62 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • APRIL 12, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
buzz
See cultures collide at a Flushing dance and concert series
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A unique series of shows that bring
together musical traditions from around
the world is coming back to Flushing.
Flushing Town Hall will host its Global
Mashup Series on select Friday nights
from April 20 through June 15. In each
show, two groups of artists who specialize
in vastly diff erent styles of music will play
individually and then come together for
a unique “mashup” performance. Each
concert will also be prefaced by an hourlong
interactive dance lesson.
Th e concept fi rst came together in
2013, according to executive and artistic
director Ellen Kodadek, who encouraged
attendees to bring their dancing shoes.
“We were talking internally about
Queens, about New York City, and its
incredible diversity,” she said. “Th is format
just evolved out of that.”
Jonathan Goldman from Spanglish Fly,
a Latin Boogaloo band, will participate
in two of the fi ve shows slated for this
spring/summer. It will be the group’s fi rst
time participating in the series.
“As musicians, we’re excited about
being able to go on stage and play not
only in our own idiom, but also in another
language, so to speak, with other great
musicians,” he said.
Latin Boogaloo, which Goldman
described as soul music graft ed onto Latin
music, will be “instantly familiar and foreign
at the same time” to attendees at the
show.
Th e musical style will be melded with
Afrobeat by group Chop and Quench on
April 20 and Balkan wedding music by
Raya Brass Band on June 1.
Goldman expects each performance to
feel like “one giant party.”
“We try to pick pairings that would be
really unusual,” Kodadek said. “It somehow
always works and is something special
every single time … As a spectator,
there’s these moments of hopefulness,
because you’re really seeing two groups
of people try to navigate communication.
It’s a microcosm for the world.”
Future concerts include Egypt meets
Haiti, Mexico meets Guinea and Texas
meets Peru. Tickets start at $10; teens
with ID can attend for free.
Flushing Town Hall is located at 137-
35 Northern Blvd. For more information
or to purchase tickets, visit fl ushingtownhall.
org.
Photo courtesy of Flushing Town Hall
Spanglish Fly, one of the groups participating in the Global Mashups
Photo via Wikimedia Commons/Raman Patel
Capture the spirit of Queens
Botanical Garden in new contest
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Go where people, plants and cultures
meet in Flushing to capture a photograph
and enter it into a new contest.
Queens Botanical Garden is sponsoring
a 2018 photo competition, where the
winning entrant will be awarded with a
one-year, family-level membership to the
garden, which grants free or discounted
access to the garden’s events and programming.
Six festival admission tickets
to October’s annual Harvest Fest will also
be included in the prize pack.
Th e contest opened on April 1 and will
run up until June 30.
Queens Botanical Garden, located at
43-50 Main St., is positioned on the
northeast corner of Flushing Meadows
Corona Park and evolved from the fi veacre
“Gardens on Parade” exhibit showcased
at the 1939-40 World’s Fair.
Today, it is a 39-acre community
space that features colorful gardens,
environmental projects and educational
programming.
Professional and amateur photographers
are asked to think “fl ora, fauna,
families, fun” when capturing their
moments at the garden. Only photos
taken and submitted through the online
submission portal between April 1 and
June 30 will be considered. Entrants
must be 18 years old or older and can
submit up to three photos for consideration.
Th e winner will be notifi ed by July 16
and will be announced to the public on
the garden’s website and social media
accounts shortly thereaft er.
For more information on eligibility,
contest rules and uploading entries, visit
www.queensbotanical.org.
‘SAFE’-ly get rid of harmful trash in Astoria
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@qns.com / @QNS
Get rid of your potentially harmful
items with ease at this disposal event
coming to Astoria later this month.
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April
21, the Department of Sanitation is hosting
a free SAFE (Solvents, Automotive,
Flammables and Electronics) Disposal
event so residents can properly throw
away potentially hazardous household
materials.
Th e event will take place rain or shine
in the Astoria Park parking lot. Residents
who are driving to the free event should
enter from Ditmars Boulevard onto 21st
Street and there will be a walk-in area
available for residents taking public transportation.
Acceptable items for the drive include
automotive products such as motor oil,
transmission fl uid and auto batteries;
unwanted medications; cosmetics; thermometers;
pesticides; paint; hazardous
cleaners; compact fl uorescent light bulbs;
electronics; and syringes, which should be
clearly labeled and packaged in a “sharps”
container or other leak proof, puncture
resistant container.
Materials that are collected during
the drive are either recycled, blended
for fuel, or sent to licensed hazardous
waste treatment facilities for safe disposal.
Electronics are responsibly recycled
or refurbished for reuse through e-cycleNYC
and unwanted medications are
managed by environmental police and
incinerated to prevent unintentional poisonings
or entry into the water supply.
For those unable to participate in the
events, visit www.nyc.gov/safedisposal or
contact 311 for other year round options
to handle auto products, batteries, cellphones,
electronics, fl uorescent lamps,
latex paint, mercury devices and syringes.
Photo: Shutterstock
/www.queensbotanical.org
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