In mid-January, I was having a cappuccino at Brew Urban Café in Fort Lauderdale’s Victoria Park when an acquaintance I knew only as Brian said hello. His tattooed friend plopped down at the table across from us. The friend opened his laptop and lit a cigarette. I noticed the two…
It’s been only 50 years since the civil rights movement unfolded in this country. Some blacks living today were guaranteed the right to vote only partway through their lifetimes. The Museum of Art|Fort Lauderdale commemorates this not-long-ago era with “The Movement: Bob Adelman and Civil Rights Era Photography,” which opened…
John “Jack” McNulty says it wasn’t until he was 27 that he realized he was a “closet weirdo.” Now 44, he had moved from Chicago to South Beach in 1997 and then to Fort Lauderdale in 2003. He remembers that painful void of not having any friends. That is what…
Francie Bishop Good sits at the kitchen table in her spacious Fort Lauderdale art studio. Her cat, Pepper, comes up to the table, meows, and saunters away. Atop the table sits a nice helping of raspberries, blueberries, and pastries in white bowls. Good pours two cups of coffee and says:…
When a gunman ripped through the classrooms of Sandy Hook Elementary School, horrendously killing 20 children and six adults in Newtown, Connecticut, the world mourned. It was a cold day on December 14, 2012, when this senseless act of violence broke hearts. As America expressed outrage and gun-control debates raged,…
Often, valuable life lessons are both simple and complex. Take, for example, the genius of Dr. Seuss and his quirky cast of characters, teaching kids for decades invaluable truths: how the underdog often wins or, as The Cat in the Hat famously said, “And if worse comes to worse, as…
This week, artsy types from around the globe are focused on Art Basel in Miami Beach — the contemporary art fair that takes over Miami every December. Broward County has always been Miami-Dade’s attention-hungry little brother, South Florida’s enfant terrible, and during Basel, its art scene demands to be noticed…
Ho! Ho! Ho! It’s that time again, when Las Olas Boulevard transforms into a winter celebration. All the shops stay open late and revelers flock to the chic sidewalks; as many as 40,000 attendees came out last year to enjoy snow cones and holiday cheer. Winter fun in 80-degree weather,…
For this Thanksgiving season, drop the same ole tradition of stuffing your belly and boozing up till you black out. That’s such a tired and lame way to cap off the holiday. Instead, head to Seminole Casino Coconut Creek on Thursday night for a mind-bending performance by the Peking Acrobats…
Gray Thursday, Black Friday… Camping out in a parking lot for countless hours to score deals on wireless speakers can thrill many Americans — but not the cool ones. Like you. If you skip the megamall in favor of local vendors, you’ll support your neighbors and snag the snazziest and…
Thursday nights are arguably the best time to go downtown. Venues aren’t as crazy crowded on Thursdays as they are on weekend nights. And Thursdays mark a preweekend celebration of sorts: You’re almost there, with only one day of work left. Better yet, events held like Riverwalk Get Downtown might…
How about a Sunday brunch with a side of mystery? No, not of the mystery-meat variety, because that would be way too scary. Instead, the suggestion here is to feast on a good meal while live theater is performed tableside. This Sunday’s Murder Is Served at Knights Inn in Hallandale…
ArtHeart’s founding curator, Katya Neptune, has a generous spirit that’s so refreshing in today’s self-absorbed society. Neptune founded this charitable arts organization to showcase multimedia talent while giving back. Each ArtHeart event is intended to raise funds for a good cause. This Saturday’s ArtHeart for Rwanda doubles as a group…
Not all crowded events are worth the trek. There’s nothing wrong with packed, bustling occasions, but sometimes a quieter night out is what you need to unwind. Saturday’s Live Art and Exhibition at Victorios Art Studio is just that: an intimate affair in which live body painting will be part…
At the entry to the Young at Art Museum, Andrew Nigon has installed half-deflated balloons and cotton-candy clusters, suggesting a celebration — but one that’s ending. It’s a metaphor for life on Earth. Sea levels rise, natural disasters strike, people are born, people die. Yet the planet keeps spinning, with…
Sister artists Monica and Natasha Lopez de Victoria have worked together the past 12 years creating contemporary multimedia installations that boast what they call an “electro-tropical” aesthetic. In person, the women, who have gained an international reputation as the “TM Sisters,” exude both playfulness and openness. Their work captures the…
This Sunday, you’re cordially invited to attend Hollywood Mayor Bober’s third-annual Veteran’s Day Barbecue. The saucy picnic, over Veterans Day weekend, is to pay tribute to those who have served the United States since World War II to now. Mayor Peter Bober is manning the grill, and rumor has it…
Josh Miller is a man with a plan, a creative plan. Founding owner of idea agency C&I Studios in FAT Village, Miller and his crew have been providing killer events — sweet music nights, fashion shoots, art showcases, and movies sometimes projected onto the ceiling — in its industrial studio…
When a fleet of shimmering yachts, sleek power boats, and mighty fishing vessels goes on display, you know it’s that time of year again for the annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show to set sail on Lauderdale’s waterways for a five-day whirlwind of boating romance. Kicking off on Thursday, thousands…
This year, Fort Lauderdale’s popular Day of the Dead Celebration moves the fiesta downtown to Himmarshee and the Fort Lauderdale Riverwalk from its previous central hub in FAT Village. The fourth installment takes place Saturday as towering puppets created by mastermind Jim Hammond of the Puppet Network make their way…
Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale is about to wow the masses. With the museum’s newly appointed, internationally acclaimed curator and director, Bonnie Clearwater, and a sweet, whopping $1.5 million grant donated recently by the David and Francie Horvitz Family Foundation, stellar arts programming is on the way. Up next on…
Tonight, laugh and scream your way through two parks for a spooky outdoors horror adventure. Hugh Taylor Birch State Park in Fort Lauderdale is the ticket to make your skin crawl as ghouls and critters come out in full force. This family-friendly scare fest includes games, haunted carriage rides, howling…
