This summer families can pack their blankets and huddle outside to enjoy free outdoor movie screenings at Socrates Sculpture Park, the Queens Museum of Art, Noonan Park in Sunnyside and Astoria Park.

Socrates Sculpture Park, at 32-01 Vernon Blvd., Long Island City, will have its 14th Annual International Film Festival, which also includes music, dance and food. The sculpture-filled park that overlooks the Manhattan skyline will host screenings every Wednesday from July 4 until Aug. 22 at sunset.

Aug. 6 marks 50 years of independence for the island of Jamaica — what better way to celebrate than with a game of Monopoly?

Laurelton resident Earnest Flowers, president of Crown Media Communications, partnered up with USAopoly to create a Jamaica-themed Monopoly game, scheduled to come out the week of the island’s independence day anniversary.

Expanding bus service between Jamaica and Flushing, extending the Air Train route to make traveling to the Resorts World Casino easier, adding hotels, office space and retail — these are just some of the ideas the Regional Plan Association envisions as possibilities for the future of Jamaica.

The RPA, an independent urban research and advocacy group, presented its ideas to the Greater Jamaica Development Corp., an organization dedicated to increasing commerce in the downtown area, at the group’s semi-annual meeting on Nov. 10.

When it comes to shipping cargo to any destination most people will undoubtedly say they look for a carrier that is safe, fast and reliable. Econcaribe meets all those standards and more. The company has been serving customers since 1968 and has a proven track record of excellent service.

Jamaica Avenue overflowed with thousands of people who were treated to everything from gospel music to a fashion show and the work of area artists.

Friday night and Saturday afternoon's Jamaica Arts and Music Summer festival - JAMS — now celebrating its 15th anniversary, or 16th year running — was a convergence of cultures. Grilled shishkebab, corn on the cob and Italian funnel cakes were just some of the gastronomical options for the festivalgoers. And food was not the only cultural variety to be found at JAMS. A whole world was represented at the festival. Walking down the avenue it was common to see people from India, various African countries, the Caribbean and the Muslim world.

One night when she was just 15 years old and living in England, Joy McLaughlin’s stepfather came into her bedroom while she slept and did the unthinkable.

Hidden under a crate and surrounded by heavy construction material, the current condition of the already worn Colonial-era millstones in Queens Plaza has preservationists outraged. They say the lack of concern for these historic artifacts that have been part of the streetscape since the 1600s is shameful.

On a recent Sunday, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Jamaica gathered in a second-floor conference room for their weekly meeting. During the sacrament prayer, members ate pieces of bread and drank thimble-sized plastic cups filled with water instead of wine because Mormonism requires abstinence from alcohol, as well as tobacco, gambling and even caffeine.

Where’s the food?

The 2.2 million people of Queens face a major blow to the borough’s public library system, if the proposed city budget cuts go into effect on July 1. The potential $20 million dollars in cuts by the city and state governments would reduce the library’s overall budget by 21 percent and result in limited hours, fewer programs and services, and all libraries closed on weekends.

When TD Bank celebrated the opening of a new branch at 188-10 Hillside Ave. in Hollis last weekend, the event wasn’t just about executives, tellers and depositors.

Jan & Dean

On a recent afternoon in Astoria Park, the sun reached through the trees, over the East River and around the base of the Triboro Bridge, warming sunbathers, joggers and people strolling along the criss-crossed foot paths.

On a quiet residential street in South Ozone Park sits a vintage building. Its modest brown brick exterior is serene, with the exception of a bright blue banner hanging above the door, which reads: “School Sisters of Notre Dame Education Center For Women.”

Three Lutheran parishes in Queens plan to meet the challenge of dwindling congregations by sharing ministers rather than closing down churches.

EXHIBITS

Florida’s Emerald Coast is the 60-mile section of the state’s panhandle region ranging from Fort Walton Beach on the west to Panama City Beach on the east. The emerald refers to the sparkling bright green waters of the neighboring Gulf of Mexico. Those waters, often an incredibly clear aquamarine color, combined with sugary white sand that is derived from pure quartz, have made these beaches arguably the most beautiful in the United States and rival those of the Caribbean.

Rejoicing and remembering what it is to be a woman was the focus of the Women’s History Month celebration on Friday at Queens Hospital Center in Jamaica.

Jamaica lost a well-respected resident and tireless community advocate with the recent death of Dr. Canute Bernard.

On Wednesday, September 15th, the Chateau Royale catering hall in Richmond Hill hosted a sneak preview of the new film “Guiana 1838.”

Although not a single line of graffiti has appeared on the mural of St. Albans’ jazz greats and sports stars since it was first painted beneath the Long Island Rail Road station 20 years ago, the elements, unfortunately, have not been so kind.

Music Featured At Poetry Bldg. Fundraiser

Native Am. Pow-Wow Readied For Weekend