Long Island City event round-up; December 1st-6th

Tuesday 12/1

• Now playing at Chocolate Factory: The Dream Express, running December 1st-19th (Tuesdays-Saturdays @ 8pm; no performances 12/15-17). “The legendary outlaw lounge act is back in town! New songs! New stories! New tattoos! More wisdom! More noise! Journey to the end of the night on the Dream Express, performed by Steve Mellor and Deirdre O’Connell.” 5-49 49th Ave, LIC, 718.482.7069

• Bar Domaine hosts local jazz musician Steve Blanco twice a week on Tuesday and Friday. 9pm-midnight. 50-04 Vernon Blvd, LIC, 718.784.2350

Wednesday 12/2

• Shi Restaurant is hosting karaoke on Wednesday nights. 4720 Center Blvd, LIC, 347.242.2450

Thursday 12/3

• The Secret Theatre Studio presents Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ on select dates from December 3rd-19th and January 1st-3rd @ 8pm. Matinee on Dec 19th & 20th @ 3:30pm. “‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ in Winter? Emphatically, yes [...] in director Katherine M. Carter’s energetic new staging of Shakespeare’s most beloved romantic comedy.” Tickets $15, also available online. 44-02 23rd St, LIC, 718.392.0722

• Latest restaurant opening on Vernon Blvd: El Ay Si officially pops tonight at 6pm. The menu is posted on their Facebook; in addition: “as a special thank you to all of our Facebook Friends, we are offering 20% off all bottled wine to all registered Facebook fans until December 31st, 2009. Please come join us, and make yourself at home!” 47-38 Vernon Blvd, LIC, 718.389.8781

• Bring your little ones in for a morning Storytime at Little Closets children’s consignment boutique at 11am. All ages welcome, readings usually last 20 minutes; email littleclosets@yahoo.com if you are interested in volunteering to read at a future Storytime. 46-46 Vernon Blvd, LIC, 718.707.0470

Friday 12/4

• Bar Domaine hosts local jazz musician Steve Blanco twice a week on Tuesday and Friday. 9pm-midnight. 50-04 Vernon Blvd, LIC, 718.784.2350

• Court Square Wine & Spirits hosts FREE wine tasting events every Thursday & Friday of the week from 4:30-7:00pm. 2420 Jackson Ave, LIC, 718.707.9911

Saturday 12/5

• Movement & Breath for Labor & Delivery at The Yoga Room, a workshop for the pregnant woman and her birth partner with Juliana Mitchell, 3-5:30pm. $60 per couple by 12/02/09, $65 per couple after 12/02/09. “The workshop, based on aspects of Yoga and steeped in the timeless tradition of the empowered birthing woman, is both informative and highly practical.” 10-14 47th Rd, LIC, 718.786.7962

• St. Mary’s Church is hosting a Holiday Flea Market from 9am-7pm in their Parish Hall Basement. Call 718.786.0705 for booth information. 1008 49th Ave, LIC

• Last week of ‘Cyrano de Bergerac,’ the inaugural production at the Secret Theatre‘s brand new 3000 sq ft, 100-seat theatre. Remaining dates: December 2nd-5th @ 8pm with a matinee on the 5th @ 3pm. Tickets are $15, on sale now. The 5th is also the Secret’s official Gala Opening Fundraiser Event from 5pm-7:30pm featuring a silent auction, gift bags, raffle prizes, art from Mark Kostabi, a signed copy of Tim Gunn’s book, a ribbon cutting ceremony and a champagne toast, as well as live music, drinks, and a free buffet and coffee provided by Manducatis Rustica. 4402 23rd St, LIC, 718.392.0722

Sunday 12/6

• Opening reception of Lauren Petty and Shaun Irons’ ‘Revolving Twilight’ at Chocolate Factory Theater, 4-7pm. Installation on view through January 16, 2010. “‘Revolving Twilight’ is an immersive video/sound installation inspired in part by tales from nautical lore, notions of optical phenomena and illusion, and neurological case studies exploring mental and visual perception, fragmented or dwindling memory, and cognitive disruptions.” 5-49 49th Ave, LIC, 718.482.7069

• St. Mary’s Church is having a Concert and Advent Prayer Service featuring their 1894 Mider & Sons Pipe Organ. The concert will be after the 5pm Advent Prayer Service, presenting Ms. Katie Meloan, Organist (Doctor of Musical Arts Candidate, Manhattan School of Music); program includes the popular “Prelude and Fugue in G minor” by Contemporary French composer Marcel Dupre. Free Will Offering. 1008 49th Ave, LIC, 718.786.0705

• Yoga Studio 6 is having a Holiday Sale from 2-5pm featuring fashion designs by Project Runway finalist Jillian Lewis and jewelry designs by Gaye Bassin. Refreshments will be served. 27 28 Thomson Ave, Work Studio 6 (1st Floor, inside Arris Lofts), LIC, 718.361.5515

• The Slovak-Czech Varieties store on Jackson Ave is having a Christmas Sale Party with European product tasting. Featuring hand-blown European Christmas ornaments, Christmas chocolates, crystal and art glass, wooden toys and games, dry salamis, sausages, cheeses, pastries, wafers, candy, and other European specialities. Each customer receives a gift as long as supplies last. 11am-5pm. 10-59 Jackson Ave, LIC, 718.752.2093

Continuing

• The Space‘s Fardom Gallery presents Radar Eyes, an exhibition of hallucinogenic prints featuring over 200 prints by more than 50 international artists. More work & installation by Sakura Maku in a nearby secret location. Runs through December 2nd. 25-17 41st Ave, LIC

• P.S. 1‘s fall exhibitions are now on view, including ’1969′ and ‘Between Spaces’. Exhibitions run through April 2010. 22-25 Jackson Ave @ intersection of 46th Ave, LIC, 718.784.2084

• Socrates Sculpture Park‘s EAF 09: Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition is on view through March 2010, featuring 16 artists awarded fellowships with the Park to create and exhibit their work in the outdoor studio. 32-01 Vernon Blvd (@ Broadway), LIC, 718.956.1819

Upcoming

• LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, Socrates Sculpture Park, and Chocolate Factory Theater, as part of the Place + Displaced project, invite you to a demonstration and discussion about the New York State Cultural Data Project, a powerful online management tool designed to strengthen arts and cultural organizations. Event takes place on Monday, December 7th from 6:30-8pm at LaGuardia Community College, RSVP here.

• P.S. 1 presents Saturday Sessions, a new program of emerging performance art that will take place on the second Saturday of each month; December 12th features Wayne Hodge and Daniel Perlin, in conjunction with Open Studios for ‘Rising Currents: Projects for New York’s Waterfront,’ 4-6pm.

• Ethereal Boutique is having a Holiday Fashion & Trunk Show at SHI Restaurant on December 16th, doors at 6pm, show at 8pm. Hair and makeup sponsored by Primp & Tease Salon.

• Coming up at the Secret Theatre: Shakespeare’s ‘Titus Andronicus’ running December 10th-13th, 16th-20th, and January 1st-3rd, 6th-9th @ 8pm, with matinees on Dec 19th and Jan 2nd @ 3.30pm. “Shakespeare’s early play, ‘Titus Andronicus,’ is known as a bloody revenge tragedy, but it also addresses issues about family vs. the state, and civilization vs. savagery. Director Rich Ferraioli’s version uses a stark, minimalist aesthetic to highlight these questions.”

• Flux Factory is having a Box Set Fundraiser on December 10th, a “stellar night of performances, music, free booze, and excellent people,” as well as “specially commissioned prints at extremely ridiculous prices.” Open bar cocktails start at 7:30pm, performances at 8:30pm, suggested donation $20.

• SculptureCenter‘s Winter Gala and fundraising event honoring Dan Graham, “one of the most influential figures in the field of contemporary art and theory,” is on December 10th, 6:30pm cocktails, 8pm dinner.

• Green Space Dance Studio presents Take Root featuring Jesse Philips-Fein & Trainor Dance for two nights in December, the 11th & 12th at 8:30pm, tickets $15. Green Space also presents Fertile Ground on December 13th at 7pm featuring Meredith Clinton/Oceane McCord, Tyler Ashley, Anisha Muni, Kaoru Ikeda, and Christina Briggs Winslow, tickets $10.