Queens Rising Kicks Off Third Annual Month Long Arts Initiative Last Weekend

Title Sponsor Northwell Health, Major Sponsors Resorts World NYC, Howard Gilman Foundation, and the Kupferberg Center for the Arts

Band above is Mister Pablo. Photo credit: Lizzie Butler

June 4th, 2024 (New York,NY) - Over the weekend, Queens Rising kicked off its third annual month-long arts celebration at Flushing Town Hall, inaugurating its new “Queens Scene” series featuring performances by local Queens artists Sin Fronteras World Jazz Quintet (Latin and Modern Jazz), The Scooches (Americana, Indie Folk, Gender Bending), and Mister Pablo(Mixed Genre, Latin). In addition to promoting the remaining Queens Scene events across the borough ranging from the Queens Botanical Garden to JCAL and Terraza 7, Queens Rising will also promote literally hundreds more Queens events through June 30th.

"Sin Fronteras World Jazz Quartet was born out of the generosity of Freddy Castiblanco, the owner of Terraza 7,” stated Russ Nolan. “ He allowed us to rehearse weekly at the venue as well as be part of his schedule to present our music to his patrons and community. He also invested heavily in providing a one-of-a-kind outdoor stage during COVID that saved the wallets and sanity of many musicians, including myself."

From enthralling performances to captivating exhibitions, Queens Rising collaborates with numerous arts organizations, versatile venues, and galleries across the borough to promote a rich tapestry of cultural events. The need for an initiative like this was conceived during an Arts Advisory Board Meeting of the Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College, and further developed by a larger Planning Committee who met fortnightly throughout the pandemic to determine how Queens Rising would best enhance the cultural landscape of Queens and amplify the rich tapestry of Queens arts organizations and artists. 

Queens Rising creates a platform to share with Queens audiences and those throughout the city. By focusing marketing and promotional resources on the month of June, the goal is to make people aware of how robust a roster of cultural programs exist in Queens and hopefully, introduce audiences to new venues and artists through a collective effort.

This year Queens Rising launches "Queens Scene" a performing arts series created to aim the spotlight on the extraordinary talent living and working in our borough. Performing artists were invited to submit applications to perform at four Queens venues: Flushing Town Hall, Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, the Queens Botanical Garden and Terraza 7. Each venue chose from the applicant pool and Queens Rising supported venues with funding to provide artist fees, marketing and production resources. 

After last year’s success of promoting over 300 partner events in collaboration with 100+ organizations, June's festivities will spotlight Queens' vibrant culture and creative diversity. This year's new initiative "Queens Scene" is a series of performances at four different partner venues highlighting Queens-based artists.

Remaining Queens Rising Performance Series and line up:

Queens Scene Performance 2: Friday, June 14th at 7pm, Saturday, June 15th at 6pm, and Sunday, June 16th (Father's Day) at 4pm, at Terraza 7.

Performers: Guachinangos, Samuel Torres: Alegria, and Terraza Big Band.

Queens Scene Performance 3: Wednesday, June 19th (Juneteenth), at Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, with a reception at 7:30pm, showtime at 8pm, and the event 

concluding at 10pm. 

Hosted and curated by Spoken Artist JRose featuring Queens-based spoken word artists and a DJ to bring the music vibes to the night.

Performers: Jasmine Rosario (Artist name: JRose), Byron Frazier (Artist name: Jerome Heka)

Ikea Williams (Artist name: Keys Will), Yanique Renwick (Artist name: Unique on Purpose) Christopher Charles (Artist name: Divine Wordsmith).

Queens Scene Performance 4: Saturday, June 29th, at Queens Botanical Garden, from 1:30pm to 4pm.

Performers: Gina D'Soto, Jennah Vox, and Queens Symphony Orchestra.

Additional curated events include:

Visual Art Exhibition Opening “Say It Loud: Unsung Heroes”: Thursday, June 6th at Culturelab LIC, from 6pm to 9pm.

Queens Night Market: Queens Rising returns to the Queens Night Market on Saturday, June 8th for a third year where artists are able to engage the thousands of attendees who flock to the Night Market in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Artists will perform from 4:00 pm - midnight.

Performers: Vivarta Arts Dance Company (Indian Dance), DJ Tommy “T” NYC (Following Dance Company and between acts the rest of the night), Alea (cumbia, vallenato, rancheras, pop and jazz), Island Interlude Band (Steel Drum Fusion)

Support for Queens Rising is provided by Title Sponsor, Northwell Health, Howard Gilman Foundation, The Kupferberg Family Foundation, Queens Economic Development Corporation, and the Kupferberg Center for the Arts.

Current collaborators include:

A Better Jamaica, AIMI Cultural Center, Alley Pond Environmental Center, Allure Art Studio, American Folk Art Museum, APAC, Art House Astoria, Art Retail Therapy, Arriba Arriba, Ashreynu, Astoria Film Festival, Astoria Park Alliance, Bayside Historical Society, Bayside Village BID, Bliss on Bliss Art Projects Bowne House Historical Society, Braata Productions, The Brick Wall Gallery at Bar Dalia, Center for the Women of New York, The Chocolate Factory, The Church-in-the-Gardens, Culture Lab LIC Dance Astoria, Dance Entropy/Green Space, Dancing Classrooms, Diverse Street Initiative Empanadas Cafe, Espresso 77, FitzgeraldArt, Flushing BID, Flushing Town Hall, Forest Hills Choir, Forest Hills Stadium, Forest Park Trust, Friends of Maple Grove at The Center at Maple Grove, Friends of the Crocheron & John Golden Park, Glow Community Center, The Godwin-Ternbach Museum, Greater Astoria Historical Society, Indo-American Arts and Cultural Forum, Jackson Heights Beautification GroupJamaica Center for Arts and Learning, Juneteenth in Queens, King Manor Museum, Korean Community Services of Metropolitan New York, Inc., Kupferberg Center for the Arts, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, Lavender Laughs NYC, Lewis Latimer House Museum, Long Island City Partnership, Louis Armstrong House Museum, Make Music New York, Maspeth Squash, MoMA PS1, Museum of the Moving Image, Musica Reginae Productions, New York Hall of Science, NYC Department of Transportation, Oratorio Society of Queens, Inc., The Poppenhusen Institute, QED, The Queens Borough President’s Office, Queens Botanical Garden, Queens Chamber of Commerce, Queens Council on the Arts, Queensboro Dance Festival, Queens Economic Development Corporation, Queens Historical Society, Queens Museum, Queens Night Market, Queens Public Library, Queens Theatre, Queens Together, Queens Tourism Council, Queens Underground International Black and Brown Film Festival and The Artist Market NYC Live, Queens World Film Festival, Queens Zoo, Rincon Criollo, Riders Alliance, RISE Rockaway, School of Rock Queens, Socrates Sculpture Park, Son Jarocho NY, South East Queens Artist Alliance, South Queens Women’s March, Sovereign Markets, Stone Circle Theatre, Studio 41, Sunnyside Shines, Thalia Spanish Theatre, Inc., The Garage Art Center, Inc., Theatre Beyond Broadway, Underground Spade, Urban Vegan Roots