Thursday, October 1
With Miami's lack of beloved autumn traits, like crisp air and fall foliage, the least a local could do is go
This Thursday through Sunday at O Cinema Wynwood, the fest will premiere four international films, accompanied by six shorts. Opening night begins with the Florida premiere of the anthology film Tales of Halloween, featuring shorts by filmmakers such as Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II, Repo! The Genetic Opera), Lucky McKee (May, All Cheerleaders Die), and Neil Marshall (The Descent, Doomsday). The premiere of the supernatural film The Diabolical continues the scary fun Saturday. Starring Ali Larter (Final Destination), the movie follows a mother protecting her two young children from a strange presence tormenting their quiet suburban home. Creature Feature fans will get a treat Sunday with Howl, a tale about passengers on a midnight train who find themselves under attack by a terrifying pack of werewolves. Closing night, Monday, brings the star-studded flick Bone Tomahawk, a horrific Western starring Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, and Richard Jenkins. Set in the small town of Bright Hope, the film follows a gun-slinging sheriff (Russell) who sets out to rescue settlers kidnapped by cannibals.
The opening reception for Popcorn Frights Film Festival begins at 9 p.m. Thursday at O Cinema Wynwood (90 NW 29th St., Miami), with films screening at 11 p.m. nightly. Single-day tickets cost $12, and a four-day festival badge costs $45. Call 305-571-9970 or visitpopcornfrights.com.
As far as selfies are concerned, Miamians have it down to an art. But suppose those photos told more about us than good lighting and new lipstick? With #WeAreMiamians, locals have a chance to give viewers a glimpse of the city's neglected inner beauty as well. Presented by the Lowe Art Museum's Lowe After Hours, #WeAreMiamians is an Instagram project that captures and shares the stories of the individuals within the city who represent the vibrant culture and history of Miami — similar to the popular Instagram project Humans of New York. Photographers of all levels can participate now through September 30 by capturing the essence of their #WeAreMiamians in a pic or video and then uploading it to Instagram. Don't forget to share your subject's story in the caption of your post and tag @WeAreMiamians to enter and win. Entries will be showcased at Lowe After Hours this Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Lowe Art Museum (1301 Stanford Dr., Coral Gables). The posts with the highest engagements — AKA likes and comments — will win cash prizes: first place, $1,500; second, $750; and third, $250. You can follow @WeAreMiamians to view more posts and size up the competition.
Admission to the awards ceremony is free. Call 305-284-3535 or visit lowemuseum.org.
There are many upsides to living in a tropical paradise, but the presence of colorful avian neighbors is one of the most compelling. Where else are people lucky enough to see anhingas sunning their wings, parakeets preening in palm trees, and pelicans swooping and splashing?
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden's annual Bird Festival is dedicated to these impressive feathered friends. On tap is a multiday lineup of activities, talks, QT with superchill birds, and other fun stuff for bird lovers.
The fest begins with two days of tours through some of South Florida's best bird habitats, led by experts from the Tropical Audubon Society. Then the action heads to the grounds of Fairchild, where avian enthusiasts can enjoy presentations by renowned bird authorities, bird walks, an amateur bird photo contest, birding swag for sale, interactions with actual birds, and lots more.
The festival runs this Thursday and Friday at offsite venues and Saturday and Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (10901 Old Cutler Rd., Coral Gables). Admission is $25 for adults, $18 for seniors 65 and older, $12 for children 6 to 17, and free for Fairchild members and children 5 and younger. Visit fairchildgarden.org or call 305-667-1651.
Friday, October 2
The air is warm, the sky is clear, and these hips are ready to
Presented by MDC Live Arts and the Little Havana Social Club, it's an event that promises a delightful deluge of classic hits, forgotten favorites, and "stylistically faithful new compositions." It's going down at the historical Koubek Center (2705 SW Third St., Miami) at 8 p.m., and music lovers of every age are welcome. Tickets cost $10, but kids younger than 12 dance for free. Call 305-237-7750 or visit mdclivearts.com.
Marc Anthony will grace Miami with his Puerto Rican presence for two nights at the American Airlines Arena. The tropical salsa singer, who has also enjoyed success as a TV personality, actor, and record producer, has been touring in support of his album 3.0 since it dropped in 2013. That record marks a return to a more traditional salsa sound, led by singles such as Vivir Mi Vida and the tour-name-inspiring Cambio de Piel. Anthony has changed his sound many times throughout his three-decade music career. For his 11 studio albums, he's dabbled in dance (1991's When the Night Is Over), English-language pop (let us never forget the 1999 hit "I Need to Know"), and Latin ballads (most recently on 2010's Iconos).
When Anthony came through Miami in October 2014 as part of the first half of his 3.0 world tour, he sold out the American Airlines Arena both nights. In fact, he's sold out the Triple-A a record 17 times, and these two shows are shaping up to continue that streak. Marc Anthony: Cambio del Piel hits the American Airlines Arena (601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami) this Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $61 to $201 plus fees. Call 786-777-1000 or visit aaarena.com.
Saturday, October 3
Get your running shoes ready for the 5K PARK Fest, an event filled with not only a 5K that participants are welcome to run or walk, but also yoga, Zumba, Stretch Zone, music, an auction, and an awards presentation. The 5K and day of athletic activities and entertainment for the whole family will take place from noon to 6 p.m. this Saturday. You can run to support your team's own cause or browse teams to join another organization.
Set for action on historic Virginia Key Beach (4020 Virginia Beach Dr., Key Biscayne), participants should pack sunscreen and a swimsuit for a refreshing and celebratory afternoon at the beach. Expect a rock-climbing wall, face painting, Frost Science hands-on activities, cooking lessons, arts and crafts, and a variety of food trucks slinging healthful bites so no one has to feel guilty about post-run treats. Parking costs $10, and only cash is accepted. To register, visit 5kparkfest.org.
"Double, double, toil and trouble/Fire burn and cauldron bubble." The three witches from William Shakespeare's Macbeth had a knack for making normal things eerie, but because the sisters are part of the English literary canon, they likely won't be a part of the Deering Estate's exhibition "Spirits, Spells, and American Lore." Complementing the estate's Wine on Harvest Moon event happening later in October, the exhibition will weave together "wines with art and literature and exploring the macabre and mysterious nature of the Northwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast locales and lores." The fall fine art exhibit will feature artists Tom Virgin, Kari Snyder, Kathleen Hudspeth, Brian Reedy, and Barbara Rivera.
The exhibition will be on display daily this Saturday through November at the Deering Estate at Cutler (16701 SW 72nd Ave., Palmetto Bay). Viewing hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the exhibition is free with estate admission: $12 for adults, $7 for children ages 4 to 14, and free for Deering Estate Foundation members. Call 305-235-1668 or visit deeringestate.org.
Let's call this new Jenny Lawson book a "Rocket Raccoon punch for the Prozac generation" and roll with it. As the Bloggess, she's been one of the hottest bloggers since that became a thing, and as a woman riddled with an alphabetical listing of psychological disorders, she established herself as a new voice in American letters of the no-nonsense and irreverent/self-deprecating/reflecting style via her debut, 2012's Let's Pretend This Never Happened. Not one to stay still, Lawson has continued her work online chronicling her adventures with herself, to much praise and acclaim. Her candid manner of writing and her honest brutality have made her the Bokonon of the mental-illness jet set.
Her latest offering, Furiously Happy, is a fun romp down the twisting pathways of her crippling depression and anxiety. Lawson lives in a terrible world of turmoil, but the fact that she has immediate and therapeutic outlets for release is a testament to the wonderful world we live in for modern authors and memoirists. Taking cues from her literary salvo, Lawson has continued to free-dive into the darker recesses of her life to mine a work that is humorous but, above all, honest. With a career that has seen her sign books and prescription bottles, Lawson must be doing something right and her words are resonating somewhere.
Reading Lawson's writing is no substitute for seeing a mental health professional, but we can all do with a little humor in our lives. The Bloggess will read from Furiously Happy at 7 p.m. Saturday at Books & Books (265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables). To join the grinning masses, you'll need an event voucher, acquired with a purchase of the book ($28.88) at booksandbooks.com.
Sunday, October 4
This is the Magic City, where tradition isn't exactly in our cultural vocab. So Miami Flea (the city's burgeoning flea-market-cum-community-event-cum artisanal-extravaganza) is a perfect example of a 305-inspired twist on an old-school concept.
The folks at the city's Arts + Entertainment District are behind the eclectic soiree, and the October edition promises to be bigger and better than its inaugural run. The second edition of this family-friendly fair will include live tunes, food, drinks, art, shopping, kids' activities, and even a pumpkin patch.
Bookleggers Library will hole out literary tomes, Yelp Miami will curate a Grub Garden, Airstream Apothecary will concoct organic cocktails, the Bakehouse will provide a live art pop-up; and there'll be all kinds of one-of-a-kind treasures to buy (it's never too early for holiday shopping). Vendors such as Urban Oasis Project, Sniptease, Ace Props, Expressed Juice, Return to Nature, Oleart, and many others will be onsite.
Forget Cabbage Patch dolls and used textbooks — this is a flea market, Miami-style. The event runs from 3 to 7 p.m. Sunday at Canvas Miami (90 NE 17th St., Miami). Admission is free. Visit aedistrictmiami.com.
The Highwaymen, a group of self-taught African-American artists in the mid-1950s, are some of Florida's most interesting native artists. The group was formed largely in Fort Pierce, where they painted landscapes and sold them on roadsides and door-to-door. Because of Florida's midcentury racial politics, galleries wouldn't accept the Highwaymen's work, but the group's commitment to art endured despite discrimination. It would take nearly half a century for the Highwaymen to be appreciated, but in the past decade, they've been the subject of a spate of retrospectives and full-scale museum exhibitions. Now Pinecrest Gardens (11000 Red Rd., Pinecrest) is celebrating the work of R.L. Lewis — one of the Highwaymen's second generation of artists — as part of a new exhibition, "The Way We Worked," which explores the relationship between labor and communities.
This Sunday, Lewis will talk about his recollections of the movement, give a live painting demonstration, and discuss how he made a living as an artist. The talk begins at 1:30 p.m. and is free with Pinecrest Gardens admission: $5 for general, $3 for seniors, and free for active military with ID. Visit pinecrest-fl.gov.
Monday, October 5
Any '90s teen worth his or her salt worships Cindy Crawford, at least a little. The leader of the golden age of supermodels, Crawford ruled the '90s by moving effortlessly between the runway and mainstream pop culture. The brunette beauty, along with her trademark mole, was everywhere, from countless magazine covers and ad campaigns to music videos and TV shows.
In recent years, modeling has taken a back seat in Crawford's career. She developed a skincare regimen, Meaningful Beauty, in addition to her interior design collection, Cindy Crawford Home. Approaching her 50th birthday, she enters a new stage of reflection with her book Becoming, written with Katherine O'Leary. In the book, Crawford looks back, photo shoot by photo shoot, on her remarkable career. She discusses her earliest modeling years and learning how to become less self-conscious in front of a camera; trusting her own instincts about creating positive messages about a healthy and strong body image that she knew would reach women of all ages; her feelings about becoming a wife and a mother; and her thoughts about turning 50 and what she would tell her younger self if she had the chance. Illustrated by 150 iconic images spanning her entire career since the mid-'80s, as well as never-before-published photos from her personal archive, the pages feature work from every top name in fashion photography, including Annie Leibovitz, Arthur Elgort, Helmut Newton, Herb Ritts, Irving Penn, Patrick Demarchelier, and Richard Avedon.
Miamians will get a chance to grab the book and hear directly from the author at An Evening With Cindy Crawford, in conversation with NBC's Jackie Nespral. Presented by Books & Books and Miami Book Fair International, the event will be held at 7 p.m. Monday at Miami Dade College Wolfson Chapman Conference Center (300 NE Second Ave., Miami). Vouchers are required for admittance; they cost $53.30 and include a signed copy of Becoming plus three entries to the event. Call 304-442-4408 or visit booksandbooks.com.
