Thursday, 7/31
Dining
Miami Spice, Miami-Dade’s two-month-long dining festival, kicks off tonight with the Iron Fork gala from 7 – 10 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Miami, 400 SE 2nd Ave. in downtown Miami. Taste the specialties of more than 50 restaurants, sample cocktails at 18 bar stations and mingle throughout 75,000 sq. ft. of displays, entertainment and silent auctions. Proceeds benefit Share Our Strength. Tickets are $50 general admission and $85 VIP early admission at Ticketfly.com. For information about Miami Spice dining specials in August and September, go to MiamiAndBeaches.com.
Friday, 8/1
Dining
Just how daring of a diner are you? Catharsis Restaurant & Lounge, 1644 SW 8th St. in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, offers its unique “Dining in the Dark” meal tonight at 9 p.m. Served blind-folded in total darkness, each course is a surprise until the host begins explaining the ingredients involved. While the menu changes each time, diners with dietary restrictions can be accommodated upon reservation. Who is feeling adventurous tonight? Cost is $79 per couple and wine pairing is available for $15 per person. For reservations, call 305-479-2746.
Saturday, 8/2
Theater
The brilliant, critically-acclaimed concert production of Frank Loesser’s classic musical, “The Most Happy Fella,” from Palm Beach Dramaworks, 201 Clematis St. in West Palm Beach, has been extended through Sunday, Aug. 3. Under the direction of Clive Cholerton, William Michals stars as an older Napa Valley wine grower and Jessica Hershberg plays a young waitress who agrees to be his mail-order bride—sight unseen — in 1927. The staged reading features a full cast with musical direction by Howard Breitbart. Tickets are $40. For tickets and show times, go to PalmBeachDramaworks.com.
Sunday, 8/3
Fundraiser
FEAST Miami brings food and art together to create community. FEAST Miami (Funding Emerging Art with Sustainable Tactics) is a meals-based micro-funding project that consists of a series of vegan pop-up dinners at local art venues. Funds raised will be used to financially support new and emerging creative projects. The first FEAST Miami dinner will be held tonight at 6 p.m. at Emerson Dorsch Gallery, 151 NW 24th St. in Miami. A minimum donation of $60 per person is suggested. For more information and reservations, go to FeastMiami.org.
Monday, 8/4
Theater
Mondays are no longer dark in professional theaters across South Florida. Every Monday through Aug. 25,the South Florida Theatre League presents Summer Theatre Fest, free readings of new plays by local playwrights at member companies. Tonight, experience “It Feels Good” by Michael Yawney at GableStage at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables at 7:30 p.m. Yawney’s play explores the education of an underage gay man who hangs out at the local night club. For more information and a complete list of Theatre Fest play readings, go to SouthFloridaTheatre.com.
Tuesday, 8/5
Art
We all played with LEGO bricks as kids, but internationally renowned artist Nathan Sawaya has taken sculptures with those colorful plastic blocks to an entirely new level. “In Pieces,” an exhibition of sculptures and mixed-media works at Art and Culture Center of Hollywood, 1650 Harrison St. through Aug. 17, builds upon Sawaya’s previous body of work with sculptures that are integrated into large-scale photographs by Australian photographer Dean West. The center is open daily 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and weekends from 12 noon – 5 p.m. For information, go to ArtAndCultureCenter.org.
