Calendar for the week

thursday
july 17
Zo's Summer Groove: Under all that scowling and snarling he does on the court, the Miami Heat's Alonzo Mourning has a soft spot for kids. This weekend Zo hosts a series of charity events for children, including tonight's kickoff Mourning Knight Gala, a black-tie dinner at 6:30 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Miami (400 SE Second Ave.) featuring a silent auction and performances by Kenny Lattimore and Oleta Adams. Tomorrow the Summer Groove concert at the Miami Arena (721 NW First Ave.) starts at 7:00 p.m., with Hootie and the Blowfish, Warren G, the Braxtons, Adriana Evans, Eric Benet, Nu Flavor, and the Refugee Camp All-Stars (with the Fugees' Wyclef). And Saturday Mourning does what he does best at the Miami Arena in an exhibition basketball game with his all-star friends, including Allen Iverson, Gary Payton, Scottie Pippen, Grant Hill, Dikembe Mutombo, Glen Rice, and Juwan Howard (finally playing in Miami, sort of). The coaches for the game are Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, and Queen Latifah. All proceeds from Zo's Summer Groove benefit the Children's Home Society and 100 Black Men of South Florida. Tickets start at $15. Call 372-8107. (JO)

Beethoven by the Beach: The Florida Philharmonic wraps up its all-Beethoven summer festival this weekend. Tonight at 7:30 p.m. conductor James Judd leads pianist Jean-Louis Steuerman, the Philharmonic, and the Philharmonic Chorus (directed by Paul Eisenhart) in Symphonies no. 2 and 6 (Pastoral) and Choral Fantasia, op. 80, with a preconcert discussion at 6:30 p.m. at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts (201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale). Tomorrow the fest continues with a chamber music concert at the Broward Center's Opera Center at 1:00 p.m., and a performance of Symphonies no. 1 and 7, and Ah, Perfido! featuring soprano Camellia Johnson, at the Broward Center at 7:30 p.m. (also preceded by a lecture at 6:30 p.m.). Finally the fest ends on Saturday with four events: a Beethoven seminar at 10:30 a.m. at the Opera Center; Camp Beethoven for kids at 2:00 p.m. at the Broward Main Library (100 S. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale); a piano sonata-thon with Steuerman at 3:30 p.m. at the library; and a performance of Symphonies no. 8 and 9 (Choral), with the Philharmonic Chorus, at the Broward Center at 7:30 p.m. (also preceded by a lecture at 6:30 p.m.). Tickets cost $20 and $25. Call 930-1812 for more information. (GC)

Angels in America: The New Theatre (65 Almeria Ave., Coral Gables) presents Tony Kushner's multiple Tony Award-winning theater epic Angels in America, opening tonight at 7:00 p.m. Subtitled A Gay Fantasia on International Themes, the work explores personal and global themes regarding AIDS, sexual politics, world politics, and the future. Part I, Millennium Approaches, runs through August 17; Part II, Perestroika, runs August 28 through September 28. Performances take place Thursday and Sunday at 7:00, and Friday and Saturday at 8:00, with a 1:00 p.m. matinee Saturday and Sunday. Tickets cost $30 per play, $50 for both. Call 443-5909 for reservations. (GC)

friday
july 18
Come Out Laughing: The Miami Light Project continues its gay and lesbian comedy series with New England comics Julie Dano and Bob Gautreau performing tonight and tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. at the Colony Theater (1040 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach). The Boston-based Gautreau has been called a "cyclone of pop culture," going through a repertoire of more than 200 celebrity voice impressions (including Bruce Springsteen, Truman Capote, and Bette Midler) at breakneck speed. Dano, a native of Portland, Maine, went from being a "food transportation specialist" (waitress, of course) to one of the North's top up-and-coming comics in just two years. Tickets cost $15. Call 531-3747. (GC)

The Belle of Amherst: Not only are Emily Dickinson's poems enigmatic to tenth-grade English students; her life remains equally enigmatic to the rest of us. Long considered a shy yet brilliant recluse, Dickinson actually enjoyed a much richer life than previously believed. William Luce's The Belle of Amherst, opening tonight at the Hollywood Boulevard Theatre (1938 Hollywood Blvd.) as part of the theater's summer season, celebrates the poet's comedic wit, passionate genius, and astounding powers of observation through liberal use of her works. Carbonell Award nominee Ellen Simmons portrays Dickinson as a charming and complex woman, and she plays Dickinson assuming the roles of her father, teachers, and friends. Tickets cost $18. Performances run Thursday through Saturday at 8:00 and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. through August 10. Call 954-929-5400. (GC)

Zo's Summer Groove: See Thursday.
Beethoven by the Beach: See Thursday.
Angels in America: See Thursday.

saturday
july 19
Tropical Agriculture Fiesta: Highlighting South Florida's tropical fruits and plants, this annual event at the Fruit & Spice Park (24801 SW 187th Ave.) boasts more than 60 vendors and exhibitors from a variety of nurseries, parks, and garden clubs. Also appearing are chefs from local restaurants offering those ever-popular cooking demonstrations and experts giving advice on growing and cultivating tropical fruits; activities for the kids include a petting zoo. Today's live entertainment is steel drum musician David DeSouza, while tomorrow country group Bandwagon performs. Festival hours are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is two dollars for adults, half-price for children between six and twelve (free for tots under six). Call 247-5727. (JO)

South Florida Mortified: Bands from the local Christian rock scene gather to help one of the genre's pioneers from 1:00 to 10:00 p.m. today at the University of Miami's Wesley Center (1210 Stanford Dr., Coral Gables). Steve Rowe, lead singer of the Australian Christian heavy metal band Mortification, was diagnosed with acute lymphatic leukemia last fall, and he continues to fight the disease despite having had a bone marrow transplant. Adjust, Ash Wednesday, Confusion Soup, Evangerine, Frank's Enemy, Life of Riley, Set Apart, and North Carolina's Soterios are set to perform. Admission is by donation (all proceeds go to Rowe and his family); a minimum of five dollars is requested. Call 274-9818. (GC)