november 21
Miami Book Fair International: The twelfth annual book fair continues its "Evenings With ..." series tonight at Miami-Dade Community College's Wolfson Campus Auditorium (300 NE Second Ave.) with author Walter Mosley (Devil in a Blue Dress, Black Betty), reading from his latest novel A Little Yellow Dog. On the campus's Breezeway, Spanish journalist and novelist Rosa Montero reads from her works (in Spanish). Tomorrow the series concludes with U.S. poet laureate and University of California at Berkeley English professor Robert Haas in the Auditorium reading from his latest collection Sun Under Wood. On the Breezeway Chilean poet Gonzalo Rojas reads from his works (in Spanish). All "Evenings With ..." events begin at 8:00. Also tomorrow, the book fair's Street Fair opens at 10:00 a.m., beginning a weekend of entertainment, book signing and selling, and readings by authors and personalities such as Michael Ondaatje, Susan Eisenhower, Art Buchwald, Ann Beattie, Robert Olen Butler, Ana Castillo, bell hooks, Roger Ebert, Esmeralda Santiago, Robert MacNeil, Michael Moore, Sapphire, Neil Simon, Scott Turow, Amy Tan, and Ben Katchor (creator of Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer, as seen in New Times). Admission to all book fair events is free. See our "Calendar Listings" for a list of book fair events, or call 237-3258 for a complete schedule. (GC)
Edouard Duval-Carrie: In his fantastic paintings, the Vodou spirits can show up in the guise of Haitian politicians or South Beach drag queens. In his bronze busts, they come alive as an enduring pantheon of esteemed patriarchs and matriarchs. Tonight at 7:00 the charismatic artist Edouard Duval-Carrie will visit the newly christened Miami Art Museum (formerly the Center for the Fine Arts, 101 W. Flagler St.) to talk about his work and share his bountiful knowledge of Vodou and its place in Haitian politics and culture. Lecture attendees can also view "The Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou" exhibition, which includes works by Duval-Carrie. Admission to the talk is three dollars. For details, call 375-1727. (JC)
Broward County Fair: Lights swirl, colors spin, and stomachs turn as the 21st annual Broward County Fair gets rolling tonight at Gulfstream Race Track (901 S. Federal Hwy., Hallandale). The fair features the expected multitude of high-flying, garrishly painted midway rides, of course, plus live music by pop band Blessid Union of Souls (tomorrow at 7:30), country legends Alabama (Monday at 7:30), vocalist Monica (Tuesday at 7:30), and disco kings the Village People (November 29 at 7:30), art, animal, and agriculture exhibitions, a White House miniature museum and exhibition of first ladies' gowns, a motorcycle daredevil show, and international foods. Admission is seven dollars (five for kids age six to eleven, free for tykes under six). Fair hours are 5:00 to midnight today and Monday through Wednesday, 5:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. tomorrow, noon to 1:00 a.m. on Saturday and on November 29 and 30, and noon to midnight on Sunday, Thanksgiving (November 28), and December 1. Call 954-963-3247. (GC)
Waylon Jennings: No one seems to have noticed, but Texas honky-tonk legend Waylon Jennings has spent the last few years making what might be the best music of his decades-long career -- not an easy task, considering the remarkable quality of his best late-Sixties/early-Seventies stuff. Two years back he hooked up with hotshot producer Don Was for Waymore's Blues (Part II), a magnificent updating of the classic Jennings sound: pulsating bass, incessant drums, flanging guitar, and the man's big, booming voice turning out songs that are smart, confident, and full of attitude and swagger. His latest, Right for the Time (his debut for the Houston indie label Justice), offers more of the same, with an even better band pushing Jennings along on new self-written stuff like "Cactus Texas" and "Living Legends Pt. II," a biting survey of the current country scene. And the man can still pull it off live, as you can find out for yourself tonight at 7:30, when Jennings takes the stage at the West Palm Beach Auditorium (1610 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd.). Tickets range from $20 to $25. Call 561-683-6012. (JF)
Star Trek Fundraiser: Trekkies unite to make sure the Miami Space Transit Planetarium (3280 S. Miami Ave.) lives long and prospers with a two-day celebration of the release of the latest Star Trek film. Today at 5:00 warm up for the movie as the Planetarium hosts a screening of all the "Borg" episodes of the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series; raffle prizes will be given away between episodes (raffle tickets cost a dollar and benefit the planetarium). Admission is ten dollars. Tomorrow at the same time, festivities continue at Mayfair in Coconut Grove, with Star Trek memorabilia, card tournaments, fan clubs, script parodies, and more prize giveaways. Finally, Cobb Mayfair Theater (3390 Mary St., Coconut Grove; 447-9969) presents Star Trek: First Contact (in which the U.S.S. Enterprise travels back in time to save the Earth from evil invaders) at various times throughout the day. Admission to all events is free except for the film screenings, which range in price from $3.75 to $6.50. Call 854-4247. (GC)
Expressionist Exploits and Surreal Sensations: The Wolfsonian (1001 Washington Ave., Miami Beach) and the Florida International University School of Design continue their series of milestone avant-garde art films from the Twenties. Tonight's program features Spanish director Luis Bunuel's legendary and strikingly bizarre 1928 short Un Chien Andalou, a collaboration with Salvador Dali that boasts some of the world's most famous surrealist film images, as well as a haunting tango soundtrack by Bunuel. Also on the bill is Russian director Dziga Vertov's first feature film, 1929's The Man with the Movie Camera, a boldly detailed montage of Twenties' Moscow and a textbook for advanced photographic techniques that include split screens, slow motion, and freeze frames. All films screen at 7:00. Admission is three dollars. Call 535-2634 for details. (GC)
friday
november 22
The Beth Hart Band: As one of the only acts on this year's Lollapalooza roster that didn't ooze testosterone, the Beth Hart Band captured the crowd with well-written, genre-defying rock tunes and emotionally and aurally powerful vocals. While the songs are amiable, what really gets to you is that voice: Her delivery cuts to the core of the matter, in the style of Ani DiFranco and Tracy Chapman, while her volume could put Melissa Etheridge to shame. Hart and her band make a tour stop tonight, backing her debut CD Immortal (on 143/Lava/Atlantic Records), at the Edge (200 W. Broward Blvd., Fort Lauderdale) with local bands Love Canal and Sixo opening the show. Tickets cost $5.94. Doors open at 8:00. Call 954-525-9333. (GC)
Miami Book Fair International: See Thursday.
Star Trek Fundraiser: See Thursday.
Broward County Fair: See Thursday.
saturday
november 23
Paul Winter Consort: Community Concerts continues its 40th anniversary season with a concert that spans the world's myriad musical traditions and natural sounds tonight at 8:00 at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts (174 E. Flagler St.). Soprano saxman Paul Winter has long drawn from diverse cultural sources and has also used the sounds of wolves, eagles, whales, and other wild animals to create what he calls "the greater symphony of the Earth." On his latest album Prayer for the Wild Things, Winter and his Earth Band incorporate the voices of 27 birds and mammals in an aural celebration of the Rocky Mountains. Tickets cost $15, $25, and $30. Call 538-2121. (GC)
Miami Book Fair International: See Thursday.
Broward County Fair: See Thursday.
sunday
november 24
Alphaville: The Cinema Vortex film series continues with French director Jean Luc Godard's notoriously unconventional 1965 science-fiction film Alphaville. Screening today at noon at the Alliance Cinema (927 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach), the film follows intergalactic hero Lemmy Caution (played by B-movie actor Eddie Constantine) on a mission to whack the inventor of the fascist computer Alpha 60; Godard irreverently blends sci-fi with pulp characters and surrealist poetry for a low brow-high art cinematic cocktail. Admission is four dollars. Call 531-8504. (GC)
Miami Hispanic Ballet: American Ballet Theater principal dancer Paloma Herrera makes her Miami debut with partner Damian Woetzel of the New York City Ballet and principal dancers from Argentina's Ballet Teatro Colón as they join Miami Hispanic Ballet artistic director Pedro Pablo Pena and the company for the Grand Gala '96 Pro-Festival today at 3:00 at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts (174 E. Flagler St.). Among the works on the program are La Fille Mal Garde, Diana and Acteon, A Buenos Aires, and the third act from Don Quixote. This gala fundraiser benefits the Second International Ballet Festival of Miami, hosted locally each fall by Miami Hispanic Ballet. Tickets cost $22, $32, and $42. Call 372-0925. (GC)
Holiday Fantasy of Lights: The turkey's not even dead yet, but the folks at Tradewinds Park (3600 W. Sample Rd., Coconut Creek) are already set to unveil the annual Holiday Fantasy of Lights display. Visitors drive through a 1.8-mile course featuring 50 larger-than-life illuminated and animated holiday scenes and characters (made of 750,000 lights!), including a juggling snowman, leaping deer, giant toys and teddy bears, a tunnel of lights, sports scenes, a 50-foot rainbow tree, and of course, Santa and his reindeer. The display is open nightly from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. through January 3. Admission is five dollars per vehicle Monday through Thursday, eight dollars Friday through Sunday. Call 954-968-3885. (GC)
Miami Book Fair International: See Thursday.
monday
november 25
University of Miami Symphony Orchestra: Conductor Thomas M. Sleeper leads the UMSO in four U.S. premiere works tonight at 8:00 at the Gusman Concert Hall (1314 Miller Dr., Coral Gables). On the bill are the overture from Cleophas R.E. Adderly's Bahamian opera Our Boys, plus Miami Sound Machine cofounder Raul Murciano's First Symphony; Alfredo Triff's tribute to the world of Miami Beach nightclubbing, The Night of Phantasmatic Purities; and John Van der Slice's Nautilus. Admission is ten dollars. Call 284-5813. (GC)
Broward County Fair: See Thursday.
Holiday Fantasy of Lights: See Sunday.
tuesday
november 26
Il Barbiere di Siviglia: The Florida Grand Opera opens its 51st season and celebrates the 400th anniversary of opera with one of the art form's longest-standing favorites, by Gioachino Rossini. Spanish opera star Manuel Lanza makes his company debut in the title role in the comic masterpiece Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) (performed in Italian with English projections), a romantic farce in which the barber Figaro helps the lovely Rosina find true love with Count Almaviva. Performances run tonight and Friday (November 29) at 8:00 and Sunday (December 1) at 2:00 at the Dade County Auditorium (2901 W. Flagler St.), then the opera moves to the Broward Center for the Performing Arts (201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale) for performances December 5 and 7 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets range from $18 to $100. Call 854-7890. (GC)
Broward County Fair: See Thursday.
Holiday Fantasy of Lights: See Sunday.
wednesday
november 27
Let Them Eat Turkey: Ever-generous Squeeze (2 S. New River Dr., Fort Lauderdale) celebrates Thanksgiving with an evening of music and giving. Local bands Black Janet and the Bellefires take the stage at 10:00, and a turkey will be sacrificed for a fundraising raffle (don't worry, kids, it's already dead). Bring a can of food and get a dollar off the five-dollar cover charge (the food goes to the homeless, so you can feel good about yourself while partying your buns off). Call 954-522-2151. (GC)
Broward County Fair: See Thursday.
Holiday Fantasy of Lights: See Sunday.