Where can a country girl find a decent hoedown? Thanks to the friendly folks at the Main Street Café (128 N. Krome Ave., Homestead), every Thursday night we can slip into our dungarees, Frye boots, and sassy Stetsons to enjoy a heapin' helpin' of classic country music. With the sounds of pedal steel, fiddle, and guitar, The Main St. Ramblers pay tribute to the Grand Ole Opry with songs by Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, and Little Jimmy Dickens. We're hoping they take requests and will bust out one of our Opry favorites, Dolly Parton. But what you won't hear is any of that newfangled country music. "It's the golden age of country," says Laurie Oudin, one of the café's owners, who agrees most people don't like what are passing as country tunes today. "It's just pop music with a twang." You can also take free Texas two-step and line-dancing lessons beginning at 8:00. Admission is ten dollars. Call 305-245-7575, or visit www.mainstreetcafe.net. (LO)
FRI 30
The poker run has been a popular fundraising event for years, but this weekend you can take to the road or waterways in the Fort Lauderdale Land & Sea Poker Run, which stretches from Haulover Park in North Miami Beach to Deerfield Beach. The run, which will benefit Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, consists of making stops at designated restaurants to pick up your cards. Registration begins today at noon, and the kick-off party is tonight at 7:00 at Bahia Mar Beach Resort, 801 Seabreeze Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. A $100 donation gets you into the game. Call 954-580-2582, or visit www.flpowerboat.com. (LO)
SAT 1
Keren DeBerg calls South Florida home, but the blue-haired singer/songwriter has been making a name for herself in Hollywood. "I love coming home. I've been working so hard for the last couple of years; now I can show my family and friends what I've been up to," she gushes. DeBerg has appeared as a singing nurse on Scrubs, and her music has been featured on Everwood and Laguna Beach. Her debut album, Gone, was produced and released by her label, Big Pea & A Dime Music. "It's awesome to be a woman running my own company. There aren't a lot of women in rock anymore. It's hard work, but it's really rewarding," she explains. Hear DeBerg tonight at 8:00 at Borders, 19925 Biscayne Blvd., Aventura. Admission is free. Call 305-935-0027, or visit www.kerendeberg.com. (PEGY)
Mijail Kalatozov's I Am Cuba was a piece of exquisitely made propaganda that brought Russian filmmakers to the communist island for fourteen months of shooting. A week after its premiere, Cuban and Soviet authorities decided to shelve the enormous undertaking. For 30 years this gem of cinematic history has gone largely unseen. The ambitious documentary I Am Cuba: the Siberian Mammoth returns to Havana in an attempt to discover why the impressive work was squelched. This acclaimed documentary is part of Cinema Tropical, a monthly series of prestigious Latin American films. See it tonight at 7:30 at Miami Art Central, 5960 SW 57th Ave., Miami. Admission is five dollars. Call 305-455-3336, or visit www.miamiartcentral.org. (PEGY)
SUN 2
In Pablo Francisco's stand-up act, he tells the jokes you've come to expect: making fun of his Latin family and cultural differences. But what sets him apart is his ability to imitate. Francisco is known as "The Movie Guy" because he does a spot-on impression of sonorous movie announcer Don LaFontaine and integrates his impersonations into elaborate skits, essentially making his own hilarious film trailers. At-home viewers can enjoy his shtick on David Spade's new Comedy Central program, The Showbiz Show. For a live taste, head to the Miami Improv, 3390 Mary St., Coconut Grove. Francisco's three-night stint ends tonight at 8:30. Tickets cost $20. Call 305-441-8200, or visit www.improv.com. (PEGY)
MON 3
The Germans love beer so much that Munich's Oktoberfest officially began Saturday, September 17. Partake in this worldwide celebration of foamy brew at Fritz & Franz Bierhaus (60 Merrick Way, Coral Gables). The eleven-day party gets crowded and rowdy on the weekend, when authentic Austrian and German bands perform and merrymakers participate in bratwurst-eating tournaments and yodeling competitions. Tonight you can take the edge off your manic Monday with a pitcher of Warsteiner and do the Bierhaus boogie with Piano Bob and Friends. Call 305-774-1883, or visit www.bierhaus.cc. (PEGY)
TUE 4
Her father was an actor whose most prominent role was in the 1962 film The Manchurian Candidate. Her mother was a Vogue magazine cover girl. Born rich and beautiful, Domino Harvey possessed a drive for fast living that led her to drugs and a madcap life as a bounty hunter. The new action-adventure flick Domino features an all-star cast, including Keira Knightley, Mickey Rourke, Christopher Walken, Lucy Liu, Jacqueline Bisset, and Delroy Lindo. Unfortunately the real Domino will never get to see her life adapted for the big screen; she died June 27, 2005, from an overdose of the powerful painkiller fentanyl. Catch Gen Art's advanced screening of this film tonight at 8:00 at Regal South Beach Cinema 18, 1100 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach. Don't forget the afterparty at Touch, 910 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach. Tickets cost $15. Call 305-695-8200, or visit www.genart.org. (PEGY)
WED 5
Although the decorations and costumes have been cluttering the aisles of Target since the beginning of September, we really don't get into the ghoulish Halloween mood until we are actually in the month in which the holiday falls. But now that the pumpkin patches are cropping up around town, we're ready to paint our nails black, hang the paper skeleton on the door, and stock up on miniature candy bars in fall-colored wrappers. We're also in the mood for spooky stories and, perhaps, some paranormal activities. We hear that we might encounter a few spirits during the Arch Creek Ghost Tours. The Tequesta Indians occupied the area from about 400 to 1200 A.D. Then settlers came and began building mills and planting tomatoes and pineapples in the 1800s, and the railroad soon followed, so the park is fertile ground for a whiff of the supernatural. Get spooked starting at 7:30 at Arch Creek Park, 1855 NE 135 St., North Miami. The tour costs five dollars, and reservations are required. Call 305-944-6111, or visit www.geocities.com/archcreek to learn more about the park. (LO)
