News From The Queens Tourism Council
Okay, Mr. Snow, make room for Bill Cosby, Alvin Ailey, the Beatles and the Frog Prince. This week, the borough also welcomes Lunar New Year celebrations, Black History Month events, art, poetry and plenty of dance and film.
Here’s the rundown.
– Tonight (Thursday), Feb. 6, Bill Cosby & Frank Savage, 6 p.m. Comedian Bill Cosby and financier Frank Savage discuss their new books. Free. York College Performing Arts Center, 94-45 Guy R. Brewer Blvd., Jamaica, www.york.cuny.edu.
– Thursday, Feb. 6, Opening Reception for John Smalls, 6 p.m. Smalls is an artist and a student of the martial arts. He showcases his passion for Jiu-Jitsu and its influence on his painting, illustrating, drawing, murals and digital design. Show runs through Feb. 28. Space Gallery, 29-09 39th Ave., LIC, www.spacegallerylic.com.
– Thursday, Feb. 6, Author Talk Urban Affairs Correspondent for The New York Times, 6:30 p.m. Sam Roberts, who hosts the weekly NY1 program The New York Times Close Up, has a new book on NYC. Free. Queens Central Library, 89-11 Merrick Blvd., Jamaica, www.queenslibrary.org.
– Friday, Feb. 7, Black History Month w/Mr. Chris’ Musical Experience, 10:30 a.m. Mr. Chris presents a 45 minute hip hop performance celebrating two African Americans-Thurgood Marshall and Debbie Allen-along with various inventors. Jamaica Performing Arts Center, 153-10 Jamaica Ave., www.jamaicaperformingartscenter.org.
– Friday, Feb. 7, Beatles Anniversary, 11:30 a.m. The Port Authority marks the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ arrival at JFK Airport on Feb. 7, 1964 with an unveiling, food and the best faux Fab Four band. TWA Flight Center, JFK’s Central Terminal Area, adjacent to JetBlue’s Terminal 5. RSVP to the Port Authority’s Media Relations Office at 1-212-435-7777 is required.
– Friday, Feb. 7, The Wiz, 7 p.m. The Museum of the Moving Image presents the See It Big: Musicals series featuring films with singing and dancing extravaganzas. A Harlem school teacher is transported to Oz in The Wiz, a Motown coproduction with a cast headed by Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. MMI, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria, www.movingimage.us.
– Friday, Feb. 7, Lab 201: Survey, 8 p.m. In this play, Tom Lawrence hosts a popular entertainment news show and has a great life until his fiancée calls off their engagement and leaves him. Tom then struggles to understand his mistakes and turns to the unlikeliest sources. $10/$15. LaGuardia Community College Little Theatre, M Building, Thomson Avenue, between Van Dam and 30th streets, LIC, www.lagcc.cuny.edu.
– Friday, Feb. 7, Take Root with Teresa Fellion & Teddy Tedholm, 8 p.m. (and on Saturday, Feb. 8). In this once-a-month series for choreographers, Fellion investigates reactions to sound and explores dualities through movement. Then Tedholm retrofits new ideas into old molds to create something new through explosive, meticulous movement. $15. Green Space, 37-24 24th St., LIC, www.greenspacestudio.org.
– Saturday, Feb. 8, Ballet Hispánico, 8 p.m. (and Sunday, Feb. 9 at 3 p.m.). Ballet Hispánico fuses classical, Latin and contemporary dance with a theatricality and passion that audiences of all ages enjoy. $29-$49 (Use code “ballet” for $5 off tickets). Goldstein Theatre at Kupferberg Center for the Arts, vicinity of Kissena Boulevard and Horace Harding Expressway, Flushing, www.kupferbergcenter.org.
– Saturday, Feb. 8, Lunar New Year Celebration, 1 to 4 p.m. Queens Botanical Garden hosts such festivities as a tea workshop and a performance by the New York Chinese Chorus. Free with fees for certain activities. Queens Botanical Garden, 43-50 Main St., Flushing, www.queensbotanical.org.
– Saturday, Feb. 8, Storybook Discovery Day, 11 a.m. In a cozy parlor setting, Karyn Mooney makes reading fun. Suggested for children six and under, the session includes an art or nature discovery activity. Suggested donation $5 per family. Voelker Orth Museum, 149-19 38th Ave., Flushing, www.vomuseum.org.
– Saturday, Feb. 8, Democracy, 2 p.m. This New York Council for the Humanities Conversations with Kids event focuses on democracy. Karyn Mooney reads and discusses the book “I Could Do That! Esther Morris Gets Women the Vote” by Linda Arms White. In this story, Morris shows how one girl’s courage helps her obtain the right to vote for women in Wyoming Territory. Free. Queens Historical Society at Kingsland Homestead, 143-35 37th Ave., Flushing, www.queenshistoricalsociety.org.
– Saturday, Feb. 8, Like Water for Chocolate, 7 p.m. A Better Jamaica’s new film series, Cinema en Español, begins with this Mexican gem (English subtitles). Free. Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning, 161-04 Jamaica Ave., www.jcal.org.
– Sunday, Feb. 9, The Frog Prince & Peter and the Wolf, 3 p.m. The Queens Symphony Orchestra brings these two classic tales to life. LeFrak Concert Hall at Queens College, vicinity of Horace Harding Expressway and Kissena Boulevard, Flushing, www.queenssymphony.org.
– Sunday, Feb. 9, Con Brio Ensemble, 4:30 p.m. This Astoriabased group plays works by Brahms, Schumann and Schubert. $12 adults/$10 seniors & students/free for children under 13. The Church-in-the-Gardens, 50 Ascan Ave., Forest Hills, www.thecitg.org.
– Sunday, Feb. 9, Swingtime Big Band, 3 p.m. A fun-filled afternoon of music, dancing and food with an authentic swing band. $30, includes pasta and meatball dinner and dessert. Queens of Angels Church Auditorium, 44-04 Skillman Ave., Sunnyside, 718-392-0011.
– Sunday, Feb. 9, Second Sundays, 3 p.m. As part of Noguchi Museum’s monthly “Second Sundays” program, Leslie Gat from the Art Conservation Group and Noguchi’s curatorial team present a combination of pending, in progress, and recently completed conservation and reconstruction projects. Objects to be discussed and displayed included a broken column (c. 1957- 58) from Noguchi’s unexecuted plans for Idlewild Airport (now JFK International Airport) and Sky Mirror (1982-83), a galvanized steel sculpture damaged during Hurricane Sandy. Free with admission. NM, 9- 01 33rd Rd., LIC, www.noguchi.org.
– Sunday, Feb. 9, Beatles Party, 6 p.m. It’s the 50th anniversary of the Fab Four’s first trip to the U.S. To mark the occasion, director and screenwriter Celeste Balducci hosts music, dancing and the world premiere of Lovely Lilly, an independent short film set in Jackson Heights on the historic weekend of Feb. 8-9, 1964. Elmhurst Hospital Center Auditorium, 79-01 Broadway, Elmhurst, www.thelovelylily.com.
– Sunday, Feb. 9, George Edward Tait: The Poet Laureate of Harlem, 3 p.m. The Afrikan Poetry Theatre and the World Afrikan Diaspora Union present a poetry reading and workshop featuring Tait. $10. APT, 176-03 Jamaica Ave., Jamaica, www.afrikanpoetrytheatre.org.
– Sunday, Feb. 9, Fertile Ground, 7 p.m. This non-curated performance event features five-tosix choreographers and a post-performance discussion with wine and cheese moderated by Green Space Artistic Director Valerie Green. $10. Green Space, 37-24 24th St., LIC, www.greenspacestudio.org.
– Monday, Feb. 10, Ailey II, 11 a.m. This is an artistic workshop, and tickets are only available for groups of five or more. $15 (fiveticket minimum). Jamaica Performing Arts Center, 153-10 Jamaica Ave., www.jamaicaperformingartscenter.org.
– Tuesday, Feb. 11, Entrepreneur Space Third Anniversary, 6 to 8 p.m. Celebrate the E-Space and its clients. As a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the 1964 World’s Fair, the celebration will include Belgian waffles, which were introduced to the U.S. in 1964. Mariepaule Vermersch, who left Belgium to serve these waffles, will be on hand. Free. E-Space, 36-46- 37th St., LIC, www.queensny.org.
– Wednesday, Feb. 12, Forgotten Queens, 7 p.m. Author Kevin Walsh and Rich Melnick of the Greater Astoria Historical Society discuss their new book of local history, “Forgotten Queens.” Astoria Bookshop, 31-29 31st St., Astoria, www.astoriabookshop.com.
“It’s In Queens” column is produced by the Queens Tourism Council with the hope that readers will enjoy the borough’s attractions.
