64 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • OCTOBER 4, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
buzz
Two brothers ‘clown around’ in one of Queens’ most iconic parks
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/ @jenna_bagcal
Two brothers from Flushing want to
get people moving with a unique experience
that combines the seemingly unrelated
worlds of clowning and sightseeing.
Th e concept for Clowning Around
Fitness Tours NYC is simple: participants
are led in a series of “clowning” exercises
that are both fun and get your blood
pumping, all while touring the iconic
Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
Pete and Stew Kandel, better known as
Dr. Pete and Dr. Stew, came up with the
idea for the unique tours. Th e licensed
New York City sightseeing guides and
certifi ed fi tness trainers chose Flushing
Meadows Corona Park to conduct their
tours in order to show people the park’s
rich history and relics.
“We wanna get people moving because
we noticed that people, they don’t like
exercising, they don’t like moving,” said
Dr. Stew. “Th ey look at their TV, they
look at their iPad and that’s all they do.”
“We want people to have movement,
have fun and just get them off their
couches,” added Dr. Pete.
Th e Kandels serve as the tour’s “ringmasters”
and combine elements of
mime, fencing, balloon animal craft ing
and juggling in order to have people participate
in “non-exercise activity thermogenesis,”
or NEAT. Activities that are
categorized as NEAT are non-sports-like
activities including yard work and even
fi dgeting.
When traveling from one site to another,
the Kandels lead the participants in
skipping, galloping or a simulated train,
complete with sound eff ects from kazoos
and maracas.
According to the brothers, fi tness
tours range from an hour and a half to
two hours, but sometimes they go longer
depending on the group’s enthusiasm.
Stops on the park tour include iconic
structures from the 1939 and 1964
World’s Fairs, a column left over from the
ancient Romans and a time capsule that
is sealed until the year 6939. Th e Kandels
shared that their natural interest in history
allowed them to learn fun facts about
the park.
In addition to their popular Flushing
Meadows tour, the Kandels also off er fi tness
tours in Central Park and Grand
Central Terminal in Manhattan.
For more information on Clowning
Around Fitness Tours, visit their website.
For tour information, call 347-502-
7352 or email mail@clowningaroundtours.
com.
Photo courtesy of Phil and Stew Kandel
Spend the fi rst weekend of October at the LIC Flea & Food market
Welcome the start of fall at the LIC Flea
& Food Market this weekend, Oct. 6-7,
and enjoy one-of-a-kind food, beer and
vintage vendors.
Grab a great drink from the Beer and
Wine Garden and stroll through the market
at your leisure. Among the unique vendors
this weekend is Wahoo Industries,
coming all the way from Virginia with
one off furniture created by Jarrett using
natural woods and iron.
Gilberto Endozo Designs will also be at
the market selling antique vintage items
from the 1800s to 1900s. For handmade
jewelry and vintage goods, Tracey Renee
Designs has tons of great items to choose
from also.
Aft er all that shopping, check out some
of the incredible food from the market’s
many vendors. Back by popular demand,
Sands Jerk Hut has an array of Caribbean
dishes from mild to spicy!
Made in Beijing is also back with their
amazing duck burgers and savory dumplings.
For a sweet bite, stop by Baked By
Dawn for cookies, brownies, pies and her
special Pumpkin Spice Bundt cake with
maple glaze.
It’s the fi rst of three consecutive great
weekends of food and fun at the LIC
Flea.
Don’t forget to purchase tickets for
the third annual Queens Beer Festival
on Oct. 13-14. Grab a taste from
every Queens-based brewery along
with a curated selection of brews from
Brooklyn, Th e Bronx, Long Island and
Staten Island.
More than 20 Breweries will off er
over 50 beers to taste. Enjoy unlimited
tastings in your souvenir mug
from Queens Brewery, IconNYC, LIC
Beer Project, Big aLICe Brewing Co.,
Single Cut Beersmiths, Coney Island
Brewing Company, Wartega Brewery,
Montauk Brewing Company, Braven
Brewing Company, Blue Point Brewing
Company, Gun Hill Brewing Company
and many more.
Tickets start at $39 and are available
at www.QueensBeerFest.com. Use code
QNS for 10 percent off tickets.
Mark your calendars for LIC Flea’s Fall
Festival which takes place on Oct. 21-22.
Th e market will have a pumpkin patch
where kids can grab a free pumpkin courtesy
of the Flea, while supplies last. You
can jump into the patch, take photos and
grab your favorite pumpkin to decorate.
LIC Flea & Food is open Saturday and
Sunday from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. and is
located at 5-25 46th Ave. in Long Island City,
at the corner of Fift h Street and 46th Avenue.
For more information visit licfl ea.com.
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