The Nine Best Things to Do This Week in Broward and Palm Beach

Thursday, February 18

It's not a party until it's a 3rd & 3rd party. At least, that's what the Delray Beach locals will tell you. With the restaurant's three-year anniversary happening Thursday, today owner and proprietor John Paul Kline's establishment stands as one of the area's most popular downtown Delray Beach haunts — one that quickly attracted the local community for its collaborative and supportive environment. But rather than celebrate another year in business, this time around, the restaurant will celebrate the life of the late John Paul Kline, who passed away unexpectedly on January 15. The late South Florida chef, who was known to many in the Delray Beach area for his jovial and compassionate personality, decided not to put a sign up back when he opened his establishment, which he named for its location at the corner of NE Third Street and Third Avenue. This week, friends and family — as well as 3rd & 3rd fans — are invited to join the restaurant and the whole staff, past and present, as they celebrate the restaurant's three-year anniversary as well as the life of a man who touched the hearts of so many. The party will be "JP style," with complimentary passed hors d'oeuvres (until the kitchen runs out) and live music all night until last call.

Everyone is invited. There is no cover. The 3rd & 3rd anniversary party will take place at 5 p.m. Thursday at 301 NE Third Ave., Delray Beach. Call 561-303-1939, or visit 3rdand3rd.com. 

If Larry David thinks you're funny, it's the equivalent of Emeril Lagasse thinking you can cook: a high, door-opening honor from an industry kingmaker. In 2007, David introduced most of the world to Jerry Brooks — AKA J.B. Smoove — as Leon Black, Larry's unlikely "black friend" on Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Smoove has shown off his deft skills as an improviser every season since. Lovers of cinema-so-bad-it's-good have known Smoove since at least 2001, when he narrated the cult classic Pootie Tang, but Curb is the role that's raised his profile to that of minor celebrity. He's become known for theatrical high jinks both in his television appearances and in his live gigs, whether it was his hilariously awkward tango with Conan O'Brien in 2014 or his live on-air call to Larry David during a 2015 appearance on The Meredith Vieira Show. The rapid-fire delivery of Smoove's standup sets is punctuated by sketch-like physical comedy bits complete with sound and voice tracks, like his one-man reimagined King Kong with an emphasis on the ape's, ahem... generously sized member.

Catch Smoove's act at 8 p.m. Thursday, 8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday, and 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday at Fort Lauderdale Improv, located at 5700 Seminole Way in Hollywood. Tickets cost $22, and there is a two-drink minimum. Call 954-981-5653, or visit improvftl.com. 

Friday, February 19

About the only thing Americans love more than their barbecue is an all-you-can-eat buffet. So a barbecue buffet hits just about every happy button a true patriot possesses — except one. Which is why Bar Stache 1920's Drinking Den added whiskey to the equation. In addition to booze and barbecue, Stache is also spicing things up with a bit of burlesque to boot. Because, why not? On Friday, Stache hosts the Big Bad Bourbon BBQ Blowout. Only $35 gets you unlimited barbecue as well as bourbon and rye cocktails from 6 to 9 p.m. There will also be live rock 'n' roll music from Estimated Project and a special Bulleit tasting lounge to help you sort it all out.

Stache 1920's Drinking Den is located at 109 SW Second Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. Tickets can be purchased through ticketmaster.com. Call Stache at 954-449-1044, or visit stacheftl.com. 

William Wycherley, a renegade playwright from England's artistically fertile Restoration period, was kind of like the Todd Solondz or Neil LaBute of his 17th-century day. He wrote uncompromising social satires about sexual deviants and licentious women, characters whose brazen amorality led critics of the time to decry the plays as "filthy," "noisome," and "heartless." The Country Wife is his most notorious creation, a play so ahead of its time that it might still be ahead of ours. Adapting a couple of successful and genteel Moliere comedies and mixing their plots in a blender of hedonism, The Country Wife shuffles among three stories whose interlocking character, a rake named Horner, has devised a scheme to feign impotence in order to socialize with, and eventually bed, aristocratic housewives eager for an extramarital romp. No less controversial is the carnal journey of Margery, spouse of the appropriately named cuckold Mr. Pinchwife. Even these days, with modern criticism responding more appreciatively to the show's sophisticated social commentary, The Country Wife is still a rarely produced relic, so bravo to Florida Atlantic University's brave student theater department for mounting a play that even most professional companies wouldn't touch with, well... you can fill in the rest.

The show runs Friday to February 28 at FAU's Studio One theater, located at 777 Glades Road in Boca Raton. Showtimes are 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Call 800-745-3000, or visit fauevents.com. 

Saturday, February 20

Even under the best circumstances, the teenage years are rough. Hormones are raging, contributing to breakouts and terrible mood swings. There's pressure to figure out where and how to fit into high school society. Foxy Brown's Pajama Pancake Party aims to make things a little easier for those teens who have it the worst, benefiting the Jack and Jill Children's Center's mission to support low-income and at-risk teenagers and their families. All you have to do is eat. The event features an all-you-can-eat flapjack breakfast with five pancake stations, eggs, and bacon. The hotcakes highlight the restaurant's favorite weekly specials from the past few years. The brunch menu offers bananas Foster and raspberry white chocolate, so expect to see even more creative, flavorful options. They've done things like corn pancakes with pulled pork and Three Second Rule, topped with ice cream, crumbled Oreos, and gummy worms, crowned with a waffle cone. The coffee station is included, and there are also cash bars with mimosas, bloody marys, and local craft beers. The festivities include a best pajama contest, a pie-your-parent-for-charity station, games, and more.

The cost to attend is $25 for adults (one drink ticket included) and $12 for kids. The party is being held under a tent in the parking lot from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Foxy Brown is located at 723 E. Broward Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. Call 754-200-4236, or visit myfoxybrown.com. 

Solomon D. Spady was the most prominent African-American educator and community leader in Delray Beach during his tenure as teacher and principal of George Washington Carver High School. His Mission Revival home, constructed in 1925, has since served as an African-American cultural heritage museum, the only one of its kind in Palm Beach County. Spady, honored as a "Great Floridian," strove to give his students the best possible education and prepared them for college in the less-than-enlightened era of the American South before the civil rights movement. As a bastion for African-American culture, the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum is an important repository of Delray's history. The Spady Living Heritage Festival is a celebration of that legacy featuring food and activities for the whole family as well as a performance by legendary blues man Sherman Holmes of Holmes Brothers' fame. World-renowned for his fluid bass playing that can morph with ease in and out of jazz, funk, and the blues, Sherman Holmes is also in full command of a distinctive and soulful baritone. His new band, the Sherman Holmes Project, features the acclaimed guitar of Brooks Long and drummer Eric Kennedy. The tradition bearers of Renaissance Park will also be present, explaining and showing how Floridians lived off the land and prospered using skills and crafts from the past.

The Spady Living Heritage Festival runs from 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday at the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum, 170 NW Fifth Ave., Delray Beach. Admission is free. Call 561-279-8883, or visit spadymuseum.com/slhf2016. 

If you have ever set out into the wilderness and unplugged (like really and truly unplugged, to the point where even a vibration-mode alert from your iPhone would sound like the ringing of a school-bell alarm), you know that the nature surrounding you opens up in symphonic proportions. Consider it Mother Nature's reward for detaching from technology for a brief moment. At the 17th-annual Everglades Day this Saturday, you can put this theory to the test during "Songs of the Everglades: Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Migratory Bird Treaty." Besides the epic sounds and scenery surrounding you, the festival features folk musicians Rod MacDonald and Dale Crider and presentations by Ron Magill from Miami-Dade Zoological Park, the Cornell Ornithology Lab, and Reinaldo Beccerra representing the Seminole Nation. The free day of activities runs from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. and is a celebration and reminder of the American Everglades' importance to the overall health of this area and will feature canoeing, walks, demonstrations, entertainment, and food trucks.

The Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge is located off U.S. 441, two miles south of Boynton Beach Boulevard. Visit auduboneverglades.org, or call 561-732-3684. 

You know you're living a pug life walking around with a wrinkly, short, and squishy face but people want to pet you anyway. Just another day in the life of a pug. How could you not love that adorable, asthmatic face? Sadly, even purebreds like pugs get abandoned by their owners. Happily, there are people who care. In this case, it's nonprofits helping nonprofits. But they need you. Nonprofit 1701st Fleet Florida Squadron Star Trek is hosting Live Long and Pugsper!, a charity event to help find forever homes for abandoned pugs from South Florida nonprofit Compassionate Pug Rescue. As usual, Oakland Park's Funky Buddha Brewery is willing to help by hosting the event at the brewery on Saturday. Anyone who brings a $5 or more donation gets a wristband good for $1 off Funky Buddha beers. There will be a raffle with lots of prizes, including awesome beers and memorabilia with autographs from famous people.

Come to the brewery between 2 and 5 p.m. to help the cause and give hugs and kisses to little puggies and maybe take one home. Funky Buddha is located at 1201 NE 38th St. in Oakland Park. Call 954-440-0046, or visit funkybuddhabrewery.com. 

Sunday, February 21

This weekend, the Lake Worth Street Painting Festival is expected to bring 100,000 attendees and more than 600 artists to the seaside town. Celebrating its 22nd year, this annual festival claims to be one of the world's largest. In fact, it's so big that it will last for two days, on Saturday and Sunday. Designs on the asphalt will use only chalk and span styles from traditional Renaissance classicism to more modern styles like cubism and pop art. Festival food courts will feed the masses while live bands kick off at noon and play for the duration of the fest. Take Tri-Rail to the festival or park on the north side of the Palm Beach State College Lake Worth Campus. There will be a free shuttle service from both locations that runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days. Free parking throughout downtown and valet service are also available.

The Street Painting Festival is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) event and is from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Lake and Lucerne avenues in downtown Lake Worth. There is no admission charge. Visit streetpaintingfestivalinc.org. 

For more events, visit our online calendar or pick up the print edition of the New Times Broward-Palm Beach every Thursday. To submit an event, use our online form.