The Best Things to Do in Miami This Weekend

You probably went hard over Halloween weekend — maybe too hard. But that's OK, because in uncharacteristic form, Miami has decided to take a breather and spend the next several days relaxing hard rather than partying hard. You'll get the chance to fuel up at Wiener Bash at Magic City Casino and the Boat Bar Crawl starting at Tequiztlan, or prove your artistic prowess at the Dara Friedman exhibit at Pérez Art Museum Miami or at the South Miami Art Festival. Catch John Cleese if you need a little absurdist humor; then wallow in more blasts from the past at either RockFest 80's in C.B. Smith Park or the Grateful Dead Invitational at B-Side. Just soak in all the chill before work begins again Monday.

Dara Friedman at Pérez Art Museum Miami. As one of Miami's most successful local artists, Dara Friedman can rightfully claim Pérez Art Museum Miami as the home of her first midcareer survey and the largest presentation of her work. "Perfect Stranger" will span the artist's oeuvre of experimental film that explores bodies, movement, and intense emotion. 10 a.m. Friday, November 3, through March 4, 2018, at Pérez Art Museum Miami, 1103 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305-375-3000; pamm.org. Admission costs $16.
John Cleese at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. Monty Python and the Holy Grail is consistently considered one of the best comedies of all time, and with good reason. Most of the Pythons are Oxford or Cambridge alums, which might explain the incredible success of their sketch comedy show and films. Though Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life might be likelier fan favorites, Holy Grail is the first of the Python films to attempt a unified plot. After a screening of the film, Sir Lancelot himself, John Cleese, will answer questions from the audience. "Absurd or ridiculous questions only" are requested. 8 p.m. Friday, November 3, at the Broward Center, 201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale; 954-462-0222; browardcenter.org. Tickets cost $75 to $250 via ticketmaster.com.

The South Miami Art Festival. South Miami is one of the most idyllic places to grow up. It's a family-centric town, both undeniably wholesome yet not out of touch with the world. Take, for example, the 46th-annual ChamberSouth South Miami Art Festival. It makes the downtown area friendlier to wander and explore while introducing budding creatives to art made by local talents. With DIY still the rage and Miami as an art center, your kids will be asking to go to art school soon enough. Why not start them off early and guide their aesthetic via fair foods and live jams? 10 a.m. Saturday, November 4, at Sunset Drive between South Dixie Highway and Red Road, South Miami; chambersouth.com. Admission is free.

Boat Bar Crawl at Tequiztlan Mexican Restaurant & Tequila Bar. Have you been pub-crawling every weekend and wondering how you can take your favorite booze-fueled activity to the next level? Bar-crawl tour company Keep Crawling has a plan: the Boat Bar Crawl. At sunset, you'll float from waterfront restaurant to waterfront restaurant, where you'll snag a free beer, a shot, and food specials. A November day on the water, eating at some of Miami's best restaurants, and enjoying the cool breeze on the bay? Sign us up. 4 p.m. Saturday, November 4, at Tequiztlan Mexican Restaurant & Tequila Bar, 1884 Bay Rd., Miami Beach; 305-397-8442; tequiztlan.com. Tickets costs $98 via keepcrawling.com.
Everglades Awareness Concert at Gramps. The Everglades is composed of at least six distinct ecosystems housing several endangered species, including the manatee and the Florida panther. For decades, humans have been encroaching on the nation's largest subtropical wilderness, causing it to shrink. Activists against this intrusion will unite once again for the annual Everglades Awareness Concert. Speakers from a half-dozen conservation organizations will speak, and School of Rock, Venus Rising Women's Drum & Dance Ensemble, and other acts will perform. It's the perfect opportunity to merge fun with civic engagement. 2 p.m. Saturday, November 4, at Gramps, 176 NW 24th St., Miami; 305-699-2669; facebook.com/lovetheeverglades. Admission costs $10.

iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina at American Airlines Arena. iHeartRadio festivals are plentiful and somewhat overwhelming. They pull such big-name lineups that they can feel like overkill. But this year, at the Miami edition of iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina, the lineup is solid but not oppressive. Superstars Diplo and Luis Fonsi will perform alongside Gente de Zona, Don Omar, CNCO, Reik, Jesse & Joy, Camila Cabello, and other acts. Pile up at the American Airlines Arena for this tremendo opportunity to party. 8 p.m. Saturday, November 4, at American Airlines Arena, 601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; aaarena.com. Tickets cost $29 to $179 via ticketmaster.com.
Miami Beach Salsa Festival at North Beach Bandshell. The sway of the hips to the melody, the one-two-three, one-two-three of the feet to the rhythm: Salsa dancing is both challenging and celebratory. And there is no better place in the States to perform this dance than in the 305. Make time to head to the North Beach Bandshell for the fourth-annual Miami Beach Salsa Festival, featuring Melina Almodóvar. Goods collected at the gate — such as water, baby supplies, medicine, flashlights, canned food, batteries, and toiletries — will help those in Puerto Rico affected by Hurricane Maria. (Please, no clothing or food donations.) Donald Trump might not be interested in sending aid to U.S. citizens on the island, but salsa dancers are more than willing to help. 5 p.m. Saturday, November 4, at the North Beach Bandshell, 7275 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; facebook.com/montanezteamproductions. Admission is free.

Wiener Bash at Magic City Casino. Apparently, there's some kind of concession-food holiday this week. If the burgers at Thursday's Burgerlicious weren't your preferred meat vehicle, Wiener Bash is here to expand your options. Aside from witnessing more than 20 restaurants compete for "Top Dog," you can also enjoy performances by Vince Neil, formerly of Mötley Crüe, and Great White, the band behind "Once Bitten, Twice Shy." We're not sure why '80s hair-metal bands and hot dogs go together, but why question an opportunity to stuff your face under a halo of hair-sprayed glory? 5 p.m. Saturday, November 4, at Magic City Casino, 450 NW 37th Ave., Miami; 305-649-3000; magiccitycasino.com. Tickets cost $60 to $125.
RockFest 80's at C.B. Smith Park. Eighties nostalgia is a thing, and RockFest 80's has certainly received the memo. Its lineup — headlined by Cheap Trick, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, and Lynyrd Skynyrd — looks like a reference list for Spinal Tap. Expect a weekend's worth of rock from Sebastian Bach, Dokken, and other acts. Where you'll really feel the generation gap, though, is at the muscle car alley and the onsite hair salon specializing in hair-metal dos. Might as well get closer to God, right? Noon Saturday, November 4, and Sunday, November 5, at C.B. Smith Park, 900 N. Flamingo Rd., Pembroke Pines; rockfest80s.com. Tickets cost $79 to $239 per day and $129 to $429 for the weekend.

Grateful Dead Invitational at B-Side. Somewhere along the line, dirty hippies and their seemingly carefree, low-key-angry self-righteousness went from being uncool to trendy again. And dirty hippies can sure jam. Head to B-Side the next four Sundays for the Grateful Dead Invitational, in which members of aligned area acts such as Unlimited Devotion, Antelope, Crazy Fingers, and Boxcar will jam to Jerry Garcia's finest works. If you think you can keep up, email [email protected] for one of the limited spots to join. To boost your jam-band profile, take one of the weekly hourlong seminars. 6 p.m. Sunday, November 5, at B-Side, 2898 NW Seventh Ave., Miami; facebook.com/UDMusic. Admission is free.