Flushing Town Hall Announces Lineup of Free, Virtual Programming For May

As arts presenters citywide have temporarily closed their doors due to COVID-19, Flushing Town Hall has gone virtual, engaging audiences online through its free series, FTH at Home!, which successfully launched in April and continues with an all-new lineup in May. The series presents streamed concerts on Friday nights, arts education activities for children, and live gatherings for public participation - including a jazz jam and Zoom community hangs.

As May marks Asian Pacific Heritage Month, Flushing Town Hall is especially excited to present Crazy Talented Asians & Friends on May 30, which will feature an hour of animated shorts at 6:00 PM, followed by an hour of live comedy at 8:30 PM - including comedians Michael Kayne, Dylan Adler, Otter Lee and Overstep Comedy, and their friends.

While all FTH at Home! programming is presented free of charge, those who are able and moved to do so are encouraged to donate to the Step Up for Flushing Town Hall campaign, which will provide vital funding to supplant the staggering loss of earned revenue.

"If you have ever enjoyed a program at Flushing Town Hall or turned to the arts in times of joy or sadness, we ask you to please consider a tax-deductible gift today," said Executive & Artistic Director Ellen Kodadek.

"We are committed to maintaining our beautiful and historic hall and to retaining our staff. We are acquiring new technology to facilitate remote work. We are paying our teaching artists to generate new content. But of course, these commitments all come at a cost, and we can no longer count on ticket sales during this pandemic. We must rely on the generous support of those who value our work."

Flushing Town Hall's Education team continues to provide support for schools and families by sharing arts content online through FTH at Home: Global Arts for Global Kids. Students from 14 NYC schools have enjoyed educational videos since March, with accompanying study guides on topics as diverse as the Queens community. Students can explore Colombian music with teaching artist Martin Vejarano, Chinese dance with teaching artist Ling Tang, Indian dance with teaching artist Abha Roy, and pop-up artwork with teaching artists Spica Wobbe and Karen Oughtred. In May, students can learn Mexican dance with teaching artist Alberto Lopez and African drumming with teaching artist Vado Diomande.

The popular video series has been warmly received in virtual school classrooms, as well as senior centers, and received over 2,500 YouTube views in April.

Each Friday at 7:00 PM, viewers can look forward to a live, FTH at Home: Facebook Watch Party!, which will stream prior shows at the venue. May will feature performances from: Korean drumming group Light & Beat; Latin Grammy-winner Gustavo Casenave and his quartet; Joe Kye and Jason Chu, whose show Migrants presents a hip hop story set to looping violins and percussive beats; Karrin Allyson and the Roberta Piket Sextet, who pay tribute to the jazz compositions of Marian McPartland; and a Korean, chamber music ensemble taking listeners on a journey from Bach to Piazzolla.

Finally, Flushing Town Hall will continue to host live, online gatherings for public participation:

The next Virtual Jazz Jam: Celebrating the Legacy of Louis Armstrong will take place on May 13 after its first-ever session online in April. Led by Carol Sudhalter, the traditionally in-person Jazz Jam is one of the organization's most beloved, monthly gatherings. Flushing Town Hall is now inviting 20 jammers from anywhere in the world to register for participation, and audiences will be able to tune in and watch live from either Zoom or Facebook.

For friends of the organization and community members looking to connect, Flushing Town Hall will continue hosting a weekly Zoom Community Hang every Thursday at 1:00 PM that is open to all, as well as a dedicated hang on Fridays at 5:00 PM exclusively for artists in Queens.

May 2020 Schedule:

Global Arts for Global Kids

ALL DAY, EVERY DAY

Teachers and families can access Flushing Town Hall's growing archive of instructional arts videos with at-home activities for children here: http://www.flushingtownhall.org/fth-at-home-gagk

Zoom Community Hang

THURSDAYS @ 1:00 PM

URL: https://zoom.us/j/444441183 or join by phone: (646) 558-8656

Meeting ID: 444 441 183

Zoom Hang for Queens artists

FRIDAYS @ 5:00 PM

URL: https://zoom.us/j/283009195 or join by phone: (646) 558-8656

Meeting ID: 283 009 195

Live, Facebook Watch Parties

FRIDAYS @ 7:00 PM

https://www.facebook.com/flushingtownhall

May 1: Light & Beat from Korea

May 8: Gustavo Casenave Quartet - A South American Jazz Tale

May 15: Joe Kye, Migrants

May 22: Roberta Piket Sextet featuring Karrin Allyson - Celebrating Marian McPartland

May 29: A Journey - Bach to Piazzolla

Virtual Jazz Jam: Celebrating the Legacy of Louis Armstrong

WEDNESDAY MAY 13 @ 7:00 PM

To watch live, tune in to Facebook or Zoom.

To participate, email education@flushingtownhall.org and identify the 3- to 4-minute tune you intend to play.

Crazy Talented Asians & Friends: an evening of live comedy & animated shorts

THURSDAY MAY 30

@ 6:00 PM ANIMATION SHORTS @ 8:30 PM LIVE COMEDY
http://www.flushingtownhall.org/fth-at-home-ctaf

Stay tuned to the organization's website for more details, coming soon.

Flushing Town Hall's facilities are temporarily closed to the public in accordance with COVID-19 safety regulations. Flushing Town Hall's latest statement pertaining to COVID-19 can be found here.