By Sabina Cardali
Summer is in full swing and so are Poppenhusen Institute's free Summer Park Concerts at MacNeil Park, 5th Avenue and College Place. All concerts are on Sundays at 6 p.m.We have already had the July 4 Thomas Jefferson and the Band of Long Island, a 30-piece band that performed patriotic music. We then had “Risky Business,” which performed the oldies music of the '50s and '60s. July 18 was to be Savannah Sky performing country music with the Poppenhusen Line Dancers and instructors Ellen and Ira Lengel. And on Sunday Phil Costa and the Something Special Orchestra will perform the sounds of the Big Bands.There also are free children's shows at MacNeil Park on Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. The next will be “Sleeping Beauty” performed by the Swedish Cottage Puppets in the Park. There will be a special puppet-making workshop to follow at 11:30 a.m. Registration is required for Tuesday's workshop.Knights of Columbus Day will include a charitable softball game featuring the Kings County Knights of Columbus Has Beens vs. the Queens County Knights of Columbus Wanna-Bees. The game will benefit the New York State Council Charitable and Benevolent program Sept. 11 at noon at the Ozone-Howard Little League, 149th Avenue and Centerville Street, Ozone Park, NY.There will be a home-run derby, children's 7-ball game and Squires youth game. The rain date is set for Sept. 12 at 2 p.m. Admission is $5 per person, $20 for families of four or more and free for children under 10. Food and soda will be available.Sponsorship opportunities: Game sponsor Ð 50 C&B books or $500; player participation Ð five C&B books or $50; sponsorship of any base or position Ð five C&B books or $50; each half-inning sponsor Ð five C&B books or $50; umpire sponsor Ð five C&B books or $50. For more information, contact Francis Boccabella at 718-738-8653, Kenneth Latham at 718-649-7266, John DeMonte, DD at 718-279-4123 or Lamonda Spicer, DD at 718-964-9634.St. John's University has been approved by the State Education Department as a provider of the required course work in the identification and reporting of child abuse and maltreatment. The state requires a course for health and school professionals for state licensing. Identification and Reporting of Child Abuse and Maltreatment will be Tuesday, Aug. 3, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. There is a fee of $35 ($28 for SJU alumni). For information, please call 718-990-5796 or 718-990-2164.The next marriage encounter weekends will be Aug. 20 through Aug. 22 and Oct. 1 through Oct. 3. For information to register, call 718-533-9483.Remember for a family trip, take the Queens Culture Trolley. Borough President Helen Marshall and other officials announced the start of this cultural trolley to increase tourism in Queens. It links six hotels at LaGuardia Airport to the Queens Museum of Art and Flushing Mall. It comes every hour and only takes 10 minutes to get to Flushing Meadows. The trolley will run through to the end of August.The trolley runs among the Flushing Mall, the Queens Museum of Art and the six hotels near LaGuardia Airport on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The cost per passenger is $2. For group information, call Fred Fu at 718-358-7228.Important notice: Credit card scammers are still at it with a new twist. They claim they are from the fraud department of your credit card company and ask for information on the back of your card. They already have the information on the front of your card. Immediately hang up and call your credit card company and the Police Department. Do not give any credit card numbers or information to anyone who telephones you. Make sure your credit card is canceled and a new one issued. Sabina Says É Hope everybody is having good family fun.
