Free Events This Week in Miami: Concrete Beach, The Mighty, and #HialeahNow's BBQ

It's Monday, Miami, but never fear: The week holds plenty of promise, even if you're ballin' on a budget. From South Beach to Kendall to Hialeah, here are some freebies to keep you busy.

Breakfast Arts Salon With Rena Kraut at the Betsy Hotel
9:30 a.m. Monday, May 15
One might think it strange that a major cultural locus in Miami is a hotel on South Beach. But in the Magic City, hotels are like churches, and the Betsy is a cathedral. This week, it will welcome the founder and executive director of the Cuban American Youth Orchestra, Rena Kraut, to its regular Breakfast Arts Salon series. Kraut works to connect high-schoolers with musical talent across the Caribbean. A worthy cause, a breakfast, and a salon steps from the sand and waves? A perfect reason to call in late for work Monday morning.

The Mighty's Third-Anniversary Party at the Mighty
5 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, May 17 and 18
When wife and husband Esti and Ryan Brooks opened the Mighty three years ago, it was as if they had created the gastropub, craft beer, and cocktail headquarters of their dreams. In doing so, they made the fantasies of beer-and-sausage-loving Miamians come to fruition, too. Just about everything at the Mighty is DIY — from the handmade furniture to the homemade sausage — but it's hard to believe because everything looks so polished yet unfussy. What's not hard to believe is that the joint is still going strong. The Mighty's third-anniversary party will last two days and coincide with American Craft Beer Week, so expect $3 cocktails Wednesday and more drinks with music Thursday. If you haven't been to this Coral Way hangout, this celebration will be the perfect introduction to a Mighty good time.

Legendary Cupping Tour at All Day and Panther Coffee
2 and 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 17
If coffee is your cup of tea, the upcoming Legendary Cupping Tour will definitely pique your palate's interest. The Cafe Imports event is making its way through Toronto, Miami, Tampa Bay, Indianapolis, and Denver this spring, and its organizers hope to continue it from there unto eternity. The Miami stop will include cupping at the downtown breakfast spot All Day and a "Roaster Relay" at the Little Haiti Panther Coffee location. Get caffeinated for free while you explore a few of Miami's java hot spots.
Women Painting at Miami Dade College Kendall Campus
2 p.m. Thursday, May 18
Painters Painting was a documentary meant to give an overview of painting movements and figures in New York from 1940 to 1970. More than 20 artists were presented, but only one of them was a woman. The folks at Girls' Club knew this was a travesty, so they gathered more than a dozen female artists for "Women Painting," a show accompanied by its own documentary that peeks into the studios and lives of the painters on display. More than combatting male-dominated art history, the show seeks to explore the relevance of painting in an era of ever-evolving art technologies.

International Museum Day Forum at Vizcaya Village
6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 18
Museums are places that can outline and define culture, whether it's the culture in which the museum resides or foreign ones it chooses to represent. For the International Museum Day Forum, Miami's institutions are coming together to answer the question "How do we present a contested past in the context of a challenging present?" Curators from the Wolfsonian, Lowe Art Museum, the Bass, Pérez Art Museum, Institute of Contemporary Art, and Vizcaya will speak about how some of their exhibits engage with race, sexuality, gender, class, and migration and what that means for modern presenters of cultural production.
Hoppy Birthday! at Concrete Beach
Noon Friday, May 19
A birthday is an opportunity to celebrate the joy of existing. And what brings you more joy than sipping locally brewed beer in the hippest neighborhood on Earth? Concrete Beach's Hoppy Birthday party is here to let everyone in on the born-day fun with free doughnut cake from the Salty Donut, food by Grumpy Greg's BBQ, rare beers from Concrete's craft-brew brethren, four surprise beer releases, and the usual Friday half-priced growler fills. It's OK — you can get a little sentimental while guzzling the goodness.

#HialeahNow Beats & BBQ Bash at Unbranded Brewing Co
2 p.m. Saturday, May 20
If you've ever wondered if you can celebrate the arts with barbecue, #HialeahNow has the answer. And it’s a yes. The Leah District's ongoing series presented by Jameson is not taking any breaks for six months. Its Beats & BBQ Bash offers the community nourishment, a location, and music with which to enjoy the new works coming out of this unlikely arts hot spot. Expect break dancing by members of the Catalyst Hip-Hop Crew to honor one of their own, the late Joel Stigale. A mentor to at-risk youths in the area, he inspired them through hip-hop and positivity.
Out of the Box: Little Boy Lost at National YoungArts Foundation
7 p.m. Saturday, May 20
At-risk youth who get access to arts education are found to do better in school, encounter more opportunity, and engage more with their communities, according to a study cited by the National Endowment for the Arts. Little Lost Boy: One Child's Story of Life Behind Bars examines the life of Damien Duncan, a Miami teenager recently released from state prison, and how the arts and education could have changed his circumstances. Created by composer Daniel Roumain and journalist Lisa Armstrong, the multidisciplinary event will include spoken word by Simbaa Gordon and a short documentary by Nilo Batle and JeanCarlo Ramirez, all YoungArts winners.
Lazy Sunday BBQ at the Standard Spa
2 p.m. Sunday, May 21
Sundays were made for lounging by the water, getting day-drunk, and eating without worrying about fitting into normal clothes later. To fulfill all of that criteria, head to the Lazy Sunday BBQ at the Standard. DJs EXZ, Lemurian, and Manumat will spin till the sun goes down while you doze in the near-summer heat. If you're feeling flush by the end of the weekend (these free events saved you money, no?), sign up for the late-night Hamam Sound Session, scheduled right after the barbecue.