46 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • MARCH 23, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM buzz Laurelton boy, 8, has already written 2 books BY GINA CONTEH editorial@qns.com/@QNS At just 8 years old, Chae Blount of Laurelton collected the lessons he’s learned from life and published two guidebooks for kids just like him. Chae developed advanced reading skills at a very young age, according to his mother, Dianna Blount. She said that he started reading at just 9 months old. Dianna knew her son was special after participating in spelling bee at only 3 years old. “The previous school he attended was apprehensive because they thought he was too young,” Dianna Blount said. “The other kids were like 5 or 6 … but he made it to like the fourth round.” Dianna believed Chae was persistent on writing a book because he was merely dreaming of his future. To spark his creativity, she tasked him with coming up with the title for his future book in a journal. Chae’s mother was amazed to read a manuscript listing ways to be a great older sibling. He created a guide based off of Dianna’s lessons after the arrival of Chae’s baby brother. Dianna took their home project to be edited by his aunt, who was also surprised Photo by Nykeema Williams Chae Blount Lively night market scheduled to return to Corona BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI smonteverdi@qns.com @smont76 Th e Queens International Night Market will kick off its return to Corona on Saturday nights with two special “sneak preview” nights next month. On April 22 and 29, residents will have the opportunity to get an early glimpse at this year’s series of night markets taking place outside of the New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, which will feature food and art vendors, a beer and wine garden, performances, games and activities. Admission for the two sneak preview weekends is $5 per person and tickets are only sold in advance online. Starting on May 6, admission will again be free and open to the public. Market-goers can expect to fi nd Burmese palatas, Middle Eastern stews, Valencian paella, Ecuadorian bollos and corviche, Puerto Rican jibaritos and mofongo, Romanian chimney cakes, Persian sweets and treats and more among this year’s food selection, which will change on a rolling basis. To keep the evening aff ordable for patrons, all food vendors have been asked to maintain a $5-6 price cap on their items. “Th e mission of the Night Market has always been to cater to and attract the broadest possible demographic, both in our visitors and vendors,” said John Wang, organizer of the Night Market. “I think the last two years have shown that aff ordability and diverse representation are two of the most important factors, and those have been hard-wired into the event ever since it was just an inkling of an idea.” Vendors will also be at the market selling art and merchandise, including Indian jewelry, henna body art, ceramics, three-dimensional cards and Queens and NYC-themed apparel. In 2016, the night market averaged over 8,000 visitors each Saturday evening. Over the last two years, it has featured more than 100 local performing artists and more than 200 local vendors representing over 60 countries. Tickets for the sneak preview weekends can be purchased here and here. Children under 12 are free. Visitors are encouraged to take public transportation to the event. Learn more about the event by visiting the website or Facebook page. Half of the ticket proceeds from the Photos by Charles Sturges April 22 and 29 events will be donated to three New York City nonprofi ts: the New York Immigration Coalition, the New York Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Benefi t Fund and the Alliance for Flushing Meadows Corona Park. with the quality of Chae’s work. Two days later, Chae’s first book, entitled “Chae’s Guidebook: How to be the best big brother or sister you can be,” was published. To Chae, his love for writing is pretty simple: “My favorite thing about writing is that you can write … and I wanted to make books so I could inspire people around the world.” Chae gained immense support from family members, his community and his school, P.S./I.S. 208 in Glen Oaks, after getting published, according to his mother. Dianna Blount says his family members all insisted on paying for their signed copies of Chae’s first book. His first reading party and book signing on March 4 at the Laurelton Library drew an audience of 60 people. Chae’s school arranged a book signing for Chae at their Parent-Teacher night on March 16. He received two citations from Councilman I. Daneek Miller and Assemblywoman Alicia Hyndman, as well as a certificate of achievement from Senator Leroy Comrie. Chae’s next book, called “Chae’s Guidebook: How to save at a young age,” is already in the works and contains what he’s learned about saving money after opening his first-ever bank account for his book’s profits. Next month, Chae will be traveling to the island nation of Jamaica to host a book signing at a primary school and plans to donate 30 of his books to their library. If you would like to see Chae Blount in Queens, his second reading party and book signing will be held at Laurelton Library on Saturday, June 17, from noon to 4 p.m.
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