The Sunnyside Of Life

On Saturday, October 17, 2009 from 11AM until 2PM, Socrates Sculpture Park will present the 9th annual Halloween Harvest Festival. This FREE family and community event celebrates Halloween and the fall harvest with creative activities in the dynamic setting of Socrates Sculpture Park.

The 2009 Festival theme is glamrock! Visitors will experience a live concert by New York’s own, Audra Rox and become the rock stars of their dreams with the help of Socrates Sculpture Park artists Martin Basher, Pilar Conde, Lars Fisk, McKendree Key, Zak Kitnick, Samara Kupferberg, and Athena Preston (all costume making materials will be provided and will be free of charge). Participants will also have the chance to join a Giant Instrument Jam with Freestyle Arts Association; get glamorus with Transformation! Facepainting by Agostino Arts; try harvest foods from Sage General Store; picnic in the Park; or just watch the fun!

Back by popular demand, Socrates will also host its 6th annual Canine Costume Contest at 1pm (registration at front gate). Visitors can enter their dogs and win fabulous prizes for being the cutest, scariest, best dressed or most rocked-out pooch. BARC Shelter, will be in attendance to help judge the contest and offer information about adopting a pet. Dr. Jules Adams from City Vet will also judge the contest.

At 2pm, The Red Door Theatre Company will present a special outdoor performance of the The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Chrysten Peddie has adapted this classic Halloween tale by Washington Irving for the Company’s 3rd year with Socrates’ Halloween Harvest Festival. Come see Ichabod Crane, Katrina Van Tassel, and Brom Van Brunt, as they tell the story of the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow. A blanket or lawn chair is recommended. The performance is free of charge. For more information about The Red Door Theatre Company visit www.thereddoortheatre.com.

Socrates Sculpture Park is open 365 days a year from 10am to sunset and is located at the intersection of Broadway and Vernon Boulevard in Long Island City/Astoria, Queens.

Saturday, October 17, 2009
11 AM – 2 PM
1PM 6th annual Canine Costume Contest
2PM The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
FREE / RAIN OR SHINE

In exciting news, the highly regarded international French dining guide Michelin has recommended local Bliss Bistro for their 2010 Guide. Michelin has been in the business of evaluating and recommending restaurants and hotels for over a century. Their anonymous full-time professional inspectors visit restaurants and hotels, and evaluate them on a range of criteria. The Michelin Guide New York City 2010 is the fifth edition since Michelin began reviewing restaurants in New York.

Bliss Bistro serves classic French bistro fare, making it the only French restaurant in Sunnyside. Open every day with an outdoor garden open in good weather and serving brunch on the weekends.

Bliss Bistro
Menu
45-20 Skillman Avenue
Sunnyside NYC
718.729.0778
www.blissbistro.com

Not too long ago, Bronx native (and assistant to the president of Time Out New York) Monika Fabian told Time Out New York why she loves her neighborhood in Sunnyside, Queens here.

We couldn’t agree more! There are so many reasons to love Sunnyside, let me count the ways:

1. Super Tuesdays at Center Cinemas (42-17 Queens Blvd): $4 major films all day!
2. Sunnyside Gardens Tennis Courts: Membership has its privileges in the form of har-tru courts.
3. Old Castle Fresh Farms (39-50 Queens Blvd): A welcome 24-hour addition to the neighborhood and usually a free treat for your child, especially if they’re cute. We were initially super-excited for the “Sweet Corn Ice Cream” but then sadly realized that they were offering “Sweet Corn” and “Ice Cream.” They do have locally baked Eleni’s delicious chocolate chip cookies – you can just taste the butter melting in our mouth.
4. P.J. Horgan’s Burger (4217 Queens Blvd): Order with a side of onion rings and you’ll be in burger heaven.
5. Sugar & Joe Cupcakes (42-20 Greenpoint Ave): Mocha, pumpkin and rocky road – oh my! You had me at sugar.

We’ll continue this list in the weeks to come. Meanwhile please feel free to share some of the reasons you love Sunnyside.

Dine and discover the diverse culinary offerings in Queens during our 14 day restaurant week. Discover Queens Restaurant Week offers patrons the opportunity to visit participating restaurants and dine from special menus at a prix-fixe price of $25.

From October 5th – 15th (Monday through Thursday) enjoy Greek in Astoria, Italian in Sunnyside, French in LIC, Italian in Bayside and Asian in Flushing with restaurants participating from all over the borough.

The launch for Discover Queens Restaurant Week takes place on September 29th with Borough President Helen Marshall welcoming restaurants to Queens Borough Hall Plaza to meet with the press and offer samples of their prix-fixe menus.

WIN A GIFT CERTIFICATE TO A PARTICIPATING RESTAURANT!
Email us the names of your three favorite restaurants and why for a chance to receive a gift certificate to one of our Queens Restaurants. Click here to enter.

Go forth and eat like a king in Queens! List of participating restaurants here.

Winning logo by Ben Perez

Sunnyside Shines is proud to host a show of original logo art based on the theme of Sunnyside. After launching a contest for a logo that captured the essence of Sunnyside, they received over 200 images from over 50 artists.