| I have a love-hate relationship with February in Miami. This is the time of year I seasonally get a whopping case of bronchitis that threatens to land me in the hospital (thus explaining my absence from the blog this week). It’s also the month of my birthday (send gifts care of VISIT FLORIDA!), the celebration of which used to be great but now is getting somewhat, ahem, old.
Therefore the hate. Here’s the love, though: So much artsy, cultural stuff goes on in this home city of mine in these short 28 days—actually, 29 this year—that it’s hard to get to it all. But of course a girl’s gotta try!
Personally, I’m going to start with becoming a member at one of Miami’s participating 17 museums for the second annual Miami Museum Members Month (M4). By doing so, I can then visit the other 16 museums for free all month. What a great deal! Initiated by The Wolfsonian-FIU, M4 includes a wide range of members-only programs at each institution, such as exhibition openings, cocktail hours, family days, and lectures. Some of the participating institutions include: Art Center/South Florida; Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation; The Haitian Heritage Museum; The Historical Museum of South Florida; The Jewish Museum of Florida; Miami Beach Botanical Garden; and Miami Children’s Museum. Plus, 14 local artists and designers have been commissioned to create original artwork for 17 individual T-shirts, with each representing one of the participating museums. The t-shirts sell for $20 each at select events throughout the month. For more info and a schedule, www.JoinOneSeeThemAll.com.
I’ll continue with a double-dip treat of poetry. On Saturday night, nationally renowned local poet Campbell McGrath reads and signs his 7th collection, “Seven Notebooks” from Ecco Press, at Books & Books in Coral Gables, starting at 7 pm. On Sunday in the same location, my fave exilio poet Ricardo Pau-Llosa (see www.pau-llosa.com) will read from his new book of poems, his 6th from Carnegie Mellon, “Parable Hunter.” That begins at 6 p.m. So I might just sleep in the courtyard there, surrounded by books and contemplating a McGrath haiku (“An ant to the stars/or stars to the ant—which is/more irrelevant?”)—it wouldn’t be any different than home.
Then there’s the 45th annual Coconut Grove Arts Festival (www.coconutgroveartsfest.com), which conveniently falls on my birthday weekend every year. Taking place from February 16-18, this is one of the nation’s best juried arts shows, attracting about 150,000 people with 330 artists and craftsmen. I never fail to buy something here. One year it was an oil painting of a mango (perfect for a subtropical house); another year, a stunning piece of jewelry. Just doing my bit, of course—last year the festival took in about $4 million. Plus, there’s live music, activities for kids and treats for foodies at the Global Food Village.
Speaking of food and foodies, the time is now to buy up the last remaining tickets for the Food Network South Beach Wine and Food Festival. This showcase of the culinary arts is simply fabulous. I go every year to numerous events—you can find me this year at Rachel Ray’s Burger Bash, Paula’s Poker Party & Casino Night, Wine Spectator’s “Best of the Best” and the Gloria Ferrer/Freixenet Tribute Brunch, to name a few—and each time I have more and more fun. Although some events are sold out by now, for serious students of the culinary arts, the cocktail clinics and lifestyle seminars remain available—and these are where the values lie. Check out www.sobewineandfoodfest.com for complete info. |
