Downtown Flushing (wikicommons)
June 6, 2018 By Tara Law
A three-day expo taking place in Flushing later this month aims to promote the neighborhood as a destination for food, business and culture.
The expo, named “Flushing’s World Fair,” will take place from June 15 through June 17 and will showcase the area’s international cuisine, rich history and thriving industry.
The event will include tours, food and cultural crawls, as well as formal presentations for business leaders that will focus on tourism and commerce.
Presentations targeting business leaders will take place at the Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel at 135-20 39th Ave., while tours for all-comers dedicated to food and culture will begin at several locations throughout Flushing.
The expo is being organized by the Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce and Asian Americans for Equality, which aim to promote the neighborhood.
“Flushing businesses offer an incredibly rich and diverse mix of culture from around the globe in one convenient location,” said Doris Koo, the interim executive director of Asian Americans for Equality. “We want to share this jewel of the city with the rest of the world and give local businesses the support they need to tell their engaging stories.”
The expo will offer attendees guided tours of Flushing’s historical sites and industrial zones, as well as discounts to restaurants and cultural facilities in the area.
The discounts are contained in a “Passport to Flushing” booklet, which will be available at various locations, including the Sheraton LaGuardia and Dumpling Galaxy at 42-35 Main St.
The expo will feature tours led by Queens Borough Historian Jack Eichenbaum.
Eichenbaum will guide a tour through the neighborhood’s Chinese and Korean commercial districts on June 15 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The tour will pass through Flushing’s Chinatown; the Korean commercial area from Union Street to Northern Boulevard; and end at the predominantly Korean Murray Hill area.
The tour will convene at Coop Restaurant at 133-42 39th Ave. Tickets for the tour are $20.
Eichenbaum will also lead a tour of the religious sites in Flushing on June 17. The tour will visit New York’s oldest house of worship, the 1694 Quaker Meeting House, as well as more recent religious buildings frequented by the neighborhood’s immigrant community.
The tour will convene at the meeting house on 137-16 Northern Boulevard and conclude near the Main Street /Roosevelt Ave (7) subway station. Tickets for the tour are free.
Those who wish to attend either tour should register at the Flushing World’s Fair’s website.
There will be presentations at the Sheraton LaGuardia– starting at 10 a.m. June 15– from experts on tourism, hospitality and social media. There will be panel discussions throughout the day.
For more information about these and other events, visit the World’s Fair website
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