Best Things to Do in Broward and Palm Beach This Week

Thursday 7/14

If you're known by the company you keep, John Caparulo is most certainly a redneck. The Ohio native and standup veteran of nearly 20 years raised his national profile on Bill Engvall's Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Next Generation, appeared on Ron White's Salute to the Troops on CMT, hosted that network's lone season of Mobile Home Disaster, and hosts with his wife Jamie an intermittent podcast called Domestic Disputes. On its SoundCloud page, he holds an ice pack to one eye, no doubt the result of some knuckleheaded besmirching of his spouse's good name. If that's not enough, he married said spouse in a tavern. Yes, Caparulo is doubtlessly self-effacing white trash, but his material, delivered with the high, polarizing gravel of a younger Brian Doyle-Murray, is more apolitical than the average Blue Collar comedian, with riffs on subjects such as adult horseback riding, dogs' superiority to children, and attempting to watch porn at a Disney-owned hotel (not an easy accomplishment, apparently). You'll laugh no matter what kind of collar you're wearing. See "Cap" perform at 8 p.m. this Thursday, 8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, and 7 p.m. Monday at the Fort Lauderdale Improv (5700 Seminole Way, Hollywood). Admission costs $22 plus a two-drink minimum. Call 954-981-5653, or visit improvftl.com. John Thomason

Friday 7/15

Any kiddo comic lovers who have clutched onto the last few pages, flashlight in hand, at bedtime or snuck the last few strips of a particularly good comic during class without getting caught will tell you that the deep magnetic pull of a decently illustrated storyline is strong within us — so very strong, in fact, that sometimes the only way to quell the obsession is to start creating comics of one’s own. This is where the 10th-Annual Young at Art Teen Comic Convention swoops in. The yearly event showcases teen comic artists with guest drawing demonstrations, quick-drawing contests, cosplay fashion shows, comic vendor stations, digital movie trailers created by former Camp YAA students, and much more. The 55,000 square-foot Young at Art Museum and Broward County Library in Davie aims to be the nerve center for cultural arts and education for children in the area with traveling installations, learning centers, a recording studio, and painting and printmaking classes available. Friday’s comic-con only adds to the cultural importance of the museum. The convention will run from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at 751 SW 121st Ave., Davie. Admission for the convention is covered in the $14 admission to the museum. Call 954-424-0085, or visit youngatartmuseum.org. Terra Sullivan

Saturday 7/16

To step into the pulse of South Florida's art world that is ArtServe's annual RedEye tradition is to take a deep dive into a cornucopia of imagination — or reimagination, that is, a term better suited to this year's theme, RedEye: Reality Reimagined. For the past ten years, RedEye has been South Florida's artsy heart, and this year's edition pays homage to both RedEye's roots and the progression of art itself. When RedEye began, it was one of the first events to feature graffiti artists painting live. Flash forward a decade, and graffiti art is almost mainstream. Featured artist David Lavernia, a muralist well known as DavidL, will live-paint a mural and mentor local students in the process, as well as display some of his newest pieces. His work epitomizes RedEye's evolution, which is a direct reflection of the evolution of new art forms and genres. The Spoken Word Salon will feature artists who magic words into influential art, symbolizing the powerful and expressive art form that spoken word has become. Likewise, an interactive Sofa Lounge exhibit will celebrate the rise of digital and gaming art. With more than 50 artists lined up, there's a bit of something for everyone to let imaginations run loose and wild in the sea of art's reality. ArtServe's RedEye: Reality Reimagined takes place from 6 to 10 p.m. this Saturday at 1350 E. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. General admission tickets cost $10 online and $15 at the door, and VIP tickets cost $75 while supplies last. Call 954-462-8190, or visit artserve.org. Hillary Hoffower

When Kyle Jones and Joey Farrell first started on the homebrew circuit, they were among the handfuls of homebrewers in South Florida who had aspirations of owning their own brewery. After lots of trial and error, a little help, and some validation from local homebrewing contests, the two would eventually launch LauderAle Brewery. Homebrewing is still alive and well in South Florida and, some would argue, stronger than ever. Those who are making it happen need a place to show off their brewing chops. That's where Jones and Farrell come in, and they're hosting the Second-Annual LauderAle Homebrew Competition. It's not a place where you'll find commercially made beer, though you might discover a couple of brewers who've gone pro but want to take a step back from their day jobs. Here, you'll see a slew of IPAs, double IPAs, pale ales, saisons, and some unique styles that are all made in small, five-gallon batches. The competition is Jones and Farrell's way of giving back to the scene that helped get them started. The homebrewing contest runs from 2 to 5 p.m. this Saturday at LauderAle Brewery (3305 SE 14th Ave., Fort Lauderdale). Call 954-653-9711, email [email protected], or visit lauderale.co. David Minsky

Competition is intense, blood levels are rising, and winners' reputations are on the line. No, this isn’t the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, but it is something just as important to some folks. It’s the Fifth-Annual Boca Burger Battle Competition. Taking place on Saturday, 17 local chefs will present their burger masterpieces to the grill master judges. Winning titles are Best Grill Master and Best Alternative Grill Master. By using a wooden chip, attendees have the opportunity to vote "People's Choice" for the Best Boca Burger. Contenders include M.E.A.T. Eatery & Taproom, Saquella Café, Shake Shack, Zinburger, BRGR Stop, and Tucker Duke's Lunchbox. Tickets for VIP admission are $75 with presale discount (regular price is $125) and include early entry at 6 p.m., unlimited burgers and bites, and unlimited beer and wine tastings. General admission is $50 and includes entry at 7 p.m., unlimited burgers and bites, and three drink tickets for beer and wine tastings. The competition takes place at Sanborn Square Park, located at 72 N. Federal Highway in downtown Boca Raton. Visit bocaburgerbattle.com. Natalya Jones

Every comedian’s dream, whether they admit it or not, is to play cushy thousand-seat theaters, a career pinnacle only reached after years of gigging at improv clubs full of sloshed partiers and the occasional heckler. But even those institutions of higher comedy are like citadels, mostly off-limits to comics without years of talent and polish. So what does an aspiring comic have to do to gain that kind of experience? Luckily, there’s been a movement afoot to liberate comedy from high-ticket theaters and insidery improv clubs, bringing up-and-coming humorists to popup shows at hookah bars, coffeehouses, and hipster restaurants for a nominal fee. The Spill the Beans comedy show has been doing just that on a monthly basis from the confines of the speakeasy-like artisan coffee mecca Undergrounds Coffeehaus. For its July show, six local comedians — many of them moonlighting after 9-to-5 gigs as paralegals, reporters, and marketing directors — will perform sets ranging from 5 to 15 minutes, ensuring about 90 minutes of eclectic laughs. Michael Atcherson, a rising star in the South Florida comedy scene, will host. There is no two-drink minimum; quite the contrary, the alcohol-free venue offers attendees free drip coffee. Admission costs $5 in advance or $8 at the door. Undergrounds Coffeehaus is located at 3020 N. Federal Highway, Suite 5A, in Fort Lauderdale. Call 305-498-7739, or visit miamicomedy.com. John Thomason

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