A permanent vacation sure sounds nice. In most cases, it happens only to Mega Millions winners and trust fund babies.

But in Coconut Grove, an all-new event — Permanent Vacation — is coming for everyone to experience. The beachy celebration, presenting some of the neighborhood’s best restaurants as well as a couple of stellar music acts, is set to go down Saturday, January 19, from 7 to 10 p.m.

Ironically, Permanent Vacation is for one evening only, but perhaps the memories will last a lifetime.

“Following a successful concert series this summer, we’re keeping the festive spirit alive with our first event of 2019, a beach-themed block party... featuring live musical acts, family-friendly activities, and great food from some of Coconut Grove’s most popular restaurants,” says Nicole Singletary, executive director of the Coconut Grove Business Improvement District (BID).

For Permanent Vacation, a stretch of Main Highway — between Commodore Plaza and Fuller Street — will be transformed into an outdoor reggae utopia, where businesses will spill out to the street and vendors will be scattered about.

This stretch includes the tapas bar Lulu in the Grove, GreenStreet Café, Barracuda Taphouse & Grill, and Le Bouchon du Grove. Other participating restaurants are Grove hot spots Jaguar Latin-American Kitchen and the Spillover.

On the tunes front, get ready for quite the jam.

Cape Coral’s indie-soul outfit Soulixer will open the evening by rocking an outdoor set, followed by Miami’s Grammy/Latin Grammy-nominated reggae-funk stars Locos por Juana.

For the kids, the local event company Little Creative Souls will offer a children’s area for arts and crafts.

“We invite locals from inside and outside the Grove to join us and discover all that our emerging neighborhood has to offer,” Singletary adds. “One of our goals at the BID is to create immersive experiences that are free and bring our community together to explore the best of the Grove.”

Permanent Vacation. 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, January 19, on Main Highway between Commodore Plaza and Fuller Street (near 3439 Main Hwy.), Coconut Grove; eventbrite.com. Admission is free.

• Free Music
• Things To Do
• Concerts