SUN 9/19
With a band name that stands for "Sounds of Success," S.O.S. better be able to toot its own horn. And though years have passed since the whirlwind of said success, S.O.S. is coming to town for the City of Lauderhill's Blazz-fest 2004 (a mix of blues and jazz -- get it?).
In its heyday, S.O.S. performed alongside late funkmaster Rick James and R&B hoochie mamas the Mary Jane Girls. S.O.S. also teamed up with pre-Janet Jackson song-molders Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and went on to produce romantic rump shakers like "Take Your Time (Do It Right)," "Just Be Good to Me," and "Tell Me If You Still Care." Toot their horns, indeed they did. Sharing the stage with S.O.S. is E.J.'s Company and the Gary King Band. Besides the day of old-style live music, there's plenty of arts, crafts, and flavorful foods unique to the neighborhood's ethnicity.
Blazzfest takes place Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Lauderhill Sports Complex (7500 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Lauderhill). The cost is $6 for adults and free for children under 12 (since they won't remember the hits anyway). Proceeds benefit the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Program. BYOBC -- bring your own beach chair. Call 954-730-4218. -- Terra Sullivan
Cool Jerk
Jamaican festival spices up Sunday
SUN 9/19
Tommy Ford won't be jerking anyone's chain when he plays the role of cooking competition judge. The Kendall actor, youth activist, and children's-book author is slated to critique entries in the Jamaican Jerk Festival Jerk-Off Competition today at C.B. Smith Park (900 N. Flamingo Rd., Pembroke Pines). "A good jerk makes a good jerk," says Ford, a star of such television shows as The Parkers and New York Undercover and the films Harlem Nights and The Butcher's Wife. Also spicing up the event will be pork-eating and domino contests, folk singers and dancers, artifact exhibits, storytellers, and children's activities. Look for Air Jamaica's Flying Chef and Hot 105's Ken Jones, while the Fab Five and Burning Flames heat things up with reggae, soca, calypso, and a little R&B. Festivities run from noon to 9 p.m. The cost is $10. Call 305-891-1242. -- Michelle Sheldone
Full Moon Risin'
Pagan Pride celebrates autumnal equinox
SAT 9/18
It may seem slightly missing the point that the Pagan Pride Harvest Celebration is being held at a church. But hey, it's a Unitarian church. And when the cost of admission is nonperishable food items and clothing for Broward's Cooperative Feeding Program, in hurricane-swept South Florida, the logistics aren't that important. The celebration focuses on the first day of fall, the autumnal equinox, when day equals night and farmers reap in the light of the harvest moon. Learn more about paganism (what we mistake it for and what it really is), and bring your own drum for the drum circle. The celebration begins at noon at the Unitarian Universalist Church (3970 NW 21st Ave., Fort Lauderdale). Call 954-484-6734. -- Dave Amber
Stock Up for Carnival
SAT 9/18
The Miami Carnival is bearing down on us in October like a slow-moving hurricane that seems far away now but isn't. Before you know it, it'll be at your front door and then gone. Get your batteries charged now with Soca Jump-off, featuring Giselle D'Wassi One, Eternal Vibez, House Arrest, and Majestic Sound at Meridien (115 S. 20th Ave., Hollywood). Call 954-558-4804. -- Dave Amber
