The Best Free Events in Miami This Week

This week's free events are all about reaching out to connect Miami's diverse communities. A concert at the Wynwood Yard aims to bring together audiences of different backgrounds and genre preferences; panels at Nova and the Miami Workers Center will discuss the threats facing marginalized communities in America; and ongoing Haitian Heritage Month events celebrate the pride and traditions of Miami's Haitian community.

Here's a look at all of these and more of the best free events happening in Miami this week.
We could all use some community unity right now. This Wednesday, the Wynwood Yard will host musicians from local nonprofits and cultural organizations Guitars Over Guns, Arts for Learning, Young Musicians Unite, Camillus House, and New World Symphony for Lean on Me: A Concert for and by Miami. Performances will include a range of genres, from salsa to rock to classical. 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 9, at the Wynwood Yard, 56 NW 29th St, Miami; 305-351-0366; thewynwoodyard.com. Admission is free with RSVP at eventbrite.com.

Over the past couple of years, Americans have been shaken by images of Nazi sympathizers openly marching through the streets while spewing hate about minorities and the nation's most vulnerable people. It might have been shocking to some, but not for the citizens of Skokie, Illinois, a community largely made up of Holocaust survivors who came under threat by neo-Nazi marchers in the '70s. Nova Southeastern University will host a screening of the documentary Surviving Skokie as part of Miami-Dade and Broward's Ten Days of Connection initiative, followed by a panel discussion about hate groups in the United States. 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 9, at Alvin Sherman Library at Nova Southeastern University, 3100 Ray Ferrero Jr. Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; 954-262-4600; sherman.library.nova.edu. Admission is free with registration via sherman.library.nova.edu.
The nation is (finally!) engulfed in important and long-overdue conversations about its beleaguered education system. In the wake of the Parkland shooting, a discussion about arming faculty and staff at schools has led teachers to share just how limited their resources can be in a profession that does not pay its experts nearly enough for the crucial work they do. But as teacher strikes build across the country, a tide of support appears to be building. In a similar spirit, the Miami-based organization P.S. 305 strives to improve Miami's education system by providing teachers and students with the tools they need to improve academic outcomes for students. P.S. 305 has teamed up with PAMM for Teacher Appreciation Happy Hour, and if helping South Florida's teachers isn't enough to convince you, there will be free Lulu's ice cream too. 5 p.m. Thursday, May 10, at Pérez Art Museum Miami, 1103 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305-375-3000; pamm.org. Admission is free with RSVP.

Miami's Haitian community celebrates Haitian Heritage Month in May. Whether or not you have Haitian roots, it's incumbent upon all of Miami's diverse communities to learn about one another, and you might want to start with one of Haiti's most delicious traditions: the pumpkin-based joumou soup prepared each year on Haitian Independence Day. Black Lounge Film Series will presents a screening of the documentary Liberty in a Soup by Miami artist and filmmaker Dudley Alexis. The film is an exploration of joumou's origins and its significance to the Haitian people. 4 p.m. Friday, May 11, at Culmer Overtown Branch Library, 350 NW 13th St., Miami; 305-579-5322; mdpls.org. Admission is free with RSVP via eventbrite.com.
The YoungArts Plaza will soon become a swamp. Don't blame the rising sea level. The culprit is director, filmmaker, and choreographer Yara Travieso, who will present the multisensory experience El Ciclón. The work is billed as a "wild neo-feminist mythology trapped inside a 1950s B-movie psychological thriller with singing, dancing, and just enough alligators." Travieso was the 2005 YoungArts winner in dance and has gone on to do cool things. 7 p.m. Saturday, May 12, at National YoungArts Foundation, 2100 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305-377-1140; youngarts.com. Admission is free with RSVP via eventbrite.com.

The Miami Workers Center continues to host its crucial Femme Saturdays discussion series, addressing pressing issues affecting our community's most vulnerable marginalized populations. Anika Starr, a queer black social worker, will lead this Saturday's discussion, De-Stigmatize Mental Health. Starr will address the disproportionate levels of depression, PTSD, and other mental-health conditions affecting people of color. 10 a.m. Saturday, May 12, at Miami Workers Center, 745 NW 54th St., Miami; 305-759-8717; miamiworkerscenter.org. Admission is free.

It's Haitian Heritage Month, so celebrate Caribbean culture while you honor your mom this Mother's Day at Bayfront Park. Muce, Downtown Development Authority, Little Haiti Cultural Complex, and GMCVB Art of Black Miami will host Lakou Lakay: In My Own Backyard. It's free, and BYO seats. You can grab food and fresh juices from vendors such as Mimi's Juices and Tap Tap, score duds from the very cool Little Haiti Vintage Shop, and listen to DJ Mack spin vibes. Interactive art stations, a pop-up exhibition, and Caribbean-inspired minigolf will keep the whole family busy and, thus, make Mom very happy. 11 a.m. Sunday, May 13, at Bayfront Park, 301 N. Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305-358-7550; bayfrontparkmiami.com. Admission is free.