april 3
Madcap Martini Party: Join the heppest cats in town for the grooviest martini party since Sammy, Dino, and Frank ruled the roost. Tara "Queen of the Night" Solomon and Micky Wolfson host this fundraiser for the exhibitions fund of the Wolfsonian (1001 Washington Ave., Miami Beach), complete with bona fide lounge music and, of course, plenty of gin and olives). You can also check out the museum's "Culinary Culture" exhibit, with a display of cocktail paraphernalia. It'll cost you $75 to swing tonight. Call 531-1001 for more information. (JO)
In the Fiddler's House: Israeli violinist Itzhak Perlman shows his love of klezmer -- that soulful, energetic form of Eastern European folk music -- in his spectacular concert program (recently aired on PBS) at the Miami Beach Convention Center (1901 Convention Center Dr., Miami Beach) tonight at 8:00 p.m. With Perlman are some of the world's leading klezmer ensembles, including postmodern Yiddish music masters the Klezmatics, the jazz-influenced Brave Old World, the traditionalist Klezmer Conservatory Band, and klezmer revival pioneer Andy Statman and his Klezmer Orchestra. Tickets range from $35 to $100. Call 532-3491. (GC)
The Dirty Dozen Jazz Band: The greatest Crescent City brass band brings its swinging, jazz-based boogie to Tobacco Road (626 S. Miami Ave.) tonight for two shows, at 9:00 and 11:00 p.m. Although they've knocked out a few great albums since their 1984 debut My Feet Can't Fail Me Now and dueted with the likes of Elvis Costello, Dizzy Gillespie, Dr. John, and Branford Marsalis, to be really appreciated the Dozen need to be heard live, with those horns washing over you like a blast of bayou humidity. Tickets cost ten dollars. Call 374-1198. (JF)
Taste of the Nation: Don't feel guilty if you indulge tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Grove Isle Club and Resort (4 Grove Isle Dr., Coconut Grove). Share Our Strength is hosting its annual fundraising event, which benefits the Daily Bread Food Bank, Camillus House, and other hunger-relief organizations. Chefs Allen Susser (Chef Allen's) and Mark Militello (Mark's Place) preside over the event, along with the Food Network's Chilling & Grilling hosts Bobby Flay and Jack McDavid, while chefs from more than 25 local restaurants cook up their specialties for you to sample. Tickets cost $75 (or $150 for admission to a VIP reception). Call 633-9861, ext. 123. (GC)
friday
april 4
New World Symphony Baroque Festival: If it ain't baroque, the New World Symphony ain't fixing to play it this weekend. The orchestra presents three concerts devoted to this seventeenth- and eighteenth-century musical form, beginning tonight at 8:00 p.m., with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra conductor and harpsichordist Nicholas McGegan, flutist Paula Robinson, soprano Dana Hanchard, and baroque ensemble Apollo's Fire joining the NWS to perform selections by German composers Bach and Telemann. Tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. the fest continues as the symphony, along with McGegan, Hanchard, Apollo's Fire, and dancers Catherine Turocy and Carlos Frittante, explores the sounds of the French and English baroque via works by Handel, Boyce, Arne, Chilcott, and Rameau. Tickets range from $18 to $43. On Sunday at 5:00 p.m., flutist Robinson joins the orch for a twilight chamber concert of works by Italian baroquists Gabrieli and Vivaldi. Tickets for that concert cost ten dollars. All performances take place at the Lincoln Theatre (555 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach). The festival will also include four free lectures; see "Calendar Listings." Call 673-3331. (GC)
Dade Heritage Days: The Dade Heritage Trust celebrates the county's rich history with a six-week festival that begins today and runs through May 18. Dade Heritage Days features a variety of events, including walking tours, day trips, readings, film screenings, and lectures. The fest opens tonight at 7:00 p.m. with the premiere screening of the documentary Coming Out of the Dark, about the Cape Florida lighthouse's history and restoration, at the Ocean Club (750 Ocean Dr., Key Biscayne). Admission is free (call DHT for invitation). See "Calendar Listings" for more events. Call 358-9572. (GC)
South Beach Film Festival: Last year's Best Film Festival in New Times's "Best of Miami" issue rolls around once again beginning tonight at 8:00 p.m. The South Beach Film Festival opens with Miami native Julie Davis's feature film I Love You, Don't Touch Me! (screened at Sundance 1997 and purchased for distribution by MGM), about a lovelorn 25-year-old virgin. Tomorrow the fest continues with the feature Milk and Money at 8:00 p.m. and a program of shorts, including Covenant and Jimmy Walks Away (also screened at Sundance) at 10:00 p.m. The film fest continues through April 10; see "Calendar Listings" for a complete schedule. All screenings take place at the Colony Theater (1040 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach). Tickets cost ten dollars for opening and closing nights, and six bucks for all others. Call 532-1233. (GC)
saturday
april 5
American Ballet Theatre: One of America's national treasures graces two South Florida stages with four performances, tonight at 7:30 p.m. and tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts (201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale), and Tuesday and Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. at the Jackie Gleason Theater of the Performing Arts (1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach). Each ABT show features a different program; among the works to be performed are George Balanchine's Apollo and Tchaikovosky Pas de Deux, Marius Petipa's White Swan Pas de Deux and Le Corsaire Pas de Deux, Agnes de Mille's Rodeo, and artistic director Kevin McKenzie's Transcendental Etudes. Tickets range from $30 to $60. Call 532-3491 or 954-523-6116. (GC)
March of Dimes WalkAmerica: Here's your chance to walk off all that Easter candy you swiped from the kids. The March of Dimes hosts its 27th annual WalkAmerica to benefit the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation today in two locations. In Coconut Grove join several thousand other like-minded souls at Peacock Park (2820 McFarlane Rd.) for an eight-mile walk, stepping off at 8:30 a.m. For a slightly shorter walk (six miles), head over to the Homestead Sports Complex (1601 SE 28th Ave., Homestead), where the strolling starts at 9:00 a.m. Call 800-627-2410 for registration forms and information. (JO)
Fort Lauderdale Seafood Festival: Taste everything the sea has to offer at the thirteenth annual Fort Lauderdale Seafood Festival this weekend at Smoker Park (SE Third Avenue and Sixth Street, Fort Lauderdale). The festival features seafood specialties from area restaurants, as well as live music and entertainment, crawfish-eating contests, historical re-enactments from the Seminole wars, log-rolling demonstrations, cooking demos by local chefs, and activities for kids. Admission is three dollars (proceeds benefit the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society). Festival hours are 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. today and noon to 8:00 p.m. tomorrow. Call 954-463-4434. (GC)
Journey to the Glades: Classic rock reigns supreme as Big 106 ( WBGG-FM 105.9) hosts its first-ever music festival today from 11:00 a.m. to midnight at the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation (I-75 to exit 14, then ten miles north). Rock ever so nostalgically all day and into the night with performances by John Kay (founder of the band Steppenwolf), the Guess Who, Foghat, Pat Travers, Led Zeppelin tribute band Physical Graffiti, the Machine, Doors tribute band Break on Through, Cathy Cotton, Grateful Dead tribute band Crazy Fingers, and many others. Tickets cost $18. Call 620-9299. (GC)
Flamingo Stakes: Back in the heyday of Hialeah Park (East 4th Avenue and 21st Street, Hialeah), this was the richest race in Florida, a crucial stop on the road to the Kentucky Derby. Past champions include Nashua, Northern Dancer, Foolish Pleasure, Seattle Slew, Alydar, and the great Citation. Nowadays the Flamingo ranks several big notches below Derby preps like Gulfstream Park's Florida Derby, but it's still a great bet for a sunny Saturday, what with the beautiful grounds, the old-time ambiance, and all those signature flamingos cavorting around the infield. Post time for today's first race is 12:15 p.m., but latecomers need not fear; the feature race won't get off till several hours later. Admission is two dollars (grandstand) or four dollars (clubhouse). Call 885-8000. (TF)
South Beach Film Festival: See Friday.
New World Symphony Baroque Festival: See Friday.
Dade Heritage Days: See Friday.
sunday
april 6
From Buenos Aires to the Pampas: Take a trip into the past of Argentina with a foray into the tango today at 2:00 p.m. at the Colony Theater (1040 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach). Jorge Nel and the Argentinian Tango Dancers move to tango and Argentinian folk music performed by master bandoneon player Alfredo Pedernera; singers Alba Guerra, Oscar Daniel, and Maria Alejandra Barreiro; and pianist Armando Patrono. Tickets cost $20. Call 674-8045. (GC)
Morningside Tour of Historic Homes: The Morningside neighborhood was platted in the early 1920s by candy baron James Nunnally, and since then its rock, stucco, and brick houses have been home to two Miami mayors and many other influential South Floridians. Stroll through this historic district today from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. with more than 1000 other interested parties who'll convene to view its homes. The tour starts at NE 57th Street and 6th Avenue. Admission is ten dollars (free for kids under age twelve). Call 626-3701. (GC)
South Beach Film Festival: See Friday.
New World Symphony Baroque Festival: See Friday.
American Ballet Theatre: See Saturday.
Fort Lauderdale Seafood Festival: See Saturday.
Dade Heritage Days: See Friday.
monday
april 7
Explore the Universe: Florida International University's physics department wants you to keep looking up. Into space, that is -- which is why they're offering a lecture series about the universe, beginning tonight at 8:00 p.m. with a lecture by Professor William Phillips titled "Time, Einstein, and the Coldest Stuff in the Universe," at the Wertheim Conservatory on the FIU University Park Campus (SW 8th Street and 107th Avenue). Each of the weekly lectures is followed by a space viewing via telescope at the student observatory. Admission is free. Call 348-3964. (GC)
South Beach Film Festival: See Friday.
Dade Heritage Days: See Friday.
tuesday
april 8
Katherine Graham: Former Washington Post publisher Katherine Graham's best-selling memoir Personal History provides a panoramic view of the nation from the presidential administrations of Franklin Roosevelt to Bill Clinton, as seen through the eyes of a woman with a uniquely powerful vantage point. Graham gives readers an inside look at the mechanisms of one of the nation's most prestigious newspapers, as well as the skinny on world events such as the Alger Hiss affair and Watergate. Tonight at 8:00 p.m. Books & Books hosts an evening with Graham, who will be interviewed by WPLG-TV (Channel 10) political reporter Michael Putney at the Coral Gables Congregational Church (3010 DeSoto Blvd., Coral Gables). Admission is free, but tickets (available at both stores) are required. Call 442-4408 for details. (GC)
South Beach Film Festival: See Friday.
Dade Heritage Days: See Friday.
American Ballet Theatre: See Saturday.
wednesday
april 9
Dr. Jane Goodall: Nova Southeastern University's 1996-97 Luncheon Forum series concludes with a lecture by famed primate research scientist Jane Goodall today at 12:15 p.m. at the Wyndham Hotel (1825 Griffin Rd., Fort Lauderdale). In 1960 Goodall embarked on a ten-year study of chimpanzee behavior in Africa, under the guidance of respected anthropologist Louis Leakey; the results of her pioneering research revolutionized our understanding of animal behavior. Today Goodall continues to champion the protection of primates both in the wild and in captivity. Tickets cost $50. Call 954-475-7699 to reserve a seat. (GC)
South Beach Film Festival: See Friday.
American Ballet Theatre: See Saturday.
Dade Heritage Days: See Friday.
