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

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.

THE 3rd ANNUAL SUNNYSIDE SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL
SEPTEMBER 12th, 2009
Start time: 7:30 pm with music by Woodside’s own Kristen Cerelli.
Films at 8 pm.

Location: Sunnyside Gardens Park, 49th St. & 39th Ave. 
Rain or cold weather location: Sunnyside Community Center
43-31 39th St. between Queens Blvd and 43rd Ave. Same date and time. 
Refreshments will be served. 

THE 3rd ANNUAL SUNNYSIDE SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL PROGRAM:

Lords of the Playground, Director Matt Fabiano
Ticket to Bollywood, Director Zoe Sullivan
King Jeff, Director Phil Dale
Weeki Watchee Girls, Director Kim Cummings
Steve’s Perfect Vacation, Director Anandh Ramesh
Which Way, Director Nic Beery
Maine Story, Director Nina Chernik
Dated Advice, Director Dan Truman

*All of the 44 films that were submitted for consideration had wonderful attributes. Some will be considered for next year’s festival. Thank you to all of the filmmakers who sent us your work.

For more info, please go to: www.sunnysideshorts.net. 

The best kept non-secret is the free access during the Qualifying Tournament. Enjoy some of tennis’ best players without the steep prices. Save it for the food! The free four-day Qualifying Tournament is held on field courts at the USTA National Tennis Center. Here is where professional tennis players compete to qualify for berths in the US Open. You may even catch a glimpse of tennis royalty as many players are around practicing.

Qualifying Tournament
Tuesday, August 25, to Friday, August 28, 2009
Gates open at 10 a.m. Free! 

Open Practice Day
August 30, 2009
Come see many world-class tennis stars getting ready for the opening day of the tournament.
Gates open at 11 a.m. Free!

@ USTA National Tennis Center
Subway 7 to Willets Point / Citi Field

Saturdays – August 15, 22, 29
46th Street &  the Arch
at Queens Blvd 
12 noon – 7 pm

Saturday, June 13th, 2009
10am – 6pm
43-12 46th Street
between Queens Boulevard and 43rd Avenue
Sunnyside
718.784.8031

Many Sunnyside folks and community groups have been literally fighting for years  to clean up a very unsafe, weed -choked trash dumping ground on two major byways right here in the neighborhood.    Countless hours have been spent  in talking to DOT ,Sanitation, and the Community Board  to provide a sidewalk and eliminate a serious pedestrian hazard on  Barnett Avenue.   The Park membership, individuals, community groups and local businesses have contributed cash to make sustainable improvements over the last 3 or 4 years and have regularly monitored and picked up what has added up to be mountains of trash on Barnett Avenue and 48th Street.  We have repeatedly pleaded with other local officials to get involved ***  and worked to entice the press in the hopes of getting the City’s attention to this quality-of-life problem.

On Saturday from 10:00 to 10:15,  you can  absolutely help insure that this problem will finally be solved.  Let the Speaker of the  NYC Council  know you support a sustainable solution to this neighborhood eyesore and (a miracle that it hasn’t happened alread) site of likely pedestrian injury or fatality.

 To put it crudely,  more bodies= more pressure.  Show our elected officials and the city that we demand they follow through with their promises.   It’s a common activist statistic that every person that shows up or writes a letter represents 100 that have not, so you alone can help speak for our whole neighborhood.  And bring your partners, kids in strollers, friends… 

(reposted from Sandra at SunnysideNY yahoogroups)

DAILY NEWS: Sidewalk due for dangerous Sunnyside street
BY BRENDAN BROSH
Tuesday, May 12th 2009, 10:27 AM

Tour de Queens

Mark your calendars the Tour de Queens is happening July 12th 2009. Registration opens May 26, 2009

The Tour de Queens is a leisurely paced 20-mile ride open to riders of all ages and skill levels. The course is mostly flat, and will go along waterfronts, greenways, through parks and industrial and historic neighborhoods.

Please note: Limited registration will be available on ride day starting at 8AM check in on a first come first serve basis at Flushing Meadows Park near Unishere and Queens Museum of Art but placement is not guaranteed.

For more info and to register visit TourdeQueens.org