By Tammy Scileppi
Shopping, live performances and art form a seasonal trifecta when the Queens Museum holds its Warming Up Winter Holiday Market this weekend.
More than 65 vendors will be on hand hawking artwork, handmade crafts, books and other one-of-a-kind gifts.
“This is a time to connect with artists and artisans in this borough. To celebrate the joy of making and creating,” Silvia Juliana Mantilla Ortiz, Queens Museum artist services coordinator, said. “We have professional artists, as well as folks from our communities who make beautiful things in their spare time. We invite you to support them and get unique gifts for the holiday season.”
The market is divided into eight areas sorted by category.
In “A Little Bit of Everything,” shoppers will find baked goods, CDs, jewelry and even pickled vegetables. Other spots will be dedicated to home goods, clothing, jewelry, skin care, books and paintings.
A section labeled “Curiosities” will offer the out-of-the-ordinary items, like henna tattoos.
In the books, cards and print section, shoppers will find Elmhurst-based visual artist Susan Varo and her My Works of Art, LLC.
She will be selling original hand-painted holiday cards, art-inspired notebooks and acrylic paintings in various sizes, as well as 6-inch-by-6-inch original oil paintings.
Flushing-based QNS MADE creator Amy Wu and her staff are looking forward to their second year in the holiday market.
The popular all-things-Queens website featuring portraits of locals, will be launching several new products at the market and selling “a limited supply of everything” from their online shop: hats, T-shirts, pins, bags and more.
When you are done shopping till you drop, or just in need of a quick break, the museum has plenty of family-friendly, live performances
Younger audience members will probably get a kick out of the Queens College Puppeteers performing “Miki and the North Wind.” The story revolves around young Miki, whose father has gone missing in the land of ice and snow. Miki must now be the family provider, and must persevere against the North Wind.
Other acts on tap include a concert by the Corona Youth Music Project and performances by the children’s mariachi group, Academia De Mariachi Nuevo Amanecer, and by the Ecuadorian youth dance group, Ñukanchik Llakta Wawa Kuna.
“As a museum, we feel committed to Queens and the people in this borough, and we know first-hand, the amazing creative and cultural production that in all shapes and forms enriches our neighborhood,” Ortiz said. “Let the festivities begin.”
If You Go
Warming Up Winter Holiday Market
When: Sunday, Dec. 13, from 1 pm–5 pm
Where: Queens Museum, New York City Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Cost: $8/adults (suggested), $4/seniors (suggested), Free/children 18 and under
Contact: (718) 592-9700
Website: www.queen
