The Seven Best Things to Do in South Florida This Weekend

Just when you thought October would never end, suddenly it’s November. Stores quickly are swapping black and orange decorations for Christmas red and green and Hanukkah blue and white.

But first, Thanksgiving — and all praise to the start of the holiday food season.

Some upcoming events this weekend have a foodie side, while others proffer musical themes and humor. Terpsichorean folks from Miami will be heading to West Palm Beach for a big show at the Kravis while several communities – namely, Pompano Beach – will begin the Green Market season.

Here’s a look at the highlights for this weekend.

Friday, November 8

The Miami City Ballet visits the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts this weekend with four performances of George Balanchine’s Slaughter on Tenth Avenue. The name implies violence, but the show is really a hilarious parody with hijinks and high kicks, gangsters and cops. The plot focuses on a tap dancer who falls in love with a stripper. Along with highlighting Balanchine’s sassy and spirited choreography and Richard Rodgers’ Broadway score, the show will also feature a Stravinsky violin concerto and a tribute to the late master of dance, Paul Taylor, with a presentation of Mercuric Tidings. 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and 1 p.m. Sunday at Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach; 305-929-7010; kravis.org. Tickets cost $30 to $199.
If you want to experience a true boundary-breaking talent, you've got to see bluesy-rock singer Lauren Anderson live. Anderson and her band will be in Delray Beach Friday for a performance at Arts Garage. She comes to town with a mixed bag of songs inspired by the musical women who came before her, especially Janis Joplin, Bonnie Raitt, and Grace Potter. Anderson’s third album, Won’t Stay Down, follows previous releases like 2017’s The Game, which ranked in the Top 50 of Billboard's blues chart for five weeks straight. Her collections are also showcases for her supersized vocals and sharp songwriting. 8 p.m. Friday at Arts Garage, 94 NE Second Ave., Delray Beach; 561-450-6357; artsgarage.org. Tickets cost $40 to $50.

Live from Delray Beach, it’s a Saturday Night Live alum. Chris Kattan, who spent eight years as a cast member of TV's landmark satiric staple, will appear on stage at the Crest Theater for a couple of performances on Friday. The show, Chris Kattan & Friends, Baby, Don’t Hurt Me Tour, incorporates the name of his new book in the name. While Kattan, 49, hasn’t quite gained the notoriety of SNL players like Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jimmy Fallon, or Seth Meyers, he did score a couple of interesting characters on the show in Mr. Peepers and Mango. He’s perhaps best known as the head-bobbing, on-screen brother of Will Ferrell. In fact, they starred together in the 1998 film A Night at the Roxbury, based on an SNL skit. He’s also remembered for the quirky film Corky Romano. 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. Friday, November 8, at Crest Theatre in Old School Square, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach; 561-243-7922; oldschoolsquare.org. Tickets cost $18 to $29.
If you’re a fan of John Gray, you know one assertion of conventional wisdom very well: Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. This weekend, the stage show drawn from Gray’s best-selling book will be presented at the Mizner Park Cultural Center. Performed by Amadeo Fusca, this one-man fusion of theater and stand-up comedy moves swiftly through a series of vignettes, covering everything from dating and marriage to the bedroom. 8 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday at Mizner Park Cultural Center, 201 Plaza Real, Boca Raton; 866-672-2849; miznerparkculturalcenter.com. Tickets cost $50.

Saturday, November 9

A foodies’ paradise is coming to downtown Boca Raton this Saturday evening. The tenth-annual Boca Raton Wine & Food Festival brings edibles of all shapes and tastes to Sanborn Square Park. The event will again be replete with food tastings, fine wines, craft beers, premium spirits, an artisan cheese village, and live entertainment. Chefs from 70 dining spots in the tri-county area will prepare special delicacies and the festival's frothy beverage division will again present the annual Craft Brew Battle, also known as the “Hoppy Affair.” Proceeds from the event will benefit Boca Raton’s nonprofit Children's Giving Foundation. 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, November 9, at Sanborn Square, 72 N. Federal Hwy., Boca Raton; 561-338-7594; bocaratonwineandfoodfestival.com. Tickets cost $39 to $89.
Green Market Pompano Beach is a Saturday morning destination for folks across South Florida, and it reopens for a 16th season this weekend with a variety of offerings to interest just about anyone. The Pompano open-air market, located at the Old Town Plaza next to Bailey Contemporary Arts, offers a kaleidoscope of color, with some 40 vendors setting up shop. Market-goers can check out the artwork on display, enjoy music from the featured DJ, and shop for farm-fresh produce and other foods. 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturdays through April 25 at Old Town Plaza, Corner of First Street and First Avenue, Pompano Beach; greenmarketpompanobeach.com. Admission is free.

Nader-Mara Entertainment is bringing Battle of the Boros XI to Coral Springs Center for the Arts. Some big names on the doo-wop and oldies charts will make appearances. Among them is jukebox icon Bobby Brooks Wilson, with special guests the Chiclettes, the Duprees, the Crests, and the Happenings. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, November 9 at Coral Springs Center for the Arts, 2855 Coral Springs Dr., Coral Springs; 954-344-5990; thecentercs.com. Tickets cost $45.