BY TRAV S.D. | April 2019 marks the 80th Anniversary of the groundbreaking 1939 New York World’s Fair. To mark the occasion I’ve booked two talks at two related locations, one in Brooklyn, one in Queens.

Sunday, April 28, 3pm: Backstage at the ’39 World’s Fair | The 1939 New York World’s Fair was famously held at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park (some of the structures are still there). I am thrilled to be able to mark the occasion with this illustrated talk about the fair, which I’ll be presenting at Queens Theatre, located deep in the heart of the former fairground itself.

The World’s Fair was a veritable wonderland of futuristic visions, staffed by many of the performers I write about, from burlesque performers like Gypsy Rose Lee, to a wide variety of sideshow performers, to impresario Billy Rose’s Aquacade water show. The World’s Fair also had positive and negative impacts on another of our favorite subjects, Coney Island. I hope you can come join us—it should be an afternoon to remember, Get tickets here.

Saturday, May 4, 5pm: Coney Island and the World’s Fairs | To continue our World’s Fair theme, as part of Coney Island USA’s Congress of Curious Peoples, I’ll be giving this illustrated talk on how all the major World’s Fairs impacted Coney Island’s amusement district, as indeed nearly every one of them did, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. So many of innovations we associate with Coney actually began at the World’s Fairs. The Ferris wheel? The parachute jump? That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Strap your safety belt on for a talk as colorful and entertaining as its topic! Included with Coney Island Museum Admission, $5 for Adults, $3 for Seniors, Kids (under 12) and residents of zip code 11224. Free for members of Coney Island USA! Purchase tickets at the door. More details here.

The above article first appeared on Travalanche: The observations of actor, author, comedian, critic, director, humorist, journalist, m.c., performance artist, playwright, producer, publicist, public speaker, songwriter, and variety booker Trav S.D. Visit Travalanche at travsd.wordpress.com.

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