Astoria Park Shore Fest 2012

For Immediate Release (July 13, 2012) - More info & updates at astoriaparkshorefest.yolasite.com/

Press Contacts:
Martha Gilpin: rotcamm@earthlink.net or 646-339-8142
Robert McMinn: roberto@buscarsi.com or 347-216-0154

Astoria Park Shore Fest

Summer Sundays on Shore Boulevard in Astoria, Queens
August 5, 12, & 19 from 1 to 7 pm

Three Sundays of Games, Music, Art, Relaxation and Fun on a Car-Free Pedestrian Street

ASTORIA, NY – The Astoria Park Alliance, in coalition with the Department of Transportation (DOT), Green Shores NYC, Build It Green!NYC (BIG!NYC), and other community groups and local businesses opens Shore Boulevard to pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles this summer.  Astoria Park Shore Fest is jam packed with fun family programming, opportunities for creative participation and interesting activities.  Café tables and chairs will be scattered along Shore Boulevard for relaxing along the waterfront. The Astoria Park Shore Fest is a free event and will be held rain or shine. astoriaparkshorefest.yolasite.com/

Each Summer Sunday during Shore Fest is inspired by a theme and will provide entertainment and activities that encourage spontaneous relaxation, fun & play!

August 5^th will celebrate “Kids and Family Fun”;

August 12^th local restaurants will bring samples for “Taste the Neighborhood”;

August 19^th music will fill the waterfront as “River Jam - a Musical Celebration”.

Activities include Whiskers Holistic Pet Care Pet Parade and Costume Contest, Ping Pong in the Park by Triple R Events and Build It Green!NYC, interviews with Love TV, food tastings, bicycle riding lessons with Bike NY, workshops with Recycle–a-Bicycle, children’s’ games, face painting and more by Lil’ Razcals Kid’s Entertainment, Rising City Artists Interactive Theatre for Kids, a Reuse Art Project by Material for the Arts, an on site arts project with Clarissa Diaz, local author Meg Cotner “talks food,” Ms. Sofia’s Storytelling, a watermelon eating contest, plus multiple stages for local bands, singers, dancers, gymnasts and a Ukulele Social which will host performers, jams, and beginners’ lessons.  Lounging on shaded cafe chairs and tables is highly encouraged. All activities are FREE. See below for 2012 Shore Fest schedule.  Updates available at www.greenshoresnyc.org.

Local musicians and performers will entertain the crowd from two different sound stages and include:  Cat Gut, BombaYo, Saving Grace, Novo Columbo, Cornerstone, Bandsaw, Felony Beebop Club, Gary Gary Negbaur Group, Saving Grace, Sharing and Caring Drum Circle, Astoria Fine Arts Dance, Sokol Gymnastics, Tletlpapalotzin Danza Prehis-torica, BatalaNYC Drum Corp, and Music with a Message.

Love TV comes to Astoria all the way from Australia! Hosted by Aphrodite, Love TV will explore our part of the world in her Big Hot Pink TV Studio interviewing people about their love stories: love for a person, a place, an idea or a passion and broadcasting the conversations across the globe at www.lovetv.com.au. To nominate yourself or someone you know to be interviewed, go to bit.ly/LOVETVinNYC.

Materials for the Arts is sponsoring a wonderful afternoon called “Reuse Art Projects with Materials For The Arts” with two teaching artists who will enact a large collaborative art project created by reusing materials of all kinds! www.mfta.org

Bike NY will be teaching kids how to ride their bicycles while Recycle-a-Bicycle will be running fun workshops. www.bikenewyork.org and www.recycleabicycle.org.

Ukulele Social is a gathering of ukulele players from all corners of Astoria and beyond, who will be performing, jamming, leading sing-a-longs, and offering introductory lessons with Roberto Buscarsi. Ukuleleists and Musicians of all experience and skill levels are encouraged to join in. A limited number of ukuleles will be available for borrow. 

Astoria Park Shore Fest Schedule

August 5, 12, + 19, 2012 from 1:00-7:00pm.
Visit www.greenshoresnyc.org for updates (website is currently having technical difficulties - stand by for an update), schedule subject to change

August 5, 2012 – Kids and Family Fun

1-2pm Whiskers Pet Parade and Shore Fest 2012 Pet Star Costume Contest, sponsored by Whiskers Holistic Petcare
2-3 Sharing and Caring - Drum Circle
3-4 Ms. Sofia Storytelling
3-4 Music with a Message
4-5 Rising City Artists Theatre - Interactive play Superhero
5-6: BombaYo
2-6:30 Ukulele Social
1-4 Bike NY - 15 and under. Participants must bring bike and helmet.
1-6:30 Love TV interviews at 2, 3:30 and 5
1-6 Materials for the Arts Reuse Arts Project
1-2 Lil’ Razcals Kid’s Entertainment
1-6:30 Kid’s Game Tent
NYC Pet Services Dog Play Pen
NYC Pet Nanny Swimming Pools and Raffle
Jumping Bulldog
Camp Bow Wow

August 12, 2012 - Taste the Neighborhood

1-2pm Saving Grace
2-3:30 Novo Columbo
3:30-4:15 BombaYo
4:30– 6:30 CatGut w/ Sokol Gymnastics
1-1:30 Sharing and Caring Drum Circle
3-6 Food_Tasting_
5  Watermelon Eating contest
2:00  Author Meg Cotner Talks Food
1-6:30 Ukulele Social
1-4  Bike NY - 15 and under. Participants must bring bike and helmet
1-6:30 Love TV interviews at 2, 3:30 and 5
1-6:30pm Kid’s Game Tent

August 19, 2012 – River Jam - A Musical Celebration

1-2pm Cornerstone (North Stage)
2-3 Bandsaw (North Stage)
3-4 Felony Beebop Club (North Stage)
4-6 East River Blues Band (North Stage)
1-2 Gary Negbaur Group (South Stage)
2-3 Saving Grace (South Stage)
3  Astoria Fine Arts Dance (South Stage)
3:40 Stand up Comedians Alex Carabano and Jenn Wehrung, (South Stage)
4:30 Tletlpapalotzin Danza Prehis-torica (South Stage)
5-6 Batala NYC Drum Corp (South Stage)
1-6:30 Ukulele Social
1-6:30 Love TV interviews at 2, 3:30, 5
1-6:30 Kid’s Game Tent
1-6 Ping Pong hosted by Triple R Events and Build It Green!NYC (tent)
1-6pm On site Arts Project Clarissa Diaz

2012 Astoria Park Shore Fest Sponsoring Organizations

The Astoria Park Alliance is a volunteer community group whose mission is to beautify, enhance, and encourage involvement in Astoria Park. www.facebook.com/pages/Astoria-Park-Alliance/99299199860

New York City Department of Transportation is partnering with groups citywide to bring some pedestrian safe street fun to neighborhoods in all five boroughs. http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/

Green Shores NYC is an all-volunteer organization whose mission is to enliven the Astoria-Long Island City waterfront by caring and advocating for safe public parks, green spaces, waterways and a waterfront greenway. www.greenshoresnyc.org

BUILD IT GREEN!NYC is New York City's only non-profit retail outlets for salvaged and surplus building materials. Their warehouses have everything from panel doors to high-end refrigerators, shutters to movie props. BIG!NYC’s mission is to keep these materials out of the landfill, while offering deep discounts on their resale. Visit reuse centers in Astoria, Queens and Gowanus, Brooklyn. www.bignyc.org

Love TV celebrates people and their communities with a theatrical multi-media production in which Aphrodite, the goddess of love interviews people about their love stories, love for a person, a place, an idea or a passion.  Spread the love! www.lovetv.com.au

MATERIALS FOR THE ARTS, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, provides thousands of NYC’s arts and cultural organizations, public schools, and community arts programs with the supplies they need to run and expand their programs. MFTA gathers materials from companies and individuals that no longer need them and makes them available, for free, to the artists and educators that do. In the process, hundreds of tons are removed from the waste stream every year and kept out of landfills, which helps sustain our environment, promotes reuse, and reduces waste. www.mfta.org

NYC Department of Parks & Recreation.

Partnerships For Parks, City Parks Foundation.