Just like the weather, the Queens outdoor season is hot, hot, hot. Annual events include a powwow, dance fest, and film festival. Pop-up events include sidewalk chalk fun, bird birthdays, and beekeeping.
July 26, Thunderbird American Indian Powwow, July 28. This 45th annual friendly competition attracts more than 40 Indian Nations – including Cherokee, Hopi, Matinecock, Navajo, and Shinnecock – from around North America and the Caribbean. Plus, a craft-and-food market peddles beadwork, ceramics, embroidery, food, jewelry, and stones. Bonfires and dance circles are planned for Friday and Saturday nights. Queens County Farm Museum, 73-50 Little Neck Pkwy., Glen Oaks.
July 26, Riddim & Jazz Festival, July 28. Three days of live music with emerging and established talent. Grammy-winning crooner Samara Joy headlines this year’s lineup along with Roy Hargrove Big Band and Cocomama. Jamaica Performing Arts Center, 153-10 Jamaica Ave., and Rufus King Park across the street.
July 26, Warm Up 2024, 4 pm. Now in its 26th season, Warm Up presents live DJ sets and shows on a stage designed by Stewart Uoo. This night’s lineup features UNIIQU3/Newark EASYFUN/UK Klein/Parkwuud Entertainment/UK African-American Sound Recordings/DOT Audio Arts/New York. MoMA PS1, 22-25 Jackson Ave., Long Island City.
July 26, Footloose, Aug. 11. Concord Theatricals presents this 1984 musical about a teenager who moves from Chicago to a small town where he tries to overturn a ban on dancing. The 8 pm shows are on July 26, 27, and Aug. 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, and 10. The 2 pm shows are on July 28 and Aug. 4 and 11. Rockaway Theater Company, Building T-4 , Fort Tilden.
July 26, Love and Basketball, 8:30 pm. An outdoor screening of a 2000 film about childhood adversaries and talented athletes who have a love for the game of basketball and each other. They pursue their dream of basketball success through high school, college, and the pros, but along the way they must face their own personal hurdles. Rufus King Park, Jamaica Avenue at 153rd Street.
July 26, Opening Reception: An Afro-Latinx Mixtape, 6 pm. Curated by Adrian Bermeo, this show exhibits artists’ visual interpretations of such musical genres as Hip-Hop, Jazz, Motown, Reggaeton, Rumba, Bomba, Salsa, Blues, and Reggae. Artists include Bermeo, Anthony Newton, Cameron St. Clair, Carlos Mateu, Catalina Baselli, Charlie Pastelle, Edgar Moza, Gian GFX, Gilly Lugo, Ingrid Mathurin, Irene Fernandez, Lisa Wilde, Sasha Lynn Roberts, Steven Luna, and Teri Gandy- Richardson. Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning, 161-04 Jamaica Ave.
July 27, Junk Dump Film Festival, July 28. This fourth annual fest screens shorts by emerging and underrepresented filmmakers at the intersection of video art and storytelling. The two-day program includes narrative, animated, and experimental work by artists using unique processes to tell singular and engaging stories. Screenings are followed by discussions with the filmmakers. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.
July 27, Fool’s Paradise Garden Party, noon. A seven-hour, outdoor, social experience for city-dwellers to dress up, create beautiful picnic plots, and experience fresh air in the backdrop of a city-scaped green space. Queens Botanical Garden, 43-50 Main St., Flushing.
July 27, Fun with Sidewalk Chalk, noon. Three hours of free chalk art facilitated by Syesha Danielle, who’s also known as “Homeless Heart.” After a period of homelessness, she became an independent artist, humanitarian, community builder, and activist. King Manor Museum, 150-03 Jamaica Ave.
July 27, Beekeeping Workshop, 10 am. Master Beekeeper Walter Blohm discusses beeculture’s benefits and the role honeybees play in the food supply. Local honey from BHS hives will be on sale. Bayside Historical Society, 208 Totten Ave., Fort Totten.
July 28, Mexican Folkloric Ballet of New York’s Guelaguetza, noon. The Dance of the Pineapple is a big draw to this show, which includes folk music, traditional costumes, food, and friendship. The Zapotec word “guelaguetza” translates as “offering” or “reciprocal exchange of gifts or talent.” Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Blvd., Long Island City.
July 28, Zikrayat, 6 pm. The Jackson Heights Beautification Group’s Summer Sundays program continues with traditional Arabic music and dance led by Flushing Town Hall Deputy Director Sami Abu Shumays. Travers Park at 78th Street and 34th Avenue.
July 28, Queensborough Dance Festival, 1 pm. Performances by Cucala Dance Company, IMMA KAT, Monali Nandy Mazumdar, Ricardo “El Niño” Osorio Silvana, Brizuela Weigel, and The Kingdom Dance Company. Rufus King Park, 150-29 Jamaica Ave.
July 28, Birdy Birthday, 1:30 pm. VOM’s founding benefactor, Elisabetha Orth, was an avid birder. It was her wish that VOM offer water, seed, and haven to feathered friends year-round. Commemorate her birthday with the Queens County Bird Club. Voelker Orth Museum, Flushing.
July 30, Fabio Rojas Quintet, 7 pm. The Live at the Gantries series continues with Venezuelan drummer and film composer Fabio Rojas. His quintet will present a repertoire of original compositions, characterized by improvisation and a variety of rhythms, embodying the essence of Modern Jazz. Gantry Plaza State Park, Long Island City.
July 31, Italian Nights Series 2024, 7 pm. New York City Police Symphony Band performs as part of National Crime Night Out with support from the 114th Precinct Community Council. Athens Square Park, 30th Street and 30th Avenue, Astoria.
Aug. 1, Flamenco Latino in Concert, 7:30 pm. This Queens-based troupe presents a night of Flamenco, Tap, and Hip-Hop dancing. Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning, 161-01 Jamaica Ave.
Aug 1, Strawberry Fields, 7:30 pm. Central Astoria LDC’s Summer Concert series continues with this Beatles tribute band. Astoria Park Great Lawn, near Astoria Pool.
Aug 1, Rick Larrimore’s Blonds Have More Fun, 7:30 pm. This group performs hits by Rod Stewart as part of the Forest Park Summer Concert Series. George Seuffert Bandshell, Woodhaven Boulevard and Forest Park Drive, Forest Park.
Aug. 1, Spitfire, 7 pm. The Free Summer Concerts in the Park series, presented by the Northern Woodside Coalition and Goliard Concerts, rocks on with a night of classics from the 1970s and 1980s. Collins Triangle, Broadway and 59th Street, Woodside.
Aug. 2, Festival of Cinema NY, Aug. 11. This eight-annual endeavor screens about 100 independent films and organizes workshops, panel discussions, improv classes, and other related activities. Regal UA Midway, 108-22 Queens Blvd., and Forest Hills Library, 108-19 71st Ave., with a special screening at Queens Center Mall.
Aug. 2, Buster Keaton in Sherlock Jr., Aug. 11. Directed by Buster Keaton, this 1924 silent comedy follows a lovestruck projectionist who falls asleep during a show and dreams he has entered the film as a detective. Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.
Aug. 2, Free First Friday, 11 am. On the first Friday of every month, admission is free. (Reservations are strongly suggested.) The Noguchi Museum, 9-01 33rd Rd., Long Island City, www.noguchi.org.
