Dutch Cuisine Past & Present

King Manor Presents Delicious Dutch Foods & Recipes

October 16, 2011 / Jamaica Neighborhood / Food & Wine / Queens Buzz. In tandem with the NY Open House and the Historic House Festival weekend, King Manor selected an historic food theme that would have pleased New Amsterdam Mayor Peter Stuyvesant.

There were two sections to this historic presentation. The first was a reenactment of colonial Dutch cooking by Diane G. Fish, who is a living historian with a specialty in Civil War reenactments. To the delight of all there, including myself, she’s also an avid foodie who’s well acquainted with Dutch cuisine. And the second section was a lecture and presentation by a renowned historian and food writer, Peter G. Rose. Peter took us back to the Dutch kitchens in the Netherlands of the 1700’s and traced the migration of Dutch foods into the colonial world.

Many of the things she would discuss, we had the opportunity to sample prior to the lecture … click here to read the rest of our report on Dutch cuisine & recipes in Queens New York.

King Manor Brings Dead Back To Life

Spirits Of Dutch & Colonial Queens Reawakened

October 15, 2011 / Jamaica Neighborhood / Queens History / Queens Buzz.  It’s easy to forget Queens colonial past some 200 - 400 years ago, as so much has happened since then.  But October is the time to reawaken long lost spirits and I’m happy to report I witnessed just such a reawakening at King Manor in King Park in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens this past weekend.

New York Open House and the Historic House Trust got together this year and held their annual weekend extravaganza this past weekend, with food as the historic theme.  So King Manor put together a program celebrating Dutch cuisine and its influence on American fare, and in the process gave us a tour and an education about one of the signers of the U.S. Constitution and a strong, outspoken advocate against slavery.

Click here to read our report about King Manor and Rufus King in Jamaica Queens.

York College Commencement 2011

Graduates Encouraged To Pursue Their Aspirations In Math & Sciences

June 3, 2011 / Jamaica NY Neighborhood / Queens Buzz. On Friday June 3rd, the 41st commencement of York College took place. Aprille Ericsson, Ph. D. was the commencement speaker. Aprille talked about her life, growing up in the middle of 20th century America, when African Americans were still fighting for equality.

She grew up in Brooklyn, was bussed to public schools, and demonstrated a high aptitude for mathematics and sciences, which enabled her to gain acceptance into schools with strong math and science programs. When she graduated she went to work for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which is most frequently referred to as NASA. She spent the bulk of her career an Instrument Manager and Aerospace Engineer [aka rocket scientist] at NASA, working on various projects spanning nearly three decades.

Click here to read the rest of our brief report on York College Commencement 2011 in Jamaica NY.

York College - Jamaica Queens

Emerging Powerhouse In Central Queens

March 21, 2011 / Jamaica Neighborhood / Queens Buzz. I had occasion to visit York College to learn more about one of the four CUNY [City University Of New York] colleges in Queens.

The four CUNY colleges in Queens are geographically dispersed throughout the borough, including locations in Long Island City [LaGuardia Community College], Flushing [Queens College], Jamaica [York College] and Bayside [Queens Borough Community College].

York College and Queens College are four year Baccalaureate degree awarding colleges, which also offer several Masters degrees; while LaGuardia and Queens Borough Community Colleges are two year Associates degree awarding colleges. CUNY also has a Law School which will be re-located from Flushing to Long Island City [LIC] in the fall of 2011.

Click here to read our full report, including numerous photos, about York College and the York Performing Arts Center.

Kwanzaa Celebration In Jamaica Queens

January. The Afrikan Poetry Society sponsored a free viewing of the now famous Kwanzaa film entitled 'The Black Candle'. The film is a documentary about the origins of Kwanzaa in the U.S. and around the world. The film shows how African Americans began to reconstruct their culture following four centuries of enslavement and discrimination in this country. The celebration contains many universal guidelines to be used by groups, even nations, struggling to regain their lost freedoms and self-direction. There are lessons in this film for everyone.

Irie Jamboree Reggae Rocks

Jamaica / September 7, 2009. The seventh annual Irie Jamboree rocked Queens this past Sunday. There were some twenty of the top reggae musicians from all over the country and Caribbean who came to play at this increasingly popular concert. Thousands of Queens residents flocked to the concert to enjoy a great day of warm sun, great music and delicious food. The concert was held on the York College Campus in the Jamaica section of Queens ['Jamaica' does seem like a fitting place for a reggae concert]. Spice is shown on the big screen at the Jam. Click here to view a full report and Irie Jamboree 2009 photos. Needless to say, a good time was had by all.

Metro Poles: Art In Action

Art Exhibit Resonates In Community

Jamaica / January 17, 2009. Metro Poles: Art In Action was a 'live exhibit' sponsored by JCAL and other city art cultural organizations. The exhibit was the brainchild of Heng-Gil, the artistic director [check both name and title for final draft] of JCAL.

We made three visits to this exhibit in an effort to better understand it, as when we first covered the story it was a bit unclear as to exactly what the idea was and how the artists would develop it. It turned out to be something of an experience for us and in the end we became a part of the exhibit itself.

Click here to read the rest of the story, including many more photos of Metro Poles: Art In Action at JCAL in Jamaica Queens.

Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concerts

At JCAL In Jamaica Queens

Jamaica / Queens Buzz. The newly formed 'Air & Space Trio' performed at JCAL on Thursday evening in their concert auditorium. The group played a mix of classically inspired jazz using vocals, the trumpet, vibraphone and percussion as their instruments.

Jamaica Center For Arts & Learning - JAYU

Jamaica / Queens Buzz. I traveled down to the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens on Saturday, October 25, 2008 to listen to JAYU, an Asian jazz musical quartet. While I had expectations going down there, I came back truly excited about what I had heard. What follows is a brief story of 'An Evening With JAYU' at JCAL [Jamaica Center For Arts & Learning.

Queens Reggae Festival Cancelled

7th Annual Irie Jamboree - On Hiatus Until 2011

July 2010 / Jamaica / Queens Buzz. Queens most popular annual reggae festival has been cancelled this year. The seventh annual Irie Jamboree will NOT occur in Roy Wilkins Park on Labor Day Weekend 2010. Event organizers cited several reasons, but it appears the most significant was economic / sponsorship funding. Event organizers exhausted potential options, before reaching the decision to cancel the event this year. They also asked us to communicate thanks to all of those who worked on, and / or supported the reggae festival, which they intend to revive Labor Day Weekend of 2011. The photo shown is of a performance given at the Irie Jamboree in 2009 and contains a link to our coverage of the Irie Jamboree.