august 1
Naturalist Lectures: Summer is the time to look out over your yard (if you happen to have one), survey your domain, and realize that a crappy little mower and some hedge clippers aren't going to cut it, so to speak. With this idea in mind, some local gardening groups are providing free lectures throughout the summer to help folks like you get green thumbs. Today at 9:30 a.m. at Enchanted Forest Park (1725 NE 135th St., North Miami), the Dade County Master Gardeners host a talk about poisonous plants with poison information specialist Luis Velazquez. Call 895-1119. Tonight at 7:30 at the Secret Woods Nature Center (2701 W. SR 84, Fort Lauderdale), Miami Herald garden writer Georgia Tasker discusses habitat restoration for the back yard, with tips on how to successfully restore native plants to your property. Call 791-1030. On Wednesday at 9:30 a.m., the Dade County Master Gardeners host a horticultural discussion on native and exotic fruits and vegetables with former Rare Fruit Council International president Richard Snell at the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens (2000 Convention Center Dr., Miami Beach). Call 673-4166. (GC)
Fred Albert Small Paintings and the Sketchbook: Artist Fred Albert was born in New York City, but he relocated to Miami as a teenager in 1949. During the last four and a half decades, not only has his reputation as an artist grown, but so has his insight into the growth of Miami. A selection of Albert's works from the Fifties to the present, including a series of drawings that depict the building boom in downtown Miami during the Eighties, is on view at the Bass Museum of Art (2121 Park Ave., Miami Beach) through September 8. Admission is five dollars. Museum hours are 10:00 to 5:00 from Tuesday through Saturday (open 1:00 to 9:00 the second and fourth Wednesday of every month), and 1:00 to 5:00 on Sunday. Call 673-7530. (GC)
friday
august 2
Burning Spear: More than ten years after its release, Marcus Garvey, the 1975 album by Winston Rodney (a.k.a. Burning Spear) remains a reggae benchmark -- an incendiary blast of religious passion and political conviction. Then and now, Rodney has been one of reggae's most committed voices, preaching and teaching black history and amassing an amazing body of work defined by his growling voice and devotion to what he calls "social living" (also the name of his brilliant 1980 album). Rodney, an incredible live performer, will be appearing tonight at Rezurrection Hall at Club Nu (245 22nd St, Miami Beach), with opening acts Contractor and the Sound Rebellion. Tickets cost $20, and the club opens at 9:00. Call 535-9016 for more information. (JF)
Last Supper at Smiley's Cafe: The New River Repertory Theater at the Studio (640 N. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale) presents the original production of Last Supper at Smiley's Cafe. The action of this tense drama, directed by Ron Lemke, revolves around a small, isolated diner in the Nevada desert and a host of mismatched misfits: a harried waitress, a silent cook, a snippy socialite, a harmless psychotic, a dippy drifter, a dimwitted sheriff's deputy, and a suicidal salesman. Bizarreness ensues as the plot takes several twists and turns. Performances take place tonight and tomorrow night, and August 9 and 10, at 8:00. Tickets cost $12. Call 573-6797. (GC)
North Indian Music and Dance: The First Presbyterian Church (609 Brickell Ave.) presents an evening of North Indian music and dance tonight at 8:00. Tabla master Pandit Sharda Sahai, percussionist Tim Richards, and violinist Vikki Richards perform traditional music, while Sahara Devi performs traditional Kathak dances. Admission is ten dollars. Call 374-9029. (GC)
Southern Thunder Tour: Who says South Florida isn't part of the south? Get a load of the down-home sounds flooding the Coral Sky Amphitheatre (601 Sansbury's Way, West Palm Beach) tonight at 6:30. Multiplatinum, multiple Emmy-winning (for the theme of Monday Night Football), country outlaw superstar Hank Williams, Jr., headlines the show; Southern rockers Molly Hatchet, the Marshall Tucker Band, and A.R.S. round out the bill. Tickets cost $15 and $23. Call 800-759-4624. (GC)
saturday
august 3
Los Olvidados/Viridiana: Cinema Vortex pays tribute to Spanish director Luis Bunuel with screenings of two of his masterpieces. In an indictment of moral and material poverty, Los Olvidados (1951) -- which screens today at noon at the Alliance Cinema (927 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach) and tonight at 7:30 at the B.A.R. Space (1659 Lenox Ave., Miami Beach) -- combines erotic, hallucinogenic, and surrealistic images with naturalistic action as it follows two delinquents from the slums of Mexico City deep into the criminal underworld. Ten years later, Bunuel directed Viridiana, winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes; the film looks at religious hypocrisy as it follows the angelic title character (Silvia Pinal) on a visit to the home of her widowed, lustful uncle (Fernando Rey) just as she is about to take her Catholic vows. Viridiana screens tomorrow at noon at the Alliance. (Both films are in Spanish with English subtitles). Admission to each film is four dollars. Call 531-8504. (GC)
Egg-Stravaganza: The Miami Museum of Science (3280 S. Miami Ave.) goes to egg-stremes today from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. with three egg-citing events. Kids ages three to six can seek high and low during the Egg Hunt (and there are prizes in every egg!) at 1:00. Moms and Dads and older kids can submit decorated hard-boiled eggs (made at home) in the Egg Deco contest; submissions are due by 1:00. At 2:00 contestants age seven and up can try their hand at creating crash-and-smash-resistant egg containers and testing them during the Great Egg Drop (but you can't use bubble wrap or Styrofoam!). Admission to the museum is six dollars (four for kids up to age twelve). Call 854-4247 for contest rules and more information. (GC)
Acoustic Underground Concert Series: The South Florida Folk Club continues its ongoing Acoustic Underground Concert Series with an evening of Brazilian roots music tonight at 8:00 at the Seaview Hotel (9909 Collins Ave., Bal Harbour). Guitarist Angela Patua and percussionist Sean Dibble perform original songs that draw from the spiritual Brazilian tradition. Local vocalist-songwriter Valerie Caracappa opens the show. Admission is seven dollars. Call 279-8100. (GC)
Jamaica Independence Celebration: Celebrate Jamaica's 34th year of independence with a full day of fun from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at West Lake Park (751 Sheridan St., Hollywood). This festival features live reggae and Jamaican folk music by Creative Source of Nebula, Screwdriver, Samantha Rose, Michelle Gordon, the Beniah Band, Gilly's Haitian Band, Higher Ground, and others, plus dancing, dub poetry by Malachi Smith, authentic arts and crafts, dramatic and comedic skits, a dominos tournament, a youth soccer game, a treasure hunt, a Miss Broward Jamaican Independence pageant (open to lovelies between ages 16 and 21), and a bevy of Caribbean foods. Admission is two dollars. Call 926-2410. (GC)
sunday
august 4
Miami Reggae Festival: Okay, there's a lot of great stuff lined up for the 12th annual version of the Miami Reggae Festival, being held today beginning at 2:00 at the Bayfront Park Amphitheatre (301 Biscayne Blvd.). It's a vet-heavy lineup that includes the Mighty Diamonds, Ken Boothe, Bob Andy, and other long-timers and newcomers. The reason you should be here and nowhere else, though, is the headliner: Toots and the Maytals. In case you don't know, Toots Hibbert is the greatest singer reggae has ever produced -- not the greatest living singer, the greatest period. Imagine a Jamaican-born Otis Redding, with the same husky voice and the same gospel-drenched phrasing, and you have half the picture; the rest you have to witness live. Toots hasn't made an album in more than eight years, but it doesn't matter: As the recently released compilation Time Tough attests, Toots has knocked out more than his share of classics, including "54-46, That's My Number," "Monkey Man," "Pressure Drop," "Sweet and Dandy," and "Do the Reggay," which gave the music its name, if not its proper spelling. Tickets for the festival cost ten dollars. Call Jamaica Awareness at 891-2944 for more information. (JF)
Dominican Youth Arts Festival: Allapatah celebrates the music, dance, crafts, and food of the Dominican Republic at a festival this afternoon at the Dominican American National Foundation Headquarters (1900 NW 36th St.). Local Dominican musicians will perform while artists Charo Oquet and Ruben Garcia lead an art workshop for children. Masks, paintings, and performance videos created by Allapatah public school students will also be on display. The festival starts at 5:00 p.m. Admission is free. For details, call 538-2184. (JC)
Gipsy Kings: Almost a decade after it was released in the United States, the Gipsy Kings' first self-titled album is still being played in Ocean Drive cafes, where it's become the standard "Spanish" dinner music used to appeal to tourists seeking Latin culture in Miami. Never mind that the Gipsy Kings are from France. Maybe after stabbing pasta to the beat of "Bamboleo" for the thousandth time, you've had enough of the Kings' catchy, easy-listening flamenco pop for one lifetime. But if the recorded music has only whet your appetite for another round of "Djobi, Djoba," come to the Jackie Gleason Theater of the Performing Arts (1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach) tonight, when the Reyes and Baliardo brothers perform live. The show starts at 8:00, and tickets range in price from $35 to $50. For a "Bem, Bem, Maria" good time, call 673-7300. (JC)
monday
august 5
Kate Kretz and Christine Tamblyn: The Art Museum at Florida International University (University Park campus, SW Eighth Street and 107th Avenue, PC rm. 110) concludes its season with an exhibition by two of the school's visual arts faculty members, Kate Kretz and Christine Tamblyn. Kretz offers nighttime images of women in a series of paintings titled Beauty Wrest. In these works, she seeks to unravel the fabricated facade of beauty that women are taught to offer while celebrating the power of that beauty to create tension and anxiety in the viewer. Tamblyn creates a site-specific installation called Multiple Personas, including her interactive CD-ROM "Mistaken Identities," which highlights ten famous women chosen for their status as role models. Through the use of photographs, film and video clips, and other media on computer, the viewer is invited to explore these women's lives and works. Kretz's and Tamblyn's works are on view through August 10. Admission is free. Museum hours are 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Monday, 10:00 to 5:00 from Tuesday through Friday, and noon to 4:00 on Saturday. Call 348-2890. (GC)
tuesday
august 6
Eighth National Art Exhibition by the Mentally Ill: The University of Miami's New Gallery (1300 Campo Sano Dr., AR 101, Coral Gables) hosts the Eighth National Art Exhibition by the Mentally Ill. The works chosen for the exhibition cover a wide spectrum of media and styles, and were compiled by a Florida-based volunteer organization whose goal is to fight the stigma associated with mental illness while providing a forum for talented artists who might otherwise experience discrimination. The exhibition is on view through August 30. Admission is free. Gallery hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. from Monday through Friday, and 10:00 to 3:00 on Saturday. Call 284-2542. (GC)
wednesday
august 7
Warped Tour: The Bayfront Park Amphitheater (301 Biscayne Blvd.) quakes with an afternoon of music to mosh, crash, fly, and fall to today as the Warped Tour barrels its way into town. Hard-throbbing skatecore, punk, and alterna-rock bands Fishbone, 311, Pennywise, Rocket from the Crypt (see "Music," page 75), CIV, fluf, Supernova, Blink-182, Strung Out, Red 5, Samiam, Dimestore Hoods, Dakoda Motor Co., and Mr. Miranga perform throughout the day and night, while skateboard enthusiasts risk life and limb to prove just how totally cool they are in demonstrations. Doors open at 2:00 Tickets cost $18.50. Call 358-7550.
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