Lots of laughs at Gifford Lane Art Stroll


The 13th Annual Gifford Lane Art Stroll is Sunday March 6 from noon to 5:00 pm.

Each time this year, the Grove goes back in time to the little old arts village that it once was, sleepy tree-lined Gifford Lane (between Oak and Day) is transformed into a place back in time. Art, music and food take over the street. It's a block party like block parties used to be. Shown here, at last year's event are artists Terry Mulrooney, Lynn Latham, Karen Deilke and Paul Saint Laurent (yesterday was Paul's birthday -- Happy Birthday, Paul!)

Local artists line the block with lots of affordable, colorful art, which hangs on fences and sits on tables in front yards. There are burgers and hot dogs and ribs and drinks for sale. There is live music throughout the day and people dance in the streets. Lots of art sells at this festival, the artists come to sell and the neighbors come to buy.

The Coconut Grove Juggling Exchange will be adding lots of color to the event and the live music acts include: Twisted Willy; Denny Rowand, lead singer from Outta D’ Blues; Solar Dogs; Birds on a Wire; and The Transition Blues Band Unplugged. Additionally, other well-known musicians, including Izzy Buholzer, are expected to drop by and jam.

All of the participating artists give a percentage of their sales to two Grove charities -- this percentage will be added to contributions made by the public and neighbors living on the block. The two benefiting Grove charities are the St. Stephen’s AIDS Ministry and the St. Alban’s Day Care Center in the Village West. Each year, the Art Stroll donates 100% of the proceeds to the charities.

Here is the slide show from last year's event.

New woodwork art to be featured at Gallery Walk

These pieces of art are all made of wood. Intricate pieces are cut and formed to make each image. Alfredo Cruz, a Mexican artist is the creater. His art will be featured this Saturday night, March 5, during the Coconut Grove Gallery Walk at the Artway 66 Gallery at the Mayfair Promenade. That's Alfredo's Mayan calendar, at right.


This is a recreation of a famous Picasso painting, "Three Musicians."

The Gallery Walk is from 7 to 10 pm, all galleries around Coconut Grove will feature refreshments and lots of new art. The Art Stroll is in the Mayfair Promenade, where there is live music, food and drinks.

Commissioner to meet with protesting neighbors

Commissioner Marc Sarnoff will be meeting with neighbors at Merrie Christmas park on Wednesday, March 2, at 5:30 pm to discuss the issue of gym workout equipment being added to the park.

A large number of neighbors are against the equipment being added to the tranquil park, they were taken by surprise last week just before work was to begin. Almost 150 people have signed an online petition against having the equipment installed.

Park story here.

Bringing people back to Coconut Grove

Coconut Grove is event driven these days, that's how we get people here. Last weekend's Coconut Grove Arts Festival brought thousands. Another event that would bring thousands also involves art, it's the street painting festival.


These photos are from the Street Painting Festival in Lake Worth this past weekend. We spent Sunday there. It was an incredible event. The art is amazing, all age groups are involved and the streets of Lake Worth were full of happy art lovers enjoying the art and spending money.


Picture this on a closed Grand Avenue or Matilda Street or Commodore Plaza and Fuller Street. There is not much involved except closing the streets.


Other events we would like to see are vintage car shows like the recent Volksblast event that took place in South Miami and of course, once a week, the gourmet food trucks would be a great idea to bring people into the Center Grove.

AnnaMaria Windisch-Hunt has better photos of the Street Art Festival at her Lake Worth Every Minute blog here.

Doing a double take

John Reuben's walked through the Grove the other night, with a plastic bag with two legs popping out, no one seemed to do a double take. Is it business as usual in the Grove?

He bought the mannequin at Azul, the store that was closing on Main Highway. He got it for the Mayfair Antique Market.

It reminds me of so many years ago, when The Limited closed on Grand Avenue, just before AnnaMaria moved the Windisch-Hunt Gallery in. An employee was emptying out The Limited and he had a full mannequin under his arm and I was too shy back then to snap the picture! So all these years, I've been trying to recreate that image, but not make it be set up, you know, it should be natural.

I tried to set it up when Palm Produce moved, but they didn't have the right type of mannequins, which just proved that it cannot be set up. But I just thought it was funny how John just casually walked down the street with the legs popping out of the bag and no one seemed to care on a busy Saturday night.

Burgundy Room offering 50% off at Happy Hour

The Burgundy Room at CocoWalk has great Happy Hour specials. Monday through Friday save 50% on all food from 6 to 7 pm and 25% off all food from 7 to 9 pm.

Every day, there is a different type entertainment:

Mondays: Dueling Pianos, entertainment from 8 pm to 2 am
Tuesdays: RockStarr Karoke - sing with the Swinging Richard band from 10 pm to 2 am
Wednesdays: '80s Ladies night. Drink specials all night. Gypsy Lane performing live from 9 pm to 1 am
Thursdays: A+ College Night, entertainment from 9 pm to 3 am
Fridays: Obsession Fridays - Swinging Richards performs live from 10:30 pm to 2:30 am
Saturdays: Seductive Saturdays, DJ Arook takes you on a journey through the '70s, '80s, '90s and today.
Sundays: Hungover Sundays, amazing drink specials, various live entertainment performers.

For info: 305-846-9315.

Monty the Peacock is greeting people at Paragon

Photographer David Glass shoots photos of Erika King, who poses with "Monty," the peacock she created for the Coconut Grove Peacock Tour. The bird is now at the end of the long lobby at Paragon Theaters to remind people that the Peacock Auction is coming up at Paragon on March 16.

Tickets are $50.00 each and the famous Grove Peacocks will be auctioned off for charity at an elegant function.

The evening starts with a cocktail reception at Paragon's Back Lot Wine Bar at 6:00 pm and then moves into one of the theaters for the actual auction. Weatherman Bob Soper will be the auctioneer for the evening. All proceeds will benefit charities like Shake-A-Leg, the Miami Heat Foundation, Casa Valentina and the Coconut Grove Woman's Club.

There will be a red carpet, that everyone will walk as they enter and along with a photo op at a step and repeat wall. Swag bags will await attendees as they leave and prizes will be given for spa package, hotel stays and restaurant gift certificates.

Tickets are limited, to purchase them, please go to www.paragontheaters.com.

4th annual Cut-A-Thon to benefit Gold Diggers

And in keeping with our charities and benefits theme today -- Ugo Di Roma hair salon is hosting their yearly Cut-A-Thon tomorrow, February 27. This is the fourth annual event to raise money for the Gold Diggers, Inc. , the theatrical group that raises money for various charities, in this case it is the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of South Florida and The Food For Life Network.

Get a haircut from one of Miami's premier stylists for only $20. A Blow dry is $25. They are offering reflexology massage for just $1 per minute. Appointments and walk-ins are welcome.

House of Frost, the new cupcake place in the Grove is providing the sweets, light bites are being provided by the new CocoWok Asian take-out place, flowers by The Blonde Tulip and energy shots provided by Dolce Shot.

For more info or to make an appointment, please call 305-205-2898. The cutting is from 11 am to 4 pm.

Chair Affair winners announced today

The judging was today for GroveHouse's Chair Affair, their March project. All the chairs came in today and they were quite a motley bunch. Everthing was used from magic maker to actual leaves and branches from nature.


First place was actually this chair to the right, a jungle-type thing that looks as if it is going to get up and just start walking. Karen Deilke and Barbara Tejada created it. Next to it is second place, a nautical, pirate-type thing, created by Humberto Mijares.


Here is some of the detail in Huberto's chair.


Third place was won by Lee Pivnik, the student artist, who we did a feature on earlier in the week. The chair called, "Sharpie's Revenge," was a three-month project of Lee's.


There are a lot more chairs, all of them quite creative. Other prizes included Mayfair's Choice, which went to Jane Tinney and Lunatic Fringe, which went to Diane Karmiol. The GroveHouse is open daily, except Monday. They are located at the Mayfair Promenade, next to The Improv. Stop by to see all these creations or join them next Saturday, March 5, for the premier of the exibit during Gallery Walk Night. They'll have refreshments and the artists will be there to show off their creations.

Benefit ballet performance at Coconut Grove studio

Coconut Grove Ballet is putting on a benefit performance for one of their own. Margo Gignac (left) was a student and part time receptionist at the ballet company and recently she was involved in a tragic car accident that left her paralyzed.

She needs extensive therapy and has no health insurance."Margo's Purrformance," she loved cats, will be held Sunday, March 6 at Coconut Grove Ballet (2829 Bird Avenue). There will be an informal show at the studio at 3 pm and another at 5:30 pm.

Some of the ballet school's classes will present short dances, included are discovery, pre-ballet, ballet 1, ballet 2, intermediate ballet and advanced ballet and company. Tickets are $5 each and contributions will be accepted, too at a donation jar during the performances. For more info, please call 305-448-0336.

The Fashionably Conscious fundraiser is back

The Fashionably Conscious 2011 fundraiser is coming to the Shops of Mayfair on May 13 to 15. This features donated designer items from the coveted closet of Miami's leading socialites and fashionistas. This is their fourth year.

The weekend event will kick off with a VIP Preview Sale on Friday, May 13, featuring a happy hour sponsored by Peroni, at a $25 entrance fee. Saturday’s all-day sale has a reduced $15 entrance fee.

All proceeds will go directly to fund Coconut Grove Cares’ The Barnyard Community Center, which offers free after-school and summer Programs for over 250 children, and provides a much-needed safe haven for the Village West community.

For more info: fashionablyconscious@gmail.com or 305.588.5658.

New meditation series starting at Dharma Studio

“Love, Desire, & Relationships,” a new medition series will start at Dharma Studio (3170 Commodore Plaza) on Monday, February 28. The nine-week series will be held Monday evenings from 7:45 to 9:15 pm through April 25.

These classes will help participants make their relationships and friendships more healthy and satisfying. It will enable them to appreciate that love without attachment is the source of happiness in all types of relationships between people.

The series is based on the book Transform Your Life: A Blissful Journey, by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. The classes are taught by American Buddhist monk Kelsang Norbu. Each class includes two or three guided meditations and teachings on the series subject. Each class is self-contained, an everyone is welcome.

The class is a branch of Drolma Kadampa Buddhist Center in Fort Lauderdale, which offers Buddhist meditation classes throughout Southeast Florida.There is a $11 fee per class. For info, please email info@meditationinfortlauderdale.org or call 954-537-9191.

S. Fla Arts and Business Council moving to Grove

The Grove has just gotten a huge vote of confidence from the Cultural Arts community thanks to Heather Bettner, Village Council member and producer of the Coconut Grove Peacock Tour. Heather encouraged them to come to the Grove and found them the office space as well.

The South Florida Arts and Business Council has decided to move their corporate offices to the Grove Square office plaza located 2801 Florida Ave. The move will happen in March 2011 and definitely will put Coconut Grove on the map as not just an arts community but an arts and business community as well.

The South Florida Arts and Business Council is an important non-profit organization that supports all of the arts community in the Tri-County area. Their focus is to foster and build partnerships between business and the arts that are mutually beneficial and contribute to the economic and cultural vitality of Greater Miami and the South Florida Region.

The Arts & Business Council accomplishes this in part by linking the business community with arts organizations through direct service and integrated projects, training programs, information systems, networking events, workshops and board development to help prepare future arts leaders and managers. In addition, such organizations must have the sophistication and the strategies to develop beneficial and ongoing relationships with the business community.
Their website is - http://www.artsbizmiami.org/

What's up in the Grove Bar Scene

Sandbar (3064 Grand Avenue) has Team Trivia tonight, February 25, with extended Happy Hour starting at 7 pm for all participants. Prizes for the winners. Plus watch the Miami Heat game on their two big screen HD TVs along with 22 large flat sreens. Specials include $4 for 16oz Bud and Bud Light bottle, and $4 for Bacardi and Flor De Cana Drinks.

Also, tomorrow night stop by to watch UFC 127 free.

Barracuda (3035 Fuller Street) has happy hour tonight and every night until 8 pm. Check out the Magic Hat #9 and Dead Guy Ale on draft.

At Mr. Moe's (3131 Commodore Plaza), the Friday specials are: $4.00 Martinis from 11:30 am to 10 pm • Miller Lite buckets for $12 • $5 Cosmos and $4 Svedka Cocktails. Live music from 10 pm to 3 am.

The Grove Spot (3324 Virginia Street) has live music Friday night, at 8 pm, enjoy the Transition Blues Band “Unplugged.” Check out the Grove Spot Ale and Happy Hour Prices.

The Burgundy Room at CocoWalk has great Happy Hour specials. Save 50% on all food from 6 to 7 pm and 25% off all food from 7 to 9 pm. And Fridays are "Obsession Fridays" - Swinging Richards performs live from 10:30 pm to 2:30 am.

Grove Central (3421 Main Highway) has pizza and lots of beer and happy hour specials. Check out their back tiki bar. The kickball teams come here on Friday nights after the games during the season.

The Tavern (3416 Main Highway) gets the Sandbar overflow. Stop by for cheap drinks, jukebox and darts.

Peacock Garden Cafe coming this spring

The Peacock Garden Cafe is coming to 2889 McFarlane Road, next to the Sonesta Hotel, brought to you by the same folks who own Jaguar Ceviche Spoon Bar.

The new restaurant plans to open in a month or so. Their motto is, "In most restaurants, entrees come with a garden salad. In this restaurant, entrees come with a garden."

There still is a lot of work to do, as you can see from the photo, but it should be a magnificent place under the large shady trees. Flat breads, pastas, burgers and light fare are on the menu. Garden salads include Chinese salad, Nicoise, Greek, Blue Cheese and Cesar, paired with organic chicken or yellow fin tuna, Atlantic salmon, skirt steak or large shrimp.

Entrees include Roasted Baby Chicken ($18), Seared Salmon Teriyaki ($18), Fresh Fish Casserole ($20) and Grilled New York Steak ($30), just to name a few items.

Parking issues always a hot spot in the Grove

The following letter came in last night, the author wishes to remain anonymous, I usually don't allow anonymous posts, but I think this one is important enough to keep her identity concealed. I am only posting this because I was recently asked to be on some sort of Grove parking commission committee to try and solve parking issues in the Grove and after the Arts Festival, I have received lots of emails about overpriced parking lots, where the lots have raised their usual fees from $5 per day to up to $30 and $40 on festival days.

$9.00 seems to be the standard rate at the CocoWalk garage unless you are going to the movies, where the rate then drops to $2.00.

I'm from Minnesota and have been living in Florida, specifically Coconut Grove, for three years now. I might be wrong, but I consider myself a local at this point. I love living here, love the people, the weather, the "small town" feel of this community, working here, walking my dog here, getting coffee at the Bookstore. I could go on and on, but I'm sure you get the point.

My boyfriends mother is here visiting from Italy, and tonight we took her to DolceVita for some gelato. We live 1.3 miles from CocoWalk. She is older so we drove. I parked in the CocoWalk parking lot. We got our gelato, she loved it. We walked back to the car. I went to pay the automated machine, and it said $9.00! This had to be a mistake!

I drove out of the lot, hoping it was a computer error. To my surprise, NO!...it was correct. My ticket was stamped 9:35 pm, I left at 10:30 pm, ONE HOUR! We all have seen the business in The Grove slump...why??? In addition to other reasons, PARKING!!! I cannot believe they think that $9.00 is a fair price for an hour!

When I explained to the parking attendant that I was only parked in the lot for an hour, and that I was a local... she pointed at the "Flat Rate" sign.

I want to assure you that I have seen The Grove on busy nights, this was not one of those nights. I was not there to drink, or dance, or be obnoxious. Just wanted some ice cream at a local place. This will never happen again. We wonder why the people are going elsewhere? Maybe if we make the parking affordable we would all have a little extra money to spend at our local businesses. I feel like I was robbed, outright!

I know writing to you is not going to change anything, but I'm so angry about this I didn't know who to tell. I'm just wondering if there are any other locals out there that think this is completely absurd? Needless to say I will NOT be parking at CocoWalk EVER again, they owe me at least $6!

2 hours of drinks at Mr. Moe's for just $15!

Dealtificate has a great deal today. For only $15, receive 2 hours of All You Can Drink at Mr. Moe's! That's a $54 value (or more if you are a big drinker).

Mr. Moe's has the best ribs in town and probably the best mac and cheese. They have a pool tables and arcade games and the Lobster Zone, where you can try for a whole lobster dinner for just $2 a try (picture the crane game, but with lobsters).

This is good on their full liquor bar and all draft beers. This deal is good for the whole year, but must be purchased by the end of the end of the weekend.

You can get the deal or get more info here.

Mr. Moe's is at 3131 Commodore Plaza.

New food festival being introduced to the Grove

We have the Great Taste of the Grove, which is April 16 and 17 this year (here's last year's event), but Coconut Grove is now lucky enough to have a second food festival in as many months. The Coconut Grove Food, Wine & Music Festival is coming on May 7.

This spring festival will transform the Grove into a food and wine lover's paradise with specialty foods, culinary events, sophisticated parties with live music throughout.

The festival will be held on the St. Stephen's Episcopal Church grounds from 4 to 9:30 pm, right in the heart of Coconut Grove. International wines and spirits will be featured along with samplings form Miami's most talented chefs.

The Florida Marlins Community Foundation will be hosting the food fest, which will benefit the Epilepsy Foundation of Florida, which services over 360,000 Floridians who suffer from the condition.

The Coconut Grove Food, Wine & Music Festival has a website with all the info here. You may also secure tickets there.

Familiar landscapes are his specialty


I was taken by Federico Carosio's art at last weekend's Coconut Grove Arts Festival, because the paintings reminded me of a streetscape I had taken myself with my iPhone! I was driving down Old Cutler Road one day and I stuck my camera out the window and was snapping away, and those photos were identical to Federico's paintings. His images are so real, almost like brightly lit photographs.

His streetscapes and landscapes of places like Old Cutler Road and The Kampong are so familiar to Miamians. He started in Soho, NY in 1974 and has been selling his work all these years. His next show is at Coral Gables' Carnival on the Mile.

The image below of the soda can is a Joker Face. Federico has been nominated twice to be in the Florida Artist Hall of Fame because his art has introduced the rest of the world to Florida by showing it in a very beautiful way. He had a good showing at this year's Grove festival and says that it was much better than last year, in the way of sales.

You can see Federico's work at his website here. There are so many beautiful images including landscapes of Fairchild Tropical Gardens, The Kampong, Matheson Hammock and so many familiar places to South Floridians.

Special premier of "Bots High" this Saturday night

This Saturday, February 26, "Bots High," will premiere at Paragon Grove 13 at CocoWalk. It's a documentary that follows three high school robotics teams battling for first place at the national robotics competition in Miami.

Bots High's world-premiere is at 7:30 pm. The robot teams featured in the film will be in attendance, along with press, the Director of BotsIQ, and co-creators of the TV show BattleBots.

Bots High follows students as they design, build and compete at the National BotsIQ competition -- all while surviving high school, first love, and of course procrastination. Cameras followed the teams from Miami area high schools for nine months beginning in September 2009. Students build weaponized robots that battle each other in an arena until either one is destroyed, or a panel of three judges chooses a winner.

Director Joey Daoud (shown here) followed students with a single camera, from robot design through late nights spent cramming before the national competition. Special camera rigs were created including a crash house for a Flip camera that was in the arena getting smashed up by robots. The results are amazing.

The Goldie Girls of Fuller Street


Fuller Street has a new boutique added to their lineup. Leslie Ames, owner, and Yvonne Rosemeier, jewelry designer, have something new to offer at 3092 Fuller Street, it's called Goldie.


Yvonne's wire couture designs fill cases throughout the shop. Semi-precious stones and accessories compliment the clothing. The hand made jewelry designs are classical, yet trendy.


"We offer high-end labels at knock-out prices. If you have taste and style, you will love this store," says Yvonne.


Shoes, purses, sunglasses and more add to the good energy of the store. Natural elements, which are good for emotional health, are part of the mix.


Goldie is open daily from 11 am to 7 pm. The girls may be reached at 305-444-4474.

The Seriously Organic truck will be back this week

After a very successful event last week, The Seriously Organic food truck will be back outside Bikram Hot Yoga Miami (2500 SW 28 Lane) on Thursday, Feb 24, from 6-8:30 pm.

Seriously Organic offers Lake Meadow Naturals eggs, grass fed beef, Florida Fresh pastured pork, (also rabbit), trays of wheat grass, baby greens, petite heirloom tomatoes, edible flowers, tomatoes, zucchini and eggplant. Everything is grown and raised in Florida as well and it is organic and sustainable.

MEET ARTIST LEE PIVNIK
Award-winning photographer


Lee Pivnik, 15, is an award-winning student artist. He showed his photographs at this year's St. Stephen's Arts Show. Lee won the Award of Merit honor for being an emerging artist. He had a prime spot, too, at the first booth as you entered on the Main Highway side of the festival.

His main focus is nature photography. Lee will be showing at next weekend's South Miami Arts Festival, at booth 54, across from the First National Bank. Earlier in the year, he won third place at the Pinecrest Gardens Fine Art Show. He's been taking photos for three years.

Lee is a student at Coral Reef Senior High. His work is digital and he is learning film techniques in school.

This chair is Lee's entry in this year's Chair Affair put on by the GroveHouse Artists. The intake is February 26 and the chairs will be exhibited until March 25, 2011. Prizes are $300 for first place; $200 for second place and $100 for third place; honorable mention gets $75.00.

Lee's entry is called "Sharpie's Revenge," it took him three months to complete, he did it as a summer project. Lee is also an accomplished chess player and piano player. His goal is to be a photographer for National Geographic one day. You can see Lee's incredible nature and wildlife photography at his website here.

How did you like the festivals this past weekend?

So the Coconut Grove Arts Festival and St. Stephen's Art Show have come and gone. The weather was incredible. I am told that the attendance on Saturday and Sunday broke records, they were able to tell this by the gate count. So that's pretty great. The art and food and music was great, but there were still a few complaints, so here we go.

I witnessed this myself and was told by a few people that the security people at both events were quite rude. I think the rent-a-cops for the weekend get overwhelmed and take things a bit too serious. People are out to have a good time and not break rules, so there really isn't a need for the rudeness by the guards. I was spoken to quite harshly by one clueless guard who really should not have been dealing with people. And it gets especially insulting when locals are talked to this way by people who are paid to patrol streets that are not even theirs. The locals don't like it and I can't blame them.

The police however, were the complete opposite, and were very polite and always friendly at every point, even in the hectic center of town, where large crowds had to be controlled at crosswalk intersections. The cops never lost their cool.

One of the strangest things of the whole weekend was the Camel cigarettes booth set up right out front of CocoWalk in the center of town. You could not miss this. But even though they were trying to push cigarettes on people, they made it quite difficult.

They would only pick and choose certain people who were allowed into their tent. If you were not a smoker, you were not permitted in, so I guess that was nice, in that they were not trying to turn non-smokers into smokers, but the smokers that were permitted in where treated very suspiciously, people had to show their ID's and also answer many strange, personal questions.

Of course the strangest thing was the signs that asked for "adult tobacco consumers," but asked for these tobacco consumers to "not smoke." Maybe they were pushing chewing tobacco, we don't know because no one we know was permitted into the booth. And while no photos or video were permitted, we did take a photo of the contradicting signs.

The Tea Room at St. Stephen's is always a favorite of ours, or used to be, because this year, like last year, we never got our tea or clotted cream. The tea room attendees were quite strange and quite rude. A friend working one of the booths at the festival told us the same and asked, "Did we pay extra for the smugness?" We didn't stick around long enough to deal with the attitude. The men and women who run the English tea room were rude. And have been rude for two years in a row now.

And like in previous years, the $10 gyros always seem like a total ripoff. While some sell for $6 and some for $7 and $8, the $10 seems a bit much and really quite out of line. Many complained about the $10 gate fee at the Grove Festival and locals complained about the reduced $5 fee because it was per day, and not for the whole weekend as in previous years. Many locals told me they did not attend the big festival, but did attend St. Stephen's and the other events surrounding the big festival.

The people at St. Stephen's gates were very polite and even if you were not stamped on the way out and wanted to return, they would let you in again on your word. This was nice to see.

But for the most part the festivals are great. Even with the excessive traffic, it's a long, fun weekend with lots to do. Most Grovites go all three days and find something different to enjoy each day. I always end up buying some piece of art and at an event last night, people were showing me jewelry they purchased over the weekend. So I think the artists did quite well. One told me on Saturday that he had sold more on Saturday by 11 am than he did the whole previouis year at the festival, so that said something.

Delicious Chamber mixer at Spartico trattoria

The chamber had a networker Tuesday night at Spartico, the new Italian restaurant inside the Mayfair Hotel. Chamber members enjoyed drinks and delicious food passed around all night including bruschetta, mini pizzas (the size of cookies) and prosciutto wrapped around bread sticks (shown above). Above also is Alice Land, Mayfair Hotel Marketing Manager.


The crew from the Homestead-Miami Speedway was present including Edward Williams, public relations manager, champion race car driver Ozz Negri, Natalie Salas, marketing and Jay Rand, senior public relations.


Adam Kutner, GroveTown Properties; Dean Neiger, Dreyco cleaners and Erica Kutner, Coconut Grove Woman's Club.


Bryan Windmark, Computer Caffe; Anthony Poppe, Financial Advisor, Firestone Capital Mgt.


Marilyn Tatman, Coldwell Banker; William Balcazar, Spartico restaurant manager; Judy Campo, Coldwell Banker.


Erica Kutner, Peter Laird of Laird Creative marketing.

About the Merrie Christmas Park issue

Regarding the Merrie Christmas Park issue of the neighbors not wanting the workout equipment in the park. I was notified by Ron Nelson, Commissioner Sarnoff's Chief of Staff, last night that the size of the area where the equipment is going is not the size of two tennis courts. It is smaller.

I am advised that many neighbors want the equipment installed and I am advised that all the neighbors were notified and the plans have been published somewhere or other. If The Grapevine was notified of the plans, we would have published them here, since this is the obvious place where Grove residents get their news and this is where the plans should have been announced if they had wanted people actually to know of the plans.

It's my job to see these things and I have not seen any notifications or plans, I am at most meeting in town from Village Council to Village of Center Grove and others, and I have not seen or heard of the plans, I have not heard of neighbors being asked to voice their opinions on the plans. To be fair, at the last Village of Center Grove meeting, Commissioner Sarnoff did mention the work out equipment, I don't remember if he mentioned Merrie Christmas Park, but he mentioned something about equipment going in around City parks. It was a statement and not a debatable issue at the time.

I was also told that Sarnoff's office sends out a newsletter, which explained the plans. I have never seen the newsletter. If people are for the proposed workout equipment, please email us and tell us your side. I don't live on that end of town and I was just reporting the news. There are quotes in the story where the neighbors' opinions were expressed.

People in the neighborhood should decide what goes in their park, not one person, especially in the Grove, where people seem to be more involved in their neighborhoods than most areas. This should have been discussed in public before anything was done. The orange netting fence went up and that is how most of the neighbors were notified.

And now after the fact, the Commissioner has agreed to meet with neighbors to discuss the issue, which should have been done before the fact.

Delray String Quartet to perform at St. Stephen's

The Delray String Quartet will be performing a concert at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church (2750 McFarlane Road) on Sunday, February 27.

The 4 pm concert is called, "The Devil & The Bohemian: Liszt & Dvorak."

On the program:
Felix Mendelssohn: Quartet in D Major, Op. 44, No. 1
Franz Liszt: Mephisto Waltz No. 1
Antonin Dvorak: Quartet in E Flat, Op. 51

Tickets are available at the concert or by phone at 561-213-4138, also on the quartet's website here.

Cost is $20 for adults, $15 for students and free for 12 and under. The program includes the concert, introduction to pieces and composers and a wine and cheese reception.

A fond farewell as the circus leaves town

We caught the last of the circus leaving town this morning. The kenetic animals of Frederick Prescott, which are always the first to arrive, are always the last to lumber out.

The streets are spotless, it's amazing how you cannot even find a cigarette butt on the ground. It really was a great weekend, we saw everyone out, from the Mayor and his family to the cast of Days of Our Lives, who signed what looked like thousands of autographs.

But there were a few flaws and we were asked by the Arts Festival office today to tell them what complaints we had so they could correct them next year. I asked around, and I heard a few things, and I'll post that tomorrow.

Village Council looking for committee members

The Coconut Grove Village Council is looking for volunteers for a bunch of new sub-committees. They need co-chairs and volunteers for the groups. You don't have to be a Grove resident.

The subcommittees are as follows:

Historical Committee, chaired by Renita Ross Samuels-Dixon
Planning and Zoning, chaired by Stephen Murray
Funding, chaired by David Collins
Waterfront, chaired by Michelle Niemeyer
Playhouse, chaired by Felice Dubin
Ad hoc Mercy Hospital Committee, co-chaired by Patrick Sessions and Kate Callahan
Ad hoc FPL power lines Committee, chaired by Stephen Murray
Tree Watch, chaired by David Collins, co-chaired by Liliana Dones
CrimeWatch, Liaison, Kate Callahan
Ad hoc PointeGroup Committee, chaired by Renita Ross Samuels-Dixon

To join any committee, please contact Village Council chair Michelle Niemeyer at mniemeyer@paymyclaim.com.

Don't jump!

Javier Lopez-Rosende has to be the best photographer in Miami. He is amazing. You have probably seen his work all over, he is at every event -- 4th of July, The Bed Race, the King Mango Strut, etc.

He is known for his high up, panoramic scenes, like the fireworks he does at the 4th of July.

Well, this weekend, he was on an assignment and he went high above the Mutiny Hotel to get his shot. As he was up on the roof, he decided to step over the barriers and there he was, hanging on for dear life, so he could get the right shot.

Little did Javier know that as he was high up doing his thing, the public and the authorities below were getting ready for his descent, right off the ledge -- they thought he was going to commit suicide!

So as he took his time and got his best shots, everyone below was in a panic. Just another day in Coconut Grove . . .

Now keep in mind, he got permission to go up to the roof, and just a few feet away, but not seen by everyone below was one of the security personnel from the hotel.

Anyway, Javier got his shot, got in the elevator and descended the proper way (one slow floor at a time) only to be greeted by the men in blue. He was almost carted away, until he was able to tell his side of the story. The funny part was, that as he left, someone from the hotel yelled out, "Get out of here, we don't like your kind here!" When Javier asked, "My kind? What kind?" The guy pointed across the street to all the media booths and said, "NBC, CBS,
The Herald . . ."

He didn't mention The Grapevine, so I assume we are welcome.

Anyway, here is the photo that Javier was risking life and limb and jail time for. You have to be signed into Facebook to see it.

We actually took a similar photo, not as great as Javier's, but the same concept. It was almost impossible getting that one. We took it from the 8th floor of the Sonesta. First we got permisson from Curtis, the hotel general manager, we ran into him at the festival. He gave me his card and said show it to the guy at the front of the hotel.

At the front of the hotel, there was a security guy at the front door with a Janet Jackson mouth piece, he escorted me and two friends to the front desk, the front desk lady then called someone else, who escorted us through the lobby to the elevators and then on the 8th floor, we were escorted from the elevator to the pool deck to take the photo. By that time, we wanted to jump, but we just took a few photos and took the elevator down.

Neighbors protesting proposed park changes

Neighbors are quite concerned about a new exercise equipment area being added to Merrie Christmas Park. Construction is to begin today at the park on LeJeune Road and Barbarrosa Avenue. The exercise equipment is also being added to Myers Park on S. Bayshore Drive, it's all similar to the equipment at Kennedy Park.

Neighbors feel that the "cement based eyesore" does not belong in Merrie Christmas park, they feel it will destroy the park's natural beauty. The proposed equipment area is the size of about two tennis courts, you can see it cordoned off with the orange fencing in the above photo.

The unique valley-type setting was created years ago to be a natural patch of untouched wilderness. Neighbors fought a dog park years ago and now seem to be totally against the exercise equipment. According to an email that went out this weekend, the Miami Homeland Defense/Neighborhood improvement Bond Oversight Board "sneaked this under the radar of political or public scrutiny by pricing it under $50,000," so none of the neighbors were notified.

They are fuming. An impromptu meeting was held yesterday afternoon, about 40 neighbors showed up about 5 pm to make a plan of action. They are now organizing to fight the new feature that they feel will destroy the tranquility and beauty of the park. A petition is online here.

Starting today, neighbors will take turns keeping watch over the area in a "passive protest." A couple of neighbors are going to the parks commission today, to see what they can do.

Also, they are asking that you email Commissioner Marc Sarnoff here: msarnoff@miamigov.com; or call his office at 305.250.5333, email Raul Garcia, Chief of Operations of Parks here: rmgarcia@ci.miami.fl.us and Ernest Burkeen, Director of Miami Parks & Recreation here: Eburkeen@ci.miami.fl.us, you may also call him at: 305.416.1320.

Update (9:20 am): Mr. Ed Burkeen of the Miami Parks Dept, spoke with one of the neighbors this morning by phone. He agreed to stop all intended construction today and will get in touch with Commissioner Sarnoff about the situation.

Gutsy Drinkers Pub Crawl is March 12

The Take Steps for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation is having a Pub Crawl on March 12 called The Gutsy Drinkers Pub Crawl, which will precede their chairty walk on May 12. Michelle Rodriguez and Gaston Ruiz are coordinating the event.

The cost is $20 which gets you drink and food specials like $1and $2 draft beers, 50% off appetizers, 2 for 1 specials and more. Participating pubs will also offer coupons.

The registration table will be set up in front of Mr.Moes from 2:00 to 3:00 pm the day of the event. The crawl is about an hour at each pub, and moves from bar to bar. The registration table will move from bar to bar so anyone can register at any time.

The specials look like this:

Mr. Moes - $4 call drinks

Barracudas - $1 domestic draft beers (good all night)

Chilis - 2 for 1's and free chips and salsa

Fat Tuesdays -$5 med. daiquiris, $2 domestic drafts, $1 jello shots and $1 cotton candy shots

The Burgundy Room - $2 draft beers and 50% off any food item

Sandbar - Half off cocktails, draft beers and appetizers

The fundraising goal is $5000. Sign up at the event or on line here.

You can find the team's Walking Page here. The walk is May 12. For more info, please email gutsydrinkers@gmail.com.

MiaSci Mixer includes Xavier Cortada art premier

The MiaSci Young Patrons are holding their 2011 Mixer Season Opener celebrating the launch of Xavier Cortada’s solo exhibit, “90N/90S: North Pole & South Pole Installations." It's Thursday, February 24 from 6:30 to 9:30 pm at the Miami Science Museum (3280 S. Miami Avenue).

$15 cover includes the open bar, appetizers and meet and greet with artist. Mix and mingle with other young professionals. Music is by DJ Pannik.

Also, this will be the first chance you'll have to buy tickets to their Big Bang Gala After Hour Party following MiaSci's Galaxy Gala... for more info on that here.

Xavier Cortada created art at the Earth’s poles to help address environmental issues at every point in between. Cortada placed 24 shoes in a circle around the South and North Poles (in 2007 and 2008, respectively), each shoe serving as a proxy for a person affected by global climate change across 24 time zones. Aside from the shoes, the exhibit features flags that were part of the original installations at opposite ends of the planet, as well as works on paper made by melting Antarctic ice. This is the first time that works from both polar installations are featured as part of one exhibit.

Final day of the Coconut Grove art festivals

Today is the final day of the Coconut Grove Arts Festival and St. Stephen's Arts Fair. The weather has been incredible and the crowds have been larger.

Monday is usually a slower day and it's a great way to avoid the crowds and actually see some art up close and spend more time with the artists.

The festivals are open at 10 am and close at 6 pm. The cost is $10 to enter the Coconut Grove Arts Festival ($5 for Grove residents) and $1 to enter St. Stephen's.

"Miami in Motion" charity event features kids' art

Miami in Motion, is a Greater Miami Chamber event taking place at the Rodez Gallery, at CocoWalk, on Thursday, February 24. The charity event, from 6 to 9 pm, will benefit ARC of South Florida.

The event will feature a silent art auction of 30 wonderful 8" x 10" art pieces created by children at Schnebly's Redlands Winery, along with sports memorabilia and other donated items. The event will also feature music, two open bars and appetizers. There is a suggested $25 per person donation. For tickets, call Cathy Alexander at 305-441-5643.

Please RSVP Lourdes Castaneda-Jacobs at 954-600-0471 or via email at lourdesc@baptisthealth.net

This piece above, entitled "The World is a Playground," was a collaboration of all the participating children, parents, teachers and volunteers.

It will also be auctioned during the evening, it's an acrylic on canvas, 36" x 48".

What happened to the red buses?

What's up with Gray Line? Their nice big red buses are now covered with ads on both sides. So now the big red buses are not big red buses.

Guess the good news is that they still have their hop on, hop off service in the Grove and they stop by every day a little before each hour. Louis, the Grove ambassador is there to greet them and that's all great news. So while we're not seeing red, we are still seeing tourists hop on and off.