Hare Krishna Festival winds down with a parade

The Hare Krishna parade came through town today around 2:30 pm, with a police escort and lots of colorful people. Folks along the way joined in and started dancing and hundreds filled the streets with music and dance. It all culiminated at the Krishna temple on Virginia and Day, where the last day of the Hare Krishna festival wound down with food, a fashion show and lots more music, drumming and dancing.

Police Liaison meeting is Thursday

The Police Liaison meeting will be held Thursday, February 4 at 10 am in the NET office (the Glass House at Peacock Park).

Commander Jorge Colina would like to invite all Grove merchants to attend. This is the time to voice your concerns.

Haiti Rhythm Relief Rally plays at CocoWalk

Yesterday, the Haiti Rhythm Relief Rally took place at CocoWalk. From noon until dark, bands played a free concert, asking for donations for the Red Cross. Rene Alvarez started off the day and Ryan Stone Music (above) ended the long day of beautiful music.


Joanna Cardwell, Nelsy Rivas and Julia Ortega were part of the audience, enjoying the music as they sipped cocktails at Bice Bistro.

The end of a wonderful regatta week

So US Sailings 2010 Rolex Miami OCR winds down a fantastic week in Coconut Grove. We'll miss seeing all the new young fresh faces around town.

Paige Railey of Clearwater, Florida, wrapped up the gold medal a day early in the 57-boat fleet, thanks to a substantial 35 point lead in the Laser Radial. Above left, Paige is presented US Sailings's Golden Torch Award, given by its last winner Anna Tunnicliffe, for best overall USA performance. At right, you can see Paige in action.

Following in second was Spain's Alicia Cebrian who sailed a consistently strong event, and the bronze medal went to Great Britain's Alison Young. Railey's strengths this week were her boat speed and being able to see the pressures and realizing the phase of the shift a few seconds ahead of her competition. By the end of the regatta, she had found her groove and won several races comfortably.

Coach Luther Carpenter (LaPorte, Texas) said she managed risk very well in very difficult conditions."I'm so pleased about winning the gold," said Railey. "I wasn't thinking about the results. I was out there taking one race at a time and pushing myself to use new techniques I've incorporated into my sailing. I've been learning when to take risks and when to stay conservative."


Norway's Eivind Meklleby and Petter Morland, shown here, celebrating with family and friends, won a gold medal in the Star class in a come-from-behind victory over USA's Andy Horton (S. Burlington, Vermont) and James Lyne (Granville, Vt.), who led the 24-boat fleet throughout the regatta.


Andrew Mills and Giles Scott of Great Britain.


Sven Coster and Kalle Coster of the Netherlands.

Photos by Dan Nerney

St. Stephen's Art Show poster unveiling

The 22nd annual St. Stephen's Art Show Poster unveiling party is Wednesday, February 3 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church's Nepenthe Garden (3439 Main Highway).

Stop by for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres and meet the poster artist Robin Lee Makowsi and enjoy the first view of the original art used for this year's poster. Robin is from Tularosa, New Mexico, come see how the American Southwest blends with the Southeast in this year's piece.

The Grove's own Blue Man Grove will be performing.

The St. Stephen's Art Show is February 13 through 15 this year.

Please RSVP by Tuesday, February 2 to dlewis@sseds.org

Krishna Festival taking place throughout weekend

The Hare Krishna Festival has been on since Thursday. Today and Sunday they are open from 1 until 9 pm. Partake in a new culture with shows, food and music. There is even a fashion show. Colorful booths are set up throughout the grounds and a big stage fills one end.


Srirama, Acyuta and Ananta will be performing on stage and around the grounds.


Parama Vismita enjoys fresh coconut milk, which is prepared right on the spot. Tomorrow from 2 to 4 pm, there is a parade around the Grove, too.

The festival is at 3220 Virginia Street. Admission is free.

Lunch and dinner served at Zen Village

Zen Village (3570 Main Highway) invites you to check out their new kitchen tomorrow, January 31.
Come for lunch at noon or dinner at 5:00 pm.There is your choice of soup and entree, dessert and beverage. Dishes are prepared with fresh, mostly organic and local ingredients. Each week, the menu changes.

While, there, check out the new Tea Garden and ask about Tea Socials.

Upcoming at Zen Village:

Chinese New Year Celebration - February 13, at 7:00 pm
Childrens' Lantern Festival, Full Moon Drumming Circle, Midnight Meditation, February 28, starting at 6:00 pm

Healthy Diet & Hands on Indian Cuisine, from January 23-February 13; Saturday 10:00 am-noon. Tuition: $200 includes 4 weeks of lecture and aliments. Guided by South Indian chef.

Vegetarian Fusion Gourmet Cooking Class with Chef Julez - February 20, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm; Tuition: $75.00.

February 19, Holistic Wellness Services; Complimentary massage, acupressure, tai chi, and other holistic services 7:00 to 10:00 pm.

For info, please call 305-567-0165.

Regatta sailors participate in Red Flag Race

Last night, sailors in town for the OCR Sailing Regatta this week enjoyed the Red Flag Race and party which included an Amazing-race style game where they went from place to place searching for clues, to win prizes.

Daisy Lewis and Meredith Bass ran the show and guided the sailors around town. Above left, Meredith (left) and Daisy, flank Kyle Rogachenko, who is in town from Pennsylvania for the Regatta. Kyle is a #1 American sailor in Laser. He is in second place out of 104 total.

Above right are Robert Rodriguez of Miami, Daisy, Christine Knowlton of New York, and Meredith.


Groups are in town from everywhere around the world. Above, the group at right is from Canada, the group at left is from various Eurpean countries.

After a week of racing, gold, silver and bronze medalists were determined yesterday in three Paralympic classes. The United States picked up the most medals with four, followed by Canada with two and one each for Norway, Great Britain and The Netherlands. Also determined after five days of racing were the Olympic class sailors (four teams from women's match racing and top-ten finishers from fleet racing in nine other classes) who have earned a coveted spot in today's final medal races.

Haiti's Rhythm Relief Rally at CocoWalk today

Haiti's Rhythm Relief Rally is at CocoWalk today,
January 30.

From noon to sundown, donate what you can. Bring a drum....catch the rhythm.

Music Rundown:

12:00- Rene Alvarez (acoustic)
12:30- Karina Iglesias (R&B/soul/funk)
1:30- GoodFellas (cover band)
2:30- Birdman's Clambake (fun)
3:30-Joshua Stedman (rock/soul/pop)
4:30- Willie One Blood (reggae)
5:30- RyanStoneMusic (alt/rock)

The American Red Cross is the beneficiary.

Alan G. Greer book signing at St. Stephen's

Nationally noted trial attorney and author Alan G. Greer, a resident of Coral Gables, will be doing a book reading and speaking at St. Stephens Episcopal Church (2750 McFarlane Road), on Thursday, February 4, at 7pm.

The book reading is free and open to the public -- no RSVPs are required. Greer will be reading an excerpt (and taking questions) from his welcome book about God and religion called "Choices & Challenges, Lessons In Faith, Hope and Love" by Morgan James Publishing of New York.

Save Haiti Saturday participants donating to Haiti

As part of Save Haiti Saturday, The Ivy (3159 Commodore Plaza), George's in the Grove (3145 Commodore Plaza) and Monty's (2550 S. Bayshore Drive) will donate 25% of food sales to Project Medishare via Save Haiti to aid relief efforts in Haiti.

Save Haiti Saturday is tomorrow, January 30 and next week, February 6.

For all participating venues in Miami and the country, please go here.

Lust Saturdays at Chicago's

The sexiest party on Saturday night, just came to Coconut Grove. Starting tomorrow, January 30, Lust Saturdays is the new party at Chicago's (3120 Commodore Plaza).

Every week there will be guest DJs, playing hip hop, dancehall, R&B, Soca, Top -40s, Reggaeton, old school and lots more.

Doors open at 10 pm. No cover charge.

For info on bottle and table service, or to RSVP, please call 305-967-9152.

Shake-A-Leg's Moonlight Sail is Saturday

Tomorrow night, January 30, spend a special evening under the stars by setting sail with "Mother Nature" under a full moon out on Biscayne Bay during Shake-A-Leg Miami’s Moonlight Sail.

Check-in begins at 6:00 pm with all boats departing the dock by 6:30 and returning no later than 9 pm. Don’t miss out on this wonderful opportunity to see Miami from the best spot….Biscayne Bay!

Registration is still open, click here to register. Please no walk-ups. All tickets must be purchased online ahead of the event. In case of inclement weather, ticket purchases will be credited to future Shake-A-Leg Miami events.

For more information this or other Shake-A-Leg Miami Programs go to www.shakealegmiami.org, call 305.858.5500 or email john@shakealegmiami.org.

Free Movie under the stars

In light of our story on the Grove Showdown yesterday, I guess they chose this movie for the next movie under the stars at the Mayfair Promenade: "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."

Red Flag Race running through Grove tonight

Sail the Grove is holding a "Red Flag Race" tonight, January 29, for the Miami OCR Regatta crews who are in town. So if you see a bunch of folks running around, Amazing Race-style, that's what that is.

The staring line is at CocoWalk and the finish line is at Sandbar Grill. The race starts at 5:30 and goes to 7:30, after which there is a Finish Party from 7:30 to 8:30 pm.

Participants will be given a map with participating merchants. They will then "sail" through the Grove and at each location there will be drink and food specials or a "Protest" which will be a task they will have to complete to continue. Raffle tickets and other prizes are involved, all to be explained at the staring line.

Participating bars include Barracuda, Boardwalk, Greenstreet, Mr. Moe's and Sanbar.

It was a total waste of three hours

The 3 am/5am bar closing time issue was heard tonight at a packed City Hall and in the end, the City Commission made no decision. Well actually the decision was to form a committee to study the issue of having the 3 am bar closing time become City-wide or just keep it in the Grove.

For three hours, residents and business owners took turns speaking to the Commission, although it really was just Commission Chair Marc Sarnoff who needed to be convinced. It was a packed house and everyone had time to speak.

John El-Masry (shown with Village Council member Michelle Niemeyer above) showed up with a stack of police reports that came from downtown clubs in recent months, showing all the arrests and problems. John's idea was to have every bar in the City close at 3 am to prevent drunk driving and fights, not just Coconut Grove's bar, his bar actually, Mr. Moe's, the only one which would be affected by a change back to 5 am.

Janet Mondshein, executive director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Miami (MADD) also agreed that city-wide 3 am and even 2 am would solve a lot of problems. She was obviously brought in by the Commissioner to speak on behalf of his cause, but in the end, she was even shot down in that the people in other districts of the City are still free to drink until 5 am, 7 am and even 24 hours in some cases, not really helping Ms. Mondshein's cause at all to keep drunk drivers off the roads at that hour.

At the beginning of the meeting, a presentation was shown that proved how crime and deaths went down dramatically after 3 am, when drinking is stopped.

"Spread the good news everywhere!" is what John El-Masry said to Commissioner Sarnoff -- meaning, let the rest of the City and even County, share the goodness that earlier bar closings bring. He accused Sarnoff of being a hypocrite and having a traffic circle built in front of his house and closing the bars early to just keep traffic out of the Grove and particularly off his Street (Virginia Street) and not as a reason to protect early morning bikers and others from drunk drivers, which has been his reasoning of changing the bar closing time to 3 am for the past two years.

Some residents, like Jim McMasters made no sense in agreeing that some districts should keep 5 am and just the Grove and select spots should close earlier. Why not save lives everywhere? Why are we so blessed in the Grove to be graced with early bar closings?

Lilliana Dones made the greatest case for everyone to come to their senses. She said the Grove is known for its festivals of which there are many. And with these festivals we have beer and liquore sponsors and during the festivals from 11 to 6 pm or later, we serve these drinks and then at closing time, 6 pm or 7 pm, we wave everyone off to drive home drunk.

Andrew Leeds, owner of the former Temple nightclub location was furious. He says he cannot rent the spot out because of the disadvantage of the Grove's earlier closing time. He does have one business eyeing the spot -- a drug rehab center. Is that what we want instead?

All in all, dozens of people spoke for hours on either side and nothing was decided in the end. Mayor Tomas Regalado sat in the audience through the whole debate, but made no attempt to step in, aside from saying things like better street lighting and parking would help more than the extra two hours from 3 am to 5 am or the City-wide change to 3 am closing time for all. You can see him below listening in as Village Council Chairman Patrick Sessions give his views to Commissioner Sarnoff, on leveling the playing field with Same AM for all.

Deblois Milledge performs at Barnacle Saturday

Deblois Milledge is the featured artist at this month's Barnacle Under Moonlight, on Saturday, January 30.

Deblois plays acoustic soul, country, funk music.

Admission is $7 for adults $3 for kids 10 and up. Gates open at 6 pm, concert is from 7 to 9 pm.

The Barnacle is at 3485 Main Highway. Bring a chair, blanket and cooler for your enjoyment. No pets please.

It's countdown to the City Hall showdown

The electricity is building, it's the talk of the town, the tension and buzz is everywhere. Up and down Commodore Plaza, onto Grand Avenue, the talk is 5 am. At breakfast and lunch, in the restaurants and shops, people are stopping people in the street and whispering. Emails and faxes are flying.

Sides are building up. Someone said to me "There's going to be a lot of spandex there," meaning all the bicyclists at City Hall for the big showdown tonight. Little do they know it isn't about them.


Oddly enough, it's brought the Grove together for this one big issue. Different sides, yet one big issue on everyone's minds

In the old west it would be John El-Masry in his white cowboy hat at one end of the dirt street and Marc Sarnoff in his black hat at the other.

What will be the outcome? Same AM or death.

Kayak-A-Thon for charity at Shake-A-Leg

Students at Shake-A-Leg Miami, are having a Kayak-A-Thon on Saturday, January 30 from 10:30 am – 1:00 pm, just offshore of Shake-A-Leg Miami’s sea base, to benefit disaster relief in Haiti.

The students are collecting and/or purchasing medical supplies, canned goods, clothing and other non-perishable items which will subsequently serve as their registration “fee” to participate in the Kayak-A-Thon. Shake-A-Leg Miami is encouraging the community to lend their support by sponsoring students who are unable to purchase or collect the necessary supplies on their own by donating 10 non-perishable items, which in turn will allow them participate.

Proceeds from the event will be given to Shake-A-Leg Miami’s partnering organization, Project Medishare, a non-profit organization co-founded by Dr. Barth Green dedicated to sharing its resources with Haiti in the quest to achieve quality healthcare and development. Dr. Green, who is also the co-founder of Shake-A-Leg Miami, was one of the first medical responders on the ground after the earthquake struck.

A spectator boat will be provided if you wish to watch the students in action and can be accessed by donating one case of water.

The Student Committee is made up of President, Lander Mix; Vice President, Daje Austin; Speaker, Khareem Oliver; and Writer, Santiago Correa.

If you wish to support the students in their efforts to help the people of Haiti, please contact Jonas Roddenberry at 305.858.5550, ext: 168. Shake-A-Leg Miami is located at 2620 S. Bayshore Drive (next to Monty’s). For more information on Shake-A-Leg Miami visit www.shakealegmiami.org.

Helicopter service discussed at Village Council

Luis Folgueira, owner and pilot of Professional Helicopter Services, along with Joe Reyes, Operations Manager, spoke to the Village Council, about their service, which is right off the Grove shore.

The Village Council did not know Luis and Joe were present, when they brought up the subject, so as they spoke of the service and how there may be problems with it, Luis and Joe listened quietly in the audience, when Luis finally stepped up the mic.

Luis explained the good things about a helicopter service, like how at this very moment, the sound of a helicopter is the sound of heaven to people in Haiti and how a helicopter saved Luis' life in the past, when he needed to be transported to the hospital after a nasty car accident when he raced cars for a living.

Presently, there is no helicopter service in the area since the city pulled the tour services from Watson Island, so in case of emergency for anyone, the closest helicopter could be as far away as Tamiami Airport.

Professional Helicopter Service has one helicopter that lands in the bay on a platform that is rigged to be a boat. It moves around and so far, has not disturbed anyone. In fact, most heard about it when we wrote a story in December, before that, most did not have a clue that it existed.

Ironically, it seems that the snobs at the Yacht Club and other places along the water are the only people against the service, but Shake-A-Leg used their services once to drum up wind for their sailors, on a day when there was wind.

One legitimate concern brought up by Village Council member Michelle Niemeyer, is that if the helicopter service can just work rent free from from a barge, what would stop others from doing the same, you know, like a jet ski service or hang gliding, which may be setting up from the shore right now in the area. Is the Yacht Club going to complain about people flying overhead from kites now and looking down on them sunning at the pool?

The service currently brings tourists to the Grove and if the service is not wanted, they can easily move the boat/barge to South Beach or another area, taking the tourists and convenience with them. As Luis said, "Helicopter rides are not just for the rich anymore." They are affordable and convenient and it would be nice to have them around if needed.

Hopefully a solution can be found.

Cartoon by Joe Reyes

Reward is now $10,000 for capture of Grove rapist

Today the Miami Police Department, along with Crime Stoppers and local media, congregated on Virginia Street for a re-enactment of the recent Coconut Grove rapes.

Actors portrayed the scene at the exact location on Virginia and later at the second location on Mary Street.

Above, Lead Detective on the case, Gary Jackson, informed the media that the reward is now $10,000 for the capture of the rapist. He says that to date, there have been no sightings or further attempts.

According to police, the suspect is approximately 5'7", late 20's, 160 lbs, medium built, last seen wearing all black with a red or black mask that covered most of his face. The suspect has a distinctive brown mark on the white portion of his right eye.

Anyone with information on this incident is urged to contact the Special Victims Unit at 305-603-6300 or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS."

"Same AM" discussion at City Hall is tonight

The Coconut Grove and City of Miami bar closing issue is scheduled to be heard by the City Commission tonight, January 28, at City Hall (3500 Pan American Drive) after 5 pm.

Commissioner Marc Sarnoff says he is very concerned about the late night (early morning) drinking and driving, (and rightly so), especially in light of the recent tragic accident on Key Biscayne. Will he move to change all of the City of Miami to a 3 am closing time? Or will the Grove still suffer under the unfairness of 3 am while the rest of the city parties until 5 am, 7 am and 24 hours in some cases? Which ironically, is where the drunk driver in the tragic accident was coming from -- a downtown Miami club with a 24 hour liquor license, in Mr. Sarnoff's Commission District.

It appears that a stacked deck of cyclists have been summoned to appear before the Commission by Mr. Sarnoff to plead their case of keeping drunk drivers off the streets in the early morning hours, due to 5 am and 7 am bar closing times. (What about the happy hour drinkers or dinner time drinkers and drivers?). It's ironic that if Mr. Sarnoff had really cared about this issue with bicyclists, he would have instituted the 3 am bar closing time for the whole City in 2008, and not just a small section of Coconut Grove, and the tragic bike accident may not have happened last week, according to his thinking anyway.

So in all fairness to the bicyclists and nurses and doctors and school teachers and children on their way to school in the early morning hours, that are affected by early morning drunk drivers, according to Mr. Sarnoff and his plea to parents at a local school not too long ago, let's hope Mr. Sarnoff demands the SAME AM for bar closings citywide, maybe countywide -- 3 am.

This should be an interesting meeting.

Over $15,000 raised last night for Haiti Relief

Over 400 of the beautiful people showed up for last night's Haiti Relief Charity Happy Hour at the Mutiny Hotel. Atchana's East/West Kitchen served delicious Thai food and the drinks flowed like water.


At left are Jen Weiss, Aslynn Rivera and Stephanie Yeung; At right: Isabel Salazar, Angela Ramirez and Katherine Wald.


Ziemely Vazquez and Lilliam Bervis were among the crowd, also Antonio Padin and Rafael Rodriquez.


At left: Norman Caldwell, Jen Weiss; at right: Elsie Larrea, Eduardo Lamas.

Through the door fee, food, drinks and silent auction items, lots of money was raised, last night -- $15,682! At the end of the night, the Mutiny staff celebrated at The Loggerhead (Flanigan's), the only place in the Grove to celebrate after hours.

Rolex Miami OCR Regatta is here

US Sailing's 2010 Rolex Miami OCR sailing Regatta has been in town all week, they will be here through January 30.

For fleet racing in the Olympic classes, the 2010 event consists of a five-day opening series and a double-point medal race. The top ten finishers in the opening series of each event will advance to the medal race. Competitors in the Paralympic classes will have five days of fleet racing and no medal race. For match racing, which makes its debut in the 2012 Olympic Games, the regatta consists of an opening series, a knockout series, and a sail-off for boats not advancing to the knockout series. Medals will be awarded to the top three boats in each Olympic and Paralympic event on Saturday, January 30.

On Monday, January 25, staggered starts of races began and continued throughout the day. This will go on daily through Saturday, January 30, and on Saturday night at 6 pm, the closing ceremony begins at Coral Reef Yacht Club.

Yesterday was considered a perfect day according to the regatta crowd, especially after the bad weather the day before. They enjoyed the cold snap which turned into "brilliant conditions" for sailing. It allowed for many races in one day.

Israel's Gideon Kliger and Eran Sela (in photo above) took "three good races" that brought them to the top of the scoreboard in the 470 Men's class. In the 24-boat Star class, four American teams finished in the top five after three races, with Andy Horton (South Burlington, VT) and James Lyne (Granville, VT) in the lead.

"The U.S. teams did what they needed to do today: they hit about 75 percent of the shifts and had single digits for the majority of the races," said Mark Ivey (San Francisco, CA), who is here coaching the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics' Star teams. "The goal for everybody was for everyone in the top eight at all mark roundings ... which is what you have to do in a small boat fleet."

Only four points separated the top seven Women's 470 teams. Two French teams and two US teams rose to the top: Ingrid Petitjean and crew Nadege Douroux posted 13 points in the low-point scoring system, with Erin Maxwell (Norwalk, CT) and Isabelle Kinsolving Farrar (New York, NY) following close behind with 14.

The many sailors and their families will be visiting the Center Grove for shopping, dining and undwinding, hopefully when you see them, you'll make them feel welcome. The Sail the Grove Committee will be offering the visitors special things to do and discounts at various Grove restaurants and stores.

Photo by Dan Nerney

Dining and Entertainment Guide going to press

The 2010 Best of Dining and Entertainment in Coconut Grove guide will be out this Spring. It offers plenty for visitors to do like attractions, cultural events, health and fitness, boating and water activities, a calendar of events, hotels and accommodations, shopping and night clubs and of course dining.

There is a also a map of the area produced by Miami-Dade Transit.

Now is the time to get your ad and listing in. For more info, please call 786-355-4800 or email bestpublications@yahoo.com.

Silent auction items added to Haiti Relief event

The Mutiny's (2951 S. Bayshore Drive) Haiti Relief Charity Happy Hour is tonight, January 27, from 6 to 10 pm.

Musicians Cleaveland Jones and Fabian Hernandez will be performing and Norwegian supermodel Monica Hansen will be there, filming her European reality show.

And now a bunch of silent auction items have been added which include:

* UM Cosmetic Medicine and Bascom Palmer Hospital - Botox treatment
* (1) One hr massage at home by massage therapist Jamie Martinez ($75 value)
* (1) Ki-Hara Resistance Stretching Session from Proper Form Fitness
* (2 packages) of 2 One-on-One Personal Training Sessions from Proper Form Fitness
* Spa Package from Massage by Design - $200 value.
* (two) $50 gift certificates to Isa-Beles Boutique
* (four) One Night Stays at the Mutiny Hotel
* New World Symphony Friends membership at the $250 level
* New World Symphony Arsht Center Season Finale tickets for April 11 at 2pm
* Green Room Society at the Arsht Center membership ($250 value)
* Mind, Body & Pole one hour private dance lesson ($75 value)
* Green Monkey Yoga - One Month Yoga gift certificate (value $150)
* Kristin Jones from Miami Life Center - Private Yoga class
* (Ten sets of 4) Ticket packages to the Coconut Grove Arts Festival (Feb13-15)
* Framed Coconut Grove Arts Festival 2010 poster - Artist Maria Reyes-Jones
* Original Oil Painting, entitled, "Help Haiti" by artist Jacques Bohbot
* Chimento Fine Jewelry necklace from “man jewelry line” ($120 value)
* Catering party package from Janis of Cosmos Moon Catering
* Hookah Party Package - 10 hookahs, anywhere anytime for 4 hours ($300 value)
* (2) 30-minute consultations with Rachael Richardson of Nutrolution
* One hour Acupuncture session from Acupuncture Center for Wellness
* (1) full consultation ($300 value) with Rachael Richardson of Nutrolution
* 5 Class Package of Yoga at Rina Yoga ($75 value)
* 2 entries into Rina Yoga's Cupid Partner Yoga Workshop with Rina Jakubowicz (Value $50)
* Signed Playboy magazine and headshots from Norwegian super model Monica Hansen

HookahMan is bringing two hookahs for the event for everyone to sample.

Learning Through Music program at the Barnyard

Yesterday, at 4:00 pm, cellist David Alan Harrell from the Cleveland Orchestra, visited the Barnyard after school program in Village West. The Cleveland Orchestra is collaborating with Coconut Grove Cares to help bring music and culture to the children through the Orchestra's Learning Through Music curriculum.

This nationally recognized music program fosters the use of music and the arts to support general classroom learning in select schools and community centers through a combination of curriculum, resources, teacher professional development workshops, and classroom visits by members of the orchestra.

The Barnyard, which is the only after school community center to host members of the Cleveland Orchestra this month, features a curriculum of enrichment activities that includes music, acting, sports, art classes, computer classes and educational field trips. It serves as a safe supervised place for neighborhood children, and is an alternative to the streets and the crippling realities of unemployment and poverty.

"We are thrilled to have a musician of Mr. Harrell’s stature come and share his music with our kids,” says Sylvia Jordan, the managing director of The Barnyard. "It is a tremendous opportunity for the students to learn about classical music from a member of a very well-regarded orchestra. This will be an experience they might not be likely to have otherwise- and won’t be likely to forget.”

A beautiful Flickr slide show of yesterday's event may be seen here.

Celebrity sports weekend at Peacock Park

When I was a kid, I would see the tv show "Battle of the Network Stars" or a similiar show, being filmed at Crandon Park quite often. And now a similar event is coming to the Grove.


Two great sporting events are coming to Peacock Park for Super Bowl Weekend.

The Inaugural Winn Dixie "Stars vs Studs" event is taking place Friday, February 5 from 4 to 6:30 pm. This is a Pros vs Joes type event where your favorite Dolphins players will take on other top athletes and celebrities.

The Dolphins team, Nate Jones, Anthony Fasano, Greg Camarillo, Lousaka Polite and Brandon Fields will battle it out against the celebrity team: Tae-Bo Creator Billy Blanks, Boxing Legend Evander Holyfield, NBA Alumni Robert Horry, Marlins Favorite Hanley Ramirez, and NFL Alumni Doug Flutie.

Featured games are tug-o-war, obstacle course, rapp-off, volleyball and more.

Along with the Stars vs Studs event, there is also
* A Meet & Greet with an autograph session after the game for select lucky fans and VIP’s
* Game-time performance by Doug Flutie’s Band--The Flutie Brothers Band
* Kids Fun and Concessions
* Athletes and Celebrities competing for “Bragging Rights”

Then on Saturday, February 6, the 8th Annual SPP Sports Celebrity Flag Football Challenge will be held in Peacock Park from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. Players on the schedule include Doug Flutie, Louis Murphy, Darnell Dockett, Richard Marshall, Mike Jenkins, Bryant McFadden Allen Rossum, Eddie Drummond, Matt Roth and many others. Players listed here are subject to change.

There will be a kids scrimmage, too and halftime performance by Doug Flutie's band, kids concessions will be at the park, too.

There will be Silent Auction to benefit the Joe DiMaggio’s Children’s Hospital and a VIP tickets and sideline coach give-a-way both days.

Tickets are free, bring a blanket or lawn chair, but there are VIP tickets for sale for $50.00 each. To buy the VIP bleacher tickets, please email: contactus@sppsports.com or visit www.sppsports.com

If it's Wednesday, it must be Green Market Day

The Mayfair Green Market is back today, January 27, 11 am to 6 pm.

Ruben's Restaurant offers two entree choices for his lunch special: BBQ Ribs or Chicken with Rice, Beans and Salad for only $6.00. The salad is the best part, I may just get that today.

Ivan's Organic is offering navel oranges for $1.00 each and king size mangos, two for $3.00. Adriana's Flowers is offering mini-Bromeliads for $5.00 and air plants for just $2.00.

Also, check out the fresh honey. It's so good we can't keep enough of it in the house. Also, fresh juices are made right on the spot.

The market is at the Atrium at Mayfair, by the bull, you can't miss it as you drive up Grand Avenue from Mary Street.

BNI Networker tonight at Mutiny Hotel

It may be short notice, but Business Networking International (BNI) is holding an open Network Night at the Mutiny (2951 S. BAyshore Drive) tonight, January 26, from 6 to 8:30 pm.

There is no charge, bring your business cards and friends and enjoy a night of mixing and mingling. BNI members have a chance to win one month of paid dues (up to 75.00) and even non-members have a chance to win a $25.00 gift certificate.

Appetizers will be provided by Atchana's East/West Kitchen. Stay for dinner and valet parking is free.

For info: 305-253-7499.

Mayor's Job Fair held today at City Hall

The Mayor's Inaugural Job Fair was held today outside City Hall. It seemed slow going when we arrived, but we were told that a lot of people had been there throughout the day. The most popular thing was working for the Census Bureau, they seemed to be hiring on the spot. People had to fill in a 28-question form under the tent, and then they were moved on to the next step.

One booth was taking free photos for job resumes. Do resumes require photos now? Doesn't seem quite right, at least they were free. One booth was selling computers and courses on how to find a job. Another had a resume service.

So it seems as if a few of these companies involved perhaps did not get the concept that people were looking for jobs, and not looking for ways to spend money.

But it was a good start and a nice way to help the people of Miami with job searches.

King Mango Wrap party at The Ivy on Sunday

The Mangoheads will be celebrating another Strut on Sunday, January 31, at the King Mango Strut Wrap Party. It's at The Ivy (3159 Commodore Plaza) at 3 pm.

Happy Hour drink prices will be in effect, there will be hors d'oeuvres and blues guitarist Albert Castiglia will be performing until 7:30 pm.

2009 Strut t-shirts and posters will be available and the 2009 Strut video and slide show will be shown.

They will be celebrating Chinese New Year, too, simply because it's the year of the tiger and wouldn't you know, with Tiger Woods in the news and parodied during this year's parade, it's just the thing to do!

La Bottega presents popular wines and jazz

On Friday, January 29, La Bottega (3540 Main Highway) presents Rhythm & Wine Unplugged Jazz at 6:30 pm. Enjoy Marina Martin Bossa Nova Blues live in the La Cava Club (Underground @ La Bottega). Cost is $20 per person, which includes the wine.

But first, on Thursday, January 28, La Bottega will be presenting some of their most popular wines at a Wine Tasting from 6:30 - 8:30 pm.

2008 Murphy-Goode North Coast Sauvignon Blanc, “The Fume”, $14.99.
A great wine to serve with stone crabs or oysters on the half-shell.

2007 Sonoma-Cutrer Russian River Ranches Chardonnay, $23.99.
One of America’s favorite white wines and is always satisfying.

2004 Ray’s Station North Coast Merlot, $16.99.
Ideal for large parties, satisfying both your guests and your pocketbook.

2007 Sequana Sarmento Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands, $36.99.
This flavorful beauty will make grilled salmon a feast. The Wine Spectator gave this a 92 rating.

2006 Montes Alpha Syrah, $22.99.
Wine Director Henry Barrow tasted this wine on a mountainside overlooking the winery. He loved it then. He loves it now. Bring on the lamb shanks.

2006 Catena Cabernet Sauvignon from Argentina, $22.99.
The beef in Argentina is leaner than USA beef and the Cabs do not have to be as acidic because of the leaner beef. You will like the Catena no matter where your beef is from.

As customary, an array of cheeses meats and breads will accompany the wines. Tasting is $20.00 per person. Rsvp: 305-444-3493.

Then on Friday, January 29, La Bottega presents Rhythm & Wine Unplugged Jazz at 6:30 pm. Enjoy Marina Martin Bossa Nova Blues live in the La Cava Club (Underground @ La Bottega). Cost is $20 per person.

Pizza and sandwich specials at Chicago's

Every week, from Tuesday through Sunday, enjoy All you can eat and drink Pizza, Domestic Beer and Wine for only $20.00 per person at Chicago's (3120 Commodore Plaza). That's from 5 to 10 pm.

They also offer $3.00 Apple infused vodka shooters (with real red apples); $5.00 well drinks; $25.00 Long Island Iced Tea and Margarita pitchers and and Beer Pong!

The deli sandwiches are available at lunchtime for $5.00 each for a limited time. The sandwiches come with cole slaw, macaroni salad or potato salad. That's my favorite above, the Italian Beef, called the Al Capone on Chicago's menu. And deep dish pizzas are only $8.00 during the day: cheese, pepperoni and veggie.

Call in your order and pick it up at the curb: 305-774-9981.

Bird Avenue Improvement Project discussed

The Bird Avenue Improvement Project was discussed at the Village Council meeting last week. As of now, the project will only cover half of Bird Avenue, from US1 to Virginia, There are new medians, restricted turns and a traffic circle at Virginia Street. Above is one section of the plans.

Most on the Village Council felt that the east end of Bird needs the work more than the west end, but it appears that for now, it's easier dealing with easements and legalities on the west end and there is no need to hold up the whole project. The east end will happen in time.

Lots of medians with vegetation and trees is planned along with wide sidewalks and bike lanes. Traffic signals will be in sync on US1 and 32nd Avenue and Virginia Street. The budget is $2 million, but projections are that it will cost much less due to the lower bidding and prices in this bad economy.

To put the FPL lines underground would cost $5 million and that would be put on the backs of the taxpayers, so that will not happen. The projected start is October and it should take eight months.

Some changes were requested by the Village Council, like removing the traffic circle, opening up more of the median to allow for easier access and turns and make it less Coral Gables and Brickell-like and more Key West and rustic Coconut Grove-like.

Village Council member Michelle Niemeyer asked if the $2 million could go to something more pressing in town but the money has been allotted to this particular project, the voters decided this in 2001 and it legally binding.

Two music programs this Saturday at The Kampong

The Kampong Kids Music Series and Miami Conservatory of Music are presenting "Fun With Music," On Saturday, January 30 at the Kampong (4013 Douglas Road). Explore different kinds of music performed on piano, violin and guitar by students and faculty of the Conservatory. Children in the audience will be able to also try out the instruments.

The concert is from 1:30 to 3:30 pm, admission is $25 for adults and $15 for children over three. Seating is limited, so reservations are necessary. A snack will be served after the concert, which is included in the price of the ticket.

Then, in the evening, enjoy the incredible duo, pianists Maria Laura Fagilde and Ricardo Roel performing Gershwin-Piazzolla. in a Moonlight Concert. The concert will feature a special dance performance by Oscar Caballero and Roxana Garber.

You may now purchase tickets online here or call 305.442.7169. Proceeds from our concerts support The Kampong’s living collections and education programs.

You may soon see through the mangroves

The mangroves in Peacock Park may soon have "windows" through them, so the bay can finally be seen.

The permitting process for cutting and shaping the mangroves is long and tedious, but hopefully pretty soon, the work can start.

An official RFP (Request for Proposals) for the Glass House in Peacock Park has still not gone out. But it is in the works and the City is up for any ideas that people may have for the premises. The hopes are for part restaurant and part community center.

A water park or water feature for kids has been brought up, but that doesn't seem likely for a lot of legal reasons. Many other cities are dropping their water features, rather than adding them.

Golden Coconut Awards presented last week

The Golden Coconut Awards Luncheon took place Friday afternoon at the Mayfair Grill. It was a fun, community-filled event, where awards were given out in different categories.

Joseph Adler, Producing Artistic Director of GableStage and the Coconut Grove Playhouse was the master of ceremonies.

After Tony Noboa, Chamber President welcomed everyone, Michelle Niemeyer, Village Council member and Community Service recipient last year (above left), presented the Community Service Award to Major Jorge Martin and in Memorian to Yvonne Marjorie Hall McDonald, whose mother, Mary Alice Daniels Smith, and aunt, Alice Eason, accepted the award in her honor.

Heather Bettner brought one of the actual awards from 1974, which was presented to one of her grandmother's way back then. It graced the podium, it's shown above. Heather, as a young girl actually went out and picked the actual coconut shown, which was used to create the award.


Tom Falco, Willie Vega, Major Jorge Martin, Robert Parente, Joseph Adler and Tony Noboa, pose at the podium . The awards were glass plaques, Robert is holding a prop, that he liked so much, he took it home with him. It's from July 4th and the Coconut Scavenger Hunt.

They were kind enough to present me with the President's Award, next, given by Liliana Dones, Past Chamber President (2007-2009), principal of Creative Tools Communications.

Next was Board Member of the Year, presented to Guillermo "Willie" Vega, Executive Director of investments, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc, presented by Tona Noboa. The Golden Coconut was presented to Pierre Sands, President of HOATA and Founding Member of TreeWatch presented by long time friend Bob Brennan, President of Brennan's Tree Service and arborist of Fairchild Gardens.

Robert Parente, Director of Miami Mayor's Office of Film, Arts, Culture and Entertainment also received a Golden Coconut Award, presented by Heather Bettner, member of the Village Council, Chamber Board Member and President of Prince Media Development.


Robert Parente and Heather Bettner; luncheon participants: Elena Carpenter, Miami Monthly, Commander Jorge Colina, Haydee Wheeler, NET administrator.


Lottie Person, Antoinette Baldwin, Eileen Brennan, Pierre Sands.


At left: Abel Cornejo, Niki Simon Blacker, Tony Angione, all from the Mayfair Antiques and Collectibles Market. At right: Heather Bettner, Mary MacDonald, Diane Brunschwig and Doreen LoCicero.


Michelle Niemeyer, Major Jorge Martin, Tom Falco, Liliana Dones.


Lottie Person, Pierre Sands, Bob Brennan, Mary Alice Daniels Smith (Yvonne McDonald's mother), Lilliana Dones.


Sylvia Quinn, Mutiny Hotel, Robert Parente, Monty Trainer, Diane Brunschwig, Mary MacDonald.


Tom Falco, Tony Noboa, Willie Vega.

The lunch service was perfect, supervised by Ryan Ridgley, Mayfair's Food and Beverage Director. His staff was right on the ball and the food was prepared and served expertly.

Photos by AnnaMaria Windisch Hunt, Doreen C. LoCicero