NYC Parks' World's Fair Anniversary Festival Draws Thousands to Flushing Meadows Corona Park

On Sunday, May 18th, Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski joined Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, Assembly Member Margaret Markey, and dozens of Queens cultural institutions and community organizations to welcome the public to a free all-day event in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, site of the original 1939 and 1964 World's Fairs.

Some 60,000 people turned out for the day-long celebration of the 75th anniversary of the 1939 Fair and the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Fair. The Fairs, celebrating the "World of Tomorrow" in 1939 and "Peace Through Understanding" in 1964, attracted approximately 96 million visitors over their runs. Sunday's celebration showed off the World's Park, which resulted from these two remarkable events.

"Flushing Meadows Corona Park was the site of a unique moment in history not once, but twice, as it welcomed people from every community in New York City and from all around the world to the 1939 World's Fair, and then the 1964 World's Fair" said Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski. "Today it is a unique park, the largest park in our borough and one we believe is the most diverse in the nation. We were delighted to see tens of thousands of people fill the park for our Festival and we hope they'll keep coming back to play on its sports fields, walk its trails, enjoy its gardens and visit its cultural institutions."

"The 1939 and 1964 World's Fairs were major events in our borough's history during which millions of people converged on Flushing Meadows Corona Park to enjoy an amazing array of exhibits, attractions, performers and foods from around the world," said Queens Borough President Melinda Katz. "The World's Fair Festival rekindled memories of those fantastic events and reminded us that the borough of Queens, the most diverse county in America, remains 'The World's Borough.' It is truly a special place where people can experience the incredible variety of cultural traditions celebrated by Queens residents who come from more than 100 countries and speak 138 different languages. It is also home to Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the crown jewel of our borough's park system and home to distinctive World's Fair landmarks like the New York State Pavilion, which I am committed to preserving so that future generations may appreciate its history and its distinctive Space Age design."

Assemblywoman Margaret Markey, Co-Chair of the World's Fair Anniversary Committee and Chair of the Assembly for Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development Committee, said: "This celebration brought the eyes of the world once again to Queens and the permanent legacy these historic World's Fairs have given us in the form of our magnificent Flushing Meadows Corona Park and the important cultural institutions now at home there. It has been a great honor to help shape the anniversary celebration and to have sponsored the commemorative performance of the Queens Symphony Orchestra and fireworks that brought this terrific day to an exciting climax. We all look forward to the many other anniversary events that continue throughout the borough as this anniversary celebration continues over the coming months. I urge everyone to see the full schedule of upcoming programs at the Queens Tourism Council's website, www.itsinqueens.com/worldsfair."

At the Sunday Festival, music lovers enjoyed an afternoon filled with free live performances by Japanese drummers Soh Daiko, jazz/funk group Yaz Band, experimental folk band You Bred Raptors?, Acapella Soul, Andean band Raices, and the all-female mariachi band, Mariachi Flor De Tolache.

For kids and families, there were 50-cent spins on the historic carousel, strolling magicians from the Society of American Magicians, storytelling and puppet shows, crafts, and a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Met.

For history buffs, John Krawchuk, NYC Parks' Director of Historic Preservation offered three tours of World's Fair-related structures and art on the park grounds, including a hard hat tour of the New York State Pavilion's "Tent of Tomorrow."

For food lovers, there was the return of the famous Belgian Waffle from the 1964 World's Fair, and foods from around the world, including Peruvian empanadas and Jamaican jerk chicken.

The program for the Queens Symphony Orchestra included a selection from "World's Fair Suite," a symphony composed for the 1964 World's Fair by Ferde Grofe.

Dozens of World's Fair Anniversary events continue throughout the season. At NYC Parks' Arsenal Gallery in Central Park, "Tomorrow's World: The New York World Fairs and Flushing Meadows Corona Park," a show devoted to lectures and exhibits of archival photos of the Fair, memorabilia and programs from it, will be featured next month. The exhibit, which is free to the public, will run from June 26 through August 27, 2014. Other events include: