leaders for their services to the Queens and Greek communities.
Michael John Hartofilis, a lawyer and member of Hellenic Lawyers Association Board of Directors; George Paralemos, Queens County Regional Representative and Greek Liaison for State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli; Stamatiki Valiotis, Alma Bank Director of Community Relations and Malba Association Treasurer; and Maria Zias, TD Bank in Astoria’s Senior Store Manager and President of the Astypalean Association will all receive awards.
The celebration will take place at the Hellenic Cultural Center at 27-09 Crescent Street in Astoria.
Local blood drives
Long Island Blood Services will host a number of blood drives in western Queens during the month of April. You can call 1-800-933-2566 or visit www.nybloodcenter.org to verify the date and time of the blood drive.
• April 5 at the Elks Lodge located at 82-10 Queens Boulevard, Elmhurst from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• April 7 at the Greater Ridgewood Youth Council located at 62-04 Myrtle Avenue, Glendale from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• April 19 at Our Lady of the Angelus located at 98-095 63rd Drive, Rego Park from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
• April 19 at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal located at 62-45 61st Street, Ridgewood from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
• April 25 at The Reform Temple of Forest Hills located at 71-11 112th Street, Forest Hills from noon to 4 p.m.
Senior events at the Atria
On Friday, April 3 at 2:30 p.m., the Atria of Forest Hills located at 112-50 72nd Avenue will host a presentation for senior citizens by Aesthetic Realism consultants Anne Fielding and Jeffrey Carduner entitled “Using Love, the Family, and Age To Like the World: Aesthetic Realism Shows How!”
This presentation, in which seniors take part, will use instances from everyday objects ranging from a poem for mothers to a painting by Rembrandt, and talk about how much every person can honestly like the world and people, and what interferes.
Then, on Tuesday, April 7 at 10:30 a.m., the RAICES-Astoria, located at 21-12 30th Road in Astoria, will host a presentation for senior citizens by Fielding and Carduner titled “Memory Shows We’re Connected to the Whole World!” Dr. Jaime Torres will also translate this event into Spanish.
Fielding and Carduner are popular speakers in the metro area and in North Carolina and Florida.
For information about both events, call the Aesthetic Realism Foundation at 212-777-4490 or visit www.AestheticRealism.org.
Forest Hills Seder
A Seder, conducted by Rabbi Mayer Perelmuter and Cantor Cary Schwartz, will be held at The Reform Temple of Forest Hills, 71-11 112th Street, on the second night of Passover, Thursday evening, April 9 at 5:30 p.m.
The cost of the dinner is $60 for adults and $30 for children 12 and under. For reservations, call the Temple at 718-261-2900 or send an email to mail@rtfh.org.
Free child obesity talk Assemblymember Margaret Markey will sponsor a free talk by a North Shore-Long Island Jewish Hospital expert on dealing with the threat of childhood obesity on Thursday, March 26 from 7 to 8 p.m. in Maspeth.
Nancy Cooperman, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Hospital Community Health Office Director, will give a talk entitled “The Childhood Obesity Crisis: Simple Steps to Keep Your Family Healthy,” at Markey’s District Office located at 55-19 69th Street.
“If you’ve got growing children, this is a chance to learn more about the simple steps you may take to keep your family healthy,” Markey said. “Parents who are concerned about the childhood obesity crisis in New York are invited to attend this free program to hear Nancy Cooperman of the Community Health Office of the North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System talk about this serious issue and share the latest information on what you can do in your home.”
The talk is free, but seating is limited. Make a reservation by calling 718-651-3185.
Financial meeting in Astoria The United Community Civic Association will host a public meeting on Thursday, April 2 about America’s financial meltdown with guest speakers State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and City Comptroller William C. Thompson.
The meeting, which is open to everyone in the community, will take place at Augustana Lutheran Church located at 69-05 Ditmars Boulevard in Astoria Heights at 7:30 p.m.
For more information about the organization or the event, call Rose Marie Poveromo at 718-932-5415.
Talk to Police Commander The Juniper Park Civic Association and other community organizations in western Queens are sponsoring a night where residents can come in to talk with the Police Commander of the 104th Precinct about issues going on in the community.
The meeting will take place on Thursday, March 26 at 7:45 p.m. at Our Lady of Hope School located at Eliot Avenue and 71st Street in Middle Village. All community members are invited to attend, and, for more information, you can call 718-651-5865.
