Join us for our very special Fourth Annual Mother’s Day Open House & Block Party on Sunday, May 10, 2026, 1-5pm with activities for the whole family. Returning 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 and collectives like Queens Collaborative, join a dance class with LIC Salsa School, enjoy Solar Cooked Hot Dogs and Shadow Puppets with Steven Wendt, cookie decorating with Little Chef Little Cafe, flower bouquet making, grilled hot dogs & veggie dogs, popcorn, lemonade, performances, a Magic Show, face painting, bubbles, Piñatas and more! We’ll be accepting clothing & food donations at the event for Astoria Food Pantry.
Ongoing Events & Food
Grilled Hot Dogs, Veggie Dogs, Popcorn, Drinks & a special surprise from Chef Dylan
Cookie Decorating with Little Chef Little Kitchen
Decorate a cookie for a loved one!
Solar Cooking! with Steven Wendt
Multitalented performer and solar cooking enthusiast Steven Wendt will use the heat of the sun to cook real hot dogs, peppers and onions & chocolate chip-cookies. Multiple solar cooking methods include a giant fresnel lens, a concave mirror, tubular solar ovens and a rotating spit, come enjoy sun-cooked hot dogs with Steven.
Vinyl & Cassettes Sessions with Stephanie Acosta
Honoring the music of our mothers, aunties and grandmothers
Flower Bouquet Designing! with Matt Mahoney
Create works of art from nature itself with outdoor educator and beloved CF box office staff Matt Mahoney.
Face Painting! with Julia Crowley
Celebrate the sunshine with customized face painting by artist and performer Julia Crowley.
Coffee Filter Flower Making! with Queens Collaborative
Queens Collaborative will be hosting Coffee Filter Flower Making, an all-ages friendly craft table where folks will turn paper coffee filters into colorful flowers using just markers, pipe cleaners, and water. Participants are invited to make their favorite bloom or a whole bouquet. All supplies are provided, including kid-friendly scissors for little hands.
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 5 – 9).
Scheduled Events
La Banda Xavy Vázquez
1pm – 3pm
La Banda kicks off our block party with live guitar and music led by band leader Xavy Vázquez!
Shadow Puppets! with Steven Wendt
1:50pm
Scientist Steven will perform an excerpt from “Plato Caves: Screens vs Shadows” and teach all ages a few hand shadow puppetry tricks!
Drag Artists for Expression NY (bilingual in English & Spanish)
2pm – 3pm
Drag Artists for Expression NY return for the fourth year. DAE 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.
Learn Salsa Dancing with LIC Salsa School!
3pm
Find your rhythm and join us for a Salsa dance lesson on the block, guided for absolute beginners through expert movers, even for the tiny toddler feet, followed by open social dancing.
Karaoke! with Charmaine and guest appearance Mami Los Rodriguez
3:45pm
Piñata!
4:30pm
we all know what we need to do here 🙂
Magic! with Nathan Thompson
4:45pm
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.
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.
Julia Crowley has provided face painting services at many holiday fairs and birthday parties over the years, including with the Princess Party Company with American Immersion Theater. As a professional performer and a semi-professional clown, Julia has spent much of her time creating eccentric characters and bringing them to life with makeup.
Steven Wendt is a performer and devised theater creator. He has performed in the Blue Man Group and he received the Puppeteers of America Jim Henson Innovation Award in 2023 for his hand shadow and abstract puppetry work in This & That which premiered at The Chocolate Factory Theater in 2022. stevenwendt.com
