QUEENS — Kew Gardens streets will be transformed into a colorful art stage this weekend as local artists showcase their work during an annual festival, featuring sidewalk chalk drawings, crafts for children and live music.
An outdoor fair will be at the centerpiece of the free festival, the organizers said.
More than two dozen Queens artists will have their "booths" along Lefferts Boulevard and Austin Street, exhibiting and selling their pieces created in a variety of mediums, including photography, pottery, watercolors, ink and intaglio.
Organized by local artists and business owners, the festival seeks to present a “very professional art show with a small town feel,” the organizers said.
“If you are looking for a large, commercial art show, then this is not the event for you,” they noted in a statement.
The goal of the art day is “for the public to know that Queens artists are fabulous … to spend a lovely day with their families, to enjoy the streets of Kew Gardens and to do some arts and crafts for adults and children,” said Carol Lacks, one of the organizers.
This year, for the first time, the festival will feature a “selfie station.” Located near the Potter’s Wheel studio on 83rd Avenue, the station will offer numerous props for "silly selfies," like mustaches, bow ties, crowns and funny glasses.
Sidewalk chalk artists, including children, will also show off their talent by turning gray concrete into colorful designs in front of Giorgio’s Beauty Salon on Lefferts Boulevard, near Cuthbert Road. The artists will use high-quality chalk, which can stay on the sidewalk for days, the organizers said.
Attendees will also be able to chat with a comic book expert at The Comic Den on Austin Street, practice different art forms at the Arts Zone, and have their portraits drawn by a local artist, while the Kew Gardens Musicians will give an outdoor performance.
Kew Gardens Community Arts Day will take place on Sunday, Sept. 27, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (rain date Oct. 18).
