32 The Courier sun • june 11, 2015 for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com Louis Armstrong’s Wonderful World Festival Confirms Initial 2015 Lineup: Ms. Lauryn Hill, Antibalas, Ozomatli+ More play Flushing Meadow Corona Park June 20 Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College is proud to announce the second annual Louis Armstrong’s Wonderful World festival. This rich curation of music, art, and food will celebrate the life and legacy of Louis Armstrong and take place on June 20th at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the site of the 1964 World’s Fair and steps away from the home of the Mets. This year’s music lineup blends traditional jazz with modern favorites and boasts Ms. Lauryn Hill, Antibalas, Ozomatli, Rebirth Brass Band and the Shannon Powell Traditional All-Star Band. The event will be all ages and take place from 12PM to 8PM. Tickets for the entire day are free, and are available now here. Read more on the announcement here via Billboard. Louis Armstrong has deep ties to Queens - he lived at 34-55 107th Street in Corona from 1943 until his death in 1971. The house is a National Historic Landmark and is now the site of the Louis Armstrong House Museum. In addition to the Main Stage line-up, the festival’s Backyard Bash will feature family friendly activities throughout the park and DJ sets in the Queens Museum, recreating the memorable garden parties that Louis hosted for his friends and neighbors. Jeffrey Rosenstock, Executive Director of Kupferberg Center for the Arts says, “Louis Armstrong is in many ways the quintessential cultural ambassador for Queens. He’s become an American icon whose immense cultural legacy has influenced musicians of every genre. We’re excited to bring Ms. Lauryn Hill to headline Louis Armstrong’s Wonderful World and celebrate Louis’ vision of listening to ‘all kinds of music’ at the first major music festival to plant its flag in the city’s most diverse borough.” 2015 is already a banner year for Queens. Lonely Planet named it the #1 Place to Visit in 2015, and Time Out New York ran a cover story in January calling Queens New York City’s hottest borough. Lonely Planet said, “Queens is New York’s largest borough, and it’s also becoming its hippest... with microbreweries springing up, new boutique hotels, a reinvented seaside, a world-class art scene, and a truly global food culture, 2015 is the year to try Queens.” Louis Armstrong’s Wonderful World festival aims to be an encapsulation of this very idea. Stay tuned for more announcements on the music lineup, food, and art exhibits. http://armstrongswonderfulworld.com/ https://www.facebook.com/Armstrong- Festival https://twitter.com/ArmstrongFest http://shorefire.com/client/louis-armstrongs wonderful-world1 Laurelton man featured on TV’s first body painting competition show BY CRISTABELLE TUMOLA [email protected] @CristabelleT Fernello Nelson wants to become the “Bill Gates of body painting.” The 31-year-old Laurelton resident may get his chance to do so on season two of “Skin Wars,” which premiered on June 10 on GSN. Nelson is one of 12 contestants testing their skills on TV’s first-ever body painting competition show and the network’s most watched original series. Hosted by actress Rebecca Romijn and judged by entertainer RuPaul Charles and body painting icons Craig Tracy and Robin Slonina, “Skin Wars” hands the winner not only $100,000, but also an allexpense paid trip for two to the World Body Painting Festival in Austria, and a nationally distributed Royal and Langnickel custom brush collection with their name on it. Starting at age 5, Nelson knew that being an artist “was always something true” to who he was, but didn’t know where his creative desire would lead him. He eventually studied graphic design, but only worked in the field for a few years before he began airbrushing, including on T-shirts. A photo shoot where the T-shirt was painted on the body changed Nelson’s career direction, and he started building his body painting resume. “Body painting was more controversial because you can paint on a canvas and you can do your work and it moves people, but body painting moves people in a different way,” he said. “It brings painting to life,” he added. “You feel like you are creating this living, breathing entity.” At first working as EMT to supplement his body painting work, Nelson is now doing the art full time mostly for private parties and events. He decided to audition for the second season of “Skin Wars” because he wanted to show the world his abilities and style, which he describes as very sexy, tattoo-like and making women feel confident and comfortable. “I wanted to be part of this pioneering adventure, this movement of body art and I felt ‘Skin Wars’ was giving this platform for body artists,” he said, explaining that the show is helping the art form as it’s becoming more acceptable. “It’s not like you are having a stripper at your event. It’s art, it’s different,” he said. The show is also giving Nelson, who describes himself as a newbie with a lot of experience within the time frame he’s worked, a chance to sharpen his skills. “It’s like body paint boot camp,” he said. “You’re working and you are doing body painting that you thought you would never do before. But it’s worth it.” There is also the chance to win $100,000, which Nelson hopes to reinvest in his business and one day run a company that creates jobs for other body paint artists. And this is where he looks toward Bill Gates as a model. “I could do the same thing with body painting and grow a company and manage others,” he said, speaking of the Microsoft founder. “Anytime you set out to do business you want to be number one.” “Skin Wars” airs Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. on GSN. Photo courtesy of GSN
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