This great image is part of the "Altered States" exhibition going up at the Rodez Gallery at CocoWalk for the November 6 Gallery Night.
Artists Carlos M. Cardenes, Roberto Catasus, George Rodez and Jose Tonito Rodriguez, will cross the boundaries of photography, "weaving and transforming it into spaces unknown or dimensions we perceive in, and opening the door wide open for our imagination to wander." The image shown here is "Woman Smoking," by Jose Tonito Rodriguez.
The opening reception is Nov. 6 from 7 to 10 pm. The exhibit will be on display through November 26. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 11 am to 7 pm, and Friday and Saturday, 11 am to 10 pm. For info, please call 786.467-7111.
Enjoy an evening of laser lights, stars and more and catch the free Planetarium Star Show and then stop up at the rooftop observatory for a special viewing at the next Fabulous First Friday, on November 5, at the Miami Science Museum (3280 S. Miami Avenue).Each month the museum offers a full schedule for the whole family at Fabulous First Fridays. There is a kids activity room where kids can explore, learn and have fun. Later in the evening, check out famous Laser Shows in the Planetarium.
The November 5 schedule of Laser Shows reminds me of my childhood days watching Wolfman Jack and the Midnight Special, only it's not on tv, it's on the laser screen:
7:00 pm - Legends of the Night Sky Family Laser Show
9:00 pm - U2
10:00 pm - Led Zeppelin
11:00 pm - Pink Floyd: Wish you Were Here
Midnight - Bob Marley
Laser show admission: Adults $8.00 / Children $4.00. Each show requires a separate ticket. Laser show admission includes laser glasses.
For more information or to pre-purchase tickets, contact box office at 305.646.4200 or boxoffice@miamisci.org.
She's making a list and checking it twice -- Antoinette Baldwin, in her "I am not a Witch" costume took the King Mango Strutters on their yearly trip down to Key West for Fantasy Fest yesterday. The bus left Grand Avenue at about 11:30 am. Their plan was to enjoy the parade, party like animals and be back home by about 5:30 am this morning.
Danny De Jong, Ed De Jong, Atena Komar and Antoinette Baldwin were first on the bus.
It was a full bus, too. Lots of Strutters were left on a waiting list. It completely sold out.
And as the bus left sleepy Coconut Grove, full of Mangoheads, we knew the Grove was safe for 24 hours from the nuts who put the nut in Coconut Grove.
The King Mango Strut, billed as "Restoring Humor" this year, is Sunday, December 26.
Kick off parties will begin on Friday, November 5 with a Pre-Kick-Off, called, "Keep Insanity Alive," at 7 pm at The Taurus (3540 Main Highway). Dancing with the Mangoheads begins at 9 pm with Mr. Ree (Carlos, Daniel and Terry). The fun-raiser starts that night, too, with a raffle and a chance to win a grand prize on Clippers Caribbean Cruises, it's a 7-day cruise for two. There are dozens of other great prizes, too.
You can buy a ticket for a $5 donation at any of the Pre-Strut rallies. Lucky winners will be drawn at the "It's-never-too-late-to-strut Rally," on Wednesday, December 15 at 8 pm, at The Grove Spot (3324 Virginia Street).
On Wednesday, November 10, there's a kick-off rally to Restore Humor at Greenstreets (3468 Main Highway) starting at 7 pm.
To keep up to date on all the goings on, you may visit their website at: www.kingmangostrut.org, or ou can contact the King at kingmangostrut@gmail.com or call the Mango Hotline at 305-401-1171.
Fuller Street had an incredible event last night, and tomorrow, on Halloween Day, they will have goodies for all the kiddies. Stop in Cherry Green and Design Box for candy handed out in special trick-or-treat bags, only offered by Audra and Herbie! Audra is holding the unique bag above. The Center of Coconut Grove will be where Halloween activity takes place all night, on October 31, as it does every year. This year, the police will shut the streets down early, about 8 pm and as in previous years, 45,000 people or more are expected to come out and party like gouls. We've seen a preview all over town today as to what people have planned and it will be the place to be on Halloween night and day.
Tonight, October 30, The Taurus (3540 Main Highway) is having it's Monster Mash, the graveyard smash -- come dressed as your favorite legend to Miami's legendary bar! The party is from 8 pm to midnight with a live DJ, a Costume Contest and Drink Specials. Great prizes (including a weekend for two at The South Beach Hilton) will be awarded for the best costumes.
CocoWalk is having a Kids' Halloween party, on Halloween day, October 31, from noon to 5 pm, candy, prizes fun. There will be a pet costume contest, too. And in the evening, same as last year, join the crowds for a Halloween costome contest at the stage set up in the center of the courtyard.
Trunk or Treat is a fun Halloween party in Village West, on October 31, where candy and goodies will be trick-or-treated out of car trunks in the park! This is from 1 to 4 pm at Elizabeth Virrick Park, 3255 Plaza Street. It's free and open to all.
Spooky Science Halloween is at the Science Museum, October 31, 10 am to 6 pm. There are lots of spooky paranormal activites planned. Details here.
Last night, about 8 pm, as we were standing with friends on the corner of Fuller and Main Highway, waiting for the block party to get going, a huge swarm of bicyclists came down Main Highway. There were literally hundreds of them enmass -- many in Halloween costumes.
It was Critical Mass Miami, the impromptu bicycling group that meets at various locations and spreads out through the county all in the name of good fun and bike awareness. It was quite a site to see.
The 19-mile ride took them through Brickell, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Little Havana, Downtown, and Edgewater. If you would like to see really decent photos of the riders, you can do that here at the Beached Miami blog. And speaking of bicylists, the bicycle portion of the Ironman Marathon will be passing through Coconut Grove for most of today.
Halloween started early on Fuller Street last night for Barracuda's Great Pumpkin Carving Contest. The heavy rains kept the crowds away until late, but eventually, the street was buzzing. Unfortunately, only two pumpkins were entered into the contest! Here they are, Stephen Colbert at left and Dracula.
Families cames out and enjoyed the festivities -- like the Flintstones, including Dino. At right, Skip Sanders with Matt Heiger. Skip was emcee for the night and Matt, along with his partner, Brian Davis, owners the Barracuda Bar, threw the party on Fuller Street.
The three judges for the contests were Robby Parks, Monty Trainer and Frank Zito, who has been with Barracuda for almost 15 years.
The Robby Hunter Band played from early on and well into the evening. By the end of the night people were up on the stage dancing.
They serenaded the two pumpkins for a large part of the night. Fuller Street is a perfect venue for block parties, the next one will be Snow Days coming up in December.
Zulu and Nola won first place in the pet costume contest. They paraded in front of the judges, up on the stage and the judges made their choice out of the many pets who did appear (there were more pets in costumes than carved pumpkins).
Marlito, as a chicken, came in second place. Many of us in the crowd thought Marlito would come in first place.
And Tebo came in third place, as one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Is he Leonardo or Raphael?
Back to the pumpkins -- Dana Weber at left, won first place and Gil Soto won second, for their creative work. Third place went by the wayside since there was not a third pumpkin to be awarded! Not sure what happened to all the community spirit in the Grove, hopefully it will be here tonight and tomorrow for the rest of the Halloween weekend.
It ended up being a very fun night. People heard the music and stopped by even if they hadn't known about the block party earlier. It was a great way to catch up with friends. We had beer, wine and lots of chicken fingers and fries before we ended up at Calamari for a late dinner and then after that, we came back to Fuller Street and partied more, well into the night. We won at Beer Pong, too!
As Art Basel is being planned, the Mad Hatter Arts Festival scheduled for November 20 and 21 this year has been canceled.
There is all sorts of reasons for this going around: not enough artists signed up, the city would not permit the streets to be closed, construction in the area was a concern and permits were not applied for in time.
Whatever the reason(s), this year's event is not to be.
The Mad Hatter may make it up to the artists who did sign up, by giving them free or a reduced rate at one of the upcoming Saturday night gallery walks, perhaps December 4. It will be tied in to a charity or two and be a Mad Hatter Gallery Walk.
Details to come. As for now, all money will be refunded to those who signed up for a booth.
Monday, November 29, Coconut Grove will put it's best art foot forward with a special Gallery Walk night in honor of the start of Art Basel week in Miami. Representatives from all the art galleries in the Grove have been working together with the BID, to bring the special night to fruition.
Mayfair is ground zero, where large two-ton sculptures by artist John Angee, will greet guests at the Atrium. The famous bull sculpture will be moved for the night, so that six large "archway" style sculptures may take over the space.
They are stainless steel and forged metal.
From 7 to 10 pm, guests will be shuttled around the Grove for the night in trolleys, sponsored by Mayfair. Each gallery, as they do on Gallery Walk nights (the first Saturday of each month), will present something special to art lovers and buyers from around the world.
Restaurants and other businesses will offer specials to the guests. There will be music throughout the Grove and lots of festivities and art to usher in the winter and arts season.
An after party will take place at the Mayfair Atrium from 9 to 11, where guests will be wined and dined after being shown an evening of what makes Coconut Grove the original arts center of Miami. Everyone is welcome, hopefully Grovites will come out and enjoy the evening, too.
Shuttle buses are being used to bring in guests from South Beach, Brickell and other areas, and of course they will return the guests to their respective hotels at the end of the evening.
The largest women's business event of its kind is taking place at the Miami Museum of Science on November 11 and 12. The Empowerment Woman's Success Summit & Expo will teach women practical techniques to get themselves known throughout the business world by using sales, marketing and promotional strategies for a new economy.
Workshops, panel discussions, one-on-one coaching, networking exercises and live, interactive onstage activities are part of the workshop, designed to impart practical knowledge to help women successfully rise above the competition -- male or female.The first summit in June, featured more than 40 panelists. “The Summit helped me re-see my potential and my value,” said attendee Carol Von Deventer, PhD. “I am feeling empowered, inspired and truly enthusiastic.”
The November summit is anticipated to have 1000 women participating.
Speakers/panelists, so far, include: Jessica Kizorek, founder of BadassBusinessWomen.org; Dr. Jodi Stoner, author of "Good Manners are Contagious"; Jennifer Sabin, who co-authored "Leading the Way to Success" with Chicken Soup For The Soul’s Jack Canfield; ex-SoBe modeling mogul Irene Marie on the “Reinventing & Rebranding Yourself” panel; and Ricky Arriola, CEO of Inktel, on “The Male Panel.”
Other sessions include: “Put a Ring On It: Attract & Engage The Audience Of Your Dreams Using Email; Social Media & Events;” “How to Turn Contacts Into Contracts;” “How to Remember Anybody’s Name;” and “Building a Buzz on a Budget” – among others.
The Empowered Woman’s Success Summit & Expo at the Miami Museum of Science, 3280 South Miami Avenue, will also feature an EXPO with services and products geared to women. The expo is free and open to the public from 9 am to 6 pm both days.
For event details, please visit http://www.empoweredwoman.info/ or call 888-531-3830.
The City received a new piece of art, donated by the estate of the late artist Cundo Bermudez, who passed away in 2008. The master Cuban artist created a 20-foot sculpture called "Flora la recogedora de Sueños," which was presented to the City and accepted by Mayor Tomas Regalado at a press conference at City Hall this morning. A video of Bermudez at work on the piece, played on monitors in the background throughout the presentation.
Bermudez did many commissions for public places including a glass mosaic mural for the Havana Hilton Hotel, two 20-story-tall murals for the Caribe Hilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico and a monumental tile mural for the interior courtyard of the Organization of American States in Washington, DC.
He also designed a huge glass mosaic tile mural for the lobby of the Studio Theater at the Dolores and Sanford Ziff Ballet Opera House at the Performing Arts Center downtown.
The mayor said that it was requested that the Flora statue be exhibited near the water, so the City has chosen Bayfront Park downtown as it's new home. The statue has an estimated worth of $1 million.
A large group showed up at the Windisch-Hunt Gallery last night to hear Ngawang Sungrab Phagyab Rinpoche speak. The soft spoken, ranking lama and a highly renowned practitioner in the Gelugpa order of Tibetan Buddhism, talked about Buddhism, peace, love and healing. Lama Christo, from Miami, translated due to Rinpoche's broken English and soft voice.
Toward the end of the evening, there was a question and answer session and then people lined up to meet Rinpoche one-on-one. Some asked for prayers, others just thanked him for coming. Many received orange or red strings, blessed by Rinpoche and handed out from a satchel he had in his lap. They are meant to be worn as protection.
It was a holy night in Coconut Grove, one that will be remembered for a long time.
Barracuda's Block Party is tomorrow, October 29, it's the 2nd annual Great Pumpkin Carving Contest being held from 7 to 11 pm.
Bring your carved pumpkin for judging. Celebrity judge is Monty Trainer. There will also be an audience choice, chosen by applause, so bring your best work!
Also, the Pet Costume Contest is tonight at the block party and an adult costume contest.
10% of all proceeds raised from beer sales will go to the Thelma Gibson Health Initiative in Village West. The Robby Hunter Band will be playing all night up on the stage.
For an update on rules, you can go here.
For a whole list of updated Coconut Grove Halloween events. Please go here.
Phase one of the SW 27 Avenue renovation will be discussed at a community meeting on Monday, November 8, from 6:30 to 8 pm at City Hall (3500 Pan American Drive).
The first phase goes along SW 27 Avenue from S. Bayshore Drive to Tigertail Avenue and SW 28 Terrace to US1. The project consists of reconstructing the existing two lane roadway to include raised landscaped medians, bicycle lanes, on street parking, sidewalks, curbs and gutters. Also continuous storm drains, new traffic signals, pavement markings and signage. Decorative roadway lighting will also be installed. This will not include the traffic circle, which is around Day Avenue.
This phase is anticipated to start on January 3, 2011 and is projected to take nine (9) months to complete.
Phase II will continue from Tigertail Avenue (including the traffic circle) to SW 28th Terrace. This phase is anticipated to start by November of 2011 and is estimated to take twelve (12) months to complete.
Funding for the project was provided by the Charter County Transit Surtax, specifically listed in the People's Transportation Plan as one of the Board requested improvement projects.
If you click on the image below, it will open much larger. It's the streetscape from one end to the other. Plans and drawings will be available at the meeting.
The Grove is having a Concierge Connection event on Tuesday, November 30. This is when a bunch of the top concierges from Miami-area hotels are wined and dined and shown around.
They will be seeing the Grove that night.
150 invitations went out to Brickell, Miami Beach, Coral Gables and Coconut Grove concierges. Gray Line tours will transport guests and swag bags will be handed out as gifts.
There will be a wine reception and tours of all the Grove art galleries. A closing reception will take place at The Barnacle. Also being considered is one of the those cool Grove history tours with historian Paul George.
The goal is to introduce the concierges to Coconut Grove and show them what we have to offer. Hopefully all businesses will be open that night and we will put on a great face for the visitors who can then offer Coconut Grove as a major option to tourists looking for things to do when they visit the Miami area.
It's a mini Pow Wow event, for the local hotels. Sorry about the photo overlap on the Pow Wow story, that was from a previous blog format.
In honor of Ngawang Sungrab Phagyab Rinpoche's visit to the Windisch-Hunt Gallery (2911 Grand Ave) tonight, Oct. 28, Peace Flags have been installed, presented by Miami artist and educator Joseph Lawrence Vasile, which are part of his “Peace Flags in the Wind” Tour.
J.L. Vasile’s peace flags have traveled across the country starting here in Miami at the "Jade Buddha for Universal Peace" and making stops at the Jacqus Marqauis Museum of Tibetan Art, which is the oldest Tibetian Museum in the United States. The Flags were displayed at the Rosa Parks Museum during the "Ghandi, King and Ikeda, A Legacy of Building Peace" exhibit where a workshop was held for the public in Montgomery, Alabama.
The peace flags where were created at the Rosa Parks workshop will be unveiled at the Windish-Hunt Gallery tonight.
People ranging from 8 months to 101 years old have created flags for the exhibit. On Nov. 6, the gallery will host a workshop for children, who will produce flags for the traveling exhibit.
