Go Red and Live – in Queens
Queens is doing its part to raise awareness of heart disease in women and if you live in Queens, you can be a part of the experience! The 5th Annual American Heart Association Go Red For Women Dinner will be held at Terrace On The Park in Flushing Meadows Park, located at 52-11 111th Street on Tuesday, May 15th, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $125 and proceeds generated from the dinner will be used for Circle of Red research and programs, including CPR training. Keynote speaker Debi Silber and Survivor Renee Ticknor will share stories that will raise awareness and touch your life. If you would like to volunteer in a good cause near your Queens home, call coordinator Patricia Pflumm at 516.450.9123 or email patricia.pflumm@heart.org.
Did you know the #1 cause of death in women is heart disease? Educating one another and learning how you can save a life through gaining that education is a mission of the heart and the goal of Circle of Red. Go Red For Women events celebrate passion, life and the power women can generate as they join together to combat heart disease and stroke. To learn more about this event and others like it, please click https://ahaplainview.ejoinme.org/MyEvents/20112012QueensGoRedDinner/tabid/326605/Default.aspx.
Arbor Fest Hosting Near Your Queens Home
The Queens Botanical Garden will be offering up fun for residents of all ages and sizes who live in Queens at the annual Arbor Fest this weekend, Sunday, April 29th. A day full of crafting and art, vendors, and horticultural advice, families will enjoy spending some quality time together and its a day not to be missed! Whether you find workshops fascinating or would rather just wander about on a bird or nature walk, there will be plenty to do – rain or shine. Composting demos begin at 11 a.m. and continue through 4 p.m. and will offer many alternatives for your Queens home waste and garden, and children’s activities, from poetry readings to container gardening, begin at 11:30 a.m.
A beer garden tent featuring local and sustainably-made craft beers and gluten-free fermented tea in compostable cups or QBG mugs ($10 includes refill) will be a treat for for the adults. However, face painting, puppet shows and other entertainment, along with tours and scavenger hunts for children and even a Tai Chi workshop will also be available. The Queens Botanical Garden is located at 43-50 Main Street, in Flushing. Please visit their website at http://queensbotanical.org/programs/arborfest/ArborFestSchedule for more information and a complete schedule of the day’s events.
Queens – Home to Family Fun!
Queens County Farm Museum has several activities for the whole family that are sure to please coming up this month near your Queens home. The annual Children’s Carnival, held Saturday and Sunday, April 14-15th and 21-22nd will provide a wealth of fun for all ages. The apple orchard will be filled with midway games, carnival rides, hayrides, and a magic show at every hour between 2 and 5 p.m. in the barn. Admission is $10 per person and includes tickets to all rides, although height restrictions will be enforced. Don’t miss out on your chance to enjoy a relaxing afternoon with your neighbors and friends who live in Queens – come join in the fun!
Sunday, April 29th marks the 33rd Annual Car Show at Queens County Farm Museum where you can have the pleasure of viewing classic automobiles displayed by the New York Antique Auto Club. You’ll be amazed at the depth and variety of cars, knowledge, memorabilia and food available. The historic house will also be open for tours that day. Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for children under twelve years of age. To learn more about this and other upcoming events, please visit http://queensfarm.org or call 718.347.3276.
Celebrate Easter in Style Near Your Queens Home
The Queens County Farm Museum, near your Queens home, will host it’s annual Barnyard Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 7th, from 12 to 4 p.m. A fantastic event for all ages, the orchard becomes a delight of activity and color though out the entire day! With plenty of eggs to gather and collect and the ever-present Whiskers the bunny to delight, children who live in Queens are sure to have a blast attending this event. Parents and grandparents will enjoy the photo opportunities and games and a visit from the Easter Bunny, too.
Several fun activities are planned, including the “bunny hop” dance, an egg toss, and other egg rolling games. Aside from the traditional fun, the usual farm animals will be available along with the more typical Queens County Farm Museum hayride. Admission in $5 per person, unless you are a Farm Membership PLUS holder. The Queens County Farm Museum is located at 73-50 Little Neck Parkway, in Floral Park. The farm is open daily when not hosting special events, such as the Easter Egg-stravaganza. Please click their website to see more fun events all year long at http://queensfarm.org/index.html or call 718.347.3276 for more information. Have fun!
Wood Memorial Takes Off Live In Queens
Horse race lovers who live in Queens, are in for a treat on April 7th when the Wood Memorial takes off at Aqueduct Racetrack as part of the Triple Crown Trail. 2012 is the 88th running year of the Wood Memorial and this year’s purse is set at $1,000,000, the highest purse in Wood history. Over the years, 11 Wood Memorial winners have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby, making the Wood Memorial near your Queens home one of the most exciting races to attend.
Many of the top-competing three-year-old thoroughbreds will race the nine furlongs (one mile and one furlong) as a tune-up for the Kentucky Derby and other Triple Crown races. While spring weather is usually unpredictable, we’ll hope that the sun peaks out for the race that Saturday afternoon at the Wood Memorial. In 2012, for the first time, the race is officially “The Resorts World New York Casino Wood Memorial,” with the name for the adjoining casino at Aquaduct. The Race takes places on April 7th with post time TBD (usually 4:45pm, the eighth race of the day). Parking opens at 10:45am and gates open at 11am. For more information, click here.
Spruce Up Your Queens Home This Spring
Spring is in the air and it’s time to explore Queens flea markets and find a little something special for your Queens home. Starting in March, the St. Nicholas of Tolentine Flea Market, at the intersection of Union Turnpike and Parsons Boulevard, offers an outdoor market from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, as does the Belmont Flea Market at Belmont Race Track. Vendors sell unique gifts and eclectic finds beginning at 7:30 a.m. every Saturday and Sunday until 4 p.m.
This is the perfect way to add a little bit of creativity to your Queens home, while enjoying some fresh air. Flea markets offer inspiration with discoveries of original works of art or antiques, along with fresh fruits and vegetables from local food growers. Dress warmly as there is still a chill in the air, and have an adventure discovering neighborhood flea markets in Queens. For a list of outdoor markets, click here.
Celebrate Black History Month Live in Queens
February is Black History Month and Queens is abuzz with events and activities to celebrate Black History in fun and inspiring ways. If you live in Queens you can check out the following highly recommended events happening through the end of February near your Queens home and celebrate Black American History with pride while also having a lot of fun.
As a special Black History Month gift, the new Broadway show Stick Fly, produced by Alicia Keys, will provide discount ticket coupons to all visitors of the Louis Armstrong House Museum. Stick Fly celebrates the modern African-American family while the museum is living memento of the influence of the African American icon.
Also this month, The Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning presents the impactful 92-minute documentary Before They Die! on Saturday evening, February 18th, about the survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot. After the film a panel of experts, including filmmaker Reggie Turner, will engage in a lively discussion sure to provide insight and provoke intelligent reasoning regarding the thought and emotion behind the film’s creation. The film screening begins at 6pm at the JPAC, located at 153-10 Jamaica Avenue, Jamaica.
Also on the highly recommended list is Ella, the excited new musical about “The First Lady of Song,” Ella Fitzgerald. Ella recalls her life and performs more than a dozen of her most adored hits in this swinging and soulful music that inspires us to fall in love again with the magic of her life lived out loud is song. Performances run Wednesday thru Friday at 7:30pm; Saturday at 8pm, matinees: Wednesday thru Saturday @2pm, Sunday @3pm. Tickets are $42 weekdays/$49 weekends this amazing show now playing at the Queens Theatre located at 14 United Nations Avenue South, Flushing Meadows, Corona Park. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets or call 718.760.0064.
Give Your Old Clothing a New Home in Queens Via Wearable Collections
The holidays are over and you’ve got to make room in your Queens home for your new sweaters, scarves and boots, so bring your used, wearable belongings to the Jackson Heights Greenmarket to contribute to a greener environment and cozier winter for less fortunate families. Since 2007, GrowNYC has offered textile recycling drop-off sites to residents who live in Queens provided by Wearable Collections at selected Greenmarkets, diverting hundreds of thousands of pounds of material from the landfill. Collections accept clean and dry clothing, paired shoes, bedding, linens, hats, handbags, belts, fabric scraps 36” x36” or larger and other textiles. Rugs or carpeting are not accepted. Materials are sorted (usable/unusable, cotton/synthetics). These commodities are then sold for reuse or to recycle markets that turn the materials into rags, fiber for car seats and insulation.
Did you know that the average New Yorker tosses 46 pounds of clothing and textiles in the trash each year, totaling 6% of our entire residential waste stream, at a cost to taxpayers and our environment? By donating your old clothing and textiles, you will make a big difference in the environment and your own wallet – yes, your contribution is Tax Deductible because it directly benefits Council on the Environment, Inc. d/b/a GrowNYC. If you are unable to attend a weekly collection, contact Wearable Collections at 646.515.4387 or info@wearablecollections.com. To see if you are eligible for a home pick up. You can also visit www.wearablecollections.com to find out how to set up a textile recycling program in your apartment building.
Queens Home to Year-Round Outdoor Greenmarket
Did you know that the Jackson Heights Greenmarket is now open year-round on Sundays from 8am to 3pm near your Queens home? If you live in Queens, you’ve probably noticed the recently expanded Jackson Heights Greenmarket. This is the largest and busiest outdoor market in Queens, purveying fresh produce including a broad selection of vegetables and fruit, eggs, fish, turkeys, and chicken grown in the region, baked goods, honey, specialty Mexican produce and much more. The diverse produce offered at this unique market reflects the culinary diversity of the neighborhood. Located in one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the city, the market wraps around the edge of Travers Park drawing large crowds of families, long-time residents and young couples who come out to shop, enjoy the lively atmosphere and mingle with their neighbors on a relaxing Sunday morning or afternoon.
The Greenmarket Network has actually grown to become the largest and most diverse outdoor urban farmers’ market network in the country. Did you also know that The Friends of Travers Park have designated 78th Street a play street where they host family-friendly events each Sunday adjacent to the Jackson Heights market? This means that visiting the Jackson Heights Greenmarket can be a lovely Sunday activity for the whole family. For more information on the Jackson Heights Greenmarket, click here.
Louis and Lucille Armstrong Home in Queens Hosts Holiday Tours
Jazz lover? If you live in Queens, you’ll love the Holiday Tours happening this month at the Louis Armstrong House Museum. This attraction showcases the art, music and entrancing voice the great Jazz musician and singer Louis Armstrong, all within the walls of his own mid-century home. A special treat offered near your Queens home this season includes audio clips from Louis’ homemade recordings that feature a rare at-home reading, by Louis himself, of “Twas the Night Before Christmas”.
Other delighting seasonal recordings at the Armstrong House will also feature: “Zat You Santa Claus” and Nat King Cole sings “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth” with an impromptu duet by, you guessed it, “Pops”. As is only proper to keep with Louis and Lucille’s tradition, the house will be brightly decorated for the holiday season to welcome guests who enjoy the magic of jazz music paired with holiday spirit.
Louis and Lucille chose to live in Corona, Queens in 1943 and today their legacy lives on in their own Queens home. Especially during this magical season, Armstrong’s music is alive with its classy and warm melodies and dancing rhythms. Come enjoy a one of kind experience for music lovers this holiday and bring your friends and family to hear rare classics. It’s sure to be an unforgettable Christmas. For more information, including directions, hours and ticket prices, click here.
