News From The Queens Tourism Council
Last week, the well-respected Lonely Planet travel media company selected Queens as the best tourism destination of 2015. The stakes seem a bit higher now.
Luckily, this week is jampacked with awe-inspiring, unique, and enriching activitieshellip;and things will only get better next year.
Here’s the rundown.
– Tonight (Thursday), Dec. 18, World War I, 6 p.m. Moderator Al Ronzoni leads an investigation into “The War to End All Wars.” This session focuses on the Penguin Book of First World War Stories and The First World War: A Brief History with Documents. Free, but registration is required. Greater Astoria Historical Society, Quinn Building, 35-20 Broadway, Fourth Floor, LIC, www.astorialic.org.
– Friday, Dec. 19, See It Big! Animation: Persepolis, 7 p.m. The See It Big Series is presenting 16 contemporary animated films. Persepolis is a hand-drawn feature based on the director’s autobiographical graphic novel about growing up in Iran before the revolution and her exile to France. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Kaufman Astoria District, www.movingimage.us.
– Saturday, Dec. 20, Fifth Annual Jackson Heights Winter Holiday Sing-a-Long, 7 p.m. Sing winter and holiday songs from all faiths, languages, and cultures as a group, while walking through Jackson Heights. Free. Meet on the corner of 31st Avenue and 75th Street, in front of Cassidy’s Ale House. (Snow or shine.)
– Saturday, Dec. 20, Réalta Na Nollag, 1 p.m. An Irish Christmas music spectacular featuring Cathy Maguire, Gabriel Donohue, and an all-star ensemble. Expect to hear “Wexford Carol,” “Christmas in Killarney,” “In the Bleak Midwinter,” “Don Oíche Ud in Mbeithel,” and “Ding Dong Merrily on High.” $22/$15 for seniors, students, unemployed. New York Irish Center, 10-40 Jackson Ave., LIC, www.newyorkirishcenter.org.
– Saturday, Dec. 20, Las Posadas Celebration, 2 to 4 p.m. This celebration honors Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter and a place for their child to be born. Participants walk in procession through the streets, making several symbolic stops to request shelter. When the group gets to the final stop, everybody sings Latino holiday music. Free. ARROW Community Center, 35- 30 35th St., Astoria, 1-718-261-7664.
– Saturday, Dec. 20, Music According to Antonio Carlos Jobim, 7 p.m. TheMuseum of the Moving Image (MMI) is presenting an ongoing series celebrating the Brazilian film industry. This documentary is about Jobim, but includes performances by Judy Garland, Caetano Veloso, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra. MMI, 36-01 35th Ave., Kaufman Arts District, www.movingimage.us.
– Saturday, Dec. 20, Aaron Short Band, 2 to 4 p.m. Aconcert featuring popular holiday songs and some classics. The Aaron Short Band has been performing regularly since 2010 as such venues as The Bitter End and Red Lion. Free. The Shops at Skyview Center, 40-24 College Point Blvd., Flushing, www.shopskyviewcenter.com.
– Saturday, Dec. 20, See It Big! Animation: Coraline in 3-D, 1 p.m; and Waltz with Bashir, 4 p.m. The See It Big Series is presenting 16 contemporary animated films. In Coraline, an inquisitive girl discovers a parallel universe that isn’t as perfect as it seems in a marriage of old-school stop-motion puppetry with digital 3-D. Waltz is a documentary based on interviews of veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Kaufman Astoria District, www.movingimage.us.
– Sunday, Dec. 21, Handel’s Messiah, 4 p.m. The Oratorio Society of Queens and Maestro David Close perform their annual holiday concert with excerpts from Handel’s Messiah, Christmas carols and Chanukah favorites. This institution has a 125-plus member chorus. $35/$30 for seniors (62+) and students with ID/$10 for children 12 and under. Queensborough Performing Arts Center, 222-05 56th Ave., Bayside, www.queensoratorio.org.
– Sunday, Dec. 21, Maker Workshops, 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. In the first session, participants design and create winter wonderland snow globes. In the second session, participants make winter lanterns. New York Hall of Science, 47-01 111th St., Corona, www.nysci.org.
– Sunday, Dec. 21, Shadow Puppets, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Children (ages 5-12) and their adult companions use papercutting techniques to create shadow puppets and shadow boxes. Queens Museum, NYC Building, Flushing Meadows- Corona Park, www.queensmuseum.org.
– Sunday, Dec. 21, Winter Solstice Cookies and Crafts, noon to 4 p.m. Families are invited to the Fort Totten castle to craft delightful decorations celebrating the winter season. Includes hot cocoa, cookies, and Santa. Free, $2 for photo with Santa. Bayside Historical Society, 208 Totten Ave., Fort Totten, Bayside, www.baysidehistorical.org.
– Sunday, Dec. 21, See It Big! Animation: Toy Story 2, 1 p.m; and Sita Sings the Blues, 3:30 p.m; Ratatouille, 7 p.m. The See It Big Series is presenting 16 contemporary animated films. With the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, Toy Story 2 is the sequel of a tale about a boy who is growing up and outgrowing his toys. Sita is a multicultural reworking of the Indian epic Ramayana as a series of love stories depicted with a mix of traditional and collage animation, backed by a soundtrack from 1920s jazz singer Annette Hanshaw. Ratatouille is about a rat that teams up with a young chef to take over a French restaurant. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Kaufman Astoria District, www.movingimage.us.
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.
