The Roosevelt Island Artists Association (RIAA) is calling for Island artists of all mediums and styles to become involved in the first annual Queens ArtFrenzy next month.  The three-day event will start with an opening reception Thursday, May 17, and run through Sunday, May 20.

Sponsored by the Queens Council on the Arts and the Long Island City Business Development Corporation, the festival will encompass events in Long Island City, Astoria, and Sunnyside, as well as Roosevelt Island.

Island artists interested in participating should call 613-0006, leaving a name and phone number if a machine answers.

Visitors to the event will be able to take free shuttle buses from a main tent at Court Square Park to a planned range of museum and gallery openings, theater pieces, a film festival at two locations including Kaufman Astoria Studios, literary events, musical events featuring a variety of styles, a boxing tournament, a "cyberCity Street Fair," and a food court.  Fireworks are planned for Gantry State Park (across from Southpoint), along with a concert by the Queens Symphony Orchestra.  Children's mural projects will be conducted by well-known muralists, according to ArtFrenzy's press kit.  Three bus loops will be offered:  an "open-studio loop," a "cultural institution/studio loop," and an "open studio/Kaufman loop."

Participating institutions, in addition to RIAA, include the Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum, PS1 Contemporary Art Center, the Center for the Holographic Arts, the MTA, and the Museum of Modern Art.  Additional information is available on the event website at www.artfrenzy.net.