News From The Queens Tourism Council
If music soothes the savage beast, there will be many tranquil animals in Queens soon. Upcoming performers include the Queens Symphony Orchestra, a Jazz group, a chamber ensemble, choral and oratorio societies, a few experimental quartets, a Beatles tribute band and even a school band. Japanese movies, magic, walking tours and theater round out a jam-packed week.
Here’s the rundown.
– Friday, May 16, To Bird and Dizzy with Love, 7:30 p.m. The Queens Jazz Orchestra (QJO) honors Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie; two masters of the Bop Bop vernacular and Jazz improvisation. Pre-show discussion with QJO Music Director and Conductor Jimmy Heath at 7:30 p.m. $40/$20 for students. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd., www.flushingtownhall.org.
– Friday, May 16, What’s New in Long Island City?, 5:45 to 8 p.m. A guided walk from Queens Plaza to the East River waterfront with official Queens historian Jack Eichenbaum. $15. Meet at the fare booth on the lowest level of the Queensboro Plaza station. Contact Jack Eichenbaum at jaconet@aol.com.
– Friday, May 16, A Unique Theater Showcase, 7 p.m. Queens Council on the Arts’ (QCA) 3rd Space presents an evening with theater ensembles performing selections from their latest works and works-in-progress. $5. QCA, 37-11 35th Ave., Astoria, www.queenscouncilarts.org.
– Friday, May 16, The Life of Oharu, 7 p.m. The Museum of the Moving Image is honoring Kenji Mizoguchi (1898-1956), who produced 85 films that spanned the silent and sound eras in Japan. In this film, the aging prostitute Oharu must endure hardship after hardship on her descent into society’s lowest rungs. MMI, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria, www.movingimage.us.
– Friday and Saturday, May 16- 17, Take Root with Sunhwa Chung/Ko-Ryo Dance Theater, 8 p.m. A blend of modern and traditional Korean dance inspired by real events in the choreographer’s journey of accepting change and embracing new customs. $15. Green Space, 37-24 24th St., LIC, www.GreenSpaceStudio.org.
– Saturday, May 17, 105th Annual Salute to Magic, 8 p.m. Founded in 1902 in Manhattan, the Society of American Magicians is the oldest and most prestigious magical society in the world. Its annual show features some of the world’s best talent. $45. Queens Theatre, 14 United Nations Ave. S., Flushing Meadows Corona Park, www.queenstheatre.org.
– Saturday, May 17, Tatsuya Nakadai, 3 p.m. Nakadai appeared in more than 140 Japanese movies over a career of more than six decades. He will be present at the screening of one of his most astonishing films, The Face of Another, a science-fiction tale of a man who is disfigured in an industrial accident and agrees to a face transplant. $12/$9 for senior citizens and students. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria, www.movingimage.us.
– Saturday, May 17, LIC Springs!, 1 to 6 p.m. A block party with crafts, food, fitness, song and dance coinciding with the LIC Arts Open and LIC Flea. Free. Vernon Boulevard between 50th and 46th avenues, www.licpartnership.org.
– Saturday, May 17, LIC Waterfront Photo Tour, 11 a.m. Sunnyside artist Mary Teresa Giancoli leads a tour of the LIC waterfront. Designed for families and anyone wishing to photograph the dramatic waterfront, the tour visits piers, playgrounds and gardens. $40/$30 for children (ages 6 -16). The tour begins and ends under the Gantries at Center Boulevard and 50th Avenue. Register via mary.giancoli@gmail.com or 347- 665-7327.
– Saturday, May 17, Eight Strings & a Whistle, 2 p.m. This group has been captivating audiences throughout the Northeast since 1998. For the 2014 Queens New Music Festival, they present a program showcasing contemporary American chamber music’s diversity. $50 weekend pass/$30 day pass/$20 per show. Secret Theatre, 44-02 23rd St., LIC, www.queensnewmusicfestival.org.
– Saturday, May 17, H2 Quartet, 4 p.m. For the 2014 Queens New Music Festival, this group explores a wide cross-section of contemporary American compositional styles. $50 weekend pass/$30 day pass/$20 per show. Secret Theatre, 44-02 23rd St., LIC, www.queensnewmusicfestival.org.
– Saturday, May 17, The Downfall of Osen, 4 p.m.; Straits of Love and Hate, 6:30 p.m. The Museum of the Moving Image is honoring Kenji Mizoguchi (1898-1956), who produced 85 films that spanned the silent and sound eras in Japan. After their unscrupulous master is arrested, servant girl Osen and penniless Sokichi must fend for themselves. They live together in straightened circumstances in Meiji-era Tokyo, and Osen’s love drives her to pay Sokichi’s way through medical school, turning to secret streetwalking. Straits of Love and Hate, set in a country inn in the northern mountains of Shinsu, freely borrows elements from Leo Tolstoy’s Resurrection. A servant is impregnated by her master’s son, and they run away to Tokyo, where he abandons her and the child, leaving her to a career in prostitution and manzai comedy. MMI, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria, www.movingimage.us.
– Saturday, May 17, Duo RoMi: Flute Loops, 6 p.m. Flutist Roberta Michel and pianist Mirna Lekic showcase work as part of the 2014 Queens New Music Festival. The concert includes emerging composer Viet Cuong’s electro-acoustic work and Pulitzer-winning composer David Lang’s Vent. $50 weekend pass/$30 day pass/$20 per show. Secret Theatre, 44-02 23rd St., LIC, www.queensnewmusicfestival.org.
– Saturday, May 17, Reading with Rufus, noon to 3 p.m. Rufus King loved to read and owned more than 3,500 books. Tour his library, create your own book and decorate it using paper marbleizing, a technique that was very popular in the 19th century. Free. King Manor Museum, Rufus King Park, 150-3 Jamaica Ave., Jamaica, www.kingmanor.org.
– Saturday, May 17, Spring Arts Festival, noon to 4 p.m. Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement hosts its 16th annual festival, celebrating the artistic talents of the Queensbridge community. Art displays, local vendors, family-friendly entertainment, including facepainting and live performances. Queensbridge Houses, 10-25 41st Ave., LIC, www.riissettlement.org.
– Saturday, May 17, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, 7:30 p.m. Queens College’s entire choral society, featuring nearly 300 musicians, performs Felix Mendelssohn’s Elijah. $20. Colden Auditorium, Queens College, Kissena Boulevard and Horace Harding Expressway, Flushing, www.kupferbergcenter.org.
– Saturday, May 17, Ghost Ensemble, 8 p.m. Experimental music exploring the listening experience, creating otherworldly soundscapes from healing to haunting to hypnotic. Cellist Meaghan Burke and conductor David Bloom join the group for this 2014 Queens New Music Festival event. $50 weekend pass/$30 day pass/$20 per show. Secret Theatre, 44-02 23rd St., LIC, www.queensnewmusicfestival.org.
– Saturday, May 17, Armed Forces Day Concert, noon. The North Queens Community Programs Committee honors those who have served the U.S. with live music featuring the Francis Lewis High School Band. Free. Main Street and Elder Avenue, Flushing.
– Sunday, May 18, World’s Fair Anniversary Festival, 1 p.m. to darkness. Games, inflatable rides, crafts, activities, tours of historic World’s Fair sculptures and structures, memorabilia, and free fun for the entire family. At 4 p.m, the Queens Symphony Orchestra and a Beatles cover band perform, followed by fireworks. Free. Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
– Sunday, May 18, Ologunde, 2:15 p.m. Ologunde celebrates the Afro-Brazilian culture of Salvador, Bahia through a diverse repertoire of music, dance and martial arts. Tickets start at $6. Flushing Town Hall, 137- 35 Northern Blvd., www.flushingtownhall.org.
– Sunday, May 18, Junie B. Jones, 1 & 3 p.m. This musical, based on the Barbara Parks books, tells the story of a first grader and her experiences. Single tickets are $14 or purchase a Family Series Flex Pass for $100 (10 tickets to use however you want.) Queens Theatre, 14 United Nations Ave. S., Flushing Meadows Corona Park, www.queenstheatre.org.
– Sunday, May 18, Oratorio Society of Queens Annual Spring Concert, 4 p.m. A borough gem, featuring its chorus of 125 plus, presents Anton Bruckner’s Epic “Mass in F minor” with maestro David Close leading selections from the American Choral Experience. $30/$25 seniors and students with ID/$10 children (12 and under). Queensborough Community College, 222-05 56th Ave., Bayside, www.QueensOratorio.org.
– Sunday, May 18, Build It!: A LEGO Workshop, sessions at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Children and adults learn to build LEGO models. Each participant leaves with a mini-model of the New York State Pavilion. Free. Queens Theatre, 14 United Nations Ave. S., Flushing Meadows Corona Park, www.queenstheatre.org.
– Sunday, May 18, Daylight Factory Buildings Walking Tour, 10 a.m. Long Island City’s great makeover at the beginning of the 20th century coincided with the widespread introduction of the daylight loft building, an architectural innovation that modernized manufacturing and permitted assembly line production. Many of these buildings are finding a variety of new uses, notably as art studios. $20. Meet at the northeast corner of 21st Street and 44th Drive, LIC, www.mas.org/tours.
– Sunday, May 18, Big Apple Circus, times vary (runs through June 15). $20-$65. Cunningham Park, vicinity of Long Island Expressway, Union Turnpike, and Francis Lewis Boulevard, Oakland Gardens, www.bigapplecircus.org.
– Sunday, May 18, Invisible Pharmacies: Queens Botánicas and the Informal Economy of Healing, 4 p.m. Queens College Adjunct Professor Anahí Viladrich delivers a paper on her work with Elmhurst, Corona, and Jackson Heights botánicas, which provide religious articles to practitioners of Santería, an African-Caribbean religion. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd., www.flushingtownhall.org.
– Sunday, May 18, Arthur Szyk: Soldier in Art, 1 p.m. Polish-Jewish artist and activist Arthur Szyk (1894- 1951) was an acclaimed illuminator and political illustrator. During World War II, his anti-Nazi caricatures were widely published in the U.S. Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center, Queensborough Community College, 222-05 56th Ave., Bayside, www.qcc.cuny.edu/khrca.
– Sunday, May 18, Comp Cord Ensemble, 2 p.m. The ensemble performs with Bill Schimmel (accordion), Demetrius Spaneas (soprano sax), Damien Bassman (drums), and Jacob Miller (poet/narrator) as part of the 2014 Queens New Music Festival. $50 weekend pass/$30 day pass/$20 per show. Secret Theatre, 44-02 23rd St., LIC, www.queensnewmusicfestival.org.
– Sunday, May 18, TAK Ensemble, 4 p.m. This five-member group- soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, and percussion, as well as electronics- presents commissioned works for the 2014 Queens New Music Festival. $50 weekend pass/$30 day pass/$20 per show. Secret Theatre, 44-02 23rd St., LIC, www.queensnewmusicfestival.org.
– Sunday, May 18, Kavak Trio: In The New Sun, 7 p.m. This group plays music by the masterminds behind the 2014 Queens New Music Festival, the composer-members of Random Access Music. Secret Theatre, 44-02 23rd St., LIC, www.queensnewmusicfestival.org.
– Sunday, May 18, Ghost Ensemble, 8 p.m. This 11-member ensemble of composer-performers and instrumentalists present 75 minutes of music without interruption as part of the 2014 Queens New Music Festival. $50 weekend pass/$30 day pass/$20 per show. The Secret Theatre, 44-02 23rd St., LIC, www.queensnewmusicfestival.org.
– Sunday, May 18, Poppy, 5 p.m.; Women of the Night, 7 p.m. The Museum of the Moving Image is honoring Kenji Mizoguchi (1898- 1956), who produced 85 films that spanned the silent and sound eras in Japan. Poppy concerns a society woman in contemporary Kyoto who is betrothed to a diplomat, but falls in love with the student who is teaching her English. Women of the Night was shot on location in postwar Osaka. Japan’s troubled fate is reflected in the stories of two sisters. One loses her husband and child from the war and its aftereffects, the other becomes her boss’s mistress; together they go down into the depths of Osaka’s redlight district, where naked violence is the only law. MMI, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria, www.movingimage.us.
– Sunday, May 18, Fertile Ground New Works Showcase, 7 p.m. Fertile Ground is a monthly new works showcase for emerging and established artists now in its 8th season, producing the work of over 50 choreographers each year. This non-curated performance event features roughly five choreographers each evening, and includes a postperformance discussion with wine and cheese, moderated by Green Space Artistic Director Valerie Green. $10. GS, 37-24 24th St., LIC, www.GreenSpaceStudio.org.
– Sunday, May 18, Second Annual Water Safety Awareness Event, 2 to 5 p.m. Community swim lessons, CPR training, water-safety workshops, food and nutrition. Free. Far Rockaway High School, 8-21 Beach 25th St., Far Rockaway, www.swimstrongfoundation.org.
– Tuesday, May 20, Taste of Sunnyside, 6:30 p.m. Sample food and drink from more than 25 local restaurants. $30. Queens Boulevard between 45th Street and 46th Street, www.sunnysideshines.org.
“It’s In Queens” column is produced by the Queens Tourism Council with the hope that readers will enjoy the borough’s attractions.
