WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JULY 11, 2019 21
Middle Village author making his mark
Local author Anthony Sciarratta to make Queens a main character in his upcoming novel. Photo provided by Anthony Sciarratta
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
The schedule for the fi ft h annual
“Katz Concert Series” of free
outdoor summer concerts at
various locations around the borough
was announced on July 8, and it runs
the gamut from rap to Motown to a
symphony orchestra.
“Summers are all about free concerts
in the parks,” Queens Borough
President Melinda Katz said. “We’re
delighted to continue the partnership
and bring this concert series back for
the families of Queens.”
Katz is once again teaming with
the Kupferberg Center for the Arts
at Queens College and the city’s Parks
Department to stage the series which
kicks-off Sunday, July 21 at Springfi eld
Park.
Terrance Kelly, a Grammy-winning
rapper known as Mr. Cheeks who was
born and raised in South Jamaica, will
take the stage beginning at 5 p.m.
Mr. Cheeks made a name for himself
as a member of the Lost Boyz in the 90s
before going solo.
The Queens Symphony Orchestra,
which was founded by Katz’s father
David in 1953, will perform on the
Great Lawn at St. John’s University
Tuesday, July 23 beginning at 7 p.m.
and the Beatles tribute band Yesterday
& Today will perform at Rockaway
Beach Sunday, July 28 at 6 p.m. at Beach
94th Street and Shore Front Parkway.
“There’s nothing sweeter than free
summer concerts in NYC Parks,” NYC
Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver
said. “Borough President Katz’s
Concert Series brings communities
together to celebrate together to
celebrate music and gives everyone a
great reason to enjoy all that our parks
have to off er.”
The series continues on Sunday,
Aug. 4 with a 5 p.m. dance party in
Hunters Point South Park in Long
Island City with DJ RECKA who
specialized in fusing Bhangra music
with international hip hop.
On Sunday, Aug. 11, Alive N’
Kickin will perform in Fort Totten
Park beginning at 5 p.m. Bartlett
Contemporaries, a dance band playing
R&B, Pop, Hip Hop and Jazz will hit
the Cambria Heights Playground on
Sunday, Aug. 18 at 5 p.m.
The series will wrap up Sunday,
Aug. 25 with Dr. K’s Motown Revue
at the O’Donohue Park Bandshell at 5
p.m. That venue is located on Seagirt
Boulevard between Beach 17th
Street and Beach 19th Street in Far
Rockaway.
“Queens College is delighted once
again to partner with Borough
President Melinda Katz and NYC parks
in presenting the Katz Concert Series,
which showcases wonderful musicians
in outdoor venues throughout our
borough,” Queens College Interim
President William Tramontano said.
“This vital series fulfi lls the goals of
the Kupferberg Center for the Arts at
Queens College, making top cultural
programming readily accessible to
our students, their families and the
Queens community.”
BUZZ
BY JACOB KAYE
EDITORIAL@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
Most romantic stories set in
New York City take place in
Manhattan – think “Annie
Hall,” “When Harry Met Sally” or
“Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” But one
author is doing his best to make
Queens, his home borough, the most
romantic location in all of New York
City.
Anthony Sciarratta, a 22-year-old
author from Middle Village, is set
to release his first novel, “Finding
Forever,” a romance that takes place
in the “World’s Borough,” this fall.
He recently signed a book deal with
publisher Post Hill Press.
“Finding Forever” tells the story of
a young Italian-American man in the
1970s, hurting over a recent breakup.
Soon after though, he meets a
quirky Broadway actress who helps
the young man shake his funk.
The book has scenes in Astoria,
Little Neck, Middle Village, Maspeth
and Rego Park.
“A lot of the scenes of my book
were based off of me growing up in
Queens,” Sciarratta said.
Sciarratta attended Our Lady
of Hope in Middle Village until
moving on to St. Francis Preparatory
School in Fresh Meadows. He didn’t
go too far for his higher education,
either. He went to Queens College in
Flushing.
The author says that the reason
his debut novel takes place in 1970s
is because it’s an era that has always
spoken to him.
“My parents tell me stories of when
they were kids and how different it
was from today,” Sciarratta said. “I
was always into the music and the
culture from that area. My mind is
kind of set back there, to that era.”
As to why it takes place in Queens,
that should be obvious.
“I’m a Queens boy, through and
through,” Sciarratta said.
Sciarratta’s deal with Post Hill
Press includes a second novel after
“Finding Forever,” and a book of
poetry. All three will be available
wherever books are sold.
Don’t miss Katz Concert Series
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