Calendar for the week

saturday
february 21
South Miami Arts and Crafts Festival: Hurry, this may be your last chance to experience the small-town charm of South Miami before the behemoth known as the Shops at Sunset Place flings open its doors. Today and tomorrow from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. along Sunset Drive (between Red Road and South Dixie Highway) more than 200 artists display their wares and compete in this juried show, food vendors offer ethnic eats, and five musical acts entertain. Kiddies can keep busy with storytellers, games, mimes, hands-on art activities, and presentations from the Museum of Science, Sea World, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center, and many others. Admission is free. Call 665-7065. (NK)

Jose Greco II Flamenco Dance Company: Before there was flamenco sex symbol Joaquin Cortes, there was legendary stomper Jose Greco. Leader of his own Spanish dance ensemble, Greco and his company toured the world more than 30 times from the Forties until the Nineties. These days his son Jose Greco II has taken over the dancing duties and has formed a company of his own -- with Dad's blessing, of course. Tonight at 8:00 the troupe performs for you at the Jackie Gleason Theater of the Performing Arts (1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach). Tickets range from $22 to $47. Call 673-7300. (NK)

Washington's Birthday Regatta: Coconut Grove pioneer Ralph Middleton Munroe, who built an environmentally correct residence, the Barnacle, and was commodore of the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, organized an informal regatta in 1887 to commemorate George Washington's birthday. Over the years the event became more raucous and rowdy than civil and sporting. In 1997, 110 years after the first race, the Barnacle Society decided to throw a regatta more in line with Munroe's intentions. The tradition continues today from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and is open to all sailing vessels of conventional design. Hungry sailors can enjoy a postrace barbecue at 4:00 p.m. Events take place at the Barnacle (3485 Main Hwy., Coconut Grove) and in Biscayne Bay. Entry fee is $15. Call 448-9445. (NK)

Rising Stars Festival: See Friday.

sunday
february 22
AIDS Walk Miami 1998: For the past ten years the Health Crisis Network has been sponsoring this AIDS fundraising walkathon, an event that has grown from several hundred to more than 20,000 participants. This year HCN is not so healthy itself: This means the people to whom they offer their services -- counseling, case management, education -- are suffering even more than usual. In short, they need your help. Collect some pledges, take a few steps, and contribute to a good cause. The 10K walk starts and ends at Bayfront Park (301 Biscayne Blvd.). Registration begins at 9:00 a.m. Call 751-9255. (NK)

Rising Stars Festival: See Friday.
The Elixir of Love: See Friday.
South Miami Arts and Crafts Festival: See Saturday.

monday
february 23
Florida Philharmonic: You're probably familiar with Richard Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra; it was on the soundtrack to Stanley Kubrick's disturbing sci-fi flick 2001: A Space Odyssey (and a host of television ads). Since we are edging toward the millennium, a performance of the bombastic orchestral work seems timely. And what better place in which to hear it than the grand Gusman Center for the Performing Arts (174 E. Flagler St.), home of the twinkly ceiling. Tonight at 8:00 conductor Derrick Inouye leads pianist Leon Fleisher and the Florida Philharmonic in Strauss's work and Brahms's elaborate Piano Concerto no. 1. Tickets range from $17 to $75. Call 930-1812. (NK)

tuesday
february 24
Picasso at the Lapin Agile: The clash between art and science continues to fascinate many people, especially comedian Steve Martin. He wrote this play, which premiered off-Broadway to rave reviews in 1995. (For a taste of Steve Martin's writing ability, see his occasional columns in The New Yorker.) Set in 1904 at bohemian hangout the Lapin Agile (the Nimble Rabbit), the story imagines a meeting between Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein. Both twentysomething men are on the verge of something big: for Einstein it's the theory of relativity, which he will publish a year later; for Picasso it's his cubist masterpiece Les Desmoiselles d'Avignon, which he will paint in 1907. In the meantime they take a few moments to embark on a comic and sometimes serious discussion of life, lust, painting, probability, and the future. The cast of the New York production re-creates their roles here: Comedian Paul Provenza portrays Picasso and Mark Nelson stars as Einstein. The show runs through March 15 at the Parker Playhouse (707 NE Eighth St., Fort Lauderdale). Performances are at 8:00 tonight through Saturday, with a 2:00 p.m. matinee on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. Tickets range from $39 to $43. Call 954-763-2444. (NK)