FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM DECEMBER 30, 2021 • YEAR IN REVIEW • THE QUEENS COURIER 27
year in review
Queens’ top arts & entertainment stories of 2021
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Aft er a series of canceled events last
year due to COVID-19 and transitioning
to virtual programming, cultural arts
institutions and entertainment venues
across Queens were able to return this
year hosting in-person events, such as
art exhibitions, movie screenings and
the popular Hong Kong Dragon Boat
Festival at Flushing Meadows Corona
Park.
QNS is taking a look back at some of
this year’s events that brought back some
sense of normalcy for people amid the
ongoing pandemic.
Here are some of the top entertainment
stories of 2021.
QNS fi le photo
‘Coming 2 America’ premieres at
Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Th e long-awaited sequel to the Eddie
Murphy comedy classic “Coming 2
America” premiered at the New York Hall
of Science in Flushing Meadows Corona
Park in March.
Queens Borough President Donovan
Richards made an introduction during
the “Coming 2 America” screening as
Queens Drive-In kicked off its second
season at the New York Hall of Science.
Th e movie premiere was free and open
to the public with an RSVP, and participants
received free food and merchandise
courtesy of Amazon Studios.
“‘Coming to America’ is the quintessential,
iconic Queens fi lm, and we
are beyond thrilled to host one of the
only screenings of its sequels, ‘Coming
2 America,’ right here in the fi lm’s backyard,”
Richards said. “I am proud to continue
the borough president offi ce’s tradition
of hosting drive-in fi lms in our home
borough.”
Construction of new UBS
Arena in Elmont is complete
Th e newly constructed $1.1 billion UBS
Arena, located at Belmont Park in Elmont,
was nearing completion in July in time for
the Islanders’ 2021-2022 NHL season.
Th e 19,000-seat state-of-the-art venue,
developed in partnership with Oak View
Group (OVG), the New York Islanders
and Sterling Project Development (SPD),
is also a world-class home for the more
than 150 concerts and festivals the arena
plans to host every year.
Th e arena’s design is inspired by iconic
New York landmarks, including
Central Park, Ebbets Field, Grand Central
Terminal, Park Avenue Armory and the
Prospect Park Boathouse. Th ere are two
outdoor terraces open to all guests, eight
bars with a full view of the action on the
ice, and more restrooms per person than
any area in Metro New York.
Hong Kong Dragon Boat
Festival returns to Flushing
Meadows Corona Park
Aft er the event was canceled last year
due to the COVID-pandemic, the Hong
Kong Dragon Boat Festival returned
to Flushing Meadows Corona Park in
August, but on a much smaller scale.
Th e event usually takes place in two
days with over 120 boats and thousands
of spectators. Th is year, only those who
were fully vaccinated or showed proof of
a negative COVID test within 72 hours
of the event were allowed to attend the
free sporting and multicultural festival.
Eighteen teams competed in the
morning and aft ernoon sessions for trophies
and cash. Th e team representing
the Queens borough president’s offi ce,
“Queens Rising,” and the team representing
the mayor’s offi ce, “City Hall
Dragons,” competed in a special race for
bragging rights, with “Queens Rising”
emerging victorious.
Queens World Film Festival returns to Museum of Moving Image
Aft er a year of going
virtual, the 11th Queens
World Film Festival
(QWFF) returned this year
with a hybrid of live viewings
and online streaming
of 198 indie movies
from 33 nations. For the
fi rst time since its inception,
QWFF screened
133 fi lms at fi ve venues,
including at the Museum
of the Moving Image, Th e
Local NY, Culture Lab, the
United Sherpa Association
and Queens Th eatre.
“We’ve never screened
anything in Queens
Th eatre before, so that’s
new,” said Katha Cato,
executive director and
board president of QWFF.
“We’re the fi rst event to
open them up aft er they
were closed due to the
pandemic.”
The 11-day celebration
featured 20 fi lmmakers
from Queens, 24
from Brooklyn, 22 from
Manhattan, one from the
Bronx and one from Staten
Island.
Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
Eighteen teams competed in the scaled down dragon races.
Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
“Step and repeat” fun on opening night of the 11th annual
Queens World Film Festival at the Museum of the Moving
Image.
“Coming 2 America” made its world premiere in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
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