Cultural Explorations

Suzanne Mosher, executive director of Music Fest Miami, has a favorite story about last year’s Discover Miami cultural extravaganza. “We took a group of older women from Temple Israel on our bus tour to Little Haiti. There’s beautiful women in ornate costumes dancing and greeting you, the aroma of delicious food, and the music in the background…. These women were introduced to an artist who they probably would never have met otherwise, and they purchased several thousand dollars’ worth of his art,” she says with pride. “It was the perfect example of how we can share culture. Our goal is to get people to experience something that they otherwise wouldn’t.” Discover Miami is a series of street festivals held in culturally vibrant venues throughout the city. This year promises more fun than ever before, as well as a new addition to the ethnic potpourri.

Latin lovers are invited to Little Havana (on Calle Ocho between SW Fourteenth and Seventeenth avenues, Miami) for film screenings, art, and live music. In Overtown, at the Lyric Theater (819 NW Second Ave., Miami), come for soul food, spoken word poetry, hip hop, and jazz. Explore Jewish history at Temple Israel (137 NE Nineteenth St., Miami) and Haitian culture at the Caribbean Marketplace (NE 59th St., Miami). This year marks the debut of a Native American showcase at the Historical Museum of Southern Florida (101 W. Flagler St., Miami). Visitors can explore each site themselves or enjoy a free bus tour narrated by humorous historian Paul George.
Sat., March 25