Comes to the
Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson Community Garden
On Saturday, September 19, Queens Legacy Lab will bring I GET FUNNY to the Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson Community Garden in Jamaica, Queens. The experience begins before the first comedian touches the mic. Music, photography, community programming and live comedy will share one space, while QLL’s Community Enterprise program uses the activation to advance a clear objective: get young people paid while building their skills, experience and networks. The setting matters. The garden bears the name of Queens native Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, but it is also a community asset with the potential to become part of a larger network of relationships. QLL views September 19 not as a one night use of the space, but as the beginning of a relationship that Community Enterprise participants can continue to support and strengthen.
From 5:30 to 6:45 PM, the garden will host an interactive Photoshoot & Community Mixer featuring music, programmed activities and free flowing conversation. TaoShoots will document the experience while working alongside a Community Enterprise participant interested in content creation, turning the activation into an opportunity for applied learning alongside an experienced creative. Other participants will contribute through business administration, event operations, guest engagement, community outreach and responsibilities aligned with their developing interests. At 6:45 PM, the garden will be cleared and reset for the second experience of the evening. From 7:00 to 9:00 PM, Darkskin Randy and Cookie will host I GET FUNNY, featuring Queens comedians Steve King, Mike Sweeting, Dave Romero, Flyboi Kris, and more. The performance will also be taped for an upcoming I GET FUNNY series, allowing the work, talent and relationships assembled in the garden to reach beyond the audience present that evening.
This approach is grounded in an established history of community engagement. QLL Executive Director Dr. Christopher Teel hosts #KickballQU, #Supportfest and #TrunkortreatQU, where the message is simple: “IT’S SCARY WHEN WE COME TOGETHER.” He has also long served as the Queens host of A Better Jamaica’s Family Movies in the Park tour at Cambria Heights, Brookville, Baisley Park, St. Albans Park and Rufus King Park. Community Enterprise builds upon that foundation by asking a more consequential question: What can these relationships produce for young people? Rather than treating community events as isolated moments, QLL is developing an ecosystem where partners share spaces and networks, professionals share knowledge and access, participants contribute their developing skills, and community engagement becomes a pathway to education, employment and opportunity.
That is why data matters to I GET FUNNY. Attendance can tell QLL how many people came. It cannot, by itself, explain what their presence created. QLL will examine how many young people were paid, what responsibilities they assumed, what skills they practiced, how many people were introduced to the garden, what professional and community connections emerged, what content was produced and which relationships continue after September 19. Community Enterprise participants are encouraged and rewarded for building meaningful community connections because those relationships have value. When a participant gains experience, a partner opens access to another network, a professional shares knowledge, or a new relationship produces another educational or employment opportunity, the impact of an activation begins to compound. The comedy show ends at 9 PM. The value of the activation will be measured by what continues afterward.