May 24 to May 31

May 24
Art
Embedded
Over a nine-month period in the mid- 1960s, Jim Nickless, a freelance cameraman for NBC News, documented the training, raids, and daily activities of a group of Cuban patriots attempting to overthrow Fidel Castro. Capturing over 800 still photographs, countless rolls of film and collecting numerous oral accounts, Nickless reveals the often silenced images of conflict, war, duty and unyielding patriotism. Organized and curated by Nickless’ children Lea and Chris, Embedded is as much an exhibition about a beloved fathers’ unexplored legacy, as it is about the portrayal of a photojournalist during Cold War America. Opening Reception tonight. 7-9pm. Freedom Tower, Black Box & Skylight Galleries, 600 Biscayne Blvd; Miami. For info: 305-237-7700 or mdc.edu.

May 24
Social
Cleaning For Cancer
Celebrate with cancer patients and survivors at the Cleaning for Cancer 2012 gala at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach. The evening’s festivities will include dinner, entertainment, dancing, open bar and a silent auction. Performers include Daniel Bouchet and Melissa Burnos. MC is Charles J. Kropke and Special Guest Speaker is Cancer Survivor, Astrid Nicastri. Celebrities attending include Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi , Linda Evans, Mondo Guerra, Cindy Bishop, Davone Bess, Matt Grant and Jonathan Novack. Great food, fun and charity for all. Cleaning for Cancer is a US non-profit organization (currently expanding internationally) dedicated to helping cancer patients who are undergoing treatment by providing them with in-home benefits in their time of need. 7:30pm.  Fontainebleau, 4440 Collins Ave; Miami Beach. For info: 561-573-7783 or cleaningforcancer.org

May 24
Music
Piano Slam
The Dranoff International Two Piano Foundation will host their 4th annual Piano Slam, a two-piano classical music and rap poetry mash-up tonight.  Directed by award winning theater producer, Teo Castellanos. Dutch Piano Duo Maarten and Jeroen Van Veen, winners of 7th Dranoff International Two Piano Competition will be featured with hip hop DJ Brimstone 127, and prominent Miami Hip Hop Poet Alexis Caputo performing with Miami-Dade County middle and high school student poets. As part of the event, Dranoff will hold a competition for poetry from students inspired by live and online classical music performances. Contest prize winners will be presented with laptop computers and cash awards at the event and their poems will be presented as part of the spoken word, hip hop and classical music celebration.  Also expect performances by Ukranian pianists, Olha Chipak and Oleksiy Kushnir, and workshops by Harlem Shakespeare Scholar, Summer Hill Seven, and Rachel Finley with poetry readings by Miami HEAT player James Jones and DJ Irie. Literary Chair Tarell McCraney. 7:30pm. Free. Knight Concert Hall, 1300 Biscayne Blvd; Miami. For info: dranoff2piano.org

May 24
Food
The Art of Wine and Food Series
Spring Fling! Explore Wines that Pair with the Fresh Flavor of Spring with certified sommelier and wine educator Stephanie Miskew. Go on a wonderful spring vineyard tour and explore the delicious flavors you’ll find there. Paired with creative cuisine by L’Hermitage Catering. Reservations required, seating is limited.$35. 6-7:30pm. Museum of Art, One East Las Olas Blvd; Fort Lauderdale. For info: moafl.org or 954-262-0249.

May 24
Lecture
Street Safety for Today’s Women
Don’t miss this lecture by Miami-Dade County Commissioner
Sally Heyman on Street Safety for Today’s Women. She will discuss how to Be Prepared and Not Paranoid and how to Make Your LIfe Safer Rather Than Changing Your Lifestyle. Co-Produced By Miami Beach Mayor Matti Bower and Women’s Exhibit, Inc. Moderated By: Sherry Roberts. Wine & Cheese Reception. 6pm. Free. 2000 Convention Center Dr; Miami Beach. For info: WomensExhibit.com or 786-52WOMEN.

May 24
Art
José Bedia
Transcultural Pilgrim: Three Decades of Work by José Bedia
Miami Art Museum opens a major career retrospective of the work of José Bedia. The exhibition, consisting of 35 works including works on paper and canvas and two large-scale installations, explores Bedia’s ancestral genealogy (Cuba) and his constructed genealogy in the “other” Americas—the indigenous communities where this transcultural pilgrim has found so much deeply personal material for his spiritual and artistic practices. Bedia is an acclaimed member of Cuba’s “Generation of the ‘80s,” a group of pioneering young artists who incorporated Cuban vernacular and spiritual references into their work and experimented with eclectic visual forms. The exhibition also includes select artifacts from Bedia’s persona collection, which have inspired the forms and content of his work. Through September 2.  Miami Art Museum, 101 W Flagler St; Miami. For info: miamiartmuseum.org or 305.375.3000.

May 25
Music
Jazz at MOCA
The Dirk Quinn Band  will perform at the Museum of Contemporary Art’s Jazz at MOCA outdoor concert series tonight.  Guitarist Dirk Quinn draws inspiration from all musical types.  His solo acoustic sound has been called guitar “pyrotechnics” and his full band compositions range from honest urban funk to brave experimentation.  Quinn’s high energy performances have earned him a devoted following in his native Baltimore and up and down the East Coast.  With modern melodic sensibilities and innovative new rhythms, the band performs an exciting new brand of jazz funk fusion.  MOCA galleries are open by donation from 7 – 10pm.  On view are the exhibitions Ragnar Kjartansson: Song and Ed Ruscha: On the Road. Businesses in the North Miami Arts District will also be open. Free. 8pm. The Museum of Contemporary Art, 770 NE 125th St; North Miami.  For info: 305.893.6211 or mocanomi.org.

May 25
Social
Coast-to-Coast Conga
Something a little different. Head to Key West for the weekend and join in with revelers in Cuban attire who will conga from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, to celebrate Key West’s rich and colorful Cuban heritage. Key West was the site of a flourishing cigar industry in the mid to late 1800s, when the island city welcomed thousands of Cuban immigrants seeking greater personal and political freedom. The conga line recognizes the vibrant culture those people brought with them to Key West. Led by the Comparsa Key West dance troupe, the conga line will proceed down mile-long Duval Street from the ocean to the gulf. Conga celebrants will wind up at El Meson de Pepe, 410 Wall St. at Mallory Square, for a lively Latin dance party. 8pm. Free.  For info: 305-294-761 or  fla-keys.com

May 25
Art
Situation Range
Don’t miss this outstanding group exhibition at LegalArt. Situation Range, an exhibition of video-based sculptures and installations, and a looped reel of short videos will occupy the second and fourth floors of the LegalArt building, as well as The Corner bar. On view for one night only, Situation Range artists include: Nicholas Arehart, Hannes Bend, Reed van Brunschot, Clifton Childree, Cynthia Cruz, Orlando Estrada, Christine de la Garenne, Richard Haden & Bill Bilowit, Moira Holohan, Tatiana Istomina, Jordan Marty, Patrick Moser, Ania Moussawel, Crystal Pearl, Alice Raymond, Dylan Römer, Lindsay Scoggins, Magnus Sigurdarson, TM Sisters, A.G. Viva, and Antonia Wright. As a relatively familiar and accessible medium, video art has the power to frame, communicate, and present a broad range of topical issues, whether through traditional linear narratives or timeless abstraction. The works in this exhibition are brought together to illustrate the expansive nature of video art and its seemingly boundless capacity to effectively present in terms of formal and visual content. Video as a geographical, cultural, linguistic, technological, domestic, ethnographical, political, historical, and art historical record, among other subjects, are all represented in Situation Range. After the opening, The Corner bar will offer drink specials inspired by the theme of the exhibition. 8 – 11pm. LegalArt, 1035 N Miami Ave; Miami. For info: legalartmiami.org or 786.347.2360

May 25
Dance
Ayikodans
Haiti’s premier dance troupe Ayikodans returns to South Florida to once again thrill audiences with “Danse de L’Araignée” (Dance of the Spider), an Arsht Center-commissioned piece created by the company’s founder and choreographer, Jeanguy Saintus. Originally created in 2002 during Ayikodans journey to Japan, “Danse de L’Araignée” honors Gede Zarenyen, a Hatian mythological god which crawled and stung like a spider. “Danse de L’Araignée” transcends that of a traditional dance piece as it evokes a spider’s customary rhythm while incorporating different techniques ranging from traditional to contemporary, and modern to hip-hop. $35. 7:30pm. Ziff Ballet Opera House, 1300 Biscayne Blvd; Miami. For info: arshtcenter.org or 305-949-6722.

May 26
Food
BBQ Block Party
“It won’t be no sin to get BBQ sauce on your chin” and boogey to the smoothest oldies at Seminole Casino Hollywood’s Motown-themed BBQ Block Party tonight in the parking lot. Three award-winning BBQ competitors – The Pig In Or Pig Out, Two Crackers Cooking, and Huckleberry Hillbilly BBQ teams will be on hand to serve up the area’s best bar-b-que ribs, chicken, pork, sausage, brisket and more. Music from The Masters of Motown will feature stylishly costumed and fully choreographed tributes. to both male and female groups, backed by a live band. After their show, dance to the best top 40 disco, R&B and rock ‘n’ roll. Opening will be Groove Lane. 6 -10 p.m. Free. Seminole Casino, 4150 North State Road 7; Hollywood.  For info:seminolehollywoodcasino.com.

May 26
Film
Turn Me On, Dammit!
The risqué Norwegian comedy sensation Turn Me On, Dammit! opens with a live video link Q&A with director, Jannicke Systad Jacobsen. She is a long-time documentary filmmaker named by Variety as one of Ten European Directors To Watch. An off-beat and groundbreakingly honest coming-of-age story about a teenage girl’s blossoming sexuality, set in the small-town, mountainous hinterlands of Norway. 15-year-old Alma is burning up with desire for her neighbor Artur. On her journey to finding herself, she must deal with a mother who does not understand her and thinks her own daughter is oversexed; friends at school who alternately befriend and shun her in the midst of their own teenage angst; and mounting bills from a phone sex line. Norwegian with English subtitles. 5pm. $11. Gables Cinema , 260 Aragon Ave; Coral Gables. For info: 786- 385-9689 or gablescinema.com

May 26
Tour
Gay and Lesbian Walking Tour
The Miami Design Preservation League has joined forces with the Miami-Dade Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau to bring you this ninety-minute guided walking tour. Departs from Welcome Center. Reservations are not required. Members free. $20. 5pm. Art Deco Welcome Center, 1001 Ocean Dr; Miami Beach. For info: 305.672.2014 or mdpl.org

May 26
Class
AIDS Quilt
Miami Beach Community Health Center’s “Making Memories” will assist those interested in creating an AIDS Quilt panel as a way to pay tribute to a life lost to AIDS. Meet with NAMES Project Foundation South Florida Chapter Quilt reps to learn how to make panels and get creative guidance. “Making Memories” presented by Miami Beach Community Health Center along with The NAMES Project Foundation South Florida Chapter, provides another great way to further HIV/AIDS awareness and understanding. These expressions of love will be celebrated during a special ceremony at Miami Beach Community Health Center on World AIDS Day 2012 and added to The AIDS Memorial Quilt. 1 – 3pm. Miami Beach Community Health Center, 11645 Biscayne Blvd; Miami. Free. For info: miamibeachhealth.org or 305-538-8835.

May 26
Film
Chico & Rita
Oscar-winning director Fernando Trueba (Belle Epoque, Calle 54) and Spain’s legendary illustrator Javier Mariscal celebrate their passion for the music and culture of Cuba with an epic story of love, passion, and heartbreak. Cuba,1948. Chico is a young piano player with big dreams. Rita is a beautiful singer with an extraordinary voice. Music and desire unite them as they chase their dreams and each other from Havana to New York to Paris, Hollywood and Las Vegas. With an original soundtrack by legendary Cuban pianist and five-time Grammy-winning composer Bebo Valdés, Chico & Rita captures a defining moment in the evolution of history and jazz. 5pm. $10. Miami Beach Cinematheque, 1130 Washington Ave; Miami Beach. For info: 305.673.4567 or mbcinema.com

May 26
Kids
Cupcake Decorating
Take the kiddies to Bloomies for a fun-filled couple of hours. Chef Lauretta will hold a fun-filled, sticky-finger Cupcake Decorating afternoon in Young World. 2-4pm. Free. Bloomingdale’s, 19555 Biscayne Blvd; Aventura. For info: 305-792-1288.

May 27
Social
Backyard Boogie
Miami Independent Thinkers, a local organization dedicated to the unity, development and promotion of Miami’s flourishing art community will be holding the fundraising kickoff for M.I.T 4th Edition Art Basel Satellite Fair at Wood Tavern’s Memorial Day Weekend bash, Backyard Boogie. Expect Southern style BBQ ribs, burgers and veggie options.  Picnic tables, cobblestone pavement and music from Bonnie Beats, Tom LaRoc, Ray Milian and Induce. Burgers $4., veggie options $2. and ribs $9. Donate $15. to the cause and get free Sunday style cocktails and beer. 3pm.  Wood Tavern, 2531 NW 2nd Ave; Wynwood. For info: 305.748.2828.

May 27
Performance
Prince Poppycock
America’s Got Talent $1,000,000 show finalist. Prince Poppycock will take the stage at The White Fort Lauderdale pre-event concert. The annual event traditionally kicks off the summer season in Lauderdale. This year’s party features DJs Manny Lehman and Daisy Deadpetals with a special concert by Prince Poppycock. Many of South Florida’s greatest drag entertainers will also perform. Kitty Meow, Daisy D, Sasha Lords, Erika Norell and TP Lords are  scheduled to appear. MC is Joe Posa and host is Channel 7′s Craig Stevens. 9pm. $30 – $70. The Manor, 2345 Wilton Dr; Wilton Manors. For info: themanorcomplex.com

May 27
Music
Classical Music Concert
Celebrate Memorial Day with some musical culture at the Classical Music Concert featuring Aaron Merritt on cello and Jeff Brown on piano. $20.  3pm. Arts at St. John’s, 4760 Pinetree Dr; For info: 305.613.2325 or artsatstjohns.com

May 27
Theatre
Spring Awakening
Spring Awakening is a rock musical adaptation of the controversial 1892 German play of the same title by Frank Wedekind. It features music by Duncan Sheik and a book and lyrics by Steven Sater. Set in late-19th century Germany, it follows teenagers through their journey as they navigate self-discovery and coming of age anxiety, in an electrifying fusion of morality, sexuality and rock & roll. The play has won 8 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Book and Score and 4 Drama Desk Awards, while its London production won 4 Olivier Awards. Through June 3. 5pm. $10 to $25. Area Stage Company, 560 S. Dixie Highway; Coral Gables. For info: areastagecompany.com or 305-666-2078

May 29
Film
All About Eve
The Miami Jazz Society host The Miami Tower Film Series showing fab flicks weekly. Two films will be shown tonight. First is All About Eve An ingenue insinuates herself in to the company of an established but aging stage actress and her circle of theater friends. Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Starring Bette Davis, Anne Baxter.  6:15pm & 8:30pm. Stay for African Queen. In Africa during WW1, a gin-swilling riverboat owner/captain is persuaded by a strait-laced missionary to use his boat to attack an enemy warship. Directed by John Huston. Starring Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn.  8:30pm & 10:30. Cash bar and snacks. Free. Miami Tower, 100 SE 2nd Street, Miami. For info: 305-688-4564

May 29
Film
Turkish Film Festival
The second annual Miami Turkish Film Festival opens with Last Stop Kurtulus, a black comedy, directed by Yusuf Pirhasan. After being dumped by her boyfriend, psychologist Eylem (Belcim Bilgin) moves to a remote section of the country. She discovers that the women that come to see her are all oppressed by men. With guidance and motivation from Fusun (Asuman Dabak), Eylem encourages these women to realize their own power and band together on a crusade for empowerment. 8pm. Free. Colony Theatre, 1040 Lincoln Rd; Miami Beach. Opening night party at Dal Toro Bistro, 719 Lincoln. 10pm. For info:  miamiturkishfilmfestival.com

May 30
Lecture
Beach Talks
It’s been 10 years since Art Basel arrived in 2002. What will Miami’s contemporary art scene look like in another decade? Come hear the visions members of Miami’s diverse contemporary art scene. Public Panel 3 includes: Manuel E. Gonzalez, Trustee, CIFO and Independent Curator; Nina Johnson, Owner and Director of Gallery Diet; Maggie Cuesta, Dean of Visual Arts, New World School of the Arts. 7pm. Free. Miami Beach Urban Studios (MBUS), 420 Lincoln Rd; Miami Beach. For info: 305.535.1463 or mbus.fiu.edu

May 30
Tour
Gator Nights
Something a little different. Head to the everglades for a night airboat ride  and tour. A thrilling night time airboat ride deep into the everglades to seek out Florida’s legendary reptile, the American Alligator. Experience the thrill of the abundant wildlife and explore the sights and sounds of nocturnal giants. Slide over the sawgrass and cattails at an excess of 35 miles per hour. This is an opportunity to experience first hand the wonder of this one of a kind ecosystem. Reservations required. 8pm. $40.  Everglades Tours, 1006 N. U.S. Highway 27, Weston. For info:  888-424-7262 or evergladestours.com

May 30
Film
E.T. The Extraterrestrial
Free movies every Wednesday night from The SoundScape Cinema Series at the Miami Beach SoundScape ExoStage. This week’s flick is E.T. The Extraterrestrial . A meek and alienated little boy finds a stranded extraterrestrial. He has to find the courage to defy the authorities to help the alien return to its home planet. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Starring Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore and Peter Coyote. Bring a blanket or beach chair and picnic. No glass please. 8pm. Free. Exostage at Miami Beach SoundScape, 500 17 St; Miami beach. For info: mbculture.com

May 31
Books
Rosecrans Baldwin
A self-described Francophile, Rosecrans Baldwin always dreamed of living in Paris—drinking le café, eating les croissants, walking in les jardins—so when the opportunity to work as a copywriter for an advertising agency in Paris presented itself, he couldn’t turn it down. Despite the fact that he had no experience in advertising. And despite the fact that he wasn’t exactly fluent in French. Paris, I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down is a nimble, comical account of observing the French capital from the inside out. It is an expedition into the Paris of Sarkozy, smoking bans, and a McDonald’s beneath the Louvre—the story of an American who loves Paris all out of proportion, who loves every beret and baguette cliché, but who finds life there to be very different from what he expected. Rosencrans will rad from and sign his book tonight. 8pm. Free. Books and books, 265 Aragon Ave; Coral Gables. For info: booksandbooks.com

May 31
Social
Old Skool’ Hip Hop
Head to Chalk Ping Pong & Billiards Lounge for old skool’ hip hop. Together with Tony Touch and Culture Productions the debut of the first of their monthly old skool’ hip hop bashes. The launch of this new partnership coincides with Chalk’s vintage feel and weekly Thursday hip hop party, The Breaks.  Tony Touch, an icon in Hip-Hop and in the Urban Hispanic genre,  is a true innovator and has revolutionized the DJ game over and over. From his legendary mixtapes, to becoming Hip-Hop’s most recognized DJ. His popular weekly radio show on Sirius and his decade old party, Toca Tuesday party, makes him synonymous with Hip Hop fans, who can now catch him at Chalk Ping Pong & Billiards Lounge the last Thursday of every month. No cover. 10pm. Chalk Ping Pong & Billiards Lounge, 1234 Washington Ave; Miami Beach. For info: chalkmiami.com or 305.674.1712.

Category: CALENDAR, HIGHLIGHTS, TO DO