Juneteenth Storytelling Celebration with April Armstrong

DATE: June 19, 2026
TIME: 7 PM 
LOCATION: Flushing Town Hall Gallery, 137-35 Northern Blvd, Queens, NY
General Admission: FREE; RSVP recommended

On June 19, 1865, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned they were free. Juneteenth, as it's now known, is celebrated annually to honor the end of legal enslavement in the United States and a tradition of gathering, remembering, and telling the truth and stories about how we arrived in this moment.

Flushing Town Hall marks the holiday with an evening of storytelling and song led by April Armstrong, actress, singer, and National Storytelling Network award winner whose work has long centered the histories and voices of the African diaspora. Armstrong draws on folk traditions, spirituals, and the oral storytelling forms that have carried Black history across generations. She will be joined by a trio of musicians: Mario E. Sprouse (piano/keyboard), Ayodele Maakheru (guitar and banjo), and Napoleon Revels-Bey (drums).

All are welcome. We hope to see you there.

About the Artists

April Armstrong is an award-winning storyteller, singer, and actress whose work breathes life into history through a blend of music and narrative. A 2024 AUDELCO Award winner for Best Actress in a Musical, Armstrong has spent recent years touring her acclaimed one-woman show, Two Wings to Heaven: The Bessie Coleman Story, a work that honors America’s first Black female aviator. Known for her high-energy performances, Armstrong has graced legendary stages from the Apollo Theater to the National Black Theatre Festival. She is a recipient of the National Storytellers Network’s 2020 J.J. Reneaux Emerging Artist award and her debut CD, The Cat Came Back, earned a Parents' Choice Silver Award.

Mario E. Sprouse (piano/keyboard), Ayodele Maakheru (guitar and banjo), Napoleon Revels-Bey (drums)

Parking Information: Flushing Town Hall has a small parking lot at the rear of the building, which fills up quickly during events. Additional paid parking is available nearby at:

PEC Parking – 35-15 Farrington St, Flushing, NY 11354
The Farrington Parking – 33-66 Farrington St, Flushing, NY 11354

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  April Armstrong

  April Armstrong divides her profession between storytelling, acting, and singing.

  As a storyteller, April performs stories in person and virtually for schools, libraries, museums, historic sites and corporate events throughout the US, Jamaica and Indonesia. She and her jazz trio have performed her storytelling concert, Stories and Songs with a Jazzy Twist at Flushing Town Hall, Abrons Art Center Theater, Apollo Theater and Kravis Center. She was awarded the 2020 J.J. Reneaux Emerging Artist Award from the National Storytelling Network and won the 2015 BRIO Award for Storytelling from the Bronx Council for the Arts. April performed as featured storyteller for the 2020 National Association of Black Storytellers’ Conference Gala, the National Storytelling Network Conference, the Grapevine, Story Space and the Clearwater Festival. Her debut CD “The Cat Came Back” won a Parent’s Choice Award (Silver).  

  April’s acting bio includes Off-Broadway productions, Broadway National Tours such as CAROUSEL and RAGTIME, and roles at regional theatres include The Guthrie, American Musical Theatre of San Jose, and American Repertory Theatre, among others. On film, her voice can be heard in the movie WASHINGTON SQUARE, directed by Aneskia Holland. She has appeared on shows on Comedy Central, Showtime and NBC networks. 
  
  As an educator, April has been teaching for over 25 years offering curriculum-related programs and residencies for students from pre-K to high school. Themes and subjects include: storytelling, drama, comedy improv, music and poetry of the Harlem Renaissance, playwriting, music, collage and oil painting. She is a teaching artist at Flushing Town Hall and has taught for Lincoln Center Institute, Apollo Theater, Theatre Development Fund, Center for Arts Education, Henry Street Settlement, and Carnegie Hall's "Link Up." April holds a Bachelor of Music from Manhattan School of Music and a Master of Arts in Music Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

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