South Florida Food and Drink Events This Weekend: Las Olas Wine and Food Festival, Kentucky Derby, and More

Congratulations, you made it through yet another working week. You might as well give yourself a pat on the back to celebrate — or better yet, a drink or three. Whether you're looking to participate a bikini contest, watch the Kentucky Derby, or eat and drink at the Las Olas Wine & Food Festival, there's something for you to do in South Florida this weekend.

Friday

Las Olas Wine & Food Festival
Friday marks the start to the Las Olas Wine & Food Festival, where Las Olas Boulevard closes for a street festival featuring fine wine and spirits (there will be over 45 tables), as well as food samples from many of the area's top restaurants. The best part: proceeds benefit the American Lung Association. Highlights from past years' events — and a few new — include a Bombay Sapphire Gin lounge, the New Amsterdam's lounge, a beer garden, and a couture fashion show. This year's festival will feature participating restaurants like 3030 Ocean, BAO bar + Asian Kitchen, Chima Brazilian Steakhouse, Dos Caminos, Fork & Balls, Gran Forno, Indigo Restaurant, Johnny V Las Olas, Kuro at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, SuViche, Steak 954, Sea Level, The Chimney House & more. Tickets to the 2015 Las Olas Wine & Food Street Festival are $100 per person for general admission, and $225 for VIP. To purchase tickets visit lasolaswff.com, or call 954-727-0907.

Saturday 

Derby Day at The Watering Hole
On Saturday, May 2 the Davie Whole Foods Market bar, The Watering Hole, will be hosting its own Kentucky Derby party with a specialty beer release. Grab a seat at the bar and enjoy a pint of the award-winning Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, a unique sipping beer with the distinctive nose of a well-crafted bourbon. Kentucky Ale is aged for up to six weeks in freshly decanted bourbon barrels from some of Kentucky’s finest distilleries. Subtle yet familiar flavors of vanilla and oak are imparted to this special ale as it rests in the charred barrels. Available while supplies last.

Mayweather Versus Pacquiao: Where to Watch in Broward and Palm Beach Counties
Don't watch the fight of the century at home alone — and pay that brutal pay-per-view bill a few weeks from now. Head out to one of the many bars, restaurants, and even gentlemen's clubs that are not only offering the fight, but sweetening the deal with food and drink specials. Check out our roundup of places to 

Prom at Beat Cup Cafe
Did you go to prom, have the time of your life, and now you desperately miss your glory days? Or, was it the worst night of your life? Maybe you just missed it all together? Whatever your individual lingering emotional adolescent scarring may be, you can work it out this weekend at The Beat Cup Prom in Delray Beach. The coffee shop is hosting its own PG-rated version, open to all 18 years of age and older, including chaperones. The shop will be serving cocktails with a reception and corsage hour starting at 7 p.m. Prom starts promptly at 8 p.m. with dancing and live music. There will be plenty of Panther Coffee all night long, along with tasty handmade treats — even tarot reading, a photo booth, and contests including the crowning of a "Prom Queen" and "King." An award will also be given for "Best Dressed." Buy tickets online, or at the cafe for $20 per person. Tickets will be $30 at the door. There's just one rule: you must wear your best prom attire, no exceptions. 

Down and Derby Kentucky Derby Kick-Off
Bar Stache 1920's Drinking Den in Fort Lauderdale will be hosting a Down & Derby Kick Off event for the Kentucky Derby. The party starts at 8 p.m., and will feature drink specials including mint juleps, bourbon smashes, and more. Place your bets for big prizes, free drinks, and more. The evening will feature High West Whiskeys and the new American Prairie Reserve. Hungry? Eats will be provided by soul food-themed food truck, Granny B'z Chicken & Waffles. And don't forget to wear your hat: the best hat contest will feature cash prizes. 

2nd Street Party
The 2nd Street Surf Shop (3159 E Atlantic Blvd, Pompano Beach) is throwing a party, and it's one you don't want to miss. Starting at 5 p.m., local artists will be taking up the parking lot along with a live DJ, STRATA clothing, and tons of store-wide savings with 20 percent off every item in the shop all day. There will also be a ramp for skating — a half pipe in the parking lot. If you're hungry, food trucks (and a keg if you're over 21) will be on-site, too. There will even be a surfboard raffle, because who doesn't want to win a new surfboard? The event is open to the public.

Kentucky Derby Watch Party
Watch the fastest two minutes in sports at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale with the racetrack's Kentucky Derby Watch Party, starting at 10:30 a.m. First, the park's our own live racing begins at 1 p.m., and the Ladies' Hat Contest will go down at 4 p.m. in the Walking Ring. Free admission and free parking. 

Sunday

Cajun and Creole BBQ at The Cook & The Cork
On Sunday, May 3, the Cook & The Cork in Coral Springs will be throwing a Cajun and Creole BBQ featuring gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice, crawfish, fried catfish, beignets, and more. Don't miss the student "Chopped" contest, where local high school students will show off their creative culinary skills to win bragging rights and prizes. All food, drink, and fun is unlimited. Go to eat. Proceeds will benefit The Culinary Institute of America Alumni Student Scholarship Fund. The Cook & The Cork Young Culinarian Scholarship Fund is headed by The Cook & The Cork owners, chef Keith Blauschild and Dena Lowell, who see a need to nurture young chefs' dreams by providing scholarship funds. The charity’s focus is to ensure there will always be quality professionals in the industry. Proceeds from this year’s event will be awarded to The Culinary Institute of America's (CIA) Alumni Scholarship Foundation. The CIA is the world’s premiere not-for-profit culinary college in the United States. The cost is $45 per person ($50 at the door), $18 for ages 13-20 ($20 at the door), and there is a suggested $10 donation for those 12 and under.

Code Red Sunday Funday 
Celebrate Sunday with a party at the Backyard in Boynton Beach. The party starts at 3 p.m. and features steel drums and music by Code Red reggae, drink specials, and $100 to the winner of the sexiest bikini contest. Then, $100 more goes to the winner of the hottest male body contest. There's a $5 cover to enter. 

Nicole Danna is a food writer covering Broward and Palm Beach counties. To get the latest in food and drink news in South Florida, follow her @SoFloNicole or find her latest food pics on the BPB New Times Food & Drink Instagram.