The Best Things to Do in Miami This Weekend

It's Friday, it's July, and you just want to get the hell out of work and start your weekend. We feel you. Go ahead and pull your work email up in another tab so you'll be able to switch to it quickly and avoid getting caught planning your weekend during work hours. Your boss doesn't need to know you're going to a ganja festival in Wynwood or taking your dog to the movies in Coconut Grove.
Friday

Meet Miami at the Tank Brewing Company
The Magic City is bewitching outside its sandy ocean rim. That's why the folks at the event company Beyond South Beach are luring you to Doral with a gathering of local vendors, food, music, and art. Twisted Fork Kitchen will bring the grub, Atomik will provide the live art, and Emkay and Magic City Hippies will perform live. So if you've been living like a tourist lately, head to Meet Miami at a brewery based right here at home.

Cheap Miami Fifth-Anniversary Party at Gramps
If you're a nostalgia-driven music collector or just a frequent patron of local bands, you've probably heard of Cheap Miami, a label that releases cassette tapes of bands both regional and international. After five years in the game, the label is celebrating its anniversary with nothing less than a showcase of local gems hosted by the incomparable Shelley Novak. Rick Fantasies, Denudes, the Grumps, and Anastasia Max are all slated to perform in the intimate backroom of Miami's favorite Wynwood rock venue.
Saturday

Canine Film Festival at Cinépolis Coconut Grove
Those who dress their dogs in fancy duds or put their pups in strollers, rejoice! This weekend is the Canine Film Festival at Coconut Grove's Cinépolis movie theater. Pinch yourself now! It kicks off with A Day at the Movies With Your Dog, where entries into this very real film fest are screened. Other doggie day events include a fashion show, the Barker Awards, yoga with your dog, and an after party at Miami Lakes' Hotel Indigo. Fifty percent of the proceeds of these doggone entertaining events will benefit local animal rescues and shelters, so put your money where your mouth is and spend some cash on a fun day out instead of new doggie sunglasses.

Dab Day Music & Arts Festival at Toejam Backlot
Those who worship at the cannabis altar have a strong sort of brotherhood. Dab Day Productions is at the helm of this crew and is bringing ganja-heads committed to the sticky-icky lifestyle together again for the annual 710 Dab Day Music & Arts Festival. In its fourth year, the fest will offer live art, glassblowing, vendors, and educational speakers in Wynwood, all in support of legalizing it. Musical performers include Yung Simmie, Gorilla Zoe, Meyhem Lauren, and Itawe of Locos por Juana. So do like the environmentalists say and go green.
Overtown Music & Arts Festival
Headliner Marketing Group has spent the past three years gradually revamping a festival that has graced one of Miami's most historic neighborhoods for more than half a decade. This year, it doesn't seem necessary to mess with a good thing. The musical lineup at the Overtown Music & Arts Festival includes CeeLo Green, Keyshia Cole, R&B duo Ruff Endz, and RL, with Monica serving as a guest host. No more than a block and a half away from the main stage, you'll find food, local art, and activities for the kids. The festival will be between NW Second and Third Avenues and NW Eighth and Tenth Streets.

MegaRumba at Mana Wynwood
Countries are important and everything, but what's more important than you, right? July 20 usually marks the celebration of Colombia's declaration of independence, and MegaRumba has celebrated that occasion in the past, but why let Colombians have all the fun? This year, the party asks you to celebrate your independence with a mishmash of Latin cultures at a big ol' party. Never mind that you still live with your parents; register on Eventbrite for a free shot of aguardiente, cheer to Los 5 and Locos por Juana, and do you, Ms. Independent.
What's Your Elephant? at ArtServe
There's plenty that goes on in your life that you'd prefer not to expose, like that questionable decision you made last weekend or your browser history. But more often than not, what is left unspoken can be damaging to those forced to remain unheard. What's Your Elephant? gathers work from artists addressing topics that are ignored or shielded from public discourse, and encourages others to face their "elephant in the room." The opening will include live performances to accompany visual art from more than a dozen artists.

Sunday

Tiago Iorc at North Beach Bandshell
Though he originally gained notoriety singing in English, Tiago Iorc has been writing music in his native tongue since 2013. Whether you love him for his telenovela associations or for his mellow acoustic pop, this Brazilian singer-songwriter is as enjoyable to listen to as he is pleasing to look at. His show in Miami Beach is one of only a handful in the States, so catch him before he heads back to the Southern Hemisphere.
Mishka at the Wynwood Yard
Bermuda-born, Hawaiian-based reggae pop musician Mishka seems like he's just hopping from one beautiful beach to the next. The singer, sailor, and grooving fellow is headed to this Atlantic-front city for a show with a full band at the Wynwood Yard. He grabs Caribbean music by its roots and twists it around his finger into his own style of song. With a sixth full-length coming this September, he'll deliver songs that are the perfect summer breeze on a sweaty Miami night.

Alumni Studio Tour and Brunch at 749 Gallery
ArtCenter/South Florida has provided workspace for scores of artists over the years, allowing them the place and allotting them the time and resources to craft their visions into reality. Many notable alumni, including Rosa Naday Garmendia and Jose Pacheco Silva, still support the organization and will be featured at the upcoming Alumni Studio Tour and Brunch at 749 Independent Artist Studios and Gallery. And for those not in the know, there's the 7th Ave Sunday Art Walk in that area to hit up after your brunch.