Queens Borough President Melinda Katz and state Assembly Member Margaret Markey, the co-chairs of the World’s Fair Anniversary Committee, will host a press conference on Friday, March 28 at 11:30 a.m. to announce the scheduling of a six-month series of events to celebrate the 50th and 75th anniversaries of the 1964 and 1939 World’s Fairs, which were held in what is now Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens.

      The press conference will take place in Flushing Meadows Corona Park at the Unisphere, the huge globe erected for the 1964 World’s Fair that has since become a cultural icon known worldwide as a symbol of Queens.

     Among the events to be announced on Friday will be an opening ceremony at the New York State Pavilion at 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday, April 22. That date will be exactly 50 years to the day after the 1964’s World Fair opened to the public.

     This year’s opening ceremony will be followed by a rare opportunity for the public to tour the New York State Pavilion. The tours will take place between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22.

     Another event to be announced Friday will be NYC Parks’ “World’s Fair Anniversary Festival,” a day of great food, great rides, live entertainment, World’s Fair memorabilia and more that will be co-sponsored by the Queens Borough President’s Office and held in Flushing Meadows Corona Park on Sunday, May 18.

     A variety of Queens cultural institutions will also be holding World’s Fair Anniversary events this year that will be part of the schedule of festivities to be released at Friday’s press conference.

     Also to be released Friday will be a brochure on World’s Fair Anniversary events produced by the Queens Tourism Council, a division of the Queens Economic Development Corporation and a member of the World’s Fair Anniversary Committee. In addition, the Queens Tourism Council will unveil a website Friday offering up-to-date information on World’s Fair Anniversary events.

     Borough President Katz and Assembly Member Markey are hosting the press conference in their capacities as co-chairs of the World’s Fair Anniversary Committee, an umbrella group that includes elected officials, the City’s Parks Department, the Queens Tourism Council and the participating cultural organizations that will be hosting World’s Fair Anniversary events. Katz and Markey will offer remarks during the press conference along with representatives from NYC Parks, NYC and Company and other members of the World’s Fair Anniversary Committee. 

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     The additional organizations represented on the World’s Fair Anniversary Committee include the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Conservancy, the  Louis Armstrong House Museum, the Museum of the Moving Image, the New York Daily News, the New York Hall of Science, the New York Mets, the Noguchi Museum, the Port Authority of NY & NJ, the Queens Botanical Garden, the Queens Chamber of Commerce, Queens College, the Queens Historical Society, the Queens Museum, the Queens Theatre and the United States Tennis Association.

WHAT: A press conference announcing a slate of events marking the anniversaries of 1939 and 1964 World’s Fairs

WHEN: Friday, March 28 at 11:30 a.m.

WHERE: The Unisphere at Flushing Meadows Corona Park

Parking for the press will be available in the parking lots of the Queens Museum, just steps away from the Unisphere

In case of inclement weather, the press conference will be held in the lobby of the Queens Museum on the same date and time.