Thursday
There is something about the aroma of a freshly roasted turkey smothered in warm, creamy gravy that screams "Hooray! The holidays are here!" But when you consider the hundreds of dollars, days of preparation, and long hours slaving away over a hot stove to give you those warm Turkey Day feels, the Thanksgiving dinner experience might seem a lot less appetizing. Luckily, restaurants around Miami are willing to do the work for you. This Thanksgiving, Stripsteak by Michael Mina inside the Fontainebleau (4441 Collins Ave., Miami Beach) will offer a $75 prix-fixe family-style meal from 6 to 11 p.m. It will include autumn favorites such as glazed carrots, fennel sausage stuffing, and a traditional slow-roasted turkey. For reservations, call 877-326-7412. At 50 Eggs restaurants Yardbird and Swine, find prix-fixe menus featuring Southern favorites such as buttermilk biscuits with honey butter, sweet potatoes, bourbon pecan pie, and a turkey dinner served with giblet gravy, cranberry compote, and cornbread dressing. Meals cost $55 per person. Visit 50eggsinc.com. Inside the Palms Hotel & Spa, Essensia has crafted a farm-to-table approach to this year's meal. Dine alfresco and enjoy plates including deviled eggs, slow-roasted herb-rubbed natural turkey with cranberry-orange chutney, sourdough herb stuffing, and caramelized butternut squash wedges. It's priced at $59 per person, and reservations are required. Call 305-908-5458.
In most parts of the United States, Thanksgiving weekend is a time for quiet quality bonding moments with family and friends. Just kidding — most people just eat until they're sick and then bicker about politics. But here in Miami, the gays have got things figured out. They celebrate White Party Week over Thanksgiving break, staving off that tryptophan coma with a series of DJ-fueled ragers advertising six-pack abs as far as the eye can see. Running daily through this Monday, club parties at hot spots such as Palace, Twist, and Score celebrate queerness to the queerest degree. There are daytime events too, like the Muscle Beach dance party set to break out Sunday on the beach at 12th Street and Ocean Drive in Miami Beach. These are some decadent fetes, but don't fret; they'll all benefit Care Resource, South Florida's oldest and largest HIV/AIDS community health-care provider. Visit whiteparty.org.
With Thanksgiving upon us, why not get in a good workout before you shovel that turkey and all those fixings into your face? We're all going to pack on a good five pounds, so you might want to lose a few ahead of time — and all for two great causes. The sixth-annual Fort Lauderdale Turkey Trot begins Thanksgiving morning at the Galleria (2414 E. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale). The race, which routinely draws more than 3,000 runners, walkers, and joggers, takes participants on a beautiful route along A1A. It aims to raise funds for the iTRACE Foundation, Inc., a not-for-profit preventative health and wellness research foundation; and Leadership Broward Foundation, an organization offering youth and local business and community leaders the opportunity to connect with one another, develop valuable skills, and make a positive impact on the community. The race will kick off at 7:30 a.m.; an awards ceremony will follow at 8:45. Registration costs $45 before race day and $50 the day of. Sponsorships and donations are also accepted on the website and in person. To register, donate, or volunteer at the race, visit turkeytrotftl.com.
Friday
Thanksgiving is all about rituals. There's the ritual of cooking and baking with family; the ritual of stuffing yourself with mashed potatoes and gravy-drenched biscuits; the ritual of falling asleep on the couch in front of a football game. If all of that nonaction has you feeling sluggish this Friday, try a different ritual: H2OM, a Post-Thanksgiving Yoga, Meditation & Sound Healing Ritual at the Standard Spa (40 Island Ave., Miami Beach). The session, led by "magical goddess duo" Jodi Carey and Christy McKenzie, promises to deliver inner peace via a session of savasanas, an energy ritual, and sound healing, whatever that is. Even if you're a new-age skeptic, this'll still be better than sitting at home counting yesterday's calories. The class runs from 8 to 10 p.m. Tickets cost $40. Visit standardhotels.com.
Black Friday is a day of deals for some people and a day of dread for others. Falling immediately after Thanksgiving, this day unofficially begins the holiday shopping season. Between the congested malls and the hordes of eager shoppers waiting to snatch up anything discounted, it's capitalism run amok. People have been known to get trampled. But there's light at the end of the tunnel, and waiting for you is Black Friday at Due South, with special releases of house-made brews and discounts on brewery merchandise. Two of these choice brews are Mariana Trench Imperial Stout (including a barrel-aged bourbon version) and Maple Orange Imperial Caramel Cream Ale. Beer specials include $1 off beers (not including Black Friday beers) during happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m., as well as $2 and $2.50 half-and-half 12- and 16-ounce pours of milk stout and Caramel Cream Ale from noon to 4 p.m. The Rolling Chefs food truck will be onsite from noon to 10 p.m. (but you can also bring your own food). The specials begin Friday at noon and last till 11 p.m. at Due South Brewing Company (2900 High Ridge Rd., #3 Boynton Beach). Visit duesouthbrewing.com or call 561-463-BEER.
Saturday
Weeks before anti-Trump protests erupted across the nation, a smaller yet more intense standoff was taking place in North Dakota, where Sioux residents of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation have blocked the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) through weeks of peaceful protests. Concerned citizens have traveled to the reservation from all across the country to help oppose the project, which they say threatens the region's drinking water. But not everyone can afford to travel hundreds of miles to camp out in protest. So Art & Sol Studios (310 NW 25th St., Miami) plans to send support from afar via its Wynwood Stands With Standing Rock fundraiser. The Saturday event will bring visual artists, musicians, and spoken-word poets together to use their creative talents to raise awareness of the conflict. A silent art auction will raise funds too. The event runs from 8 p.m. to midnight. Tickets cost $5 in advance or $10 at the door. Visit artandsolstudios.com.
Sunday
The Miami Dolphins have been looking, as Larry David might put it, prettayyy, prettayy, prettayy good. They're actually winning games. Not easy games, either; they've beaten some quality opponents. And they're not just bludgeoning opponents to death with nothing but field goals. The Dolphins are scoring points via touchdowns, which is not something fans have been used to in the past two decades or so. Could it be that Ryan Tannehill has finally found his groove? Could it be that first-year head coach Adam Gase has lit the proper fire under the players' butts? Could it be that the football gods have finally decided to stop making us suffer and are now allowing the Dolphins to not be such a bag of cat poop anymore? Whatever it is, it's been fun watching these guys compete and bring joy to the game once again. This Sunday, they'll face a very beatable San Francisco 49ers at Hard Rock Stadium (347 Don Shula Dr., Miami Gardens) and, thus, have a shot at climbing even further in the AFC wildcard standings. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. Tickets start at $65 and can be purchased at miamidolphins.com.
Monday
It's been a rough start to the 2016-17 season for your Miami Heat. Though the team has been competitive overall, it's clearly missing departed stars such as Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. But the good news is this new squad is filled with feisty young guns ready to take on the mantle and carry the franchise into its new chapter of greatness. It'll just take some time to do it. Still, with guys like Hassan Whiteside swatting shots, Justise Winslow playing lockdown defense, Tyler Johnson flushing down threes, and Goran Dragic running the fast-paced offense, you have to like the Baby Heat's chances every single night, especially when an old rival comes to town. And this Monday, those old rivals are the Boston Celtics at the American Airlines Arena (601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami). The Celtics come in as a darling of the East and an up-and-coming young team many experts picked to push for the top of the conference. So it's up to the Baby Heat to spoil the Celtic party and announce its own presence as the next up-and-coming young team with authority. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $15 and can be purchased through heat.com.
Tuesday
Turning hit films into popular Broadway musicals is nothing new. When the movie's music has already topped the charts and the choreography is dazzling and desirable, that formula becomes a no-brainer. That's why Dirty Dancing, which was never nearly as provocative as its name implied, remains a sweetly sentimental classic, both on the screen and on the stage. It's the summer of 1963, and a vacationing teenager becomes seduced by a sexy dance instructor whose masterful moves defy the conventions of the adults who make the rules at a Catskills resort. You could liken this struggle to the one between today's political protesters and the conservative establishment, but why bother? Best to leave your angst at the door and opt for escapism, courtesy of songs such as "Hungry Eyes," "Hey Baby," and "(I've Had) The Time of My Life." (The bump-and-grind of the show's sexy dancers doesn't hurt either.) This might not be the time of our lives, but that makes the lure of Dirty Dancing that much more appealing. The show runs this Tuesday through Sunday, December 4, at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts (1300 Biscayne Blvd. Miami). Tickets cost $29 to $125. Call 305-949-6722 or visit arshtcenter.org.
Why do French women always look so great? Perhaps it's in the undies. French lingerie has long set the standard for quality undergarments. But there's more to bras and panties than lace and spandex. You could trace the cultural evolution of women through the changes in their delicates throughout the years. And that's exactly what underpants experts have done in "Lingerie Française," an exhibit showing 100 years of French lingerie. The show puts a wide variety of styles and sizes on display, from modern, Spanx-like shapewear to one of the first bras created when a savvy seamstress decided to cut a corset in two. "Lingerie Française" opens Tuesday and runs through December 6 at the Sagamore (1671 Collins Ave., Miami Beach). Admission is free. Visit sagamorehotel.com.
Wednesday
After an eight-year run in the White House, President Barack Obama will soon hand over the reins of the nation. The future of America may rest in the hands of a man-toddler with cotton-candy hair, but if you're feeling nostalgic for promises of hope and change, you're in luck. The traveling exhibit "Visions of Our 44th President" will showcase 44 life-size busts of the outgoing POTUS, each painted by a different black artist to show off a wide array of opinions and messages inspired by the country's first black commander-in-chief. The blank busts were given to artists including Faith Ringgold, Mildred Howard, and Tyree Guyton, each of whom decorated the prez in their own signature style. Obama as a clown? Check. Obama's blackness melting into white skin? Got it. A half-zebra, half-cheetah Obama? It's in there. Catch number 44 in all his artsy incarnations this Wednesday through February 28, 2017, at the Lyric Theater (819 NW Second Ave., Miami). Visit bahlt.org.
When Art Basel and Miami Art Week hit the Magic City, it seems as if everyone on your news feed becomes an overnight art critic. That's not to say some of that commentary doesn't provide an insightful perspective or well-thought-out opinion — at times, the internet actually knows what it's talking about — but sometimes you just want to know what the experts have to say. That's where Famous Art Critics comes in. Hosted by Prizm Art Fair, Miami's annual showcase of the work of artists of color "who reflect global trends in contemporary art," the evening promises a "cohort of multicultural art enthusiasts who gather for dinner and dialogue." Taking place on the Miami Science Barge (1075 Biscayne Blvd., Miami), the shindig will "highlight and elevate diverse individuals, institutions, and best practices for pathways to cultural equity in art," including media coverage and the curating and execution processes. In addition to the night's discussion, there will be a tasty meal presented by chef Akino West and the Cooper Door, a soon-to-open bed-and-breakfast right in the heart of the 305. Famous Art Critics takes over Miami this Wednesday from 7 to 11 p.m. Visit prizmartfair.com.
Hillary Clinton famously said, "Every child needs a champion." That's what Urgent Inc. is working to provide in Miami, with its "#OurVoiceMatters" exhibit. Based in Overtown, Urgent Inc. is a nonprofit that empowers youth to transform their communities through their strong voices. "#OurVoiceMatters" — opening this Wednesday at the Ward Rooming House Gallery (249 NW Ninth St., Miami) — will showcase art, photography, and media projects from teens examining the sociopolitical and economic conditions that affect their lives. You'll see art from youth who live in historic Overtown, Liberty City, and Little Haiti. All works are for sale and benefit Urgent Inc.'s arts programming. A VIP opening reception will take place Thursday, December 1, from 4 to 7 p.m. and costs $30. On all other days, admission is free for school-age youth. Gallery hours are 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesday and Friday, December 2; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, December 3; and noon to 3 p.m. the closing day of the exhibition, Sunday, December 4. Visit urgentinc.org or call 786-581-7821.
