Festival Marks Expositions’ Anniversaries
Some World’s Fair magic will return to Flushing Meadows- Corona Park this Sunday, May 18, with the “World’s Fair Anniversary Festival,” an extravaganza celebrating the golden and diamond jubilees of New York’s two major international exhibitions.
The festivities-culminating with a free concert by the Queens Symphony Orchestra and a fireworks display-begin at 1 p.m. in the vicinity of the Unisphere and around various spots in Flushing Meadows, according to Rob MacKay of the Queens Tourism Council.
The day-long celebration marks the 75th anniversary of the 1939-40 World’s Fair and the 50th anniversary of the 1964-65 World’s Fair, both of which took place on the fairgrounds that became Flushing Meadows Park.
The World’s Fair Anniversary Committee-co-chaired by Queens Borough President Melinda Katz and Assemblywoman Margaret Markey-organized the event; the Queens Borough President’s office and the city’s Parks Department are among the festival’s main sponsors.
History buffs will have the opportunity to check out memorabilia from both fairs and take tours of some of the exhibitions’ remaining landmarks, including the Queens Museum of Art (formerly the New York City Pavilion) and the Queens Theater in the Park (formerly the Theaterama section of the New York State Pavilion). Classic vehicles similar to those debuted at the 1964 fair-including the famous Ford Mustang model-will also be on display.
Children will get to enjoy a variety of attractions from puppet shows to inflatable bouncy rides, crafts and games and a visit by Mr. Met, the New York Mets’ beloved mascot. The Flushing Meadows Carousel is also offering 50 cent rides.
Guests of all ages will get to sample some international flavors provided by food trucks and vendors set up around the park, including Belgian waffles, a prized concession among visitors to the 1964-65 fair.
Throughout the festival, attendees will get to enjoy an array of musical acts on a stage set up near the New York State Pavilion. The acts include Japanese drummers; Mariachi Flor de Toloache, the only all-female mariachi band in the city; and The Liverpool Shuffle, a Beatles tribute band performing classic songs from 1964.
But the main act will take the stage at 7 p.m., when the Queens Symphony Orchestra (QSO)-under the baton of music director and conductor Constantine Kitsopoulos-performs its musical tribute to the city’s World’s Fairs.
Leading the orchestra’s performance is “National,” the fifth movement of the “World’s Fair Suite” composed by Ferde Grofe. The World’s Fair Symphony Orchestra performed the suite on the opening day of the 1964 fair.
The orchestra will also perform a host of American classics including the “Armed Forces Salute,” “Stars and Stripes Forever” and a medley of Irving Berlin’s patriotic compositions. The program also includes theater classics from the shows West Side Story, Oklahoma and Hello, Dolly.
“The New York World’s Fairs of 1939 and 1964 put Queens on the map,” Kitsopoulos said. “We at QSO are excited to participate in a celebration of the continuing legacy of those two monumental international exhibitions.”
Part of the orchestra’s program will accompany a 15 minute fireworks display sometime after sunset that will draw the day’s festivities to a close. MacKay stated the fireworks will illuminate the night sky directly above the New York State Pavilion, the futuristic needle-shaped towers near the Long Island Expressway.
World’s Fair fun won’t be limited to Flushing Meadows Park this Sunday, as various commemorations of the fair are scheduled for other historic venues in Queens. One of them is the Louis Armstrong Museum in Corona, which is offering free admission all day.
MacKay noted Armstrong-the famed jazz trumpetist and Corona resident-performed at the 1964 fair and had a day dedicated in his honor.
For more information on Sunday’s World’s Fair Anniversary Festival and other events, visit www.itsinqueens.com/worldsfair.
