New Times Broward-Palm Beach Calendar Editor Mickie Centrone attends and details some of the finest -- and occasionally subpar -- events from a given week. On Tuesday, she stumbled upon the Day of the Dead Art Walk at FAT Village in Fort Lauderdale.
At a Mexican bar on Cinco de Mayo, I had a field day asking patrons why they were out celebrating on May 5th -- main answer: I dunno. It's Wednesday. To get drunk. And I didn't even find one drinker of Mexican descent. Not that that's a prerequisite to leave the house, but instantly, while I was inside a giant industrial warehouse this past Tuesday celebrating the Day of the Dead (Dia De Los Muertos), it was cool to see how curator Susan Hopper took an Aztec/Mexican/Brazilian/etc. holiday and turned it American. The art spoke for itself. It had to, because there weren't many people there to speak for it. There were some somber moments -- like the art work that showed every face of those who died in 9/11 (pictured below).
FAT -- which stands for Flagler Arts & Technology -- Village hosts free art walks every last Saturday of the month. The area is west of Andrews. Find the Fifth Street/First Avenue intersection and signs will take you everywhere else. These warehouses, which were once considered a part of the undeveloped area south of Sistrunk and north of Broward, are now pieces of a budding arts district. Some will be pictured below, so you'll see how unscary warehouse partying actually is.