Join us for our very special Mother’s Day Open House & Block Party on Sunday, May 11, 2025, 12-4pm with activities for the whole family. This year AUNTS, a collaborative dance platform producing simultaneous dance/performance/parties, is co-hosting with Martita Abril to bring us a vibrant, abundant Dia de las Madres.
Come by for live music, dancing, bilingual Drag Story Hour, make your own art stations with local artists QNS Collaborative & Squeeze Collective, Solar Cooked Hot Dogs with Steven Wendt, Mascara making with David Reyes, Migratory River Puppet Parade with Greg Corbino, cookie decorating with Little Chef Little Cafe, grilled hot dogs & veggie dogs, popcorn, lemonade, performances, magic shows, face painting, bubbles, Piñatas and more! We’ll be accepting clothing & food donations up to a week leading to the event for Astoria Food Pantry.
Ongoing Events
Food
Grilled Hot Dogs, Veggie Dogs, Popcorn, Drinks
Cookie Decorating with Little Chef Little Kitchen
Decorate a cookie for a loved one!
Solar Cooked Hotdogs! with Steven Wendt
Multitalented performer and solar cooking enthusiast Steven Wendt will use the power of the sun to cook real hot dogs. Using giant fresnel lenses, multiple solar ovens and a rotating spit, come enjoy sun-cooked hot dogs with Steven.
Vinyl & Cassettes Sessions with Stephanie Acosta, Martita Abril and more!
Honoring the music of our mothers, aunties and grandmothers
Máscaras Workshop with David Reyes
Paint a special mask with David and take it with you!
Face Painting with Eva Lewandowski
Tiny Art Show with QNS Collaborative
We’ll be hosting Tiny Art Show, an interactive art exhibit that invites the community to create pocket sized works of art and display them in a pop up gallery. Participants can either leave their art for others to enjoy or take it home as a keepsake.
Poster Making Workshop led by Squeeze Collective
We will facilitate a public workshop focusing on sign making. Inspiration will be drawn from the community and block party participants. Two examples of signs are: “no littering” and “grow more trees.” The primary emphasis of the workshop will be poster layout and lettering
Puppet Making and Parade led by Greg Corbino
Make your own puppet inspired by the migratory species of the New York Waterways and hold on to it to join the parade at 3:30pm
Donations for the Astoria Food Pantry
Accepting Donations of Cereal, Oatmeal, Cooking oil, boxed Mac & cheese, Pasta, Tomato sauce or canned tomatoes, Canned fish (especially with pop-top cans), Snacks for kids of all ages, Baby wipes and diapers (especially sizes 4/5/6), Menstrual pads. Drop off on the day or in advance (5pm – 6:30pm May 6 – 10)
Scheduled Events
La Banda – Live Music with grupo Directos de la Sierra
12pm – 1pm
Performance Excerpts with Carlos Cruz Performance Project, Anna Sperber and Cart Lady
1pm – 2pm
Drag Story Hour (bilingual in English & Spanish)
2pm – 3pm
Drag Story Hour NYC produces storytelling and creative arts programs for children and teens, presented by local drag kings, queens, and royalty, in libraries, schools, and other community spaces in all five boroughs of New York City. Through fun and fabulous educational experiences, our programs celebrate gender diversity and all forms of difference to build empathy and give kids the confidence to express themselves however they feel comfortable. This event is in Spanish and English.
Karaoke with Papi Shiitake and guest appearance Mami Los Rodriguez
3pm
Puppet Parade with Greg Corbino
3:30pm
A joyous parade with made-on-site puppets inspired by the migratory fish and other species of the Hudson River and New York waterways.
Magic! with Nathan Thompson
4pm
A roving magic show by the incomparable 24th street magician, sure to delight the eyes and minds of all ages.
Printing courtesy of i2print.
BIOS:
AUNTS is about having dance happen. AUNTS constantly tests a model of producing dance/performance/parties. AUNTS is about being gracious in this world.
Martita (Pichu) Abril is a performer, choreographer, and teaching artist from the border city of Tijuana, México.
Drag Story Hour NYC produces storytelling and creative arts programs for children and teens, presented by local drag artists, in libraries, schools, and other community spaces in all five boroughs of New York City, and virtually. Through fun and fabulous educational experiences, our programs celebrate gender diversity and all forms of difference to build empathy and give kids the confidence to express themselves however they feel comfortable.
Multitalented performer and solar cooking enthusiast Steven Wendt will use the power of the sun to cook real hot dogs. Using giant fresnel lenses, multiple solar ovens, and a rotating spit, come enjoy sun-cooked hot dogs with Steven.
Little Chef Little Cafe is Long Island City’s premier health-conscious cafe offering delicious food to take home, along with coffee, smoothies, salads, and bowls.
Astoria Food Pantry aims to bring people together to provide material support and build trust based on common interests. The group was founded in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and believes in solidarity, not charity.
QNS Collaborative is a Queens-based community organization dedicated to expanding the definition of creativity and making creative practice accessible to all, regardless of whether they are a newbie, a hobbyist, or a working professional. We currently host a twice-monthly Craft Club at the Astoria Food Pantry and run a Free Secondhand Art Supply Shop that recycles and re-homes unwanted art supplies from neighbor to neighbor.
Squeeze Collective is an artist initiative based in Queens, NY, dedicated to offering free art workshops in public spaces. Founded in 2021, the Squeeze Collective has organized workshops within the Queens NYCHA community, Astoria Open Streets, Astoria Food Pantry, and Huerto Roma Verde, a community garden located in Mexico City.
Greg Corbino is a trans-disciplinary artist, puppeteer and educator whose work investigates how object performance crafted from plastic detritus and engaged by community can create queer ecologies of care and action in public space.
