Rock Around the Block with Queens Art Express This Saturday

It’s the mother of all block parties. This Saturday, Attenborough Naftel, an artist duo from Sunnyside, will get things started by creating an oversized stoop for an all-day game of creative stoopball. Then Free Style Arts will provide paintbrushes attached to fishing poles so attendees can create Jackson Pollack-ish drip paintings. This LIC group will also operate Remote Control Canvas, where those present draw with markers or crayons attached to remote-controlled cars that they zoom around on a large street canvas (below). Valerie Green Dance Entropy will get in on the fun with the performance piece Splash! (above), complete with brightly colored water buckets, of course. Other options at this Queens Council on the Arts event will be a Henna tattoo artist, hands-on activities facilitated by Materials from the Arts and food vendors. The extravaganza will end on a high note with a live performance by Beechers Fault, an indie band that strives to create music filled with raw emotion. Details: QAX Block Party, 37th Street between 34th and 35th avenues, Astoria/LIC, June 22, 1 pm – 6 pm with ribbon-cutting for QCA’s new venue.