The first installment of the Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art's "Night of Shorts" focused on the history of the urban landscape, the changes it's gone through, and the diminishing space of the downtown area. Now, PBICA presents "Night of Shorts II: Construct," a series of short films that critique that use of public and private spaces and trace the boom in consumer-driven meccas in the United States and Europe. Closest to our hearts here in the Sunshine State is Strip Mall Trilogy (2001) by Roger Beebe, which explores the ubiquitous urban scourge in all its mind-numbing glory. It's difficult to imagine that the strip mall could be artistic fodder, but Beebe took his Super 8 to various parking lots across Florida to shoot cars, stores, license plates, and signs, and put the random images to music -- in the form of noises he recorded at the strip malls. Think of it as a symphony of consumerism or as suburban poetry. The other films of the night include Boomsville (1968), a cartoon tracing the growth of a city; Jeremiah Strong (2001), the story of a man trying to find low-income housing; and Pink Socks (2002), which features tourist footage shot by Iowa filmmaker Leighton Pierce at Piazza San Marco in Venice. The whole thing kicks off outside PBICA (601 Lake Ave., Lake Worth) on South L Street at 8 p.m. Call 561-582-0006. -- Audra Schroeder
Greek Fest
Eat it three times fast
What's the real attraction at the 25th Annual Greek Festival thrown by St. Demetrios Church (815 NE 15th Ave., Fort Lauderdale)? The ladies. Not the belly dancers, mind you, but the little old ladies who have been baking their hearts out for weeks so that you can sample authentic spanikopita (spinach pie), koulourakia (Easter cookies), and
