News From The Queens Tourism Council
Smokey Bear celebrates his 75th birthday in Queens, while Elmhurst’s Boy Scout Troop 17 pays tribute to 100 years, the Dragon Boat race observes its 24th anniversary and the Rural Route Film Festival marks its first decade.
There are also some magnificent opportunities to enjoy outdoor concerts, movies, dances, Shakespeare plays, food and a drumming circle under the moon. Here’s the rundown.
– Tonight (Thursday), Aug. 7, Passport Thursdays: Brazil, 7 to 10 p.m. Explore a different country each week with live music, dance, and outdoor films. This week features Brazil and BatalaNYC, an all-female drumming group. The film is O Mistério do Samba (The Mystery of Samba), which captures the veteran musicians and composers from a revered samba school. Free. Queens Museum, NYC Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, www.queensmuseum.org.
– Thursday, Aug. 7, King Cymbeline, 7:30 p.m. The Queensbased Hip-to-Hip Theater Company presents a Shakespeare play that combines tragedy, comedy and romance. King Cymbeline’s only daughter, Imogen, secretly marries against his wishes, and the king banishes her new husband. With war looming and an evil stepmother plotting, the spunky princess ventures into the wild to reunite with her true love. Special workshop for children at 7 p.m. Free. Crocheron Park, vicinity of 214th Place, 214th Lane, 33rd Avenue, and 35th Avenue, Bayside, www.hiptohip.org.
– Thursday, Aug. 7, Michael Patrick’s Ring of Fire Band, 7:30 p.m. A tribute to Johnny “The Man in Black” Cash. Free. Astoria Park Great Lawn, Shore Boulevard between the Hell Gate Bridge and Astoria Pool, www.centralastoria.org.
– Thursday, Aug. 7, Two for the Road, 7 p.m. This Maspeth band plays Irish music as part of the Woodside Summer Concert Series, presented by the Northwest Woodside Coalition and Goliard Concerts. Free. Sgt. Collins Park, 58th Street and Broadway, Woodside, (718) 205-1030.
– Friday, Aug. 8, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, 7 p.m. The 10th annual Rural Route Film Festival showcases international movies that transport viewers to faraway places. Forgotten Ancestors is an astonishingly photographed blend of enchanting mythology, hypnotic religious iconography, and pagan magic. Deep in the Carpathian Mountains of 19th century Ukraine, Ivan’s mother mourns her husband’s brutal murder, and Ivan is irresistibly drawn to Marichka, the beautiful daughter of the man who killed his father. Unhappily married to another woman and cursed by a sorcerer, Ivan’s obsession lures him close to the edge. Preceded by Carpathian Rap, an animated music video for Ukrainian “ethnic chaos” band Dakha Brakha, and followed by a vodka reception. $10. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria, www.movingimage.us.
– Friday, Aug. 8, Classic Monster Film Fridays: Alien, 8:04 p.m. While heading back to Earth, towing vehicle Nostromo intercepts an SOS from a nearby planet. After a bad landing on the planet, some crew members explore the area and discover a colony of some unknown creature. When one of the eggs is disturbed, the crew does not know the danger they are in until it’s too late. Free. Rufus King Park, Jamaica Avenue at 153rd Street, Jamaica, www.abetterjamaica.org.
– Friday, Aug. 8, Beach Flix, sundown. Watch The Princess Bride outdoors on the sand. Free. Beach 129th Street, Rockaway, www.rockawaycivic.com.
– Friday, Aug. 8, Two Gentlemen of Verona, 7:30 p.m. The Queensbased Hip-to-Hip Theater Company presents an early Shakespeare slapstick comedy about love, friendship, betrayal, forgiveness and a dog. Special workshop for children at 7 p.m. Free. Sunnyside Gardens Park, 39th Avenue and 49th Street, Sunnyside, www.hiptohip.org.
– Friday, Aug. 8, Job Fair, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This Richmond Hill Economic Development Council event is for anybody looking for a job regardless of age. Smokey Oval Park, 125th Street and 95th Avenue, Richmond Hill, call Vishnu at 1-718- 523-3069.
– Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 9-10, Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival, 10:30 a.m. to about 5 p.m. More than 170 teams and 2,000 participants from around the world compete. This multicultural event includes sports drama, music, dance, colors and a food court. Meadow Lake at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, www.hkdbfny.org.
– Saturday, Aug. 9, Modest Mouse/Brand New, 6:30 p.m. The Forest Hills Stadium, where the Beatles and the Rolling Stones once played, is revamped and hosting this pop rock concert. $49.50 to $59.50, One Tennis Place, Forest Hills Gardens, www.foresthillsstadium.com.
– Saturday, Aug. 9, Lincoln Center Local Presents O Sole Trio, 2 and 4 p.m. Blending popular opera arias with Neapolitan song and jazz standards, soprano Erin Shields, baritone Giuseppe Spoletini, and pianist and violinist David Shenton explore Italian influence on music throughout the centuries. Free. Forest Hills Library, 108-19 71st Ave., www.queenslibrary.org.
– Saturday, Aug. 9, Karpotrotter, 2:30 p.m. The 10th annual Rural Route Film Festival screens international movies that transport viewers to faraway places. At the peak of the Yugoslavian Black Wave in 1971, filmmaker Karpo Godina traveled through the hinterland, submerging himself in local culture from village to village, capturing the multi-ethnic region in an unusual road movie. In Karpotrotter, a young filmmaker retraces the journey through Serbia, coming up with an original film that incorporates Godina’s footage with a startling ending. Preceded by Oss Oss Wee Oss, an obscure, infamous folklorist documentary that captured pagan May Day celebrations in the sleepy fishing village of Cornwall before it began to draw thousands of visitors, and Lomax, a narrative short on famed ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, who encounters Bill Henley, a 73-year-old recluse in the Mississippi Delta, during his 1941 journey to record an oral history of the blues. $10. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria, www.movingimage.us.
– Saturday, Aug. 9, Elmhurst’s Scout Troop 17, 1 to 4 p.m. Elmhurst’s Scout Troop 17 is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a public scout expo at the Queens Botanical Gardens (QBG). There will be demonstrations of rock climbing, land navigation and camping, as well as displays of camping gear from a bygone era and scouting artifacts gathered over more than a half century. Free. QBG, 43-50 Main St., Flushing, www.queensbotanical.org.
– Saturday, Aug. 9, Smokey Bear’s 70th Birthday Bash, noon to 3 p.m. A celebration of the Great Outdoors with live animal demos, guided hikes, a Forest Ranger obstacle course, eco-friendly crafts, and a scavenger hunt with prizes. Free. Alley Pond Park, free parking at 76th Avenue entrance between Springfield Boulevard and 226th Street, Douglaston, www.dec.ny.gov.
– Saturday, Aug. 9, King Cymbeline, 7:30 p.m. The Queensbased Hip-to-Hip Theater Company presents a Shakespeare play that combines tragedy, comedy and romance. King Cymbeline’s only daughter, Imogen, secretly marries against his wishes, and the king banishes her new husband. With war looming and an evil stepmother plotting, the spunky princess ventures into the wild to reunite with her true love. Special workshop for children at 7 p.m. Free. Gantry Plaza State Park, vicinity of 49th and 50th avenues and East River, www.hiptohip.org.
– Saturday, Aug. 9, Hands-on History: Play Time!, noon to 3 p.m. Learn games that kids played in the 19th century, then cool off with quiet, indoor games. Free. King Manor Museum, 150-03 Jamaica Ave, Jamaica, www.kingmanor.org.
– Saturday, Aug. 9, The Wicker Man, 4:45 p.m. Part of the 10th annual Rural Route Film Festival, The Wicker Man is the tale of a pious (virgin) police sergeant who travels to a remote Scottish Isle in search of a missing girl and discovers a community that has embraced a sexually uninhibited pagan lifestyle. Preceded by Symphony No. 42, an animated short with 47 observations about the irrational connections between humans and nature; County Fair, a brief glimpse of the 4-H livestock competition at the 2011 Wayne County Fair in Ohio; and Burn out the Day, a short on the pleasures and terrors of rural domestic comfort. $10. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria, www.movingimage.us.
– Saturday, Aug. 9, Sunset Edge, 7:30 p.m. Part of the 10th annual Rural Route Film Festival, Sunset Edge is a real-life abandoned trailer park in North Carolina, where four apathetic teens find themselves in harrowing circumstances as daylight fades and a mysterious man comes out of the shadows. This is the world premiere with director Daniel Peddle and cast members in person. Movie is preceded by White Earth, a visually stunning portrait of the North Dakota oil boom from a young boy’s perspective, and Godka Cirka (A Hole in the Sky), the story of young Alifa, who looks up at the Somali sky and thinks about her life as a shepherdess. $10. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria, www.movingimage.us.
– Saturday, Aug. 9, Candy Twisted Balloon, 1 p.m. Great show for youngsters as part of Rego Center’s Children’s Summer Entertainment Series. Free. Rego Center Galleria, 61-35 Junction Blvd., Rego Park, www.regocenter.com.
– Sunday, Aug. 10, Full Moon Drumming Workshop, 7 p.m. Under a full August moon in the Flushing Town Hall Garden, participants join in a circle led by master drummer Babloe Shankar with percussive dance by Abha Roy, who specializes in kathak, a classic northern Indian dance form. The workshop begins with instruction on Indian tabla drums and other percussive instruments, followed by an all-group jam session. $25 non-members/$20 members (call to reserve a drum). Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd., www.flushingtownhall.org.
– Sunday, Aug. 10, Safe Walk, 2:30 p.m. A fun safe walk in Alley Pond Park to tour where the Motor Parkway East would go. Participants stop at the Queens County Farm Museum’s farmers market. Free. Meet at the Alley Pond Park House, Winchester Boulevard and Union Turnpike, Douglaston.
– Sunday, Aug. 10, A Taste of Poland, 2:30 p.m. Polish music, food, and culture with the chance to view Remembering Yesterday: Queens and Its World’s Fairs, an exhibition on the borough’s two World’s Fairs (1939 and 1964). $15, $20 at the door. Queens Historical Society, Kingsland Homestead, 143- 35 37th Ave., Flushing, www.queenshistoricalsociety.org.
– Sunday, Aug. 10, Brian Clayton & The Green River Band, 2 p.m. Flushing Town Hall’s free summer concerts series presents a respected band that mixes modern contemporary country music with pop rock. Dance lessons at 1 p.m. FTH, 137-35 Northern Blvd., www.flushingtownhall.org.
– Sunday, Aug. 10, Astoria Park Shore Fest, 1 to 6 p.m. Second day of a festival held on three consecutive Sundays. With the theme “Taste of Astoria,” visitors can expect plenty of food from local restaurants and information on healthy, sustainable food practices. Shore Boulevard between Astoria Park South and Ditmars Boulevard, Astoria.
– Sunday, Aug. 10, Celestial Wives of the Meadow Mari, 2:30 p.m. Rooted in the autonomous Mari El region of central Russia-an area filled with lakes, forests, and longstanding traditions, the Mari are one of world’s last remaining naturebased pagan societies. Part of the 10th annual Rural Route Film Festival, Meadow Mari mixes sexual maturation, fertility, love, and marriage with rituals and nature. A woman is cursed by a jealous tree, another disappears as she becomes the “lover of the wind,” and a voluptuous aunt rubs her flat-chested niece down with a towel to pass along some femininity. Preceded by Prospect, a short about a teenage girl and her father who hunt for precious materials on a toxic alien planet, but roving bandits want the same thing. $10. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria, www.movingimage.us.
– Sunday, Aug. 10, Ping Pong in the Park, 1 to 5 p.m. Back for its sixth year, this event includes ping pong on tables that Build it Green, a salvage warehouse, made from trashed materials. Free. Astoria Park, 19th Street between Astoria Park South and Ditmars Boulevard, Astoria.
– Sunday, Aug. 10, Two Gentlemen of Verona, 5 p.m. The Queens-based Hip-to-Hip Theater Company presents an early Shakespeare slapstick comedy about love, friendship, betrayal, forgiveness and a dog. Special workshop for children at 4:30 p.m. Free. Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Blvd., LIC, www.hiptohip.org.
– Sunday, Aug. 10, Steinway Astoria Partnership Street Fair, noon to 6 p.m. Steinway Street between 28th Street and 34th Avenue, Astoria. Free, www.centralastoria.org.
– Sunday, Aug. 10, Butter on the Latch, 5 p.m. After a personal breakdown, a Brooklyn performance artist and her friend head to a rustic camp in California to learn folk music and dance in the movie Butter. However, the intended escape devolves into a psychosexual drama that pushes their friendship-and sanity-to the edge. Part of the 10th annual Rural Route Film Festival, director Josephine Decker and actress Sarah Small will be on hand. Preceded by Krasna Malanka, a short about a warden, bear, gypsy, devil, grandpas and grandmas, and kings and queens who take over a village in celebration of the pagan/Christianhybrid, mid-winter Malanka holiday. Up-and-coming director Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk will make a Skype introduction. $10. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria, www.movingimage.us.
– Monday, Aug. 11, The Wizard of Oz, 8:30 p.m. Outdoor screening as part of Central Astoria LDC’s 2014 Movies on the Waterfront series. Free. Astoria Park Great Lawn, Shore Boulevard between the Hell Gate Bridge and Astoria Pool, www.centralastoria.org.
– Tuesday, Aug. 12, Live at the Gantries: Zikrayat, 7 p.m. Live Arabic music as part of Live at the Gantries, a series of outdoor performances featuring Queensbased musicians. Free. Gantry Plaza State Park, vicinity of 49th and 50th avenues along the East River, LIC, www.liveatthegantries.com.
– Tuesday, Aug. 12, Beach Flix, sundown. Bring a blanket or beach chair and watch the movie Jaws outdoors on the sand. Free. Beach 121st Street, Rockaway, www.rockawaycivic.com.
– Wednesday, Aug. 13, Two Gentlemen of Verona, 7:30 p.m. The Queens-based Hip-to-Hip Theater Company presents an early Shakespeare slapstick comedy about love, friendship, betrayal, forgiveness and a dog. Special workshop for children at 7 p.m. Free. Voelker Orth Museum, 149-19 38th Ave., Flushing, www.hiptohip.org.
– Wednesday, Aug. 13, Italian Night, 7 p.m. Popular Italian favorites and live performances. Free. Athens Square Park, 30th Avenue and 30th Street, Astoria, www.athenssquarepark.org.
The “It’s In Queens” column is produced by the Queens Tourism Council with the hope that readers will enjoy the borough’s many attractions. More info available online at www.itsinqueens.com.
