Thursday, October 20
South Beach Seafood Week is back with its annual four-day, action-packed extravaganza celebrating Miami's famous stone crab season. The fest launched last week with Cooking & Cocktails, a six-course tapas meal paired with specialty cocktails. This Thursday, it continues with An Evening at Joe's (11 Washington Ave., Miami Beach), featuring a five-course dinner by chef Andre Bienvenue that's complemented by Jackson Family wines. The dinner begins at 6 p.m. Tickets cost $500 and include an open bar and VIP gift bags. Day three presents the highly anticipated Chef Showdown. From 7 to 11 p.m. at the Goya Culinary Pavilion (Ninth Street and Ocean Drive, Miami Beach), 12 chefs will take the heat to the next level in six competitions. Attendees can enjoy samples from each contender and vote for the chefs who stole their heart (or in this case, taste buds). This year will also feature the first bartender competition, hosted by Herradura. Tickets for the Chef Showdown start at $150. Finally, Saturday brings the South Beach Seafood Festival. From noon to 7 p.m., Lummus Park (Ocean Drive, Miami Beach) will transform into a playground of good eats and rad music. Seventeen pop-up restaurants along the beach will serve crabcakes, lobster waffle cones, shrimp tacos, and many other delectables. The Jack Daniel's Beach Club will host local DJs, and live bands will perform on the Main Stage. Keep your legal buzz going with more than 30 bar stations and the Corona Beer Garden. At the Whole Foods Demo Zone, professional chefs and mixologists will teach you their culinary secrets. General admission costs $35, while VIP tickets will grant you extra perks, including extended party hours from 7 to 11 pm, for $150. Visit sobeseafoodfest.com.
Friday, October 21
During the day, the Deering Estate at Cutler (16701 SW 72nd Ave., Palmetto Bay) is a historical and environmental oasis. But at night, the 444-acre preserve becomes a place for the paranormal. Driving down the edge of Biscayne Bay at dusk feels like a scene from The Omen. Miami's "most haunted property" is said to be the site of original owner Charles Deering's death in 1927. This week, you can witness the freakiness yourself at the Deering Estate Spookover, a late-night paranormal investigation of the property's most active locations. For experienced investigators, equipment used to detect spectral presences, such as pendulums, EMF meters, cameras, and voice recorders, is welcome. Bring comfortable shoes and a flashlight — you won't want to get left behind in the dark as you walk the paths of Native Americans and Deering himself. The Spookover takes place Friday from 10 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. and costs $66. Call 305-235-1668, ext. 233, or visit deeringestate.org/ghost-tours. Alexandra Martinez
If ballet had its greatest hits, Giselle would likely top the charts. Indeed, it's one of the world's best-known ballets. Originally performed in Paris in 1841, it's become a signature dance for every great ballerina ever since. Then again, this isn't your happy-go-lucky Nutcracker; the creative minds behind this work — composer Adolphe Adam and choreographers Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot — were a lot like the Tom Waitses and Nick Caves of their day, obsessed with darker designs, deception, and discontent. That makes Giselle a tangled tale, one that finds its gentle namesake idolized by her local suitors, stifled by a meddling mother, and betrayed by a creepy aristocratic lover not unlike Donald Trump. What's a girl to do except to whirl herself into a frenzy and die a dramatic death, only to return in spirit form and valiantly save her deceitful boyfriend from other ghosts who get their kicks by forcing men to dance to their deaths. Giselle will be performed at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday inside the Ziff Ballet Opera House at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts (1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami). Tickets cost $20 to $99. Call 305-949-6722 or visit arshtcenter.org.
Saturday, October 22
OMG, it's fall! Time for a pumpkin spice latte, like, right? Wrong. Long before the PSL took over the taste buds of every basic millennial in America, autumn was known for one beverage alone: beer. In Germany, the sudsy celebration of Oktoberfest dates back to the 1800s. And this Saturday, New Times is keeping the tradition alive with the Original Beerfest. This year, the annual fiesta of froth hits C.B. Smith Park (900 N. Flamingo Rd., Pembroke Pines) to bring you more than 100 beers, along with live music, delicious food, and an all-around jammin' atmosphere unlike anything you'll find at the Starbucks drive-thru. It's also the only place you can drink damn near every local craft brew in South Florida, from Concrete Beach and Miami Brewing Co. to Funky Buddha, Biscayne Bay, J. Wakefield, and others. Tickets cost $46 for general admission, which opens at 3 p.m. Craft connoisseur tickets, available for $70, grant access to the event at 2 p.m. plus an exclusive lounge with specialty craft beers not available elsewhere onsite. For $85, VIP tickets snag you all the same perks as craft connoisseurs plus large beer pours. Visit microapp.browardpalmbeach.com/beerfest.
Looking to get some laughs Saturday night? Let the energetic comedians of Comic Cure: Latin Laughs whip your belly into a jiggling riot. Hosting the night is Miami native David Del Rosario. He has more than a decade of improv and standup experience, which means he's more than qualified to lead you down an evening of fun alongside the winners of the Latin American Comedy Festival this past March. Don't worry, gringos, the show will be in English, and if any punch line is en español, they'll translate it for you. Two performances, at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., will take place at the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center's Black Box Theater (10950 SW 211th St., Cutler Bay). Like all Comic Cure presentations, proceeds will help further the venue's mission of supporting local comedians and charities. Tickets cost $20; guests must be 18 or older. Call 786-573-5300 or visit smdcac.org.
There are those triathlons that push you to your limits and test your endurance, and then there are those that are meant to refresh your mind and let you have fun. That's where Wanderlust 108 comes in. This noncompetitive, "mindful triathlon" combines an approximately 5K run, an outdoor yoga experience, and a guided meditation into a fun-filled experience that will have you feeling like a boss. Your day will look a little something like this: Check-in begins at 7:30 a.m. at Virginia Key Beach Park (4020 Virginia Key Beach Dr., Key Biscayne). There, you can drop off your bags, yoga mats, and other belongings; grab coffee and a snack at the Kula Market; and participate in a prerun stretch led by MC Yogi. The 5K kicks off at 9 a.m. Run or walk, "prance or skip, stroll or strut," it's totally up to you. All you have to worry about is crossing the finish line. After you make it, hop onto your mat and "Yo With the Flow" for a DJ-powered yoga sesh at 11 a.m. The mindful triathlon tops off at 12:15 p.m. with the Bring It On Home meditation, where you'll have a half-hour of "soul-reviving meditation." There's no winner in this triathlon, so everyone goes home a champion. Just don't forget to treat yourself to a snack or lunch at the Kombucha Garden before you go. Join Wanderlust 108 Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Tickets cost $20 to $40 plus fees via eventbrite.com. Visit wanderlust.com.
Are you all tatted up? Do you fancy a new piercing? Thinking about visiting the plastic surgeon for a pair of augmented breasts? Join like-minded individuals and explore the history of body modification in "Pierce, Mark, Morph," a new exhibition at the Frost Art Museum FIU (10975 SW 17th St., Miami). The show juxtaposes pre-Columbian sculptures with contemporary work, teaching viewers that body modification has long been embedded in cultural history. Mesoamerican works incorporate devices such as ear spools used in 900 A.D. that stretch earlobes the same way modern ear gauges do. Contemporary photography and video pieces show the body used as a canvas to express personal or political beliefs. Contemporary artists in the exhibition include Lauren Kalman, Carlos Martiel, Hiromi Moneyhun, Tatiana Pacero, and Cecilia Paredes. The opening reception takes place Saturday from 4 to 7 p.m. and is free to attend. The exhibit will be on display through February 12, 2017. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Museum admission is free. Visit frost.fiu.edu or call 305-348-2890.
Boredom and curiosity are seemingly opposing concepts, but for artist Francesco Clemente, the two have worked in unison, helping to forge a nomadic artistic journey that's now four decades along. Clemente has said that without boredom, he never would've felt the need to move to India simply because he wanted to know more about the geography of a place he had never visited. And while he was there, curiosity pushed him into wanting to know more about reconciliation between body and spirit through Hindu teachings. As one of the participants of the trans-avant-garde movement of the 1980s, he stood proudly alongside luminaries of his time including Allen Ginsberg, Andy Warhol, and Jean-Michel Basquiat — saying he was fortunate to simply be in the right place at the right time among these giants. While those he stood with are no longer here, Clemente continues to create fervently. Local art enthusiasts will have a chance to see Clemente himself when he arrives for his "Dormiveglia" exhibit reception at NSU Art Museum (1 East Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale). "Dormiveglia" will present several large-scale paintings featuring muted colors and long, protracted figures positioned in a partially conscious, dreamlike state. Saturday's preview and reception runs from 6 to 8 p.m. and is free for museum members and $25 for nonmembers. Call 954-262-0258 or visit nsuartmuseum.org.
Sunday, October 23
Forget drinking German beer and eating schnitzel — Kiteoberfest is all about flying kites. Taking over Haulover Beach Park (10800 Collins Ave., Sunny Isles Beach) Sunday from noon to 5 p.m., the kite fest marks the unofficial beginning of fall in South Florida, and with reason: October is the time of year when the humidity begins to subside (just a bit) and the weather becomes (somewhat) bearable. That's enough of a reason to celebrate by flying a kite over the Atlantic. Expect to see a 30-foot Nemo and 100-foot squid (among other sea creatures), a 100-foot scuba diver, and kites of all sorts soaring high above Haulover Beach Park. Hosted by Skyward Kites and Miami-Dade Parks, the free event will also feature paper-kite-building classes and demonstrations, kite-flying competitions for kids and adults, food trucks, and other treats. Just remember to bring your kite. But if you forget or don't have a kite of your own, Skyward Kites will hook you up with one. Visit skywardkites.com or call 305-893-0906.
Common is the luncheon that begins with multiple mimosas and concludes with dancing — usually the drinkers' sloppy two-steps. It's a better deal to imbibe the nation's favorite brunch drink and then sit back and watch dancing while supporting one of the region's most beloved cultural nonprofits. Following a silent auction, mimosa service, and a luncheon, Boca Ballet Theatre's landmark 25th-annual A Princely Affair fundraiser will feature an exclusive program of three ballet performances: the "Odaliques" variations from Le Corsaire, a favorite of Marius Petipa's Imperial Ballet of Saint Petersburg; the iconic "Waltz of the Snowflakes" from The Nutcracker; and George Balanchine's six-minute masterpiece, Tarantella. This nimble, fast-paced pas de deux will feature two nationally acclaimed guest performers: New York City Ballet's Daniel Ulbricht, a prodigious dancer who earned the nickname "the Billy Elliot of St. Petersburg" (as in Florida this time, not Russia); and Erica Pereira, a New York City Ballet soloist. Boca Raton resident and arts journalist Arlene Harris will serve as the event's honorary chair, and the event's admission will help support this long-standing company's 2016-17 season of performances and dance instruction. It begins at noon Sunday at the Boca Raton Resort & Club (501 E. Camino Real, Boca Raton). Tickets cost $95 for adults and $60 for children 13 or younger. Call 561-447-3000 or visit bocaballet.org.
Tuesday, October 25
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and music has no greater motivation than a woman dropped like a bad habit. Alanis Morissette raised a high bar with 1995's Jagged Little Pill. Gwen Stefani killed it with Tragic Kingdom that same year. Then, 16 years later, the world was given the most beautiful breakup album of all time: Adele's 21. We all know the hits "Rolling in the Deep," "Someone Like You," and "Set Fire to the Rain." Her powerful, vulnerable vocals send a chill down the spines of winners and losers in love alike. There's something so primal in her cries, so tender in her longing, and she has always come out stronger than before. On 25, she is a mother, a lover, and even a villain herself. Whatever the mask, she wears it well, and she'll give the microphones at the American Airlines Arena (601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami) a run for their money. She'll hit the stage for a double-header Tuesday and Wednesday night. Tickets cost $36.95 to $146.50. Call 786-777-1000 or visit aaarena.com.
Wednesday, October 26
Everybody Drinks the Same Water, the original 2014 play produced by Miami Theater Center (9806 NE Second Ave., Miami Shores), is a parable for our times. With its colorful costumes and stripped-down set, the play begins as a murder mystery after the public drinking water of a 13th-century Spanish kingdom is poisoned. The queen's own son falls victim to the poison, and the bigoted queen immediately blames the Muslim man who built the aqueduct and the Jewish doctor who cannot cure her son. The tainted water soon reaches the peasants, and the struggle to solve the mystery and deal with the tragedy forces everyone to set aside their prejudices and hatred to work together. Three teens of different religions who unite and embark on a journey to uncover the culprit find an uncommon friendship along the way. The semihistorically based Everybody Drinks the Same Water was written by Miami Theater Center cofounder and director Stephanie Ansin and will run Wednesday through November 20. Showtimes are 10:30 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. Wednesday and Friday, 7 p.m. Saturday, and 3 p.m. Sunday. General admission costs $25, and students get in for $15. Visit mtcmiami.org or call 305-751-9550.
