ASTORIA — The nonprofit Queens Council on the Arts will break in its new Astoria headquarters on Saturday with a day-long, arts-filled block party.
The arts advocacy group moved this spring from its longtime Woodhaven location to 37-11 35th Ave., joining several other arts-oriented groups clustered in the same area — which local Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer dubbed Astoria's "cultural campus."
The organization's new neighbors include the Kaufman Astoria Studios, the Astoria Performing Arts Center, the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts and the Museum of the Moving Image just across the street.
The Queens Arts Express Block Party will kick off on 37th Street between 34th and 35th avenues at 1 p.m. Saturday with a host of family-friendly activities such as portrait sketching, stoop-ball and a henna tattoo artist, with a dance group performance at 2 p.m.
At 3 p.m., Queens Council on the Arts will cut the ribbon on its new location and invite the community for an open house to get to know the organization, which which supports local artists and arts groups with grants and professional development workshops.
Astoria pop/rock band Beecher's Fault will close out the block party with a live show at 5 p.m.
Neighboring Museum of the Moving Image will offer free admission on Saturday during the block party to celebrate its recently opened new courtyard space.
