The Queens Art Express, a celebration of the arts and commerce under the 7, N, Q, and R lines, is just around the corner – it’s happening from June 16-19 (Thursday to Sunday). The Queens Council on the Arts (QCA) has put together a kick off party, which should be a lot of fun!
Tickets are $25 and the proceeds go to “QCA’s work of fostering and developing the arts in the borough of Queens.” Sounds good to me. I expect to be there.
Queens Art Express (QAX) Kick Off Party [We Heart Astoria]
There are many things I can blog about, but I’ll get back to that after I share with you my adventures from today. T and I explored the top of Central Park, and indulged in food and drink in LIC. I took some pictures, which you can see below. What a great day!
Queens Kickshaw welcomes Queens Swap
This past weekend, I hosted the inaugural Queens Swap, a food swap based in our fair borough. An organized food swap had never happened in Queens, so I’m so proud to have been the person to start things up here, along with my friends Judith and Charlene. I couldn’t have done it without them.
We also were fortunate to have a fourth partner in this endeavor – the Queens Kickshaw. They are a new cafe in Astoria, focusing on excellent coffee and grilled cheese sandwiches. I love both of these things, and decided to treat myself to a Gouda sandwich and a cappuccino. Both were lovely and delicious. I’m glad I got there early so that I could savor it without being distracted by the start of the swap.
Everything went really well, people were very happy, and everyone is excited about the swap in July. We’ll start planning for it in the next week or so.
More about the swap on my blog Harmonious Belly:
Queens Swap Success! [Harmonious Belly]
Beautiful Hellgate Bridge in Astoria Park
This week I wrote a couple of posts having to do with this summer’s Astoria Park Shore Fest (originally called the Astoria Water Walk), organized by the Astoria Park Alliance. It will happen again on three consecutive weekends in August, and food, music, and fitness will be some of the main themes. I’m really excited to see what is in store for Astoria during this event.
Astoria Park Shore Fest needs financial help to fund these three amazing weekends. Donations can be made via their IOBY Page:
Support Car-Free Programming at the Astoria Park Shore Fest!
It’s definitely a cause worth supporting. I hope you consider giving – any amount will do.
Donate to the Astoria Park Shore Fest [We Heart Astoria]
Astoria Park Shore Fest Needs Your Help [Why Leave Astoria?!]
Looking up toward 19th Street in Astoria Park (c) Meg Cotner
I wrote an article profile on the awesome Astoria Park Alliance. I was there at the very first meeting that I reference in the article, and although my participation these days is minimal, I still believe they are an awesome organization. I highly encourage local people to get involved.
The Astoria Park Shore Fest is coming this August, and a big force behind the planning of this 3-weekend event is the Astoria Park Alliance. Planning and events takes $$, so please donate here, via IOBY, for this event. Any amount is welcome. You won’t regret it!
The Astoria Park Alliance (APA) had modest beginnings. On a cold December evening in 2006, a small group of Astorians met at Waltz-Astoria to discuss joining forces to create an Astoria Park umbrella group. This group would focus on the health and well-being of the park – organizing park and shoreline cleanups, creating more awareness of the park to the greater Astoria community, and helping with upkeep of the park, including acquiring more trash cans.
Astoria Park Alliance [About.com]
I recently put together an article on yoga in Astoria. It’s a very popular way for many Astorians to keep fit and stay centered. My personal favorite yoga studio is the Giving Tree Yoga Studio, but I know that all the places on this list are well-loved by many in the area.
In Astoria, Yoga is probably one of the most popular forms of exercise, and it also serves as a way to center oneself in this hectic city. Here are some places where you can get your Yoga “OM” on, right here in Astoria.
Yoga in Astoria [About.com]
Over at We Heart Astoria, I wrote up a little announcement for the upcoming Newtown Creek Tour with Hidden Harbor Tours (I think this is a great name!). It sounds like it will be a great event, and my friend Zora gave it the stamp of approval, too. If I had an extra $60 lying around, I’d take the tour next Saturday.
We were recently made aware of a really interesting event coming up – a cruise along Newtown Creek. Newtown Creek is, of course, the waterway (it’s an estuary, just like the East River and Long Island Sound) between Queens and Brooklyn; the Pulaski Bridge runs over it.
Newtown Creek, an estuary that lies between Queens and Brooklyn (c) Meg Cotner
Newtown Creek Cruise [We Heart Astoria]
Music at Waltz Astoria (c) Meg Cotner
I wrote up a little light piece where to hear live music in Astoria/LIC. There list is not extensive, but the venues (note: some are bars) are quality. I expect there will be more places to hear live music as time goes on. I see this as a good thing.
One of the things I’m often asked is, “Where can you see live music in Astoria and Long Island City?” Here is a selection of places where you can catch live music in western Queens.
Finally Fridays – Live Music [We Heart Astoria]
Death in the Gulfstream, a cocktail from Pachanga Patterson (c) Meg Cotner
I recently wrote about cocktails for About.com. Yummy, yummy cocktails – there are some great ones in Astoria these days. I still lament Pachanga Patterson eliminating the “Tequila Mockingbird” cocktail from the menu. I hope they bring it back.
The cocktail scene in Astoria and Long Island City has expanded. There are many places serving really interesting mixed drinks. Here are some places in Astoria where you can get a great cocktail, not just a mixed drink.
Cocktails in Astoria and Long Island City [About.com]
Through my enjoyment of cocktails, I’ve found that I like bourbon. I hope to try the bourbon from Kings County Distillery sometime.
Here’s another article I wrote recently on cocktails on We Heart Astoria:
Lately, we’ve found a number of tasty cocktails being made at various establishments throughout Astoria (we’ve profiled some before). I mean, who doesn’t love a well mixed drink? Here are 5 cocktails that have caught our collective eye lately here at WHA.
Finally Fridays – 5 Great Cocktails [We Heart Astoria]
Bottoms up! 
Whitey Ford Field has been a bit of a mystery to me since I’ve lived in Astoria. It’s on the far western edge of Astoria, and a bit of a haul to get there, but for me it was worth making the trek. We were already in the neighborhood, too, so that helped. I found it to be very peaceful down there.
Here’s my favorite photo of the day:
The Triboro and Hellgate bridges on top of one another (c) Meg Cotner
More about my time at Whitey Ford Field can be found over on We Heart Astoria:
Scenes from Whitey Ford Field [We Heart Astoria]
Update: I wrote about Whitey Ford Field on my Why Leave Astoria?! profile and it was promoted to the front page!
Discovering Whitey Ford Field [Why Leave Astoria?!]
Harmonious Belly We Heart Astoria