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This weekend the Kingsborough Community College Performing Arts Center will be presenting its annual outdoor summer concert series, also known as HOT SUMMER NIGHTS!

Tomorrow, Saturday, July 3, 2010 at 8 p.m., Patriotic Pops, a Brooklyn community wind and ensemble concert band, will be welcoming our nation’s Independence Day.

Below is a list of the upcoming concerts and performances scheduled. For those of you who have never made it to any of these concerts, you are missing out on something rare and wonderful. Gentle summer breezes, great music, seating near the water, free parking or just take public transportation, all at no cost to you. As an added bonus, in case of rain, the concert moves indoors to the theater. That’s a guaranteed evening of summer fun.

Here are the details:
Kingsborough Community College
2001 Oriental Boulevard
Brooklyn, NY 11235
in Manhattan Beach
Public transport & Directions: Take the B1 or the B49 to the last stop (Mackenzie Street)

Saturday, July 3, 2010 at 8 p.m.: Brooklyn Community Wind Ensemble & Concert Band
Brooklyn’s beloved band, conducted by Ray Wheeler, pays musical tribute to Independence Day with their ever-popular Stars and Stripes Forever Concert.

Saturday, July 10, 2010 at 8 p.m.: Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
PRO’s Scott Joplin and the Original Kings of Ragtime Concert saluted by the New York Times as “abidingly energetic fun”.

Saturday, July 24, 2010 at 8:00 p.m.: The Danny Repole Swing Band
Audiences will be dancing in the aisles at the ever-popular Swing Under the Stars Concert, featuring such golden chestnuts as Moonlight Serenade, Tuxedo Junction, and Take The A Train.

Saturday, July 31, 2010 at 8:00 p.m.: Vagabond Opera
This highly accomplished – and seriously madcap – concert performance is equal parts New Opera, Vintage Americana, European Cabaret, and old world Yiddish theatre.

Note: Links added.

Photo courtesy of Paypaul via Flickr

Kingsborough Community College is booming this year, as a record high number of students pad the school’s budget and spur program growth.

While all of the city’s other community colleges were forced to roll back application deadline dates for the current Fall semester, Kingsborough Community College remained the only two-year public higher education institution that accepted all eligible students. The result was a massive 16 percent leap in enrollment, to a teeming 17,821 registered students.

The increased numbers haven’t stressed the system, according to Thomas Friebel, Dean of Enrollment Management at KBCC. Instead it’s led to some long-awaited improvements. Continue Reading »

Kingsborough Community College invites everyone to Hot Summer Nights!

The Free Concerts at Kingsborough 2009 series is listed on the website as follows (with some added links):

PATRIOTIC POPS
BROOKLYN COMMUNITY WIND ENSEMBLE & CONCERT BAND
SUNDAY JULY 5 – 7:30PM

Continue Reading »

Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joseph Biden, visited Kingsborough Community College to wish the 2009 graduates success and best in their future.

Dr. Biden is a highly accomplished educator of 28 years, having earned her Doctorate in Education from the University of Delaware. Today, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from officials at the City University of New York.

In her keynote address, she congratulated the students and spoke about her career-long commitment to higher education and community colleges.

During her speech, she singled out three special graduates who overcame tough circumstances to fulfill their educational dreams. One of those graduates she mentioned, Guyanese native Jacqueline Carter-Cutting, was highlighted in an article in today’s New York Daily News.

Ms. Carter-Cutting told the Daily News that she “fell in love” with New York after September 11, and decided to emigrate here from Guyana. With her degree in nursing, she is planning on helping U.S. soldiers injured on the front lines. Both she and her daughter, Sharika Carter, were awarded their diplomas in today’s graduation ceremony.

Dr. Biden seemed to bring the sunshine in with her beaming smile and optimistic outlook, since the day started with rain and clouds that simply dissipated as she entered the stage.

Her speech brought roars from the crowd, as she told the graduating students,”You inspire me”. But, the roars completely drowned out her words when she said the name of our new President, Barack Obama, and told the crowd that “the President’s goal is to once again, have the highest proportion of college graduates by the year 2020.”

Her speech showed how inspired she is by community college students. She gave back some of that inspiration to the graduates in her closing remarks. Dr. Biden advised the graduates to share some of this inspiration with others they know:

Always see in others what they are capable of becoming. See it. Pass it on. You need to inspire them. Show them the good that can come from a great education. Show them what they’re capable of. Show them above all else, that they can do it, too.

Everyone who heard Mrs. Biden appeared uplifted and we wouldn’t be surprised if applications to Kingsborough Community College grow a thousand fold — and not because of the private beach.

(Photo courtesy of Bobby Bank)