News From The Queens Tourism Council
The saw is most famous for cutting wood or metal. But Queens will host a full-day festival celebrating this tool as a musical instrument on Saturday.
This unique event competes with other one-of-a-kind happenings such as a huge networking party, a fashion show, a Big Top circus, a talent show, a tribute to Brahms and Beethoven and various gardening activities.
Here’s the rundown.
– Today (Thursday), May 30, Big Apple Circus: Legendarium, times vary (through June 16). Enter the intimate Big Top circus, where the artists perform spectacular feats and no one sits more than 50 feet from the ring. See hilarious clowns, magnificent horses, playful pooches, soaring aerialists, flawless jugglers, astounding acrobats and a contortionist with a backbone as flexible as an archer’s bow. Cunningham Park, Fresh Meadows, www.bigapplecircus.org.
– Thursday, May 30, The Cinema of Immigration, 2 p.m. Part of a 10- week series exploring the immigrant experience in the U.S., the Queens Museum of Art (QMA) presents The Wedding Banquet, a 1993 comedy that looks at cultural identity and child-parent relationships as a gay Taiwanese-American tries to fool his parents with a fake wedding. Mark Ethan, an Actors Studio member who has been presenting this series since 1998, introduces the movie and leads a discussion afterwards. Free. QMA, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, www.queensmuseum.org, 1-718-592-9700.
– Thursday, May 30, Natalie Green: I’m building a shrine, 8 p.m. (nightly through June 1). The Chocolate Factory Theater concludes its spring 2013 season with a new performance by Natalie Green. This evening-length dance is meant to be experienced as a dream, though it is grounded by earthly motivations. $15. Chocolate Factory Theater, 5-49 49th Ave., LIC, www.chocolatefactorytheater.org, 1-718-482-7069.
– Friday, May 31, The Dhamma Brothers, 4 p.m. This feature-length documentary follows Alabama inmates who participate in an intensive Buddhist meditation program. It addresses issues of civil rights, the American penal system, the possibility of rehabilitation and religious tolerance, and aligns with educational standards in social studies, psychology, sociology and comparative religion. Free. Queens Central Library, 89-11 Merrick Blvd., Jamaica, www.queenslibrary.org.
– Friday, May 31, Black Light Performance Showcase, 7:30 p.m. Dynamic performers share a diverse blend of art forms: dance, spoken word, poetry, live music, drama, rap, comedy and more. The event celebrates National Self-Esteem Month and creates a platform for individuals to learn how to develop self confi- dence through creative expression. Free. Mount Moriah AME Church, 116-20 Francis Lewis Blvd., St. Albans, www.moriahcity.org, 1-718-276-1908.
– Saturday, June 1, Musical Saw Festival, 2 p.m. Natalia “Saw Lady” Paruz, an Astoria resident, presents this annual event, which features new compositions for the musical saw, a musical saw art exhibit, paintings, musical saw poetry, solos by musical saw players from around the world, the Chorus of the Saws (all participating musical saw players playing together, accompanied by piano) and musical saw workshops. $10. Trinity Church, 31-18 37th St., LIC, www.musicalsawfestival.org.
– Saturday, June 1, The Jamaica Collections, 6 p.m. Jamaica Center explodes into the summer season with a fashion extravaganza featuring exclusive creations from premier and up-and-coming designers. Jamaica Performing Arts Center, 153-10 Jamaica Ave., Jamaica, www.jamaicacenter.org.
– Saturday, June 1, Mount Sinai Queens United Community Civic Association Health Fair, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Games, giveaways, music and refreshments, as well as free health screenings for asthma, blood pressure, BMI, bone density, glucose and lung function. Free. Lexington School and Center for the Deaf, 30th Avenue and 75th Street, Jackson Heights, www.lexnyc.com.
– Saturday, June 1, Grow East Coast Lecture Series XIII, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This full-day event will include a panel discussion on sustainable rose gardening. $75 (includes parking ) for Queens Botanical Gardens, Heritage Rose Foundation, Manhattan Rose Society and American Rose Society mem- bers/$85 for non-members. Queens Botanical Garden, 43-50 Main St., Flushing, www.queensbotanical.org, 1-718-886-3800.
– Sunday, June 2, Honduras v. Israel, 5:30 p.m. As they tune up for the qualifying rounds for the 2014 World Cup, the national soccer teams of Honduras and Israel will play a friendly match. For the Israelis, this is their first NYC appearance in over 35 years. Honduras, which qualified for the 2010 World Cup, is ranked 50th in the world. Citi Field, www.newyork.mets.mlb.com/nym/ti cketing/soccer.jsp.
– Sunday, June 2, The Ruins of Athens, 5 p.m. The Astoria Symphony Orchestra & Choir close their 10th concert season with two grand masterpieces. Hyperion’s Song of Fate is widely considered Brahms’s greatest work, and Beethoven’s The Ruins of Athens is rarely performed in its entirety, but features familiar tunes, such as the Turkish March and Consecration of the House. More than 100 musicians will perform. $25/20/15/free for kids. Discount tickets at https://bit.ly/14VauEN, St. Joseph Catholic Church, 43-19 30th Ave., LIC, www.astoriamusic.org, 1-917-300-8695.
– Sunday, June 2, Community Volunteer Day, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Roll up your sleeves and volunteer to keep Queens Botanical Garden clean and green. Free, but registration is required via rforlenza@queensbotanical.org or 1-718-886-3800 x 204. Queens Botanical Garden, 43-50 Main St., Flushing, www.queensbotanical.org.
– Sunday, June 2, Growing and Aging Talk/Tea/Reading, 1 p.m. The Voelker Orth Museum is currently offering a weekly reading-anddiscussion series in partnership with the New York Council for the Humanities. Voelker Orth Museum provides the tea, the setting, reading materials and an engaging facilitator. Participants contribute to the discussion. The texts include poetry, essays and a novel exploring questions about entering middle age, growing older, caring for aged loved ones, and finding satisfaction in later stages of life. $5 suggested donation. Voelker Orth Museum, 149-19 38th Ave., Flushing, www.vomuseum.org, 1-718-359-6227.
– Tuesday, June 4, Matchup at Z Hotel, 6 p.m. These “matchups” are the ultimate networking mixers-real time, real world personalized social networks created on the fly. Matchups leverage the free herematch app on a smartphone to show a list of people at the event. These people match with you because they need your services, offer services you need, have the same interests, belong to the same associations, attended the same school and/or come from the same hometown. All you have to do is show up and check in. Free with complimentary hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. Z Hotel, 11-01 43rd Ave., LIC, www.herematch.com.
– Tuesday, June 4, NYC Compost Project, 5:30 p.m. Leaves, kitchen scraps, garden trimmings and weeds can all become garden gold through composting. Join the Queens County Farm Museum to learn the essentials of outdoor composting in city yards and using a worm bin indoors. $5 with registration required via compost@queensbotanical.org or 1-718-539-5296. Queens County Farm Museum, 73-50 Little Neck Pkwy., Glen Oaks.
– Wednesday, June 5, Long Island City to Old Astoria Guided Walking Tour, 6 p.m. Official Queens historian Jack Eichenbaum will lead a walk along the East River between the Queensboro and RFK bridges. Begin at the Queensbridge Houses and head for the remnants of Old Astoria. The sights include increasingly oblique views of Manhattan’s Upper East Side from three parks, a former piano factory, a huge power plant, a big box store, the Socrates Sculpture Park, the Isamu Noguchi Museum and ante-bellum mansions. End in Astoria at the Bohemian Hall beer garden. Meet at NW corner of 21st Street and 41st Avenue (F train to Queensbridge). $15, www.geognyc.com, 1-718-961-8406.
The “It’s In Queens” column is produced by the Queens Tourism Council with the hope that readers will enjoy the borough’s attractions.
