PRESS STATEMENT
MIAMI BEACH | SEPTEMBER 2 | 2020

Due to the pandemic’s impact, Art Basel announces the cancellation of its Miami Beach fair

Given the current situation regarding the pandemic’s impact, which spans from South Florida to other parts of the country and the world; limitations and uncertainty about the staging of large-scale events; international travel restrictions and bans, as well as quarantine regulations within the United States and internationally, alongside other factors, Art Basel has no other option but to cancel the 2020 edition of Art Basel in Miami Beach. Art Basel in Miami Beach was scheduled to take place from December 3 to December 6, 2020 at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

Noah Horowitz, Director Americas, Art Basel said: ‘It is with great regret and disappointment that we announce the cancellation of our December show in Miami Beach, as we know how crucial our show is for our galleries, as well as for the greater Miami arts community and economy. We thank everyone who shared their perspectives and insights with us over the past months and weeks and look forward to returning to Miami Beach next year to deliver a successful show.’

As the artworld continues to face momentous challenges, Art Basel remains firmly committed to supporting the global gallery community in the best way possible through its digital initiatives and by hosting its upcoming 2021 shows in Hong Kong, Basel, and Miami Beach. Art Basel’s digital initiatives will continue this fall with two individual thematic editions of its Online Viewing Rooms: ‘OVR:2020’, dedicated to artworks produced during 2020 and running from September 23 to 26, and ‘OVR:20c’, presenting works created between 1900 and 1999 from October 28 to 31. These digital events will be followed in December by Online Viewing Rooms that will be open to all galleries accepted to the 2020 edition of Art Basel in Miami Beach. Further details on the upcoming Online Viewing Rooms will follow in the coming weeks.

As has been communicated previously, galleries selected for Art Basel in Miami Beach 2020 will not be charged any participation/booth fees for the December show and application fees will be rolled over to 2021 for accepted galleries.

The next edition of Art Basel in Miami Beach will take place from December 2 to December 5, 2021, with preview days on December 1 and December 2, 2021.

GMCVB Expands Commitment To Restaurants With The Launch Of New Miami Spice Options And Expansion Of The Award-Winning Miami Eats Program

New Miami Spice To-Go and expanded Miami Eats program provide the restaurant industry with an opportunity to generate business safely and responsibly while helping keep hospitality industry workers employed.
Miami Spice To Go Website
Miami Spice Website
Miami Eats Website

In response to new emergency orders prohibiting indoor dining in Miami-Dade County restaurants, the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) adapted the beloved Miami Spice Restaurant program to promote those participants that are offering to-go as well as outdoor dining for their prix-fix meals which include appetizer, main course and dessert for $25 lunch/brunch and $39 dinner. The new Miami Spice options complement the existing and award-winning Miami Eats program developed by the GMCVB in April when local restaurants experienced their first wave of closures. Miami Eats recently won the “Grass Roots Relief Effort Time In Award” for promoting hundreds of restaurants’ takeout and delivery services throughout Greater Miami and the Beaches. Together, Miami Spice-To Go and Miami Eats provides locals the opportunity to enjoy their favorite foods from local culinary establishments, while helping restaurants generate revenue in a safe and responsible way.

More than 100 restaurants are participating in Miami Spice with an outdoor dining option and more than 60 are now offering Miami Spice To-Go. The Miami Spice webpage offers easy to use filters allowing users to search Miami Spice restaurants by neighborhood, cuisine type as well as those offering to-go menus. A similar approach is used with the Miami Eats webpage which provides a list of more than 1,200 restaurants offering takeout and delivery of their standard menus. Miami Eats calls on residents to “Order Out’ and “Help Out” the local restaurant industry by calling them directly to place their orders to avoid fees whenever possible.

“Miami Spice To-Go and Miami Eats are both examples of GMCVB programs created in record-time to respond to the travel and hospitality industry’s urgent need to stimulate business during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said William D. Talbert, III, CDME, President & CEO of the GMCVB. “Miami-Dade County’s travel and hospitality industry is the top employer in the community and the GMCVB is committed to generating business for the industry in a responsible and safe way during these unprecedented times.”

This year Miami Spice is free to all GMCVB partners. Miami Eats is free and open to all Miami-Dade County restaurants regardless of location, cuisine or price point. All respective participants will be listed on the Miami Spice and/or Miami Eats website, offering consumers a single platform and a one-stop-shop with easy browse and search capabilities.

For Miami-Dade residents aware of any restaurant providing delivery or takeout that is not on the Miami Eats current list, please email MiamiEats@GMCVB.com.

For restaurants that would like to participate in Miami Eats, please click here.

For restaurants that would like to participate in Miami Spice To-Go, please email: MiamiSpice@GMCVB.com.

MEDIA ADVISORY
For Immediate Release: Friday, April 12, 2019
Contact: Jackie Filson, 202-683-2538, jfilson@fwwatch.org

Elected Officials and Business Leaders Unveil Anti-Fracking Art Installation

Elected officials, Hialeah business leaders, and local artists will present an art installation at the Leah Arts District to demonstrate the threats of oil fracking

Hialeah, FL — On Thursday, April 18th, local South Florida elected officials, business owners, artists, and residents will gather at the iconic 20ft flamingo mural in the Leah Arts District to unveil a new art installation to demonstrate the threats of oil and gas development near the Hialeah aquifer. Concerned residents will also present sweeping support for banning fracking among local elected officials and business owners in Hialeah and Miami Lakes. A recent court approval to drill for oil in the Everglades sparked outrage over the prospect of drilling and fracking in the Everglades a few miles from Miami’s drinking water sources, leading to this public demonstration.

House Speaker José R. Oliva recently stated that he would vote in support of banning fracking. Residents will discuss the legislation to ban fracking that has been filed in the State Legislature. House Bill 7029 to ban fracking has passed multiple House Committees. Speakers will discuss the loophole present in the bill that would allow fracking using matrix acidizing.

What: No Cafe con Fracking Press Conference
When: Thursday, April 18th at 11 AM
Where: Leah Arts District, 1000 E 15st Hialeah, FL
Who: Hialeah Councilman Paul B. Hernandez, City of Hialeah
Sara Britto, The Art Experience
Salome Garcia, Food and Water Watch

NOTA DE PRENSA
Para difusión inmediata: Viernes 12 de abril de 2019
Contacto: Jackie Filson, 202-683-2538, jfilson@fwwatch.org

Funcionarios Electos y Líderes Empresariales Develan Instalación De Arte Anti-Fracking

Funcionarios electos, líderes empresariales de Hialeah y artistas locales presentarán una instalación artística en el Distrito de Artes de Leah para exponer las amenazas del fracking

Hialeah, FL — El jueves 18 de abril, funcionarios locales electos del sur de la Florida, dueños de negocios, artistas y residentes se reunirán en el icónico mural de flamencos de 20 pies en el Distrito de Artes de Leah para presentar una nueva instalación artística que expone las amenazas de los procesos para el petróleo y gas cercanos al acuífero de Hialeah. Los alarmados residentes también mostrarán el extenso apoyo con que se cuenta entre los funcionarios locales y los dueños de negocios en Hialeah y Miami Lakes para prohibir el fracking. Una reciente aprobación judicial que considera la perforación y fracking en los Everglades, a pocos kilómetros de distancia de las fuentes de agua potable de Miami, causó indignación y condujo a esta manifestación pública.

El presidente de la Cámara, José R. Oliva, declaró recientemente que votaría a favor de prohibir el fracking. Los residentes también discutirán la legislación para prohibir el fracking que se ha presentado en la Legislatura del Estado. El Proyecto de Ley de la Cámara de Representantes 7029 que busca prohibir el fracking, ha sido aprobado por varios comités de la Cámara. Los oradores discutirán el vacío presente en el proyecto de ley que permitiría el uso de está técnica utilizando la acidificación de la matriz.

Qué: Conferencia de Prensa No Cafe con Fracking
Cuándo: Jueves 18 de abril a las 11 AM
Dónde: Distrito de Arte Leah, 1000 E 15st Hialeah, FL
Quiénes: Concejal de Hialeah Paul B. Hernandez, Ciudad de Hialeah
Sara Britto, The Art Experience
Salome Garcia, Food & Water Watch

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

The Knight Foundation just circulated this letter:

Our friend and colleague, Matt Haggman, Knight Foundation program director for Miami, has resigned, effective July 21. Chris Caines, who has ably served as Matt’s associate, will assume responsibilities as Knight interim program director for Miami.

Since Matt joined Knight in 2011, we have invested more than $28 million in supporting high-growth entrepreneurship in Miami and South Florida. We intend to continue this important work and to generate a more connected, better supported community of entrepreneurs. Our goal continues to be to make Miami a hub of ideas and innovation.

Chris has been working closely with Matt, our grantees and partners. He embodies Knight Foundation’s commitment to informed and engaged communities and will continue the work seamlessly.

Matt leaves Knight with our profound gratitude for his leadership and efforts. Please join me in wishing him well in his next endeavors.

Mike Abrams of The Miami Herald is circulating the rumor that Haggman may be running for Congress – http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article148195384.html

The Knight Cities Challenge is now open for ideas. The challenge seeks ideas that make the 26 communities where Knight invests more vibrant places to live and work. Applicants can win a share of up to $5 million for innovative projects that answer the question: What’s your best idea to make cities more successful?

Applications will be accepted until Nov. 3. Ideas should focus on one or all of three key drivers of city success: attracting and keeping talent, expanding economic opportunity, and creating a culture of civic engagement.

If you have questions about the challenge, you can join us for virtual office hours or in-person events to learn more. The schedule, which is regularly updated, can be accessed here.

To enter the Knight Cities Challenge go to knightcities.org and answer a few questions. For more information take a look at this blog post. Follow @knightfdn and #knightcities on Twitter for updates and please spread the word through your networks.

PRESS RELEASE

Radiotopia Launches #PodQuest, the Search For Podcasting’s Next Breakout Hit

With $10,000 and four months of mentorship, three finalists will vie for a spot in Radiotopia’s network of acclaimed story-driven podcasts.

Podcast show submissions can be sent via radiotopia.fm/podquest until the April 17, 2016 deadline.

Aiming to discover diverse new voices, introduce audiences to fresh talent, and explore what it takes to bring a podcast to life, the Radiotopia podcast network today launched Podquest, a competition that will give three finalists financial and professional support to develop a podcast for the story-driven network of acclaimed shows such as 99% Invisible, The Memory Palace, Criminal, Song Exploder, and The Mortified Podcast.

Podquest kicks off with a one-month open submission period, during which anyone can submit an original idea for a podcast. Ten semi-finalists will then be interviewed by the Podquest selection team, with three finalists receiving $10,000 (each) to produce pilot episodes for their proposed shows. Over the course of four months, these finalists will receive hands-on support for creating a sustainable podcast, as well as editorial and technical input from Radiotopia’s team of seasoned podcasting experts. At the end of the production phase, one winner will be selected to develop their idea into a full series for inclusion in Radiotopia in 2017. Throughout the Podquest process, 99 Radiotopia supporters will participate by weighing in on submissions and offering feedback on pilot episodes-in-progress.

To help in the development of their podcasting endeavors, all ten of the semi-finalists will also receive an array of professional support including $300, office hours with Radiotopia producers, free Hindenburg radio editing software, a free two-year PRX membership, and a year-long membership with the media talent network AIR.

“Radiotopia’s mission is to provide a powerful, supportive platform for podcasting’s boldest voices,” said Julie Shapiro, Executive Producer of Radiotopia. “Podquest will connect us with ambitious, emerging producers and bring their creative talents to audiences hungry for Radiotopia-style podcasts: shows that consistently showcase innovative, provocative and carefully crafted storytelling.”

Launched in 2014 by PRX, the award-winning public media company, Radiotopia has quickly become the leader in today’s audio storytelling renaissance and grown its roster of hit shows from seven to thirteen. In 2015, Radiotopia podcasts were downloaded more than 10 million times per month, nearly doubling their 5.7 million monthly downloads from 2014.

Podquest is one of a series of new initiatives funded by a $1 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation that Radiotopia received in May 2015. Podquest is additionally supported by Hindenburg Systems and AIR.

For more information and to submit your idea, visit radiotopia.fm/podquest.

About PRX
PRX is shaping the future of public media content, talent and technology. PRX is a leading creator and distributor, connecting audio producers with their most engaged, supportive audiences across broadcast, web and mobile. A fierce champion of new voices, new formats, and new business models, PRX advocates for the entrepreneurial producer. PRX is an award-winning media company, reaching millions of weekly listeners worldwide. For over a dozen years, PRX has operated public radio’s largest distribution marketplace, offering thousands of audio shows including This American Life, The Moth Radio Hour and Reveal. Follow us on Twitter at @prx.

PRESS RELEASE

Shake 108 FM Launches New Weekly Shows and Key Partnerships
Miami’s Homegrown Radio Station Adds Focus on Local Music Scene plus local Industry Veterans to the Mix
Miami, FL – February 10, 2016 – Shake 108 FM, the Miami underground & homegrown non-profit radio station, enters its second year with a big-bang line up of new weekly shows and key partnerships with some of the industry’s most revered professionals.

Founded on the vision of providing music oprn format variety music through an independently owned and operated radio station, Shake 108 FM is giving Miami’s talented musicians such as Suenalo, Afrobeta & Nil Lara; music & nightlife movers & shakers such as DJ George Acosta and Bill Kelly; and local non-profit organizations, a committed platform to promote the local music scene. The new shows, starting on February 14th, 2016, include:

· Local Love Hour – Starting Valentine’s day on Sundays & Wednesdays from 8-9 PM Miami’s own singer/songwriter/DJ, Aimee Beah Moore, will host the locals show playing only music from Miami artists. Suenalo, Afrobeta, Nil Lara, Spam All-stars, Xperimento and many others.

· Bill Kelly’s Open House – Local legend & founder of Winter Music Conference, Bill Kelly is managing his house music show every Monday night from 10-midnight.

· Friday Night PlayHouse – World renowned local DJ George Acosta will be managing house music every Friday night live at “The Bunker 1826” on Collins Avenue in South Beach.

· DJ of the Week – Shake 108 will be featuring one DJ a week every Thursday night to promote the many outstanding DJs spinning at clubs throughout Miami.

· Kulchu Shok Reggae Show – Lance O, founder of Kulchu Shok Music, will be managing reggae music every Saturday morning from 7-9 am

In addition, Shake 108 FM’s founder Peter Stebbins, has brought in Miami’s longtime South Beach promoter Bobby Brandt to help manage the station.

“I feel that the only thing Shake 108 was missing was a strong track-record in the biz,” explains Stebbins. “You can accomplish that over time or by bringing in teammates already with that track record. Bobby is the ultimate Miami music, nightlife expert with unmatched experience. I am really excited he is willing to take a shot at us.”

“Shake 108 is a fantastic platform to deliver what people want to hear, what Miami wants to hear,” adds Brandt. “Peter came to me with such an amazing opportunity: to showcase, in a mass medium, Miami’s incredible talent. I couldn’t say no.”

In addition to local music… Non-profits in Miami have a place to promote their events on the radio with free commercials. This sophomore year Shake 108 will have a team reach out to many Miami non-profits to help them spread the word about community activities. Shake 108 is the voice of Miami’s non-for-profits.

PRESS RELEASE

Pérez Art Museum Miami to Change Museum Hours in the New Year

WHAT: Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), at 1103 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, FL 33132, will change its operating days as of January 2016. PAMM will be open on Mondays and closed on Wednesdays beginning Monday, January 4. This change was made in response to research indicating that there is more demand among the public for museum hours on Mondays, and that Wednesdays are the lowest attended days of the week.

WHEN:
New operating hours beginning January 1, 2016
Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
10am–6pm
Thursday
10am–9pm
Closed on Wednesdays

PRESS RELEASE

53 ideas win $2.36 million in South Florida Knight Arts Challenge
Challenge winners helping to make art general in Miami

MIAMI – Nov. 30, 2015 –The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation tonight named 53 projects as winners of the Knight Arts Challenge – with ideas that will infuse South Florida with art from Miami Gardens to West Kendall, Key West to Hollywood.

A program of Knight Foundation, the challenge funds the best ideas for bringing South Florida together through the arts.

The 2015 winners, mostly small arts organizations, collectives and individual artists, will share $2.36 million. Their ideas range from bringing the stories of West Dade immigrants to stage in a children’s play, to highlighting artists of color in a December art fair, putting poems on sidewalks, launching a downtown jazz festival and blending art and technology through an art hack day.

“High-quality artistic experiences not only inspire, they help bind us to each other and to a common experience, which is critical to a region as diverse as ours,” said Alberto Ibargüen, president of Knight Foundation. “Together, these ideas gets us closer to making art general in Miami, to creating a community where art is available to everyone in all of our neighborhoods.”

With challenge funding, the 2015 winners will:

Highlight Miami as a crossroads for Latin America and the Caribbean with a festival celebrating Ibero-American literature, a “Borderless Caribbean” series that fosters an exchange between Miami and Caribbean contemporary artists, and a cultural exchange and performance with Havana students and members of the Greater Miami Youth Symphony;

Strengthen Miami’s indie film scene with a screenwriter roundtable where filmmakers can receive feedback, an innovative film series on how the brain interprets music and a new publication to cover the industry;

Foster the next generation of creatives by holding music boot camps during teacher workdays, preparing teens for music industry careers with a beats academy in Overtown, and teaching young girls to write and perform rock music at a summer camp; and

Explore climate change through the arts with an artist residency program aboard a sailboat, a dance festival along the waterfront and an interdisciplinary performance featuring five prominent local artists.

“Whether they offer a whimsical take on our city, or probe our region’s most challenging issues, Knight Arts Challenge winners offer a chance for everyone in South Florida to become more deeply engaged in our community through the arts,” said Victoria Rogers, vice president for arts at Knight Foundation. “We hope you will take a moment to look at this year’s choices, participate in an event, donate to a project, and add your voice to our community’s cultural conversation.”

The full list of winners and their project ideas is below. More information is available at knightarts.org.

Also Monday, Miami Girls Rock Camp was named the winner of the Knight Arts Challenge People’s Choice Award, the result of a text-to-vote campaign that ended Nov. 17. The campf was one of four small arts organizations up for $20,000, which is in addition to their Knight Arts Challenge grant and can be used for the artistic project of their choice. Knight created the People’s Choice Award to bring attention to small and emerging arts groups and their contributions to the city.

Knight Arts Champions Honored

At an awards event at the New World Center, Knight Foundation also named four cultural leaders as Knight Arts Champions, honoring their contributions with funds to distribute to a creative project of their choice. The 2015 Knight Arts Champions are:
Kareem Tabsch and Vivian Marthell, co-founders of O Cinema, the independent cinema launched with a Knight Arts Challenge grant and that now has three locations;
Alex Gartenfeld, chief curator for the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, who guided the institution through its founding and launch in its temporary space in the Design District; and
Rosa de la Cruz, who, through the de la Cruz Collection helps to send Design and Architecture High School and New World School of the Arts students on cultural field trips to New York and Europe respectively.

Knight Foundation has invested more than $122 million in the South Florida arts since 2005, including support for both large institutions to more deeply engage the public, and to propel grassroots efforts through the Knight Arts Challenge. Earlier this year, Knight announced that the challenge, originally launched in 2008, will continue for three more years through 2018.

There are only three rules for applying: 1) The idea must be about the arts; 2) The project must take place in or benefit South Florida; 3) The grant recipients must find funds to match Knight’s commitment. The best receive Knight Foundation funds. More than 10,000 ideas have been submitted over eight years.

Previous funding for large institutions has launched a new media program that includes the signature “Wallcasts” at the acclaimed New World Symphony campus, helped present Ibero-American films at the Miami International Film Festival, brings every Miami-Dade third-grader to the new Pérez Art Museum Miami, and will build a new high-tech recital hall at the University of Miami Frost School of Music, among other projects.

2015 Knight Arts Challenge Winners

Farmers Markets Host Pop-up Concerts
Recipient: A Greener Miami
Amount: $20,000
Expanding audiences for music by hosting mini-concerts in South Florida farmers markets with events preceded by a short explanation of the composer’s inspiration

Arts Educators Teach Virtually
Recipient: Art and Culture Center of Hollywood
Amount: $40,000
Expanding arts education in the region by buying new telepresence equipment so that the center’s staff can interact directly with students in its distance learning arts programs

Artist Residency Sets Sail Aboard Boat
Recipient: ArtCenter/South Florida
Amount: $40,000
Exploring climate change through the arts by creating ARTsail, a one-month residency program aboard a sailboat where participants will be commissioned to create works inspired by Miami’s relationship to water

Children Take “Tales of Miami” to Stage
Recipient: Artefactus Cultural Project
Amount: $15,000
Instilling an appreciation for theater in West Dade’s children through workshops that lead them through the process of staging a play

Sidewalk Poems Take Literary Arts to the Streets
Recipient: Agustina Woodgate
Amount: $20,000
Creating playful encounters with poetry through “Walk on Poems,” where local poets write pieces about neighborhoods that are then placed on sidewalks with Scrabble-like tiles

Hackathon Fuses Art and Technology
Recipient: Bakehouse Art Complex
Amount: $30,000
Bringing Art Hack Day to Miami – an international event, where groups of hackers and artists create an instant exhibition that blends art and technology

Jazz Festival Expands to New Mediums
Recipient: City of Miami Gardens
Amount: $80,000
Expanding the city’s successful Jazz in the Gardens music festival to include a music, film and art conference that fosters a deeper exploration of the additional artistic mediums

Contest Helps Develop New Student Playwrights
Recipient: City Theatre
Amount: $20,000
Developing and giving voice to the next generation of playwrights through a contest where high school students from Broward to Miami-Dade create, rehearse and present short plays and public readings

DanceAfrica Comes to Miami
Recipient: Delou Africa
Amount: $15,000
Celebrating the arts of the African diaspora in Miami by expanding Delou Africa’s annual festival in collaboration with the founders of the national Dance Africa showcase

Community Gets Access to Letterpress
Recipient: Extra Virgin Press
Amount: $10,000
Preserving the art of letterpress by creating a space where the community can learn and practice this handmade form of communication

New Performance Piece Explores Rising Tide
Recipient: Florida International University
Amount: $30,000
Exploring the complexities of sea level rise in South Florida through an interdisciplinary performance featuring electronic sounds, orchestral musicians, video and dance in partnership with five prominent local artists

Library Becomes Museum’s Temporary Home
Recipient: Friends of the Bass Museum
Amount: $75,000
Infusing a library with art through a series of solo artists projects and education programs at the Miami Beach Regional Library while the Bass’ building is under renovation

Downtown Art Installations Explore Unconventional Spaces
Recipient: Fringe Projects
Amount: $35,000
Activating downtown Miami’s less conventional spaces by expanding this site-specific, temporary public art commissioning program

Hidden Musical Talents Showcased Onstage
Recipient: FUNDarte
Amount: $120,000
Bringing attention to Miami’s hidden musical talents, many of whom have immigrated to the city and have not yet made it to main stage venues, through a collaborative series with established companies and artists

Gay Arts Groups Team Up
Recipient: Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida
Amount: $40,000
Increasing the visibility of South Florida’s LGBT arts scene through joint programming between the chorus, Island City Stage and Stonewall National Museum and Archives

Havana and Miami Youth Collaborate
Recipient: Greater Miami Youth Symphony
Award: $55,000
Creating cultural exchanges between Miami and Havana students through joint rehearsals and concerts with Cuba’s Amadeo Roldan Conservatory Orchestra

Exhibition Series Connects Miami and Caribbean Artists
Recipient: Haitian Cultural Arts Alliance
Award: $40,000
Exploring the realities of living and creating in cross-cultural communities through the “Borderless Caribbean,” a series of exchanges and exhibitions between Miami and Caribbean contemporary artists

Collaboration Makes Classical Musical More Accessible
Recipient: IlluminArts
Award: $20,000
Engaging Miami audiences with an innovative, fully staged performance of a Pulitzer Prize-winning composition inspired by the visual art at the Pérez Art Museum Miami

Indie Film Scene Receives Increased Coverage
Recipient: Independent Ethos
Award: $15,000
Giving South Floridians an insider’s peek into Miami’s growing indie film and music scene through a website that covers the local industry

Film Series Explores Brain on Music
Recipient: Corpus Callosum
Award: $80,000
Exploring how the human brain interprets music through the creation of a new form of audience experience that combines classical music performances with advancements in neuroscience, in partnership with the New World Symphony and the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science

Roundtable Strengthens Indie Filmmaking
Recipient: Kenny Riches
Award: $8,000
Strengthening the indie filmmaking community through a screenwriter roundtable where participants can get feedback on new material

Art Series Engages Tri-Rail Commuters
Kip Eagen
$5,000
Engaging transit riders in art by creating a series of artistic billboards along the TriRail tracks that would appear to be an animated flipbook as riders fly by

Miami Youth Learn Junkanoo Traditions
Recipient: Leadership Prep Foundation
Amount: $25,000
Celebrating Bahamian culture by teaching Miami youth to make traditional Junkanoo costumes and instruments, which are used during Coconut Grove’s annual Goombay/Junkanoo Festival and in other events

Sculptures Reflect Fear in Media
Recipient: Locust Projects
Amount: $60,000
Exploring how fear is used in the media by creating sculptures of headless chickens, called Withervanes, that change colors to reflect the prevalence of fear-related keywords in news stories

Theater Explores Censorship Onstage
Mad Cat Theatre Company
Amount $25,000
Promoting discussion about the impact of censorship by presenting a banned play and then producing a new work inspired by incidents of censorship in South Florida.

Waterfront Residency Comes to Key Biscayne
Recipient: Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center
Amount: $25,000
Helping inspire South Florida artists through a residency program at the waterfront center in Crandon Park

Ballet Presents Shakespeare Miami-Style
Recipient: Miami City Ballet
Award: $150,000
Reimagining a classic by presenting a uniquely Miami rendition of George Balanchine’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” during the company’s 30th anniversary season.

Latino Artists Engage Little Havana
Recipient: Miami Dade College’s Koubek Center
Amount; $100,000
Cultivating emerging Latino artists through an artist-in-residence program that provides them the space to produce work that reflects and engages the surrounding Little Havana neighborhood

Dance Performance Highlights Importance of Water
Recipient: Miami Dance Futures
Award: $20,000
Bringing attention to the water supply through National Water Dance Miami, a countywide celebration of site-specific dances – involving both professionals and local students –along the region’s shore

Camp Empowers Girls to Perform Music
Recipient: Miami Girls Rock Camp
Amount: $20,000
Promoting creative expression and empowering young girls through an annual camp where participants are grouped into bands and learn to write and perform an original song

Miami Makerspace Expands
Recipient: Miami Industrial Arts (MIA)
Amount: $15,000
Expanding a hub for Miami’s makers by constructing an onsite classroom and offering subsidized classes in ceramics, wood, metalworking and 3-D technologies

Light Box Provides Space for Incubating New Performance Works
Recipient: Miami Light Project
Amount; $120,000
Providing a space for developing new work and new techniques by piloting a contemporary performance residency program at The Light Box at Goldman Warehouse in Wynwood for international and local artists

School Days Off Turn Into Music Boot Camps
Recipient: Miami Music Project
Award: $105,000
Helping 100 Miami-Dade students push their own artistic limits through a series of orchestral boot camps taking place on teacher planning days throughout the school year

Concerts and Films Coming to Sweetwater
Recipient: NC-office
Award: $30,000
Activating a public space through culture by presenting concerts and films in a new plaza in the city of Sweetwater next to Florida International University’s West Dade campus

Legacy Media Materials Get New Archive
Recipient: Obsolete Media Miami
Award: $30,000
Preserving legacy media, such as 35 mm slides and archival motion pictures, through an archive that serves as a resource for artists, designers, filmmakers and researchers

Academy Preps Teens for Music Careers
Recipient: Overtown Youth Center
Amount: $40,000
Preparing teens for careers in the music industry through The Beats Academy, which will teach a range of topics from music theory to remixing

Artists of Color Shine at December Art Fair
Recipient: Prizm
Award: $80,000
Promoting the works of artists of color who reflect global trends in contemporary art through an annual fair that takes place during Art Basel Miami Beach

Residency Program Expands Little Haiti Gallery
Recipient: Rise Up Gallery
Award: $25,000
Strengthening an artist-run collective that provides studio space to local artists, gallery space for innovative curatorial projects and artistic programming for the community

Movie Lovers Pay Homage to 35 mm Films
Recipient: Secret Celluloid Society
Award: $15,000
Preserving classic films by converting a 1986 bookmobile into a portable project booth that brings 16 mm/35 mm and high-resolution digital projection to Miami neighborhoods

Six Composers Celebrate 15 Years of Seraphic Fire
Recipient: Seraphic Fire
Award: $100,000
Celebrating the group’s 15th anniversary by commissioning and presenting six new American choral works, championing both top composers and emerging talent

Illustrations Memorialize Miami Bands
Recipient: Show Drawn; The Upper Hand Art
Award: $8,000
Drawing attention to Miami’s vibrant music scene, with the goal of encouraging more bands to play here, by creating a series of illustrations of local performances to be published in print and online

Overtown Festival Expands
Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency
Award; $50,000
Celebrating Overtown’s culture through the sixth annual Overtown Music and Arts Festival featuring national and local recording artists

Audio Equipment Rentals Come to Sweat Records
Recipient: Sweat Records
Award: $50,000
Supporting the local indie music scene by providing low-cost rentals of audio equipment for independent promoters and nonprofit event producers

ASK Hispanic Theater Gets New Focus
Recipient: Teatro Prometeo at Miami Dade College
Award: $35,000
Fostering Hispanic theater in Miami, and raising its prominence nationally, through a partnership with the national Latina|o Theatre Commons where the college will host a prominent Latino playwright in residency

Residency Helps Students Create Songs
Recipient: The alt Default
Award: $9,000
Helping teens find their musical voice through a residency for this ensemble at the Fienberg-Fisher K-8 Center in Miami Beach where students will create an original song

Festival Showcases Ibero-American Literature
Recipient: The Betsy-South Beach
Award: $50,000
Celebrating Ibero-American poetry, literature, scholarship and experience through Escribe Aqui/Write Here, a multiday bilingual festival fueled by ongoing cultural programming to champion Miami’s diversity

High-Profile Concert Showcases Student Performers
Recipient: The Miami Symphony Orchestra
Award: $60,000
Offering visibility to pianists younger than 12 through a competition, where the finalists perform with the orchestra at a high-profile concert

TransAtlantic Festival Gets Refresh
Recipient: The Rhythm Foundation
Award: $50,000
Providing a home for world music by rebooting the annual TransAtlantic Festival at the North Beach Bandshell – bringing in more ambitious programming and expanding the event into the adjacent public spaces

Artistic Treasure Hunt Key Reveals West History
Recipient: The Studios of Key West
Award: $50,000
Providing a new way to explore Key West’s history and culture through an event called Lost at the Beach, where participants use maps and apps to discover performances and installations hidden throughout Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park

Series Focuses on Power of the Elements
Recipient: Tigertail
Award: $75,000
Creating new artistic experiences through a month-long performance series that explores water—in April 2016—and fire—in April 2017—as elements that give and take through tragedy and regeneration

Zine Centers on Miami Beach’s 100th
Recipient: Tom Austin
Award: $15,000
Celebrating Miami Beach’s centennial by publishing a cultural history of South Beach, an exploration of how the arts – music, dance, fashion, visual arts, film, literature, culinary culture and nightlife – have fueled this iconic resort city

Environmental Art Works Come to the Gardens
Recipient: Village of Pinecrest/Pinecrest Gardens
Award: $25,000
Bringing the arts more deeply into communities by inviting acclaimed American environmental artist Patrick Dougherty, who creates sculptures from community-sourced saplings, to create new site-specific works in the gardens

Jazz Fest Comes to Downtown
Recipient: 88.9 FM WDNA Public Radio:
Award: $75,000
Bringing jazz to more Miamians by launching the Miami Downtown Jazz Festival, which will take over several blocks in downtown and continue in various venues

PRESS RELEASE

David and Lee Ann Lester of Next Level Fairs announce that the opening preview of Art Boca Raton Contemporary Art Fair will benefit the Boca Raton Museum of Art on March 17th, 6-10 pm. Local business and philanthropic leaders Dalia and Duane Stiller will Chair the fund raising event, which will be called “Art Boca Raton Vernissage”. A VIP Preview will begin at 6-7:30 pm followed by a Collectors’ Preview from 7:30-10 pm. The benefit will be led by a prestigious Collectors and Connoisseurs Committee. Over 400 collectors and enthusiasts will gather for the fair preview cocktail party with musical entertainment, dinner by the bite and cocktails during the inaugural fair preview.

“We are very excited that the Boca Raton Museum of Art will be hosting the preview opening night Vernissage as a benefit for the Museum and a way for us to show our hospitality in kicking off Art Boca Raton,” said Dalia Pabón Stiller, Museum Board Chair, who will serve as the Chair of the Vernissage along with her husband Duane Stiller.

Dalia and Duane Stiller are well known business and community leaders. Dalia has an active career as an architectural designer and serves as the President of the Board of Trustees of the Boca Raton Museum and on the Board of Trustees of Cornell University. Duane Stiller founded Woolbright Development, one of Florida’s largest retail real estate companies, and personally supports numerous charities: American Heart Association, American Red Cross, Boca Raton Museum of Art, St. Andrews School, and Cornell School of Architecture and Engineering.

Art Boca Raton will be open to the pubic March 18-21, 2016 and will be held in the International Pavilion of the Palm Beaches on the campus of Florida Atlantic University in the heart of Boca Raton. Showcasing contemporary, modern and emerging art, sculpture, photography, works on paper and installations, the fair will offer a broad range of art to both beginning and seasoned collectors. Art Boca Raton will encompass 60-65 dealers carefully selected by a curatorial committee in order to assure dealer quality and exclusivity.

In conjunction with Art Boca Raton, the Boca Raton Museum of Art is hosting lectures at the fair and “After Dark” evening events of art, music, performance, and wine at the Museum each evening from 6-8 pm and a special presentation on the museum’s exhibition Warhol on Vinyl: Record Covers, 1949-1987 and Warhol Prints from the Collection of Marc Bell.

“Art Boca Raton brings to our city a broader look at the world of art, bringing art dealers and collectors from all corners of the world. Our effort is to ensure that the spirit of the fair permeates the entire city,” said Irvin Lippman, Executive Director of the Boca Raton Museum of Art.

The International Pavilion of the Palm Beaches will include a 65,000 sq. ft. / 6,100 sq. meter exhibition hall, a full service restaurant, sculpture garden, and lecture hall facility. Ample parking and valet service will be available to fair attendees.

Vernissage VIP and Collector Ticket Sales
www.bocamuseum.org/vernissage
VIP Preview 6 – 7:30 pm: $250 per person
Collector’s Preview 7:30 – 10 pm: $150 per person
RSVP required by March 10, 2016
Phone: 561.392.2500, ext 213
Fax: 561.391.6410
Email: info@bocamuseum.org
Fair information and ticket sales: www.artbocaraton.com

Public Hours
March 18-21; 11 AM – 6 PM

Location
International Pavilion of the Palm Beaches
Florida Atlantic University
777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, FL

About Boca Raton Museum of Art
The Boca Raton Museum of Art is the only museum in South Florida founded by artists. Established in 1950 as the Art Guild of Boca Raton, the organization has grown to encompass an Art School, Guild, and Museum with distinguished permanent collections of contemporary art, glass, non-western art, photography, and sculpture, as well as a diverse selection of special exhibitions. The Museum is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10 AM until 5 PM; on Thursdays from 10 AM until 8 PM; and on weekends from 12 PM until 5 PM. Admission is free during the month of August and on the first Sunday of every month; otherwise $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, and free for students with IDs and children under 12. Learn more at www.bocamuseum.org.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Miami, FL, July 9, 2015 – The Monica Burguera Foundation (MBF) announced today the Progressive® Insurance Miami International Boat Show® as sponsor of its upcoming 6th Annual Fishing and Spearfishing for Boating Safety Tournament, taking place Saturday, August 8, 2015 at the Key Biscayne Yacht Club. The tournament draws more than 100 anglers and all funds raised will go towards free monthly boating safety classes that are held in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard as part of MBF’s mission to spread awareness for watercraft safety and boating education.

As Silver Sponsor of the Fishing Tournament, Miami Boat Show organizers will be onsite during the Captains Reception on August 6 and during the fishing tournament on August 8 to support MBF and the show’s shared mission to spread awareness for boating safety and education; the boat show will provide boating safety courses through its Discover Boating Hands-On Skills Training courses and other programs during the annual event February 11-15, 2016 at its new home, Miami Marine Stadium Park & Basin.

Registration per boat for the Fishing and Spearfishing for Boating Safety Tournament is $500; $50 for extra anglers on boat. The registration fee includes: Captains Reception, boat goodie bag, tournament t-shirt, day of fun for family and friends, Post-Tournament Cocktail Party, and Award Ceremony. The fee is $35.00 for adults and $25 for children who don’t wish to fish but would like to support and attend the tournament. Register today at www.mbfBoatingSafety.org

Other sponsors for MBF’s 2015 Fishing and Spearfishing for Boating Safety Tournament include:

· Gold Anchor Sponsors: Rickenbacker Marina, Inc, Estrella Insurance, Gincho Production, SeaHunter, Joe L. Fernandez
· Silver Anchor Sponsors: ACR Electronics, Progressive Insurance International Miami Boat Show
· Bronze Anchor Sponsor: Roma
· Anchor Sponsors: B&B Manufacturing Corp, Star Casualty, Star Brite,
· Media/Marketing Sponsors: Imagen, Planeta Media
· Beverage Sponsors: Anchor Distilling Co., Islamorada Beer Company, Copa Di Vino, Marley Beverage, Sparkling Ice
· Burgee Sponsors: Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center, USA Coast Guard Auxiliary, Sea Tow, Sailboards Miami, BOATPIX, Key Biscayne Yacht Club, Mercy Hospital

To register, volunteer, sponsor and get more information, please contact Mari Novo at mm@monicaburguerafoundation.org or 305-398-4609 or visit: www.mbfBoatingSafety.org

About Monica Burguera Foundation
The Monica Burguera Foundation (MBF) was created in memory of Monica Burguera, a 20-year-old Florida International University student who died in a tragic boating accident during the 2006 Columbus Day weekend festivities in Miami, Florida. The Foundation is committed to saving lives and making our waters safer for all by promoting watercraft safety and boater education. Through a combination of community education, outreach and events, the Foundation works to create boating safety awareness as well as to prevent boating accidents. To learn more about the Monica Burguera Foundation, make a contribution or to sign up for free watercraft safety classes, please go to www.mbfBoatingSafety.org
With your support, we can do even more to help save lives and prevent boating accidents.

About the Progressive Insurance Miami International Boat Show
The Progressive Insurance Miami International Boat Show is produced by the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), the world’s largest producer of boat shows and the leading association representing the recreational boating industry. The boat show generates $600 million of economic activity each year and supports 55,000 Florida jobs. In 2016, the show will celebrate its 75th year and a new location at Miami Marine Stadium Park & Basin. NMMA member companies produce more than 80 percent of the boats, engines, trailers, accessories and gear used by boaters and anglers throughout the U.S. and Canada. The association is dedicated to industry growth through programs in public policy advocacy, market statistics and research, product quality assurance and promotion of the boating lifestyle. For more information, visit www.nmma.org.

PRESS RELEASE

The Association of Fundraising Professionals – AFP Miami continues its tradition of honoring the local philanthropic community at the annual National Philanthropy Day Awards luncheon, which will take place on Thursday, November 12, 2015. Each year, several hundred members of the community gather to recognize and celebrate the who’s who of Miami philanthropy.

In 1985, AFP Miami initiated the first National Philanthropy Day awards event. Today, National Philanthropy Day (NPD) is celebrated across North America and around the world.

AFP Miami’s annual NPD luncheon is Miami’s premier philanthropy event. This special day is set aside to recognize and pay tribute to the great contributions that philanthropy-and the people active in Miami’s philanthropic community-have made to our lives, our local community and our world. Because it’s the 30th anniversary, this won’t be your father’s (or mother’s) National Philanthropy Day celebration!

AFP Miami is proud to work with its NPD partners – The Miami Foundation, Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, and Partnership for Philanthropic Planning – to advance philanthropy and highlight the generosity of our community’s top donors. Each year, AFP Miami offers the local community an opportunity to acknowledge, highlight and pay tribute to philanthropic excellence. We invite nominations for extraordinary individuals, corporations and foundations in one of the following distinguished award categories:

* Outstanding Philanthropist Award
* James W. McLamore Outstanding Volunteer Award
* Julia Tuttle Award for Community Involvement & Corporate Citizenship
* Outstanding Grant Maker Award

In addition, each NPD table sponsor will be provided with the opportunity to recognize their own table honoree with a personalized engraved gift.

Click here for the Request for Nomination Package. Please share among your colleagues, nonprofits and for-profits (they support philanthropy, too!) help us say “Thank you, Philanthropic Miami.”

Nominations must be submitted by May 23 to be considered. Any forms received after this date may be considered for the following year’s awards.

PRESS RELEASE
-Fund will continue advancement of the Marlins’ charitable mission in Greater Miami-

The Marlins Foundation, the charitable arm of the Miami Marlins Major League Baseball franchise, has selected The Miami Foundation to manage its charitable fund. The Marlins Foundation leads the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) mission of the team and funds programs that improve the lives of children through education, the arts and baseball. Since the approval of Marlins Park, the Marlins Foundation has invested over $5 million toward local nonprofits, school initiatives, scholarships, youth baseball programming and neighborhood organizations.

“As supporters of the Marlins Foundation’s efforts, we are intimately familiar with their community service and outreach work, making this partnership a natural evolution in our relationship,” said Javier Alberto Soto, president and CEO of The Miami Foundation. “Now, we can apply our expertise in stewarding charitable assets and our insight into Miami’s community needs to maximize the impact of the Marlins Foundation’s philanthropy.”

Last October, The Miami Foundation released the 2014 Our Miami Report, a biennial, data-focused, quality of life research study showing Miami’s most pressing community challenges and opportunities. The Miami Foundation will use those findings to assist The Marlins Foundation in identifying programs that align with the Marlins’ charitable mission and address the needs identified by the Our Miami Report.

The Marlins Foundation has a history of working with The Miami Foundation as a charitable partner. Most recently, the Marlins participated in Give Miami Day 2014, by serving as host site for the 24-hour fundraising event and sponsoring the $25,000 prize pool for participating charities. Give Miami Day 2014 raised a record $5.2 million for 520 nonprofits in Greater Miami.

“The Miami Foundation understands our commitment to philanthropy and service,” said David Samson, chairman of the Marlins Foundation. “Having The Miami Foundation manage our fund generates a unique collaboration that allows the Marlins to continue to invest in local charities as well as work effectively alongside other philanthropists to make an impact in the lives of our Miami neighbors.”

PRESS RELEASE
(Originally posted here)

Victoria Rogers named Knight Foundation’s vice president for arts

MIAMI – March 8, 2015 – Arts leader Victoria Rogers will join the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation as its new vice president for arts on May 1. Rogers, the New World Symphony’s executive vice president, will succeed Dennis Scholl, who led the program from its 2009 launch to national prominence.
Dennis Scholl

Scholl, an entrepreneur with multiple business, philanthropic and arts interests, will continue to serve Knight Foundation as an adviser.

“Victoria is a strategic thinker and leader who played a critical role in the evolution of the New World Symphony. She’s the right leader for the next phase of the Knight arts program,” said Alberto Ibargüen, president, Knight Foundation. “We are immensely grateful to Dennis for the remarkably creative program he designed and developed.”

Knight Foundation’s national arts program takes a two-pronged approaching to fostering arts in communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. The program invests in key institutions, helping them to more deeply engage the public. In addition, Knight supports grassroots groups that have fresh and innovative ideas for the arts.

Knight has supported institutions ranging from the Pérez Art Museum Miami, the Barnes Foundation and Philadelphia Museum of Art to the Akron Art Museum, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Detroit Institute of Arts. The Knight arts program has also earned a reputation for seeking out innovative ways to bring art to wide audiences, from support of the O, Miami poetry festival to more than 1,200 Random Acts of Culture around the United States. Knight recently funded a collaborative symphony project in Detroit, where residents will contribute to a work that reflects the city, composed by MIT Media Lab’s Tod Machover, to be premiered in November by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

The arts program also created alliances with other foundations to form ArtPlace, a project of the National Endowment for the Arts, which uses art to create a sense of community in cities across the country, and helped to craft the recent “Grand Bargain” that preserved the Detroit Institute of Arts as the community’s cultural treasure and saved municipal pensions.

In addition, the Knight Arts Challenge, a community-wide contest for the best ideas for the arts, has expanded to five cities: Miami, Philadelphia, Detroit, St Paul and Akron. So far, the challenge has received more than 20,000 ideas. Today, Knight Foundation also announced $25 million to the South Florida arts, which includes support through 2018 for the South Florida Arts Challenge, which has sparked the growth of Miami’s arts scene.

“The opportunity to help create and grow the national arts program at Knight Foundation has been one of the highlights of my professional career,” Scholl said. “Under Alberto’s leadership, the program has taken great steps to make art general in Knight communities across the country. I am thrilled that Victoria has been chosen as my successor, and I know she will lead the program to the next level.”

In her nine years at New World Symphony, Rogers helped set the strategic plan for the orchestral academy that prepares graduates of distinguished music programs for leadership roles in orchestras and ensembles around the world. She orchestrated the successful $200 million capital campaign for the Frank Gehry-designed campus, one of the world’s most technologically advanced venues for concerts. Before joining New World Symphony, Rogers served as assistant vice president for central development at the University of Miami, where she was the architect of its billion-dollar capital campaign, Momentum.

“In cities both large and small, Knight Foundation has been a catalyst for change and informed risk taking. Through its programs it is helping to create more engaged communities. I don’t know any foundation that does a better job of fostering the arts, from individual artists, to grassroots organizations and large institutions,” said Rogers. “Knight is helping institutions break down the barriers to attendance and creating new audiences. Its support was instrumental to New World Symphony’s popular WALLCAST™ Concert Series. I’m thrilled to have a chance to extend and build on that work.”

At the same time, Knight Foundation announced $25 million in new funding for the arts in South Florida, bringing to $122 million the amount pledged in the past decade. University of Miami Frost School of Music, Pérez Museum of Art Miami, and Institute for Contemporary Art, Miami, are all recipients. In addition, Knight extended the successful Knight Arts Challenge for another three years in South Florida.

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. We believe that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit knightfoundation.org.

PRESS RELEASE

Pérez Art Museum Miami Receives $5 Million Capital Gift from Knight Foundation to Endow New Projects by International Artists

New Gift Brings Museum’s Endowment to Over $20 Million

Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) received a grant for $5 million from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to endow newly-commissioned projects by international artists, and related community programming, as part of its Project Gallery series. This new gift brings PAMM’s capital campaign to a total of $206 million raised toward its $220 million campaign goal. This will bring the museum’s total endowment to more than $20 million.

Miami-Dade County’s flagship art museum, PAMM features four Project Galleries, unique spaces dedicated to showcasing a new project by a single artist. These artists visit Miami over the course of a year to interact with the community and learn about the city, and their work frequently responds to the museum’s architecture and site, as well as the broader Miami community and South Florida environment.

“Work presented in the Project Galleries advances PAMM’s mission to support the work of living artists and promote cultural engagement with communities in Miami and South Florida,” said Tobias Ostrander, PAMM chief curator and deputy director for curatorial affairs. “With this grant, we will be able to offer rich programming that will give the community an opportunity to share in the artists’ process.”

Knight’s gift is part of a new $25 million investment in the Miami arts, that also includes extending the Knight Arts Challenge, a community-wide contest funding the best ideas for the local arts, for three years.

“In short time, PAMM has exceeded attendance projections and has become an important community gathering place for Miamians,” said Dennis Scholl, vice president of arts for Knight Foundation. “We hope new funding will help bring residents closer to the artists who show in the Project Galleries and their work.”

Current Project Gallery presentations include works by: Nicole Cherubini (b. 1970, Boston), Mario Garcia Torres (b.1975, Monclova, Mexico), Gary Simmons (b. 1964, New York), and Diego Bianchi (b. 1969, Buenos Aires, Argentina). Upcoming projects include a project by Shana Lutker (b. 1978, Northport, New York), the third work in her series born from her research on Surrealist fistfights which will open on Thursday, May 7, 2015, with a performative lecture based on the work; and a project by Miami-based conceptual artist Nicolas Lobo (b. 1979, Los Angeles) encompassing a group of mixed-media sculptures, which the artist cast inside a swimming pool, opening Thursday, April 16, 2015 with an artist talk. For more information about these and other upcoming program, visit pamm.org/calendar.

About Pérez Art Museum Miami
Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) promotes artistic expression and the exchange of ideas, advancing public knowledge and appreciation of art, architecture and design, and reflecting the diverse community of its pivotal geographic location at the crossroads of the Americas. A 29-year-old South Florida institution formerly known as Miami Art Museum (MAM), Pérez Art Museum Miami opened a new building, designed by world-renowned architects Herzog & de Meuron, in Downtown Miami’s Museum Park on December 4, 2013. The facility and is a state-of-the-art model for sustainable museum design and progressive programming and features 200,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor program space with flexible galleries; shaded outdoor verandas; a waterfront restaurant and bar; a museum shop; and an education center with a library, media lab and classroom spaces. For more information, please visit www.pamm.org, find us on Facebook (facebook.com/perezartmuseummiami), or follow us on Twitter (@pamm).

Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) is sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture. Support is provided by the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners. Additional support is provided by the City of Miami and the Miami OMNI Community Redevelopment Agency (OMNI CRA). Pérez Art Museum Miami is an accessible facility. All contents ©Pérez Art Museum Miami. All rights reserved.

“Miami Beach: The Best 100 Years” Photo Contest

Submission Link

In celebration of Miami Beach’s 100th anniversary, the Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority (MBVCA) is inviting you to share your memories of Miami Beach over the past 100 years. Do you have photos of a building, park, street or other venue from years ago and then a photo of what it looks like today? Do you have an amazing photo of what Miami Beach looked like 60, 50, or 40 years ago? What’s a special place on the beach that never fails to fascinate you? Enter the MBVCA “The Best 100 Years” Facebook Photo Contest page and tell us why it signifies what you love about Miami Beach via an ORIGINAL PHOTO you’ve taken in the city!

GRAND PRIZES:
First place is a GoPro Hero4, valued at $499.99.
Second place is a mini iPad Air, valued at $399.
Third place is a Visa gift card for $200.

The contest begins on February 11th, 2015 and ends at 11:59pm on March 27th, 2015. Upload the photo to the MBVCA Facebook Contest page and email a hi-res version of the photo to photocontestmiamibeach@miamibeachvca.com. All photo must be original and taken in Miami Beach with captions relevant to the destination. The top ten photos with the most “Likes” will be semifinalists. Open to anyone 18-years-old or older as of February 11th, 2015. Only ten (10) entries may be submitted per email address/per person.

Call for artist – ArtExpo New York
Monday, 03/09/2015 – 04/20/2015 12:00 pm – 12:00 pm
Call for artist – ArtExpo New York
711 12th Ave,
New York, New York 10019-5399
Webpage Link
Cost:

BlinkGroup Gallery is looking for innovative visual artist to participate in our spring exhibition at Art Expo, Pier 94 – NYC “The Worlds Largest Fine Art Show” We are receiving Submissions from all artistic disciplines for this exhibition.

Submissions are due Mach 9, 2015

This is an open letter to the community by John Quick, President of Friends of the Miami-Dade Libraries

Most of us were introduced to libraries as children by our teachers or parents a source for wonderful stories and information for school projects.

Over the years, public libraries were converted into community centers with meeting rooms, organized story time, academic tutoring and computer stations with free Internet connectivity, and computer literacy training for seniors. They also became a source for early literacy support for parents with small children, digital-media learning centers; free electronic books, audio books for the visually impaired and the disabled, door to door service for the infirmed, reading instruction for illiterate adults, and so much more.

But over the past few years, our libraries have been stripped of almost every public service. Operating hours have been cut and they are no longer open 7 days a week.
As a father of two young children, ages 4 and 2, I expected libraries to always be available for my kids and for future generations. I never realized we would have to fight to keep them open and available for future generations.

Libraries are not a relic of the past. They are critical to a vibrant, successful community with an educated workforce.

Please tell your Miami-Dade County Commissioner that libraries are central to the future of Miami-Dade County and let him or her know before the critical Thursday, September 18 County Commission meeting that will decide the future of our libraries.

Visit www.savemdpls.org to find out how you can make a difference.

PRESS RELEASE

Kevin O’Leary of “Shark Tank” to Keynote TigerDirect Innovation: IT Conference and Expo

11 Breakout Sessions Hosted by Top Industry Leaders at Premier B2B Sector Event

TigerDirect, a subsidiary of Systemax Inc. (NYSE:SYX), today announced that Kevin O’Leary – aka Mr. Wonderful from ABC’s hit TV show “Shark Tank” – will keynote the company’s TigerDirect Innovation: IT Conference and Expo presented by Lenovo, an exclusive business-to-business (B2B) sector symposium to be held during the Third Annual TigerDirect Tech Bash on November 7, 2014 at the new Marlins Park in Miami.

The entrepreneur, author and TV fixture that has been known to serve heaping doses of tough love with his sage advice will kick off the inaugural event, addressing small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) about how technology is key to leveling the playing field with big companies.

“I am proud to be a part of TigerDirect’s first-ever business innovation event and hope that my keynote, along with the lineup of exciting sessions, inspires attendees to rethink their approach to technology,” said O’Leary. “The cloud, digital payment ecosystems and other tech trends are turning small and medium businesses on their heads, and this event will help them keep pace with technological advances and provide the edge they need to stay ahead of the curve.”

“As a company that is successfully serving the IT needs of the SMB and public sector markets for more than 25 years now, it is our responsibility to stay ahead of tech trends, encourage our customers embrace next-generation solutions and services in order to grow, and bring together industry power players – such as Kevin O’Leary – to show them how it’s done,” said Steven Leeds, Director of Corporate Marketing at TigerDirect.

O’Leary will be joined by a range of top companies and subject matter experts that will lead a series of breakout sessions at the TigerDirect Innovation: IT Conference and Expo regarding the latest technology trends and solutions for the B2B space. In addition to the three pre-announced breakout sessions by title sponsor, Lenovo, the event will include eight additional sessions, covering such topics as:

“Cloud Computing- How it’s transforming IT and what this means for your business?” Find out how you can leverage the cloud to centralize your data and increase your business’s efficiency.
“IT and Education – What does the 21st Century Classroom really look like?” The 21st Century classroom will deliver powerful learning outcomes using a dynamic and technologically driven environment. See what makes it all possible and why it is so exciting.
“Data is everywhere – find out how to secure your data.” Data is stored across many places – both private and public. Learn how to secure that data from an increasing amount of IT threats against your business.
“How the new IT is transforming healthcare.” Technological and digital innovations are transforming the healthcare sector as we know it. Learn about those driving forces and more.
“Migrate from Windows XP and Sever 2000 to the next great platform.” It’s time to upgrade! Find out why upgrading is vital, and how it will benefit your business.
“Bring Your Own Device To Work? Discover how best practices for small and large businesses.” Learn how employees bringing in their own devices to work will transform the workplace and why businesses of varying sizes should implement this practice.
“The Data Center – What is the right Server, Storage, and Networking strategy for your business?” Data centers are complex and crucial infrastructure for today’s modern businesses. Learn how to create an effective data center that will keep up with your business’ demands.
“Borderless and wireless networking – Fast and secure.” Smartphones, tablets, and other mobile computing devices continue to grow in popularity among businesses for their powerful on-the-go capabilities. Understand how to integrate and manage these devices to become a more agile business.

For more on the event, please visit: www.tigertechbash.com/innovation/.

About TigerDirect:
For more than 25 years, TigerDirect.com has served the technology needs of both personal and business users, selling consumer electronics, computers, digital media technology and peripherals via business-to-business, Internet and catalog channels. Beyond its vast product offerings, TigerDirect has become a trusted partner to hundreds of thousands of SMB and public sector organizations by providing a suite of IT solutions and services. TigerDirect.com is a subsidiary of Systemax Inc.

About Systemax Inc.:
Systemax Inc. (www.systemax.com), a Fortune 1000 company, sells industrial and computer products through a system of branded e-Commerce websites, relationship marketers and retail stores in North America and Europe. The primary brands are Global Industrial, MISCO, Inmac Wstore and TigerDirect.

Miami Downtown Arts District Association

Lee Ann Lester, Director of Next Level Fairs and Sean McCormick, McCormick Place Miami announce the formation of the Miami Downtown Arts District (MDAD.) McCormick will serve as Chairman of the Board & Lester as Vice President.

MDAD is a non-profit organization that serves cultural institutions and museums; galleries, local artists and studios; as well as businesses, event venues, and restaurants that showcase both local and international artists. MDAD aims to unify the Downtown & Brickell Arts District by providing a variety of programs that allow the community to explore the arts district, such as First Friday Downtown Art Night, or provide exposure to smaller independent events through a variety of membership support services.

“MDAD will work in unison with community leaders and the DDA’s [Miami Downtown Development Authority] initiatives to develop Downtown Miami as the cultural and business epicenter of the Americas,” commented Lester. “Already over a billion dollars have been invested in arts and cultural institutions in the District drawing new culturally-minded, international visitors. Our goal is to provide artists, gallerists and the public with dynamic art venues, regular art programs and education to the greater Miami metro area.”

A growing number of organizations have already extended their support including Katy Stallfus from Artisan Lounge and James Echols of Life is Art, both MDAD Boardmembers, as well as MDC Museum of Art + Design at the Freedom Tower, Artisan Lounge, Dimensions Variable, Stephen Gamson Studios, SeaFair, McCormick Place Miami, CU-1 Gallery, AIA Miami, Florida Grand Opera, Life is Art and The Art Experiences.

The Association will hold a VIP Kick-Off event and Press Conference at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, September 19, 2014 at McCormick Place Downtown Miami, 111 SW 3rd St., Miami, FL 33130. The MDAD Association will announce its Board Members and guests will have an opportunity to know more about District events as part of DWNTWN Art Days, September 19-21, 2014 as well as future First Friday Downtown Art Night. The evening will include live performances, art installations, and more. A complimentary transportation service will be provided by FreeBee to participating arts venues.

For more information about Miami Downtown Arts District, visit the Facebook Page, or contact Sean McCormick at 305.206.4734 or sjm@mccormickplace-miami.com.

PRESS RELEASE
City Officials Joined The Related Group to Celebrate a Day of Milestones:
The launch of Paraiso Bayviews by Karim Rashid, and the start of construction at Paraiso Bay and Brickell Heights

The Related Group celebrated three milestones last week with groundbreakings at Brickell Heights and Paraiso Bay followed by the launch of their latest project, Paraiso Bayviews with Karim Rashid. Hundreds of VIP brokers attended the day’s events across Miami, and those involved in preconstruction sales took home more than $9 million in commission checks.

Mayor Tomas Regalado and Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, who were present at the two groundbreakings, congratulated The Related Group’s team on the new projects, which they noted are creating a 24-hour urban core in the Brickell area, and reenergizing the Edgewater neighborhood.

At Brickell Heights, located next to the two-million-square-foot development Brickell CityCentre, David Rockwell has created a sleek glass-walled lobby, glamorous amenity spaces with a private-club vibe, and lavish pool terraces. The 690 luxury residences will sit atop a 30,000-square-foot Equinox Fitness Center and SoulCycle, a state-of-the-art workout studio that will open its first Miami location at Brickell Heights.

At the launch of Paraiso Bayviews, international interior and industrial designer Karim Rashid was on hand to greet the guests. For his second project with The Related Group, Rashid has evolved his trademark colors and bold shapes for a more subdued organic design with softer hues and natural woods inspired in the Paraiso community’s garden bay front setting. Residents of Bayviews, described as the best value within the Paraiso community, will enjoy all of Paraiso’s luxury amenities including a rooftop swimming pool, tennis courts, a beach club, marina, gardens by Enzo Enea, a signature restaurant by Michael Schwartz, and more.

The Paraiso Bay property, set between Biscayne Boulevard and the Bay at NE 31st Street, is East Edgewater’s only master planned community. Celebrities who have already reserved homes there include DJ and music producer David Guetta, basketball star Manu Ginobili, and Spanish tennis legend Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario.

Notable Guests: Karim Rashid, Designer of interiors for Paraiso Bayviews, Celebrity Chef Michael Schwartz, Mayor Thomas Regalado, Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, Carlos Rosso, President of the Condo Division at The Related Group, Sonia Figueroa, Senior Vice President The Related Group, Arden Karson, Senior Vice President The Related Group acquisitions

A note from the Publisher:

For the past 10 years, most of my time in Miami, I have had both the honor and the pleasure of working for an amazing music man, Henry Stone, owner of, amongst many others, TK Records. When I joined the company, he was in his early 80’s, having gone blind a few years earlier. My job was to help them aggregate and digitize the historic releases from his labels from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and up into the 80s. We also created new releases, about a half dozen new albums, all while he was closing in on the century mark.

In my opinion, no one has had such a profound impact on the music scene in Miami. He also had a significant impact on the music across the country, both as a hit-making distributor, and a pioneering label owner. Over the course of 60+ years, his labels released many thousands of tracks recorded right here in the Magic City. His labels contributed more to the distribution of that Caribbean Miami sound than any other, especially in the early days, and had an influence on music world-wide. He was a key influencer in R&B, Funk, Soul, and, of course, Disco.

Despite his success, he never parlayed that into being a mega-rich oligarch. He never moved off to LA or New York. He stayed right here in Miami, bringing that sound to the world. He shared that wealth and gave so many people a chance that otherwise would not have had it.

I never knew him in his heyday, but I did know his music. I grew up on that music. However, knowing him for the last 10 years of his life was very rewarding. I got to hear his stories, stories of the history of the music, over and over, until I could recite many of them better than he. I learned about the music business, and most importantly its history, direct from the source. He lived through the height of the 45, through the dominance of the album, to the debut of the CD and on into the time of digital downloads. He really saw it all. Very few people had his perspective, and he was on top of it right up to the end.

He passed away August 7, 2014, quietly. He never lost his sharp mind or wit, which was amazing. He was a great man, and all Miamians, all music lovers, owe him gratitude for all of the fantastic musicians he produced out of our city. Music would not be what it is today without his influence. It was unfortunate he did not live to see the completion of his biographical movie, but it will be released in a few months, and we are very excited about honoring his work and his life.

I am very glad to have known him. He taught me more than just about the music business, he taught me about being a good human and businessperson. His skill at working with people was second to none. Many were the times I saw him take a negative situation and turn it positive. He was generous almost to a fault and many the times I joked that he was too nice to be in the music business, but, of course, I was wrong. He really did inject so much funk and soul into this world, and for that, I am eternally thankful.

Thank you to the Miami New Times, Miami Herald and another Miami Herald for these wonderful obituary articles honoring the life of this man who made his way up from being an orphan in the Bronx to being a pillar in the music business and the community.

Below is the official press release and coming soon is the Henry Stone documentary movie, Rock Your Baby.

– James Echols
Co-Founder and Publisher, Soul Of Miami

(PS: A small sidenote: the name of this site, Soul Of Miami, was inspired by my working at Henry Stone Music and feeling all Miami Soul music.)

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
Henry Stone was born June 3, 1921, in Bronx, New York to parents Leah Goldstein and Charles Epstein. He was raised in Washington Heights, NY. Henry passed away August 7, 2014. Henry was preceded in death by his parents, brother Allen and sister Rosamond.

Henry began playing the trumpet in his early teens while at an orphanage in Pleasanteville, NY. Henry joined the US Army in 1943, playing in a racially integrated band. Henry served in the US Army stationed at Fort Dix in New Brunswick, NJ and was discharged in 1947. He then moved to Los Angeles working on sales and promotion for early record labels.

In 1948, Henry settled in Miami, Florida, setting up his own distribution company, Seminole, and shortly afterwards the Crystal recording studio. In 1951 he recorded Ray Charles’ “St. Pete Florida Blues”, among others. In 1952 he started two record labels Rockin for blues and Glory for Gospel. In association with King Records, Stone released The Charms’ “Heart of Stone” on King’s De Luxe Records, and it became R&B chart #1 in 1954. He was instrumental in signing James Brown to King and in recording Brown’s first hit, “Please, Please, Please”.

In 1955, he established his own independent publishing companies and several record labels, including Chart and Dade, mainly recording local blues artists. In 1960, Stone cut “(Do The) Mashed Potatoes” by
“Nat Kendrick and the Swans”- actually James Brown’s backing band – for the Dade label. He also set up Tone Distribution, which became one of the most successful record distribution companies, working with Atlantic, Mowtown, Stax and many more independent labels. Stone’s distribution expertise was instrumental in spreading the music produced by those labels around the world.

While he focused on the distribution business, Stone also continued to record R&B artists. These included Betty Wright, whose “Clean UP Woman” was a major hit in 1971. Stone also set up the Glades Label, recording the million selling “Why Can’t We Live Together” by Timmy Thomas.

In 1972, Stone decided to concentrate on recording and manufacturing his own records, forming another new record company, TK Records with Steve Alaimo, based in Hialeah, Florida. In 1973, two of Stones warehouse employees, Harry Wayne “KC” Casey and Rick Finch, began collaborating on writing and performing songs. As KC and the Sunshine Band, they released a string of hits such as “Get Down Tonight, “That’s The Way I Like It” and “Shake Your Booty”, all on Stone’s TK label. At the same time, Casey and Finch wrote and produced the number one “Rock Your Baby” which was performed by George McCrae.

Stone’s companies produced numerous other hits during the 1970’s, including Beginning of the End’s “Funky Nassau”, Latimore’s “Let’s Straighten It Out”, Anita Wards “Ring My Bell”, Little Beaver’s “Party Down”, and Gwen McCrea’s “Rockin’ Chair”, Peter Brown’s “Do You Want to Get Funky With Me” and Bobby Calwell’s “What Won’t You Do For Love”.

Stone later became involved with Hot Productions in the reissue of classics on CD and recently continued reissuing R&B and dance tracks on his own label, The Legendary Henry Stone Presents… In 2004, Henry Stone was awarded the first ever Pioneer Award for the Dance Music Hall of Fame, which was presented in New York City where he received a standing ovation.

In 2006, Henry became involved with The Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and started a music production program, the first of its kind, to provide professional training to the blind and visually impaired young performers, composers and sound engineers. In 2007, the new Gloria Martin third floor wing opened which houses the Henry and Inez Stone Music and Sound Studio.

Henry is survived by his wife Inez Stone; his daughter Lynda Stone and husband Ned Berndt; daughter Sheri and husband Ken Watson; daughter Crystal and Bill McCall; daughter Kim Stone; and son David Stone; their grandchildren Lysa Stone, Beth Stone, Shon and Carolyn (Keelin and Ryan) Christi, Mac and Stephanie (on the way), Daniel and Jamie Osiason.

He is also survived by his son Joseph Stone and his children, Brenna, Skyler, Torrin and Darcee; and by his daughter Donna and husband Evan Wolfe and their son Jake, and Inez’s brother Harrison Keith Pinchot, MD who will always be greatfull for Henry’s generosity for putting him through medical school.

Our family would like to thank all those who provided love and support during these difficult times.

University of Miami Selects New Director for the Lowe Art Museum

The University of Miami has appointed Dr. Jill Deupi, who currently serves as director and chief curator of University Museums at Fairfield University, as the new director of the Lowe Art Museum.

“I am honored to have been selected to lead the Lowe Art Museum as it embarks on an exciting new chapter in its rich and storied history,” Deupi said. “The museum is perfectly poised to catapult itself to the next level, building upon its tremendous resources and past successes while embracing 21st century museum practice, contemporary art and culture, and new education modalities – above all, participatory learning.”

Deupi credits the Lowe’s solid foundation and Miami’s effervescent arts scene for her decision to join UM, beginning August 11. One of her goals for the museum is “to connect its remarkable collections to the contemporary art world and current cultural trends.” She hopes to accomplish this partly with enhanced public accessibility to the Lowe’s holdings via an online, user-friendly database.

“We selected Dr. Jill Deupi as the new director of the Lowe after an extensive search,” said UM College of Arts & Sciences Dean Leonidas Bachas. “Her distinguished museum experience and academic background in art and art history, as well as her enthusiasm to involve our students in experiential learning are a perfect combination for the Lowe to expand its reach as a didactic resource for the university and local community.”

In addition to her leadership roles at the University Museums at Fairfield University, Deupi has also served as an assistant professor of art history since 2008. Under Deupi’s leadership as founding director, the Bellarmine Museum of Art has welcomed thousands of visitors since it opened to the public in late 2010. Deupi has curated close to 20 temporary exhibitions at the Bellarmine and at Fairfield’s Thomas J. Walsh Art Gallery, which she has also directed since 2013.

Opened in 1952, the University of Miami’s Lowe Art Museum is Miami-Dade County’s oldest and only comprehensive visual arts institution, featuring the region’s most diverse collection of world art. The Lowe’s distinguished permanent collection spans 5,000 years of western and non-western art history, highlights of which can be seen in the museum’s nine galleries. Brian Dursum, director of the Lowe Art Museum since 1990, announced his retirement in September 2013.

Part of the UM College of Arts & Sciences, the Lowe also mounts distinguished temporary exhibitions throughout the year, accompanied by an array of complementary programming. With its mission to serve the University of Miami, greater South Florida communities and national and international visitors as a teaching and exhibiting resource, the Lowe Art Museum presents a unique art experience, with broad-based collections and one-of-a-kind works of art.

A fellow of the American Academy in Rome, Deupi wrote her doctoral dissertation on art and cultural politics in 18th century Naples. Her prior museum experience includes work at the Royal Academy of Arts, London; the Art Institute of Chicago, the Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame, Indiana; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; and the Wallace Collection, London. Although her area of scholarly expertise is 18th century European art, neoclassicism, and museology, Deupi possesses an impressive breadth of art historical knowledge: she has curated exhibitions devoted to 20th and 21st century photography; mid-century American painting; contemporary sculpture; ancient Chinese funerary sculpture; 20th century portraiture; and 20th century Venetian glass (among others).

Highlights from Deupi’s programming achievements include the establishment of a distinguished lecture series in the visual arts, funded by the Robert Lehman Foundation; the implementation of a successful Family Day program at the Bellarmine Museum; and the development of a broad range of programming in arts education and engagement, including a cultural tours abroad program. She also worked tirelessly to secure significant external support from a range of donors, corporate sponsors, and foundations.

Deupi received her B.A. from Mount Holyoke College and her J.D. from American University’s Washington College of Law, graduating summa cum laude. She holds both an M.A. and a Ph.D. in art history from the University of London’s Birkbeck College and the University of Virginia, respectively. She serves as a board member of the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries (AAMG) and co-chair of the New England Museums Association (NEMA)’s Academic Professional Affinity Group. She also sits on the steering committee of the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County’s Executive Directors Network and is a member of the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the Association of Art Museum Curators (AAMC), the College Art Association (CAA), and the International Council of Museums (ICOM). Deupi has juried a number of art competitions and exhibitions and has served as an external reviewer for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). She is the author of numerous exhibition publications, as well as the author of “The Antique Legacy from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment” (A Companion to Greek Art, Blackwell Publishing, 2012).

Soul Of Miami proudly presents the Public Allies Miami Community Forum, in partnership with Public Allies Miami. Through this, the participants of Public Allies Miami will tell their stories, the stories of the organizations with which they work, the neighborhoods in which they work, and the stories of our community. You will get to see Miami through the eyes of its young, emerging leaders and philanthropists. It may be prose, photographs, poetry or something else entirely, but it is all part of the real soul of Miami!

Public Allies Miami is young adults who serve in nonprofit organizations to help make Miami thrive for all people. Each year, 20 young leaders devote ten months to an intensive leadership experience in diverse nonprofits. Here are their service stories. For more information about Public Allies Miami, visit catalystmiami.org.

PRESS RELEASE

After 17 Years On Lincoln Road, Tiramesu Restaurant Moves Back To Its Origins
With Lincoln Road’s evolving landscape, the restaurant will soon re-open its doors South of Fifth

Miami, FL – April 22, 2014 – The ever-popular TiramesU, the landmark family-style restaurant on South Beach’s Lincoln Road, having just celebrated its 25th-year anniversary, will temporarily close its doors on Sunday, April 27th, 2014.

After 17 years on bustling Lincoln Road, co-owner Graziano Sbroggio decided to move the restaurant to its origins, where it all began 25 years ago.

TiramesU will reopen its doors at the new location at 101 Washington Avenue after the summer. “South of Fifth is a growing dining destination and I’m very excited to be in the same neighborhood of many successful and internationally renowned restaurants,” says Graziano Sbroggio.

The new restaurant will continue its tradition, combining simplicity, consistency of food, service and accessibility which has proved to be a winning formula with both locals and tourists over the past 25 years. “The new TiramesU will welcome its patrons with the same warm and friendly atmosphere, offering classic Italian cuisine with a modern twist,” adds Sbroggio.

27-year old Executive Chef Fabrizio Pintus is already working on a new menu, one that will not sacrifice the staples TiramesU is known and appreciated for, like the homemade pastas. He will take the summer to travel to different cities and expose himself to other cuisines and flavors. “I love exploring new recipes and the use of different ingredients with unexpected combinations. The idea is to experiment new dishes while remaining grounded in solid traditions. The new Tiramesu will offer inventive modern Italian flavors with simple yet refined plates that entice the palate and delight our patrons. I’d like for TiramesU to become your “homey” kitchen away from home,” says Chef Fabrizio.

Valeria Longoni, General Manager, will become a co-owner in the new restaurant. Her dedication is invaluable and she is proud and honored to continue as an integral part of TiramesU’s history in this challenging new project. “I firmly believe in the importance of working with a strong team of dedicated and professional people. Good food served with thoughtful care and consistent passion has been the key to our success,” adds Longoni.

The official last day of TiramesU on Lincoln Road will be Sunday, April 27th, 2014.

About TiramesU
TiramesU opened its doors to customers in 1988 on the corner of Ocean Drive and 5th Avenue. It experienced early success and in 1997 was relocated to 721 Lincoln Road. It is owned and managed by Graspa Group, headed by Graziano Sbroggio, which includes Spris, Segafredo, Salumeria 104, Spris Artisan Pizza Downtown and Spris Artisan Pizza Midtown. For more information, please visit www.tiramesu.com.

webcitygirls// looking for #MiamiPinkGirl, are you her?

Are you an enthusiastic young lady? Do you dream of interviewing stars on the red carpet? Do you have what it takes to entertain a social media community with a positive point of view? webcitygirls// is seeking a friendly high-spirited team player who can engage the audience with a spunky attitude that stands out. The Miami Pink Girl has to be a social butterfly with an energetic spirit and a lot to say! The winner will become part of webcitygirls// social media innovative team and will be trained as a social media reporter, will live fun experience of getting dressed by a super star fashion designer, make-up by celebrity stylist and dreams will come true for her as she embarks on her first time red carpet coverage at a major 2014 award show with Lynn Ponder, founder of webcitygirls//.

To find the perfect pink girl, webcitygirls// has launched a competition via Instagram to see who conveys the personality and philosophy of the webcitygirls//. Miami Contest will be open on April 7 – May 7, 2014.
HOW TO ENTER:
1- Participants must create a 15 second Instagram video dressed in the webcitygirls// signature style: pink wig and chic black outfit. They must act as if interviewing a famous celebrity on the red carpet and have the confidence of a most influential social media reporter. The video post must be made using the participant’s own Instagram account using hashtag #MiamiPinkGirl and tag @webcitygirls.

2- Participants must email social@webcitygirls.com with the following: Instagram link to the video entry, a profile picture, a biography including education, experience, groups, community work, accolades/achievements, hobbies and social media preferences. We want to get to know the pink girl, her colorful personality, her style, and who she is! Participants must also follow @webcitygirls on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

3- On May 14, 2014, (3) finalists will be announced on webcitygirls.com. The finalists will be a part of a special edition #SocialSalon live stream on May 21, 2014 where webcitygirls// and (3) judges (a renowned fashion designer, a celebrity hairstylist, and an award winning entertainment journalist) will pronounce one grand prize winner! Click here for Rules.

4- The winner will get a surprise smart gadget to use on her new journey as a webcitygirls// #MiamiPinkGirl.

Be a part of this exciting opportunity and learn what it’s like to be in the media industry. Put on a pink wig, an attitude that sparkles, and if you have to, use a hairbrush for a mic! GO get CREATIVE wepa!
Webcitygirls// is looking for the ultimate pink girl, are you her?

NewYork.com, an online resource for travel, entertainment, dining, real estate and job needs, has launched the Ultimate Broadway Fan Contest, which will award a passionate Broadway enthusiast and a guest with a memorable New York weekend getaway and VIP perks.

The winner and a guest will receive roundtrip airfare to the Big Apple, be chauffeured into town in style with ExecuCar, and put up for two nights in the heart of all of the Broadway action at the Crowne Plaza Times Square Hotel. They’ll also receive a quintessential NYC dinner at NYY Steak and best of all, they’ll get behind the scenes access to one of the biggest events on Broadway, with an exclusive invitation to the Tony Awards rehearsal.

How to enter:
1. Post a photo on Instagram or Twitter that proves that they are the ultimate Broadway fan
2. Complete this sentence in their caption “I’m Broadway’s biggest fan because…”
3. Include the hashtag #BringMeToBroadway
4. Submit the link to their photo and information by April 30 at 5pm EST to NewYork.com/ultimatefancontest

Criteria: Participants must use their camera to capture their passion for Broadway Theater any way they want. The entry could be a photo of themselves with their impressive Playbill collection or a snapshot with their favorite Broadway actor. They could dress up like their celebrity crush or mock up an award-worthy poster for their favorite performance – the sky is the limit!

How will the winner be determined? The editors of NewYork.com will review all submissions and narrow the list down to 30 finalists. Starting on Monday, May 5 at 9am EST and running until Friday, May 16 at 5pm EST they will ask the NewYork.com audience, to vote for the winner. The image with the most votes on Friday, May 16 at 5pm EST will win. The winner will be announced on Monday, May 19.

Participants must be 18 years or older and live in the continental United States. One entry per person. For more information, the official rules of entry can be found at this link: www.newyork.com/contest-rules

PRESS RELEASE

Today, Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff and Mayor Tomás Regalado withdrew their Resolution to ban the Ultra Music Festival from Bayfront Park in Downtown Miami. Following that withdrawal, the City Commission has alternatively scheduled the issue for general discussion on April 24, 2014 at 10AM.

The overwhelming and unyielding support of the Greater Miami and Beaches Hotel Association, Downtown Miami businesses and residents, and of Ultra fans around the world has resulted in a short-term victory by event organizers in its recent bout to keep Ultra at Bayfront Park, in Downtown Miami.

Since its launch in 1999, Ultra Music Festival has attracted millions of visitors to the City of Miami. The annual event has brought considerable economic impact to the City of Miami and surrounding communities, which includes generating over $223 million in 2013 alone. Last year, the 6-day event created over 1,800 direct jobs.

Event organizers remain thankful for the infinite support of their patrons and partners in Miami and across the world. Ultra remains committed to working actively with the City of Miami, its Police, Fire and Risk Departments, and the Bayfront Park Management Trust to continually make the event safe, secure and successful.

Ultra will continue to put forth its positive message and request that its supporters remain committed to helping again on April 24th when Ultra will be discussed by the Miami City Commission.

About Ultra Worldwide
ULTRA WORLDWIDE is the global brand of the World’s Premier Electronic Music event ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL. An internationally renowned event that has taken place every March since its inception in 1999, Ultra Music Festival celebrated its 16th anniversary March 28-30, 2014 by bringing over 165,000 music enthusiasts to the sold out event in the City of Miami. Boasting the hottest names and the finest talent to be found anywhere on the planet, Ultra Worldwide is now the most international festival brand in the world by far, as it continues to transport the unrivaled experience from its Miami flagship event to an ever-growing number of destinations and fans all over the globe. Add in their pioneering live stream, ‘Ultra Live’ and Ultra Worldwide is able to bring the festival experience online to over 15 million unique viewers globally. Over the past 16 years, literally thousands of the world’s most iconic DJs, producers and live acts have mesmerized audiences with awe-inspiring sets at Ultra events in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Croatia, Ibiza, Korea and of course Miami. Each and every new global edition has been founded on the same successful formula that has been perfected over 16 years in Miami, combining the most diverse electronic talent with the most technologically advanced, large scale festival productions in the world. In 2014, Ultra continues to push the boundaries, bringing its unparalleled combination of cutting edge production and the world’s best electronic acts back to its previous strongholds and to new frontiers across the globe. With brand new editions in South Africa and Japan this year already, 2014 will see Ultra in nine countries and five continents across the globe.

Miami New Times Best of Miami(R) Nominations
April 10 – April 30, 2014
Nominate Online
More Information

From April 10 to 30, Nominate Your Favorite Places and Things to Do in Miami

New Times’ 27th-annual Best of Miami® issue celebrates the best of absolutely everything the area has to offer. Best of Miami® is the most comprehensive guide to the top people, places, goods and services, dining, nightlife, and entertainment found only in this region. With hundreds of pages of information, more than 400 choices, and a readership in the millions, it is the most anticipated issue of the year. Best Of reaches millions of people in the most valued issue of the year.

Each year our Best Of issue has a signature theme. We are proud to announce that in 2014, it’s “Game On!” – a throwback to retro gaming and culture.

Nominate the best things to do, see, and eat in Miami by casting your vote. You can suggest your favorites from Thursday, April 10, to Wednesday, April 30. Readers will have the opportunity to vote in scores of categories. On Monday, May 5, voting will open again for its final round, where readers can pick from the selected nominees to be crowned Best of Miami® winners.

Best of Miami® will be published Thursday, June 19, with the full list of Readers’ Choice winners, along with editorial picks. It will be available on newsstands throughout the area and online at MiamiNewTimes.com as well as our Best Of mobile app.

PRESS RELEASE

Edouard Duval-Carrié: Imagined Landscapes
On view March 13, 2014 – August 31, 2014
Conversation with Edouard Duval Carrié and Tobias Ostrander, March 13 at 7pm

Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) will present a solo exhibition of new works by Haitian-born, Miami-based artist Edouard Duval-Carrié from March 13 to August 31, 2014. Generated over the past year, Imagined Landscapes features a series of mural-sized paintings and chandeliers, conceived as a single installation, depicting lush tropical scenes executed entirely in black and silver glitter. The exhibition will open with a conversation between Duval Carrié and PAMM Chief Curator Tobias Ostrander on March 13, 2014 at 7pm.

“Edouard Duval-Carrié has produced a very exciting new body of work with his dark “Imaginary Landscapes,” said PAMM Chief Curator Tobias Ostrander. “This suite of sparkling paintings and sculptures dialogue dynamically with the characteristics of the gallery space at PAMM, as well as with the context of tropical Miami as a Caribbean city. This series intriguingly reveals the strong influence of his recent pan-Caribbean research and outlook.”

Edouard Duval-Carrié is known for his innovative adaptions of traditional Haitian iconography, which he engages in order to address contemporary social and political conditions. Contrasting his signature use of strident colors, this new project presents works executed entirely in black and silver glitter. Involving extensive research, Imagined Landscapes presents lush tropical scenes that reference specific 19th century paintings executed in the Caribbean and Florida. These paintings, by artists such as William Heade and Frederick Church, were commissioned as part of Colonialist interests in promoting economic development of these areas of the world. The artists used pictorial effects, imagination and fictions to present the Caribbean as the “New Eden,” a fertile land of possibility. Duval-Carrié’s works translate these historical images into his own contemporary aesthetic language, in order to address the manner in which the tropics of the Caribbean and Florida continue to be sold as tropical paradises, in ways that often obscure traditional economic and social disparities that continue to be perpetuated in these contexts.

Edouard Duval-Carrié: Imagined Landscapes, organized by PAMM, is part of a season of presentations and programs focusing on Caribbean art, and celebrating Miami’s position as a Caribbean capital. On Friday, April 18, 2014, PAMM will open Caribbean: Crossroads of the World, an unprecedented juxtaposition of historical and contemporary works. Duval-Carrié’s Le General Toussaint Enfumé (General Touissant Wreathed in Smoke, or Pretty in Pink), 2003 is on view in Caribbean. Also opening April 18 is a large-scale work by Simon Starling, Inverted Retrograde Theme, USA (House for a Songbird), a recently-acquired installation that traces the paradoxes of modernist architecture in the Caribbean. A large scale installation by artist Hew Locke, a British artist of Guyanese descent, For Those in Peril on the Sea, hangs in the museum’s front entrance. For more information about upcoming programs, visit pamm.org/calendar.

About Pérez Art Museum Miami
Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) promotes artistic expression and the exchange of ideas, advancing public knowledge and appreciation of art, architecture and design, and reflecting the diverse community of its pivotal geographic location at the crossroads of the Americas. Designed by world-renowned architects Herzog & de Meuron, the museum’s new facility, a state-of-the-art model for sustainable museum design and progressive programming, opened in Downtown Miami’s Museum Park on December 4, 2013. The facility features 200,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor program space with sprawling galleries, shaded outdoor verandas, a waterfront restaurant and bar, a museum shop and an education center with a library, media lab and classroom spaces. For more information, please visit pamm.org, find us on Facebook (facebook.com/perezartmuseummiami), or follow us on Twitter (@pamm).

Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) is sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture. Support is provided by the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners. Additional support is provided by the City of Miami. Pérez Art Museum Miami is an accessible facility. All contents ©Pérez Art Museum Miami. All rights reserved.

PRESS RELEASE

Goya Foods to Serve as the Official Latin/Hispanic Foods Sponsor of the 2014 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival Presented by FOOD & WINE

This will be Goya’s Third Year participating at the Festival
Miami Beach, Fla. (Feb. 17, 2014) – Goya Foods of Florida announced today that for the third year in a row it has joined the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival’s (SOBEWFF) roster of sponsors. The 13th annual edition of America’s favorite and largest wine and culinary extravaganza will take place Feb. 20 through 23, 2014, to benefit Florida International University’s (FIU) Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management and the Southern Wine & Spirits Beverage Management Center.

Festival attendees will have the opportunity to sample a variety of Goya products throughout the weekend event. Goya will once again participate in the Whole Foods Market Grand Tasting Village from Friday, Feb. 21 through Sunday, Feb. 23; the Fun and Fit as a Family sponsored by Carnival featuring the Goya Kidz Kitchen hosted by Robert Irvine on Saturday, Feb. 22 and Sunday, Feb. 23; and the Goya Foods’ Swine & Wine hosted by Michelle Bernstein on Sunday, Feb. 23. To offer guests a one-of-a-kind opportunity to savor the brand’s authentic Hispanic flavors at each one of the events, Goya’s Executive Chef, Fernando Desa, will showcase recipes with SOBEWFF-inspired fare. Goya has also partnered with a line-up of celebrated chefs including; Chef José Mendin, Chef Richard Ingraham, Chef Richard Plasencia and Chef Sean Brasel.

“Goya products have been a part of Hispanic homes for generations, and today, the most demanding chefs in the business value the versatility of our food line,” said Frank Unanue, president of Goya Foods of Florida. “We’re proud to be the Festival’s Official Latin/Hispanic Foods Provider for the 3rd consecutive year, and we look forward to showcasing our authentic products as must-have additions to any kind of cuisine.”

Chef José Mendin, executive chef of Miami Beach’s Pubbelly, Pubbelly Sushi and Pubbelly Steak, will be at Goya’s outpost at the Whole Foods Market Grand Tasting Village on Saturday, Feb. 22, to prepare Soft Polenta with Roasted Mushroom and Goya Huitlacoche all made with Goya Foods products and condiments. As one of the most celebrated chefs in South Beach, Chef José Mendin’s daring culinary approach showcases his talent for updating traditional recipes with modern techniques. His non-conventional tactics and distinct style have positioned his gastronomic creations as a “must-try” on Miami’s food scene.

Also joining the Whole Foods Market Grand Tasting Village on Saturday, Feb. 22 and Sunday, Feb. 23, is Goya’s Executive Chef Fernando Desa. Chef Desa, who is responsible for the research and development of new products and recipes for the company, is recognized for incorporating Latin American flavors that can easily be applied at home. This year, he will be serving an array of dishes including Asian Steamed Buns with Pulled Pork and Sofrito with Black Beans and Arugula, Crispy Aji Tuna Tartar Tacos with Aji Crema and Guava Reduction, Stuffed Sweet Plantain with Creamy Shrimp and Chorizo topped with Smoked Pimenton Aioli and Empanada a la Gallega Purse with Pineapple Soy Glaze.

“We’re thrilled Goya Foods has returned for a third year as our Official Latin/Hispanic Food Provider,” said Festival Founder and Director, Lee Brian Schrager. “The support of quality brands like Goya allows us to continue presenting the nation’s leading culinary event and gives our attendees an unmatched experience.”
For some of the younger food connoisseurs, Fun and Fit as a Family sponsored by Carnival featuring the Goya Kidz Kitchen hosted by Robert Irvine on Saturday, Feb. 22 and Sunday, Feb. 23, which will offer the ultimate family-friendly fun including healthy food tastings, physical fitness activities and star-studded healthy cooking demonstrations. Chef Richard Ingraham will showcase healthy alternatives to children’s favorites, such as Black Bean Sliders and a healthy twist to Arroz con Leche. Joining him will be Executive Chef, Richard Plasencia of Baptist Health South Florida, who will be in charge of serving the sweet fare, sharing his passion for healthy seasonal recipes. Chef Plasencia will be creating a refreshing Plantain Ginger Flan.

To end the four-day festival, Goya will take over the Biltmore Hotel for the Goya Foods’ Swine & Wine hosted by Michelle Bernstein, on Sunday, Feb. 23. Chefs Fernando Desa and Sean Brasel will be teaming up in an all-star collaboration to prepare different variations of pork. As co-owner and Executive Chef of Meat Market in Miami Beach, Chef Brasel is known for his passion, skill and creativity. Under his culinary vision and direction, Meat Market has quickly become a Miami Beach hot spot, serving steakhouse classics with a sexy, NYC-inspired vibe.
For the Swine & Wine event, the duo will be serving a “Caja China” Pork with Potato Cakes and Asian Steamed Buns with Pulled Pork and Sofrito with Black Beans and Arugula. Chefs Ingrid Hoffman and Douglas Ródriguez will also join the occasion to showcase their signature glazes, rubs and secret blends, for a mouthwatering swine feast.

Tickets for these select events and others are available at www.sobefest.com, and via phone at 877.762.3933. Fans who want to follow Goya Foods online can do so on Facebook at Facebook.com/LaGranFamiliaGoya Twitter at @GranFamiliaGoya using #GoyaSOBE

About Goya Foods
Founded in 1936, Goya Foods, Inc. is America’s largest Hispanic-owned food company and has established itself as the leader in Latin American food and condiments. Goya manufactures, packages and distributes more than 1,600 high-quality food products from the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America. For more information on Goya Foods, please visit www.goya.com.

Philanthropy Miami Shark Tank Seeks Solutions to Community Needs, Winning Proposal to Receive $5000
Submission Deadline: 3 p.m. Monday, March 3.
More Information.
Email submissions to elau@chasemiami.com
Download Application Form PDF

Ever drive down a Miami street and wonder “why don’t they …”?

Leave A Legacy of Miami Dade on Tuesday launched the Philanthropy Miami Shark Tank, a community competition that offers the opportunity to be the change we seek. Instead of a business challenge, this shark tank seeks ideas to fulfill a community need through partnerships developed between nonprofits, businesses and/or individuals.

“Anyone or any organization or business can submit their ideas. But they can’t go it alone,” said Teresa Weintraub, co-chair of Leave A Legacy©. “Our goal is to encourage creative thinking and the creation of new collaborations and approaches to move our community forward. In other words, people have to work together.”

The process is simple: each team must submit a 500-word description about their idea by 3 p.m. Monday, March 3. A panel of pre-sharks (local business and nonprofit leaders) will select the top 10 ideas. Attendees at the Philanthropy Miami Conference on Strategic Thinking on Friday, March 21 at Jungle Island will select the top five.

The five with the most votes will move on to the final round at Philanthropy Miami Conference Day of Dynamic Ideas on Friday, March 21 at Jungle Island. The finalists will present their ideas to the Philanthropy Miami Shark Tank, a panel of five business and nonprofit executives.

The winning team and their proposal will be announced that day and be awarded $5000 to set their idea in motion.

“In the past, we focused our efforts solely on the nonprofit community. But we’ve seen wonderful collaborations between non-profits and for-profits. It really doesn’t matter who teams up, because in the end the community profits,” Weintraub said.

Philanthropy Miami is sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; Bank of America; Wells Fargo; Baptist Health South Florida Foundation; Florida International University; Peacock Foundation, Inc.; and SunTrust

Shark Tank Specifics
What: Philanthropy Miami Shark Tank, a competitive showcase of new ideas to solve community needs. Individuals, non-profit organizations and businesses are invited to submit a 500-word description of the synergy that will result from a new strategic partnership and idea to help solve a specific need in our community.

Submission Tips
Please demonstrate through your idea:
A new collaborative partnership
Demonstrate an approach to solving problems
How the partnership will benefit the community
The project will be evaluated by the following criteria:
Unique connection of the partners
Compelling and creative project
Community impact
How will you measure success?

Finalist Selection: A panel of Pre-Sharks will review the entries and select 8-10 finalists, which will be voted on by attendees at Philanthropy Miami, Day 1 conference on Friday, March 21. The top five move on to the final round.

Final Round/Winner Selection: The Shark Tank panel will hear from the five finalists and select a winner at Philanthropy Miami, Day 2 on April 16 at Jungle Island.

Philanthropy Miami Shark Tank
Joelle Allen, Executive Director, Peacock Foundation, Inc.
Fernand Amandi, Managing Partner, Bendixen & Amandi International
Gretchen Beesing, President and CEO, Catalyst Miami
Jodi Engelberg, Founding Member, The Value Web
Miguel Milanes, Regional Vice President, Miami-Dade, Allegany Franciscan Ministries

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 21, 2014

MIAMI – Today, six same-sex couples announced the filing of a lawsuit in Florida state court to challenge the state’s ban on marriages for same-sex couples.
The following statement on today’s announcement is from Daniel Tilley, LGBT rights staff attorney for the ACLU of Florida:

“Marriage equality is inevitable and coming soon for Floridians because brave couples are demanding the dignity under the law that marriage provides. We are hopeful that the court hearing this case will agree with courts across the country that the Constitution requires that same-sex couples be permitted to marry.

Following our victory last June in the Windsor case at the Supreme Court, which largely ended federal marriage discrimination, including for Floridians, the ACLU has been organizing legislative and ballot initiatives and also building lawsuits across the country—so far in Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, and Oregon—to ensure that the case that reaches the Supreme Court next leads to the nationwide solution we are all working so hard for. Just as Floridians benefited from the Windsor case and the case of Loving v. Virginia before that, we are confident that our work and the work of our fellow LGBT organizations will lead to finally bringing marriage equality to all fifty states, including Florida.”

About the ACLU of Florida
The ACLU of Florida is freedom’s watchdog, working daily in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend individual rights and personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. For additional information, visit our web site at: www.aclufl.org.

On behalf of Van Dyke Café

After 20 years of serving South Florida, Van Dyke Café will be closing on Sunday, January 26, 2014 with a celebration in honor of the memories we have created together. We thank all our loyal customers, staff, music directors and musicians that made both Van Dyke Café and Upstairs at Van Dyke one of the most special places on Lincoln Road.

We first opened our café in the historic Van Dyke building in 1994 and have been proudly serving Miami residents for nearly two decades. When Van Dyke Café opened its doors, Lincoln Road was just becoming the travel destination it is today, bustling with outdoor eateries — perfect for people watching and enjoying the South Florida weather.

In the spirit of Van Dyke Café, Soyka Restaurant will continue with a similar live music program on weekends. We hope you will consider Soyka not only for a great meal but also to enjoy great live music by some of South Florida’s best.

To celebrate our history and honor our loyal patrons, we will be hosting a celebration on January 26 from 5 to closing. Please come by and enjoy a complimentary toast and let’s reminisce the good times! We would like to extend a deep and heartfelt thank you to our dedicated staff and our loyal patrons.

But there may be a silver lining with this closing, we are very working hard with our landlord to find space within the Van Dyke complex so that we can keep the Van Dyke Cafe spirit alive by opening a smaller version, hopefully sometime in the spring!

PRESS RELEASE:
Miami Smokers Launches National Kickstarter Campaign To Raise Funds To Build A Community Urban Smokehouse
Miami Smokers Urban Smokehouse is located at 529 SW 12 Avenue in Little Havana. The Kickstarter Campaign to raise $25,000 to build the Artisans Curing Center, is live now through Friday, January 3 at 5:20 a.m.
Website
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Officially launching their Kickstarter Campaign during their second annual Basel Biergarten pop-up in Wynwood during Art Basel week, chefs/owners Andres Barrientos and James Bowers of Miami Smokers, the city’s only smokehouse and producer of artisan bacon, are urging bacon-loving foodies, friends and fans to support their campaign to raise funds to build a fully functioning, humidity and temperature controlled community urban smokehouse and curing center.

Operating in Little Havana, the native Miami boys bring in local, high-quality, responsibly raised, heritage pigs from small, family-owned operations, and rely solely on the use of salt, smoke and temperature/humidity control to make their bacon. The duo create bacon for area restaurants, servicing clients such as The Federal, Blue Collar, Azucar Ice Cream Company, The Fontainebleau including Michael Mina’s Restaurant 74, and the Biscayne Marriott, among others, as well as treats sold at local farmers markets, such as Candied Bacon, Bacon Jerky, Smoked Salt, and Toasted Krispy Treats.

As locals who witnessed and played a part in Miami’s continued evolution into a culinary town, Barrientos and Bowers have a bigger dream – a social obligation of sorts – to preserve the trend of supporting local, and help solidify it into a way of life. Their contribution: Miami’s own Artisans Curing Center (ACC), a curing facility that can be used by chefs and local artisans to produce charcuterie in a controlled and monitored environment. With design plans underway, Barrientos and Bowers plan to file permits for construction of the USDA curing facility in January 2014.

In an attempt to fund the ACC, Miami Smokers has launched a Kickstarter Campaign to raise $25,000. A fairly new platform that facilitates crowd funding to bring creative projects to life, Kickstarter is a web-based forum for supporters to donate funds in return for “rewards”. Miami Smokers has a slew of pledge options, from $1 to $8,000, with rewards ranging from branded swag to food such as candied bacon and charcuterie of the month, and even private dinners or whole roasted pig parties. The Miami Smokers ACC project will only be funded if at least $25,000 is pledged by Friday, January 3, 2014 at 5:20 a.m. Supporters can monitor progress, learn more about the project, or donate at

www.kickstarter.com/projects/miamismokers/miami-smokers-urban-smokehouse.

Born and raised in Miami and friends for over 15 years, Barrientos and Bowers both have long-standing experience in the culinary industry. Most recently, the pair worked together at Aaron’s Catering in Miami, where Barrientos is still executive chef, and Bowers served as sous chef. A pop-up brunch series where they created everything from scratch, introduced the friends to curing their own bacon. Their creation, especially the candied version, proved to be a big hit and the boys realized they had stumbled upon something special. The newfound passion led them to Tennessee where they met with Allan Benton of Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Hams, who provides some of the nation’s top chefs and restaurateurs with bacon for their award-winning restaurants. Benton showed them his operation, shared the secrets of his perfected tradition, and even sparked the idea of creating their local smokehouse. Barrientos and Bowers returned to Miami and Miami Smokers was born.

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PRESS RELEASE:
Calma Carmona Makes Her Miami Debut In Front Of An Intimate Audience At The Media Launch For Soulfrito The Urban Latin Music Festival
Puerto Rican singer-songwriter provides some Soulful Latin flavor and a taste of emerging musical talent as part of the festival¹s line-up in February 2014

The week of Art Basel set the scene at Cafeina Lounge in Miami¹s Wynwood Arts District on Thursday, December 5th, for the official Media Launch of SOULFRITO The Urban Latin Music Festival presented by Hennessy.

During the evening¹s invitation-only event, celebrated Puerto Rican songwriter and recording artist, Calma Carmona, took to the stage for her first South Florida appearance and a highly anticipated live acoustic performance in front of a receptive crowd of Miami¹s discerning music enthusiasts. Following an initial cocktail reception, courtesy of Hennessy, Butta P from Miami¹s popular 99 Jamz radio station introduced Carmona on-stage to an eager applause. The inaugural unplugged performance consisted of her own opening rendition of ³Fever² by La Lupe, followed by a series of upbeat Latin soul tracks from her ³There¹s No Other Girl² live session EP. Miami was given a sneak peak of Carmona¹s debut performance three months before she takes to the stage at SOULFRITO The Urban Latin Music Festival in February next year at Sun Life Stadium, as part of an eclectic line-up of emerging talent.

Additional talent featured during the evening included Anané and Louie Vega, the husband and wife duo from New York, who span a mix of house and other soulful underground favorites throughout the evening. The American musician of Puerto Rican ancestry, Louie Vega, is one half of the Masters At Work musical production team. Vega¹s father, Luis Vager, was a jazz saxophonist, and his uncle was singer Héctor Lavoe of the Fania All-Stars. All three artists Carmona along with Anané and Louie Vega met for the first time and were seen relaxing in the upstairs Hennessy VIP lounge at Cafeina with SOULFRITO founder, Melissa Giles, during press interviews and photography following Carmona¹s on-stage performance.

Miami-based muralist, Diana Contreras, gave invited guests an example of today¹s most avant-garde street art during the evening¹s entertainment. The Peruvian artist, now living in Miami, experimented with charcoal, pastel and spray paint, as she turned a blank canvas in to a design masterpiece by the time the evening came to an end.

Since its inception in 2002, SOULFRITO The Urban Latin Music Festival has been the premier launch pad for emerging and established artists, as well as brands looking to connect with the multicultural U.S Hispanic audience that now forms today¹s mainstream market. Founded by Miami-based entrepreneur, Melissa Giles, SOULFRITO made an early contribution towards launching the careers of artists such as Pitbull, Wisin Y Yandel, Aventura and Kat Deluna, among others, and continues to provide an attractive platform for producers and brand partners that wish to engage second, third and fourth generation US-Hispanics and enthusiasts of Urban Latin culture.

Strategic partnerships have been formed ahead of SOULFRITO The Urban Latin Music Festival in February next year at Sun Life Stadium, including with Clear Channel¹s Mega 949, who will act as the festival¹s exclusive Latin radio partner, along with WEDR 99 Jams, the leading radio station for the 18-34 demographic. In partnership with the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, SOULFRITO will be offering a series Travel Package giveaways in feeder markets nationwide and for those looking to attend the festival who are traveling from outside Florida.

SOULFRITO The Urban Latin Music Festival will take place on February 22nd, 2014, at Sun Life Stadium, featuring NAS, Don Omar, Juicy J, Victor Manuelle, Hector “El Torito” Acosta, Sensato, Plan B, Sensato Calma Carmona, DJ Camilo,DJ Enuff and hosted by Adrienne Bailon and Julissa Bermudez.

Tickets are now on sale through Ticketmaster by visiting www.soulfrito.com.

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photo credit: courtesy of SOULFRITO

PRESS RELEASE:
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Miami Presents Miami-Dade County Leaders with 2013 Property Tax Check

December 17, 2013
Miami, Florida
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Miami, a 501 (c) 3 developer of low income houses presented a check to Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and Commission Chairwoman Rebeca Sosa in the amount of $966,512, representing the property taxes that Habitat homeowners generated in 2013. Habitat has helped nearly 1000 families achieve the dream of home-ownership since its inception by providing zero percent interest loans for purchase of Habitat built houses.

“Habitat helps low income families achieve their goals and they in turn contribute to the tax rolls in a significant fashion. Miami-Dade County is a great partner to Habitat and this is a way to show our elected leaders and our generous sponsors and donors that there is a tangible return on their investment,” said Mario Artecona, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Miami CEO.

PRESS RELEASE:
Knight Arts Challenge 2013 Awards $2.72 million to new art projects

In an evening infused with poetry, gospel music and big ideas for the local arts, more than 400 people celebrated the 2013 Knight Arts Challenge winners Monday night.

“We have helped to make possible that wonderful, magical thing: for the arts and thousands of artists to have touched the souls and inspired audiences of literally millions of people,” said Alberto Ibargüen, president of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which sponsors the annual contest funding the best ideas for bringing South Florida together through the arts.

Guests were welcomed by eight Miamians reciting their own poems that incorporated the phrase #ThatsSoMiami, all of which won prizes as part of a poetry contest run by the O, Miami Poetry Festival. The Miami Mass Choir also lit up the stage with gospel music, leading the audience into a reception at the New World Center.
In all, $2.72 million was awarded to local artists and organizations, big and small, including the newly opened Perez Art Museum Miami, ArtCenter/South Florida, Cannonball Miami, the Miami Music Project, the Bass Museum, Indie Film Club, and more. Their ideas will blend art and technology and bring art into Miami’s many neighborhoods.

Local playwright Teo Castellanos won the People’s Choice Award in a text-to-vote campaign, and will receive an additional $20,000 for the project of his choice.
In addition, Knight Foundation honored Miami-Dade Cultural Affairs Director Michael Spring for 30 years of service to the local cultural community. A $100,000 Knight grant will go to the group of Spring’s choice: the Florida Cultural Alliance.

Now in its sixth year, the challenge has awarded funds to 193 projects throughout South Florida.

PRESS RELEASE:
The 2013 edition of Art Basel in Miami Beach – which officially closed Sunday, December 8, 2013 – drew strong praise from collectors, gallerists, critics and visitors. With an expanded Public sector and a vibrantly diverse line-up of talks, performances and film screenings, the quality of works exhibited was matched by the show’s programming. The 12th edition was described by many observers as the strongest-ever Art Basel show in Miami Beach. Featuring 258 leading international galleries from across 31 countries, the show confirmed its positioning as the leading art fair of the Americas. Finally, the inaugural Edition sector at Art Basel’s show in Miami Beach was met with an enthusiastic response from both new and long-time collectors of prints and editioned pieces.

Art Basel in Miami Beach, whose Lead Partner is UBS, attracted an attendance of 75,000 over the five show days, a seven percent increase over last year. Over 140 museum and institution groups from across the world – as well as renowned private collectors from the Americas, Europe, Asia and emerging markets – attended the show.

Participating galleries spoke highly of their experience:
‘I’ve participated in Art Basel in Miami Beach since its inception in 2002 and without any exception, this is the most successful of all its editions in terms of quality, conversations, volume of visitors and new audiences.’ -Sean Kelly, Sean Kelly Gallery, New York

‘We have been very impressed by the quality of collectors attending this year, and by the number of curators and museum groups. The fair feels very focused, and there are some wonderful booths. Art Basel in Miami Beach is unmissable for galleries like ours and is now maturing and deepening in a very impressive way. Business here is broader than it was before – we have had success here with both our more established and our younger artists. It wasn’t always like that.’ -Sadie Coles, Sadie Coles HQ, London

‘At Art Basel in Miami Beach we have more serious first-time buyers than at any other fair in the world.’ -David Nolan, David Nolan Gallery, New York

‘This year has been marked for us by the largest number of museum groups and institutional contacts, and a new generation of collectors becoming very active.’ -Lucy Mitchell-Innes, Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York

‘We’ve had a very successful fair this year, with strong and significant sales of works by young, mid-career, and established artists. We are very happy with our results.’ -Monika Sprüth, Sprüth Magers Berlin London, Berlin, London

‘Our first year at Art Basel in Miami Beach has been great. The sheer density of the crowds is astounding, and the activity in our booth has been constant and charged.’ -Jim Dempsey, Corbett vs. Dempsey, Chicago

‘Most of the works in the booth sold on opening day. The expanded Public sector at Collins Park was the perfect venue to show an ambitious new sculpture by Michelle Lopez to the broadest audience we could hope for.’ -Simon Preston, Simon Preston Gallery, New York

‘We met old and new collectors, from the United States, Europe, South America, and of course, a good number of Chinese collectors. The Rubell Family Collection’s presentation of 28 Chinese contemporary artists certainly brought a lot of attention and new interest as well.’ -Theresa Liang, Long March Space, Beijing

‘We were delighted to see the strong interest of European and American collectors in Latin American artists. Art Basel in Miami Beach is the meeting point for all art professionals, especially those from Latin America.’ – Livia Benavides, 80M2 Livia Benavides, Lima

‘Art Basel in Miami Beach is without a doubt one of the world’s most exceptional and unique contemporary art fairs. We are extremely pleased to end the year on such a high note after placing approximately 40 works in significant public and private collections throughout America, Europe and Asia.’ -David Maupin, Lehmann Maupin, New York, Hong Kong

‘This is our first year as an exhibitor at Art Basel in Miami Beach and we just loved being here. I think it was good for our artists to be exposed to this enormous and enormously diverse crowd. We enjoyed seeing many old friends and meeting a lot of new collectors and curators, who we trust will become friends over time. Our sales have been great.’ Peter MacGill, Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York

‘This year the energy is back. We have sold important pieces by prominent Brazilian artists such as Ernesto Neto, Iran do Espirito Santo, and Erika Vezzuti.’ -Alexandre Gabriel, Galeria Fortes Vilaça, São Paulo

‘We established relationships with many new collectors from across the United States, most of whom are deeply engaged with museums and institutions. It was heartening to see so many civic-minded individuals from Boston, Denver, Dallas, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Chicago, Hartford, San Antonio, even Reno, convene in Miami.’ -Alexander Gray, Alexander Gray Associates, New York

‘We have exhibited in Basel since the first year but are taking part in Art Basel in Miami Beach for the first time this year. The new Edition sector has drawn considerable interest and consistent sales. We sold a remarkable 33 works by one artist on the second day. Hopefully this will continue to grow – people will hear that you can buy an original work of art by a blue-chip artist for a price that many more people can afford, and realize art is not just for millionaires.’ -Helen Waters, Alan Cristea Gallery, London

‘NON is hugely excited to be part of this year’s Art Basel in Miami Beach. As one of the Nova galleries, we presented – for the ver irst time at a air in the nited tates – the or s o t o p-and-comin r ish artists Meri Al n in or and rdem a delen. As Art Basel continues to provide a global vehicle for creative dialog, we are very honored to have taken part and to have contributed to this exhilarating event.’ -Derya Demir, Galeri NON, Istanbul

A favorite sector among museum directors and critics, Kabinett offered visitors many of this ear’s highlights. 25 select galleries presented curated exhibitions within their booths, including work by Marina A ramović (L ciana Brito Galeria); José Bento and Raymundo Colares (A Gentil Carioca); Richard Fauguet (Art : Concept); Al Taylor (Niels Borch Jensen Galerie); Leon Polk Smith (Valerie Carberry Gallery); Gerold Miller (Mehdi Chouakri); Yeni & Nan (Henrique Faria Fine Art); Marius de Zayas (Galerie 1900-2000); Richard Meier (Galerie Gmurzynska); Luis Camnitzer (Alexander Gray Associates); Theaster Gates (Kavi Gupta Chicago/Berlin); James Edward Deeds (Hirschl & Adler Modern); Luis Gispert (Rhona Hoffman Gallery); Hu Qingyan (Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing-Lucerne); Claire Fontaine (Metro Pictures); Man Ray (Francis M. Naumann Fine Art); Damir Oč o (Yvon Lam ert); race min (Lehmann Ma pin); ean c ll (Galerie Lelong); Mel Kendrick (David Nolan Gallery); Martin Barré (Galerie Nathalie Obadia); Danilo Dueñas (Galerie Thomas Schulte); and Sam Francis (Van Doren Waxter). It also featured two thematic shows: ‘From Dusk Till Dawn’ at Kicken Berlin and ‘AiR (Krinzinger Artist in Residence)’ at Galerie Krinzinger.

Positions offered a tight selection of 16 galleries from 12 countries, each providing an opportunity to discover the work of an individual emerging artist. Presentations included: Dove Allouche (Gaudel de Stampa), Nicolás Consuegra (La Central), Lourival Cuquinha (Baró Galeria), Ulrik Heltoft (Andersen`s Contemporary), Tom Holmes (Bureau), Nadira Husain (PSM), Juan López (Nogueras Blanchard), Mathieu Malouf (Real Fine Arts), Jorge Pedro Nuñez (Galerie Crèvecoeur), Seung Yul Oh (One and J. Gallery), Vijai Patchineelam (Ignacio Liprandi Arte Contemporáneo), Laercio Redondo (Silvia Cintra + Box4), Stefanos Tsivopoulos (Kalfayan Galleries), Gabriel Acevedo Velarde (Arratia Beer), Oriol Vilanova (Parra & Romero), and Wang Yuyang (Tang Contemporary Art). Widely judged to feature the best presentations yet, this ear’s edition o Nova featured 34 galleries, many with works fresh from the studio. Limited to work made in the last three years, the sector was the site of exhibitions by David Ostrowski (Peres Projects); Jose Dávila (Max Wigram Gallery); John Finneran and Alisa Baremboym (47 Canal); Plamen Dejanoff and Lisa Holzer (Galerie Emanuel Layr); Shannon Ebner and Chris Johanson (Altman Siegel); José Antonio Suárez, Londoño, and Johanna Calle (Casas Riegner); Matt Connors and Bernard Piffaretti (Cherry and Martin); Nicole Eisenman and Tony Matelli (Leo Koenig); Mariana Mauricio, Mauro, Piva, and Sandra Gamarra (Galeria Leme); Daniel Jacoby and Nestor Sanmiguel Diest (Maisterravalbuena); Susan Collis, Ellen Harvey, and Evariste Richer (Meessen De Clercq); Oscar Muñoz, Julieta Aranda, and Voluspa Jarpa (Galerie mor.charpentier); Meric Algün Ringborg, and Erdem Tasdelen (NON); and many others. For the full list of galleries and artists, please visit artbasel.com/miami-beach/nova.

Following the long success of a dedicated sector for prints and limited-editioned works at Art Basel’s show in Switzerland, the debut Edition sector of the Miami Beach show featured Alan Cristea Gallery, Crown Point Press, gdm, Gemini G.E.L. LLC, Sabine Knust, Carolina Nitsch, Pace Prints, The Paragon Press, Polígrafa Obra Gràfica, Singapore Tyler Print Institute, Paul Stolper Gallery and Two Palms.
Public, the outdoor sculpture sector – produced in partnership with the Bass Museum of Art – was curated for the first time by Nicholas Baume, Director and Chief Curator of New York City’s Public Art Fund. Under the theme ‘Social Animals’, the exhibition featured over 30 large-scale sculptures and installations by 24 leading and emerging international artists, including Huma Bhabha, Mark di Suvero, Matias Faldbakken, Sam Falls, Tom Friedman, Jeppe Hein, Thomas Houseago, Alicja Kwade, Richard Long, Charlotte Posenenske, Pascale Marthine Tayou, Oscar Tuazon, and Maarten Vanden Eynde. Set within the cityscape of Miami Beach at Collins Park, this ear’s edition o P lic so ht to turn a grouping of separate works by multiple artists into a temporary community of its own, with works in conversation and in dialog with each other. Artworks by Carol Bove, Olaf Breuning, Aaron Curry, Michelle Lopez, Matthew Monahan, Scott Reeder, Santiago Roose, Ursula von Rydingsvard, Tony Tasset, Mungo Thomson, and Phil Wagner will continue to be present in Collins Park through March 2014 as part of ‘tc: temporary contemporary’, a new initiative in partnership with the Bass Museum of Art. The sector opened to the public on Wednesday night with performances by Olaf Breuning, David Colman, Kate Gilmore, Ryan McNamara, and Mungo Thomson. For more information, please visit: artbasel.com/miami-beach/public.

Curated for the third year by David Gryn of London’s Artprojx, the Film sector included over 70 film and video works by and about artists, drawn from the show’s participating galleries. Framed within eight distinct screening programs and screened over four nights, the program featured works by Nevin AladaÄŸ, Dara Birnbaum, Rineke Dijkstra, Leo Gabin, Joan Jonas, Oscar Muñoz, Rashaad Newsome, Cheng Ran, Yinka Shonibare MBE, Regina Silveira, Mickalene Thomas, and Kemang Wa Lehulere, and the international premiere of new works by Martin Creed and Kehinde Wiley. An estimated 1,000 visitors attended the free screenings in SoundScape Park on the 7,000-square-foot outdoor projection wall of the Frank Gehry designed New World Center. Selected by Zurich film connoisseur This Brunner, the feature film ‘Nan Goldin – I Remember Your Face’ (2013) by Sabine Lidl held its United States premiere, followed by a Q&A with the artist and the director. The evening offered a thoughtful and personal engagement with Nan Goldin, for an intimate audience of film and arts lovers. For more information, please visit: artbasel.com/miamibeach/film.

Bringing together leading artists, museum directors, collectors, and curators, Art Basel in Miami Beach’s daily talks program offered dynamic dialogs between prominent members of the international artworld. The morning Conversations program opened with the Premiere Artist Talk with the American artist Doug Aitken, whose ‘Station to Station’ project sent an art train across America this fall. Further sessions included ‘Public/Private: M se ms Go Glo al’ and ‘Artistic Practice he Artist as echnolo ist’, alon ith a continuation of the series ‘The Artist and the Gallerist’. The afternoon program Salon featured 20 shorter talks, ranging rom ‘Art Mar et vs Art Histor ’ and ‘Ban r pt Cities. ndan ered M se ms Learnin From the Case o the Detroit Instit te o Arts’ to ‘Be ond Post-Blac ’ and ‘Constr ctive Art Criticism in Latin America’. Featured artists in the panels included Abraham Cruzvillegas, Olafur Eliasson, Cécile B. Evans, Naomi Fisher, Mario Garcia Torres, Ellen Harvey, Camille Henrot, Brian Khek, Joseph Kosuth, Sharon Louden, Ry Rocklen, Gabriel Sierra, Frances Stark, Brian Tolle, Erika Verzutti, Allyson Vieira, Jim Drain, Amalia Ulman, and Robert Whitman. Conversations were presented in partnership with Absolut. High-quality videos of all Conversations and Salon talks are available at artbasel.com/miamibeach/talks. Once a ain Miami Beach’s leading museums and private collections timed their strongest exhibitions of the year to coincide with Art Basel in Miami Beach. The Rubell Family Collection, Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation, the de la Cruz Collection Contemporary Art Space and the Margulies Collection at the Warehouse – opened their collections to international visitors, putting on museum-quality exhibitions timed to the show.

The Pérez Art Museum Miami opened its new Herzog & de Meuron building with exhibitions including ‘Ai Weiwei: According to What?’, and commissioned projects by Yael Bartana, Bouchra Khalili, Hew Locke and Monika Sosnowska. Additional significant museum shows across South Florida included: ‘Tracey Emin: Angel without You’ at the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami; ‘Piotr laÅ„s i esl’ at the Bass M se m o Art; ‘Phyllida Barlow: HOARD’ at the Norton Museum of Art; and ‘The Birth of Rome’ and ‘Rendering War: The Murals of A. G. Santagata’ at the Wolfsonian-FIU.

PRESS RELEASE:
Luxury Swiss watchmaker, Hublot, participated in this year’s Art Week Miami with famed Chicago-based artist, Hebru Brantley, known for his unique art style that draws from pop culture icons and themes from his childhood in the 1980’s. The artist is transformed Hublot’s Bal Harbour Boutique with a special art installation that was on display at the boutique from Tuesday, December 3 through Sunday, December 8.

During a private cocktail at the Bal Harbour Boutique on Friday, December 6, Brantley presented and donated an original work to Tracy and Alonzo Mourning to auction at a later date with proceeds benefitting Mourning Family Foundation. The reception featured champagne from Moet, passed hors d’oeuvres, art work from Brantley and several limited edition timepiece collections on display.
In conjunction with the art installation, the boutique unveiled and displayed for the first time in Miami, “Shawn Carter by Hublot” timepiece designed in collaboration with Jay Z. This timepiece collection is limited to 250 numbered pieces in black ceramic and 100 numbered pieces in 18k yellow gold, and both timepieces have a cutaway dial depicting the Shawn Carter logo. At last year’s Art Basel, Brantley made a huge splash and attracted the attention of several high-profile and celebrity art collectors, including a painting purchased by Jay-Z. Additional limited edition series’ displayed also included the Ferrari collection, the recently launched Big Bang Caviar “Lady 305” series and Big Bang UNICO timepieces.

Following the event at the boutique, select clients and guests of Hublot and Haute Living magazine, along with Hebru Brantley, were invited to a private dinner and after party on Star Island. The seated dinner, catered by celebrity chef, restaurateur and television personality, Todd English, included a live auction, a toast from Ricardo Guadalupe, CEO of Hublot, Rick De La Croix, representing Hublot in the Americas and Kamal Hotchandani, CEO with Haute Media Group.

The after party featured a special Dom Perignon Champagne and Caviar lounge with free-flowing champagne and a display of Hublot’s Big Bang Caviar timepieces, a display of Hublot’s Ferrari timepiece collection and music by DJs Trey Smith and Michelle Pooch.

The after party event was attended by many clients and friends of the brands, including: Stephen Dorff, Lenny Kravitz, Eva Longoria, Jared Leto, Tracy and Alonzo Mourning, Lenny and Lisa Hochstein, Jeremy Shockey, Kenny Burns, Lea Black, Domingo Zapata, Loren Ridinger, Serena Williams, Jill Zarin, Alicia and Mike Piazza and more!

Hebru Brantley has received significant praise and support from several A-list celebrity friends and entertainers. His art explores personal or cultural memories and depict a range of political and social issues with a focus on optimism and the possibilities of youth. Brantley has exhibited in San Francisco, Atlanta, Miami, Seattle, Los Angeles, New York and solo shows in Chicago. He was the winner of the Redbull Curates Chicago contest, created the Lollapalooza poster for the 25th anniversary of the festival in 2011 and has been commissioned by Skyy Vodka, Nike and Tyra Banks.

Last month Hublot opened its 10th boutique in the United States in the Houston market with a ribbon cutting ceremony and appearance by Scuderia Ferrari pilot, Felipe Massa. The luxury brand also celebrated its two-year partnership with Ferrari and launched a special edition Big Bang Caviar “Lady 305” timepiece series in Miami.

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A Sweet Taste Of Things To Come at Metropolitan By Como, Miami Beach

PRESS RELEASE
Master Chocolatier and Pastry Extraordinaire, Chef Emanuel Alves, provides a sneak peak of his delightful dessert temptations being selected for the menu at the highly anticipated new luxury boutique hotel in Miami Beach

The world class French-Portuguese born Pastry Chef Emanuel Alves, graces the kitchen at Parrot Cay – the private island destination by COMO Hotels and Resorts on the Turks and Caicos Islands – as if he was anywhere in the world. Becoming one of today’s youngest pioneers on the dessert counter has earned him the adoption by one of the most prestigious hotel brands in the world.

The clientele at the award-winning sanctuary where Chef Emanuel resides aren’t your usual travelers or everyday vacationers. They’re the most worldly, experienced and discerning voyagers whose expectations can only be exceeded by a hospitality group worthy of being awarded a total of 3 Michelin Stars and the title of Best Hotel in The Americas by Conde Nast for its signature brand of private island retreat. That is why one of Europe’s most talented dessert sculptors has been flown-in to the Caribbean especially to carve out his decadent creations for this special group of island residents that often includes Hollywood royalty.

Chef Emanuel’s skilled proficiency in the innovation of cream and chocolate artistry has earned him the title of COMO’s Master Chocolatier, and he is now known for being the company’s leading pastry chef. His creativity and flawless attention to detail gives him a superior edge when producing his diverse portfolio of desserts. Alves became a specialist in macaroons after perfecting the technique in Spain with the French Chef Nicolás Serrano, at the “Ecole du Grand Chocolat Valrhona”, under the direction of Frederic Bau. However, his talents are wide reaching and span the entire periodic table of gelatin based fare. Some of the few, but most popular specialties by Chef Emanuel include: Milles Feuilles of Chocolate and Mascarpone Cheese with fresh berries; French toast with atomized fruit and Crème Brûlée ice cream; Blackberry Tart and roasted spicy pineapple with Passion Fruit ice cream; Opera Bricks with confit pears and nutmeg ice cream; Parsley macaroons and pepper Chocolate truffles, and signature delicacies such as the “Buche de Nöel Glacée,” “Opera Cake,” “Petits Fours,” “Sybarite Verrine,” and one of his most popular trophy plates for an end-of-meal table conversation, the delectable “Moon Rocks.” Chef Emanuel formulates a distinguished composite of Dessert DNA within his own secret recipes that keep patrons guessing while craving for more of the addiction his sweets provide. Chef Emanuel creates a fusion of flavors that collide when unleashed and his versatile use of cream, chocolate, fruits and berries bring a complexity to the palate that very few dessert connoisseurs have experienced.

Alves started his profession after acquiring his “Certificate d’Aptitude Professionnelle” (CAP) in pastry art, as a Chocolatier Confiseur Glacier, at the European culinary school, CEPROC. Following his studies as a pastry chef and dessert artiste, his first professional steps in the corporate world began in Paris at the five-star Hotel Concord Lafayette, within the creperie “Chez Imogene,” one of the most respected in Paris. Years later, he returned to Spain and worked at the luxury pastry house known as “Vait” in Madrid, prior to a period at one of the country’s best French pastry restaurants, “Moulin Chocolat.”

In 2009, Alves joined the five-star luxury Hotel Villa Magna in Madrid, as a pastry chef, and with his experienced skill set in classic pastries, he became one of the industry’s best. In January of 2013, Alves continued his career after being head-hunted by the award-winning hospitality group, COMO Hotels and Resorts, for a position as head pastry chef at the celebrated Ametsa with Arzak Instruction – a recently awarded one Michelin Star restaurant within The Halkin hotel in London’s Belgravia. Alves is currently the resident pastry chef at the award-winning Parrot Cay by COMO private island resort in the Turks and Caicos.

“For me, the art of pastry is to mix the components, so that the quality, colors and textures of the prime ingredients allow the flavors to emerge,” says Alves. “Each element in the process must have its own role, whereby a simple macaroon or truffle becomes a complete experience. The pleasures in life come in small bites and a dessert should allow the consumer to recognize that when a flavor melts in the mouth, they are passionately discovering new interpretations of the traditional technique in French pastry. The presentation and taste must be in harmony for a dessert to become an object of desire.”

Most of the creations by Chef Emanuel have become a staple on the dessert menu by COMO Hotels and Resorts in its properties worldwide, and guests will be able to experience his art form on the menu at The Traymore restaurant inside the new Metropolitan by COMO, Miami Beach from December this year.

Toys for Boys Exclusive Preview

PRESS RELEASE

TOYS for BOYS – Miami’s newest luxury boutique and private collection for today’s high net worth individual – gave Miami’s elite clientele a sneak peak of its most extravagant one-of-a-kind artifacts, unveiled from behind closed doors, during the soft opening of its showroom on Friday, November 18th in Wynwood, Miami.

The newly formed company, considered to be the first of its kind in the region, gave Miami’s most influential and affluent audience an exclusive first look at its prestigious collection of art, automobiles and timepieces, while welcoming Linde Werdelin watches and its founder, Jorn Werdelin, to the TOYS for BOYS family during the official inauguration.

“We are pleased to finally be able to open our doors to the world and allow Miami to experience something quite unprecedented,” said the chairman and co-founder of TOYS for BOYS, Rafael Gill. “Over the last six months, we have consolidated our business networks and individual collectors from around the world, to bring the most exclusive and exquisite ensemble of items that have been curated under one roof for the first time. This presentation will continue to grow and we welcome Linde Werdelin watches as our partnering timepiece collection, offering a quintessential luxury brand that encapsulates our unique identity that we reserve for our most deserving clientele.”

Throughout the night, guests enjoyed Krug Champagne as they mingled among the Lamborghini Aventador Roadster, Ferrari F12 Berlinetta and a very rare Spyker Spyder sports car. Extraordinary photo art by Guy Le Baube was on display, together with Coca Cola and Pepsi paintings by surrealist, Claude Charlier, as part of the Pop World Project. Installations included work by Richard Orlinski and Liu Bolin. Linde Werdelin had its display cases full and individual timepieces were shown alongside the vehicles, including the Oktopus II Family; SpidoLite II Black/Gold; SpidoSpeed Rose Gold and the Linde Werdelin Tech Green. Additional items such as TF Tourbillon Cufflinks and Tourbillon Pen were also on display, adding to the diverse showroom portfolio presented by TOYS for BOYS.

Arriving on the red carpet throughout the evening were the Miami HEAT’s Juwan Howard, as well as Jorn Werdelin, Alexis Sarkissian, Roger Mason Jr., Tomas Regalado, John Temerian, Joe Alcantara, Jason Hardi and Pilar Tarrau. The hosts for the evening were TOYS for BOYS co-founders, Rafael Gill and Danilo Diazgranados.

photos credit ‘World Red Eye’

Even though children are reading more than ever and two of the most successful genres in modern publishing are Young Adult and Children’s books, Miami-Dade County officials are considering the closing of some libraries. If the Mayor and Commissioners do not want to raise property taxes, then they are looking at closing some libraries as way so save money and raise revenue. In a “worst-case scenario,” the government is looking to close 22 libraries that include: California Club, Opa-locka, Golden Glades, Civic Center Kiosk, Lemon City, Little River, Model City, Culmer, North Shore, Shenandoah, South Shore, Fairlawn, Virrick Park, Country Walk, Concord, Sunset, Lakes of the Meadows, Tamiami, West Kendall Regional, Doral, Hialeah Gardens and Palm Springs North.
This is a problem. Nearly half of Miami-Dade County 3rd graders fail to read at the basic grade level. A new communitywide campaign aims to change that daunting reality. Children not reading well by 3rd grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school.

That is why many institutions in Miami-Dade County have launched initiatives to encourage reading in young children and their parents. The Children’s Trust and The Center for Literature and Theatre @ Miami Dade College are partnering to launch Read To Learn Books For Free to inspire a love for reading in communities where children have little access to books. This is part of a larger Read to Learn campaign with the goal of having all children in Miami-Dade County reading at or above grade level by third grade.

Read to Learn Books for Free will make books more accessible to children through strategically placed bookshelves filled with new and gently used age-appropriate books in highly visited locations – such as government agencies, low-income housing sites, and health clinics, just to name a few. Parents and children will be encouraged to take one book home from the shelves to read together. So far shelves have been placed at the Borinquen Medical Center Pediatric Unit, Cutler manor Apartments, Goulds Community Service Center, Joseph Caleb Community Service Center, KidsTown Pediatrics Legion Park Perrine Community Service Center, Wynwood Community Service Center, Miami Children’s Initiative Community Center, Jessie Trice Center for Community Center, North Miami Gardens Community Service Center, Catalyst Miami Open Door Health Center, Lotus House, Little Haiti Cultural Center, Glen Meadows Campbell Arms Apartment, Family Court Service.

Book drives will be held all year-round to keep shelves fully stocked at all times with the cooperation of corporate sponsors. The first 5,000 books were donated by Disney through First Book. Donations bins are located at the South Florida Business Journal, Sapient Corp, ZGS Digital, Bello Martinez & Ramirez PA, Toyota of Homestead and the ArtCenter South Florida.

The Miami Foundation sets official date for Give Miami Day 2013
November 20, 2013
givemiamiday.org

Second annual online philanthropy event to build on 2012’s extraordinary success

In a social-network publicized announcement on givemiamiday.org, The Miami Foundation revealed November 20, 2013, as the official date for Give Miami Day 2013. Last year, Give Miami Day made history as the most active day of philanthropic giving in South Florida. The unique, online giving event provides everyone in the community an opportunity to build a greater Miami through philanthropy. During the 24-hour period between midnight November 20 and midnight November 21, individuals may view online profiles of more than 300 nonprofit organizations serving Miami-Dade County, and make a charitable gift at givemiamiday.org.

“The inaugural Give Miami Day was a demonstration of Miami’s charitable spirit,” said Javier Alberto Soto, president and CEO of The Miami Foundation. “On December 12, 2012, almost 5,000 donors gave more than $1.2 million to 300 organizations building a greater community. Miamians united in their support of a better community for all, investing in our youth, health care, social services and the arts.”

The Miami Foundation will maximize the community’s generosity by matching a percentage of every donation between $25 and $10,000 received on November 20 through givemiamiday.org. Donors can search and give to organizations doing the work they believe is best for Miami-Dade, which makes it easy to support the causes most important to them.

“The Miami Foundation,” continued Soto, “together with a thriving and engaged community, will reignite the new, philanthropic Miami to make Give Miami Day 2013 another milestone for our city.”

To participate in Give Miami Day, nonprofit organizations must serve Miami-Dade County and create a free profile on givemiamiday.org. The profile will allow existing and potential donors the opportunity to see the mission, work and impact of each organization. For more information, please visit miamifoundation.org/givemiamiday.

Established in 1967, The Miami Foundation has helped hundreds of people create personal, permanent and powerful legacies by establishing custom, charitable Funds. With foundation expertise, Fundholders have fostered the arts, awarded scholarships, championed diversity, taught kids to read, provided food and shelter for the hungry and homeless, and more. More than $150 million in grants and scholarships has been awarded in the Foundation’s 45-year history. Today, the Foundation is steward to more than $160 million in charitable assets. For more information about The Miami Foundation, visit miamifoundation.org.

10 Reasons To Apply For Red Bull Flugtag Miami

Red Bull Flugtag Miami is returning to Bayfront Park on September 21, 2013.

This year, for the first time in history, it’s five cities on one day across the nation.

Applications are being taken until June 1, and fans can apply to fly at http://redbullflugtagusa.com

Here are 10 great reasons to apply to participate.
(Please note, we take no credit for these, totally supplied by RedBull, but funny as heck.)
Follow @redbullMIAMI #flugtag for more!

1. Another excuse to bring out your boat to Biscayne Bay.

2. Your second chance this year to dress like this at Bayfront Park.

3. It’s safer than driving in Miami.

4. You can make a quick escape from the Miami Zombie.

5. You’ll have the chance to fly like The Birdman.

6. It’s a perfect opportunity for you to get your 15 seconds.

7. Fly without a TSA rub down.

8. Even in full costume, you’ll look more natural than the Real Housewives of Miami.

9. It will be easier to get into than LIV.

10. You’ll get to rep 305 harder than Pitbull.

Gloria Estefan joins The National Trust and Friends of Miami Marine Stadium to Restore Miami Marine Stadium

Estefan will serve as “Voice of Miami Marine Stadium” as Miami City Commission considers approval of a new site plan for the stadium

Washington (May 8, 2013) – The National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Friends of Miami Marine Stadium are pleased to announce that international superstar and Miami’s own Gloria Estefan, a seven time Grammy-winning artist and leading Miami businesswoman, will take a prominent role in the ongoing advocacy campaign to restore the iconic stadium as a centerpiece of cultural life in Miami. Estefan, a Trustee of the National Trust since 2012, will serve as the voice of efforts to preserve Miami Marine Stadium at a time when the Miami City Commission is weighing approval of a new site plan for the stadium.

Estefan will lend her support to the National Trust and Friends of Miami Marine Stadium’s ongoing campaign to preserve the stadium by appearing in public service announcements, sharing information about the campaign with her followers on social media, and appearing in print and video materials supporting the structure’s restoration. On April 24, Estefan participated in a photo shoot at the stadium with influential Miami artist/photographer Carlos Betancourt, whose work will grace the campaign.

“Miami Marine Stadium is a beautiful, one-of-a-kind place, and I am thrilled to be able to join the National Trust and the Friends of Miami Marine Stadium to help restore it to its former glory,” Estefan said. “As someone who once had the honor of performing at the stadium, I can attest to the fact that it is a completely unique place, and I know thousands of Miami residents feel the same kind of personal connection to the stadium.”

“The stadium reflects the diversity of South Florida. It was designed by a young Cuban-American architect, and has played host to artists from Jimmy Buffett to Sammy Davis Jr., as well as boat shows and many other events. We look forward to the day when this spectacular place is once again a thriving center of cultural life for people in South Florida.”

The campaign to preserve Miami Marine Stadium faces a critical milestone this spring, when the Miami City Commission will vote on a comprehensive site plan allowing the Friends of Miami Marine Stadium to continue their restoration efforts. Two of the five city commissioners have already voiced their support for the reuse plan. Members of the public can urge the City Commission to support the stadium’s site plan by visiting the National Trust’s website at http://bit.ly/miamimarine

The National Trust for Historic Preservation named Miami Marine Stadium one of America’s National Treasures in 2012. National Treasures are endangered places of national significance where the National Trust is committed to a long-term effort to preserve a place and shepherd its return to active use. The Friends of Miami Marine Stadium, an all-volunteer group, has been working to save the one-of-a-kind structure since 2008. The stadium was also named one of the National Trust’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in America in 2009, and was named to the World Monuments Fund Watch List in 2010.

In October, Miami Marine Stadium will be the focus of a special exhibit at the Coral Gables Museum. Titled Concrete Paradise: The Miami Marine Stadium, it will be the first-ever museum exhibit devoted exclusively to Miami Marine Stadium – past, present and future.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded nonprofit organization, works to save America’s historic places. www.PreservationNation.org

Friends of Miami Marine Stadium (FMMS), a not-for-profit organization, was founded in 2008 to save and restore the Miami Marine Stadium, which was built in 1963 and shuttered in 1992. FMMS’s plan not only will renovate the majestic, architecturally iconic structure, but also create a waterfront marine stadium park as a public space for concerts, triathlons, boat races, festivals, spectacles, and community events. FMMS’s plan will be topped by adding a state-of-the-art maritime center, which has already received a pledge of support from the Antique Boat Museum of Clayton, New York, to raise $7 million for a satellite maritime museum to be housed there. Despite more than 20 years of vandalism and neglect, the 6,500-seat stadium built of poured in-place concrete is structurally sound and is considered an engineering marvel now studied internationally. FMMS awaits final approval of their site plan from the Miami City Commission before fundraising efforts can begin. In-depth information can be found at www.marinestadium.org

LOOK OUT FOR AN EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT FROM SOUL OF MIAMI COMING SOON!

Photo credit: (c)Carlos Betancourt Inc.

PRESS RELEASE

The Miami Foundation set to award more than $1 million in 2013 Community Grants Program

– Pre-proposal applications now being accepted on miamifoundation.org–

2013 Community Grants program
DEADLINE FEBRUARY 7, 2013
In their signature program for awarding dollars to nonprofits, The Miami Foundation is now accepting applications for the 2013 Community Grants program. Established in 1967, the program invests in quality and innovative organizations that strive to build a greater Miami. The Foundation will review pre-proposals and invite selected organizations to complete full proposals. The deadline to submit a pre-proposal is Thursday, February 7, 2013, by 4 p.m. Last year, the Community Grants program awarded more than $1 million to support 62 nonprofits in Greater Miami.

“These grants are made possible by generous philanthropists in our community and allow us to address emerging needs throughout Miami,” said Javier Alberto Soto, president and CEO of The Miami Foundation. “From youth and homeless programs to the arts and social services, the causes supported are as diverse as Miami-Dade’s community. We invite all local nonprofits that share our vision for a better Miami to apply.”

2013 Safe Passage Grant Program
DEADLINE FEBRUARY 13, 2013
Pre-proposals for the 2013 Safe Passage grant program are also being accepted and are due by Wednesday, February 13, 2013, by 4 p.m. Safe Passage grants support nonprofits that help young people make the challenging transition from foster care to living independently. These grants, totaling $200,000, are made possible through the generosity of the DadeFund, an endowment established by Hugh Westbrook and Esther Colliflower in 1992.

Guidelines and pre-proposal applications can be found on The Miami Foundation’s website at miamifoundation.org in the “Community” section. For additional information, please contact Marianne Maduro, senior program officer, at 305-357-2087 or mmaduro@miamifoundation.org.

Knight Foundation Announces New Gifts Totaling $23 Million for Miami Arts

PRESS RELEASE
Support for established institutions and grassroots organizations brings Knight’s investment in South Florida cultural community to $86 million

MIAMI, Dec. 3, 2012—The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has announced $23 million in new funding for the arts in South Florida. The support brings Knight Foundation’s total investment in South Florida’s diverse and dynamic cultural community to $86 million in six years.

Knight’s initiative supports both established institutions and grassroots organizations as a way to engage South Floridians and weave culture into people’s everyday lives. It includes funding for key arts institutions, and for the continuation of the Knight Arts Challenge, a contest open to the entire South Florida community that for five years has allowed artists to experiment and innovate even through a weak economy.

“The arts not only inspire and challenge, they help create the shared experiences that connect people to one another and the places they live,” said Alberto Ibargüen, president of Knight Foundation. “The success of our earlier initiative in Miami has encouraged us to expand to Philadelphia and Detroit and, now, to take it to the next level in Miami.”

The Miami announcement follows a recent, $19.25 million Knight Foundation investment in the Detroit arts scene, backing the cultural initiatives that are helping shape the future of that city.

In South Florida, the investment includes:

Support for leading cultural institutions ($14 million). Funding will engage and inspire audiences in new ways:
Miami City Ballet ($5 million): In its 28 years, the ballet has earned a national reputation. New funding will help the ballet increase its outreach and add new works to its repertoire, including new commissions.
The Wolfsonian-FIU ($5 million): The museum holds one of the most important collections of art and design objects from the modern era. With this new funding, The Wolfsonian will develop dynamic programming to engage South Florida residents and build greater access to its online collection. 
Cleveland Orchestra ($2 million): The organization that has become Miami’s winter symphony expands its subscription season to four weekends of concerts and significantly increases its educational outreach programs to students.
Arts education ($1 million): Miami artists often begin their careers at one of two schools, the Design and Architecture High School and the New World School of the Arts. To expand the horizons of the next generation, new funding will send students on cultural field trips to New York City and Europe.
Borscht Film Festival ($500,000): The homegrown festival has put Miami into the national conversation on independent filmmaking, with works shown at 40 international film festivals. New support will help the festival expand its efforts and create more “only in Miami” stories.
Miami International Film Festival ($500,000): The festival helps make the city a destination for first-class cinematic creations. Knight Foundation will further the expansion of Ibero-American film through awards at this annual event.

Continuing the Knight Arts Challenge contest ($9 million) – Each year, the challenge asks everyone in South Florida for ideas to enhance the South Florida arts. The contest has just three rules: Projects must be about the arts; take place in or benefit South Florida and match Knight’s funding.

The best ideas receive Knight Foundation funds. Anyone can apply: the challenge purposefully seeks out nontraditional grantees. In fact, 6,601 ideas have been received over the past five years. More than half of these ideas came from individuals, businesses, and small organizations that don’t have 501(c)(3) non-profit status.

With Knight Foundation’s new commitment, the contest will offer funding to organizations of all sizes – from businesses to individual artists – through 2015.

Knight Foundation is extending the contest because of its success: A new, independent evaluation of Knight Foundation’s impact found that the challenge has helped fuel Miami’s cultural scene. In particular, the challenge has helped small projects with an entrepreneurial spirit take shape. For example:
A newly created art-book publishing house, [NAME] Publications, has sold books about Miami artists nationally.
An internationally recognized visual artist, Naomi Fisher, is hosting Weird Miami Bus Tours that take visitors to little-known local haunts.
The Borscht Film Festival’s shorts have been shown at SXSW in Austin (four short films in 2012 alone) and the Sundance Film Festival.
Additionally, prior funding has brought cutting-edge exhibitions to North Miami’s Museum of Contemporary Art, supported a new media program that includes the signature “Wallcasts” at the acclaimed New World Symphony campus, and will bring every Miami-Dade third grader annually to the soon-to-open Perez Art Museum Miami on the downtown waterfront.

“Miami’s creativity is limitless, Knight Foundation’s arts initiative and its Knight Arts Challenge have acted as its conduit – pulling the best ideas out of the city’s most creative thinkers, and helping them flourish. In a truly creative town like Miami, everybody should be able to participate, to dream and to ultimately see their passions through to reality,” said Dennis Scholl, Knight Foundation’s vice president for arts.

For more information about Knight Foundation’s arts program, visit KnightArts.org.

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. The foundation believes that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit knightfoundation.org.

On September 7 and 8, 2012, DWNTWN ArtDays was the first collective two day arts and culture event spanning Downtown Miami. This event included not only exhibitions, exclusive art tours, artists open studios, it also featured outdoor performances, a bike ride, a kickball match and last but definitely not least a dedicated arts and culture trolley for easy access to all of our arts and culture venues.

Official video produced by the Miami DDA
[tubepress video=”pE2R8g1YZo4″]

Capponi Group to Help Miami Rescue Mission in Time for Holidays

As the Miami Rescue Mission gears up to feed thousands during the Thanksgiving holiday, Michael Capponi, Chairman of Capponi Construction Group, LLC, and Miami Rescue Mission announced on Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012, its recent partnership for the expansion of the Men’s Center Annex. Notables in attendance at the press conference included:  Capponi Construction Group President and CEO Kenneth J. Gross; Miami Beach Vice Mayor Michael Gongora, General Sales Manager of Clear Channel Communications Gary Reyes; Miami Rescue Mission’s President Ron Brummitt, Development Director Marilyn Brummitt, and Board Director Carlos Acosta.
 
Capponi Construction Group will increase capacity by adding 78 beds and complete the expansion of the Miami-based homeless shelter, giving the new building at 2031 NW 1 Ct. an avant-garde look and feel. Kobi Karp Architecture and Interior Design, Inc. is the project’s architect and design firm.
 
South Florida-based entrepreneur and philanthropist Michael Capponi has a long history of leading humanitarian initiatives, focusing his efforts on supporting Miami Rescue Mission’s aim to feed, house and provide services to the local homeless community. In 2008, proceeds from Capponi’s birthday fundraiser benefitted the Miami Rescue Mission, and other non-profit organizations. The following year, Capponi contributed a new health clinic for the homeless, sponsored the Great Thanksgiving Day Banquet, and donated a vehicle named Hope Mobile to the Miami Rescue Mission, for which he serves as an Advisory Board member. Capponi is Chairman of Capponi Group Corp., an assemblage of companies that specialize in the construction, entertainment and nightlife industries, as well as the revitalization of Haiti. Founder of the Haiti Empowerment Mission (www.haitiempowermentmission.org), Capponi has been a driving force in rebuilding Haiti through direct aid to its residents.
 
The Center for Men at Miami Rescue Mission offers a comprehensive, eight to fourteen month residential program for men who suffer from the deeply challenging problems of chronic homelessness; most often caused by chemical abuse or addiction, medical and mental issues, illiteracy, or lack of adequate job skills.

About Capponi Construction Group, LLC
In 2010, Michael Capponi partnered with President and CEO Kenneth J. Gross, former Senior Project Executive of the WCI Tower Division, Strategic Operations Partner and Board Member Todd C. Pennington, former Executive Vice-President of Bovis Lend Lease, and Executive Vice President of Construction Robert Wrieden, former Vice-President of the WCI Residential Division, to create Capponi Construction Group LLC, a Florida licensed general contractor (CGC045327). Together they have a combined total of over 90 years of industry experience and have built properties valued over $23 billion dollars in South Florida. Capponi Construction Group’s professionals average over 20 years in the industry and all have the hands-on experience necessary to successfully meet the challenges inherent in constructing multiple building types, including new construction and renovation of significant private residences, estates, high-end commercial projects, historic rehabilitation and construction of new hotels, condominiums and shopping centers.  Since 2010, Capponi Construction Group, LLC, has completed multiple building types, including new construction, renovations and the historic rehabilitation of private residences, estates, condominiums, high-end commercial projects, shopping centers and hotels. For more information on Capponi Construction Group, LLC, please contact (305) 695-4410 or visit www.capponiconstruction.com.
 
About Miami Rescue Mission
Miami Rescue Mission, Inc. (MRM) is a charitable faith-based organization providing spiritual, physical, and social services to the poor and needy; including homeless men, women, and children since 1922. As a faith-based organization, we operate with Christian and charitable values and provide our services to all without regard to race, faith, age or gender. The Mission also operates its Broward Outreach Centers in Hollywood and Pompano Beach. www.miamirescuemission.com.

PRESS RELEASE:

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Sunset Harbour Shops and Garage Opening on Tuesday, October 16th, 2012

Miami Beach Real Estate Developer Scott Robins, partner Philip Levine and Miami Beach Mayor; Matti Herrera Bower, The Miami Beach City Commission & Interim City Manager; Kathie G. Brooks announced the opening of SUNSET HARBOUR SHOPS & GARAGE in Miami Beach with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday morning.

This beautiful retail & garage development represents a public/private partnership between the Robins Group and the City of Miami Beach. Designed by world renowned Architectonica, the project is located at 1900 Bay Road (between 18th & 20th Street) in the very hip and trendy Sunset Harbour district of Miami Beach. Together with their other holdings in Sunset Harbour, The Robins Group has over 60,000 square feet of newly constructed retail and restaurant space.

Over 15 new establishments have either opened or will open in the coming months. They include Emack & Bolio’s Ice Cream, Eberjey Lingerie, Tequizlan Restaurant & Tequila Bar, Lucali Pizzeria from Brooklyn, Splendor Restaurant, Panther Coffee, Icebox Café, Sunset Clothing Co., Threadcount, True Loaf Artisanal Bakery, Jugo Fresh, Peace Love World, Blush, Footworks, and Frankie Boutique amongst others!

The 4 level city owned public garage located directly above the retail shops provides over 460 parking spots for guests with short term self-parking rates at just $1.00 per hour. A wide pedestrian breezeway connects Bay Road & Purdy Avenue, allowing people to easily circulate throughout the retail shops and restaurants. The garage serves the entire Sunset Harbour district with its vast array of neighborhood establishments as well as major destination businesses such as the newly constructed Fresh Market, Publix, and Office Depot.

About Scott Robins:
Scott Robins is the founder of Scott Robins Companies, Inc. and SRC Properties LLC, (“SRC”). Since 1988, Mr. Robins has grown his companies into a mid-size, vertically-integrated real estate development firm, specializing in development, construction, leasing and management of commercial property. Most of the property Mr. Robins owns and manages is located in the famous Art Deco District of Miami Beach (“South Beach”) and Downtown Miami. His properties consist of office, retail and residential space in prime locations and represent some of the most noteworthy real estate in the area. His professional accomplishments have been awarded with Certificates of Appreciation Public Service Awards by the City of Miami Beach; Historical Revitalization Award by the Miami Design Preservation League; Award for Excellence in Architecture for a Contractor by the American Institute of Architecture; and Award for Public Service from The Women of Tomorrow.

About Arquitectonica:
Arquitectonica is an internationally recognized architectural firm headquartered in Miami, FL. The firm’s work has been featured in nearly 3,000 national and international publications such as Time, Newsweek, Life, Fortune and Business Week, as well as numerous professional journals such as Architectural Record, Progressive Architecture, Architectural Design, Domus, Global Architecture, L’Architecture D’aujourd’hui, Abitare and Häuser.
For additional information please visit: http://sunsetharbourshops.com

Miami, Florida-September 20, 2012. Taste of Peru 2012 unquestionably the most important Gastronomic Festival in the United States launches its 3rd Annual Gastronomic Festival. TASTE OF PERU 2012 has been recognized as one of the most important culinary demonstrations of the United States and its organized every year by the Peruvian American Chamber of Commerce of South Florida (PACCSF). This unique event will be held from 9th thru 11th of November at the world renowned Miami Airport Convention Center (MACC).

The Peruvian American Chamber of Commerce of South Florida’s prime objective is to promote in Miami (So. Florida), Peru’s cuisine, tourism, trade opportunities and culture. This Event is co-sponsored by the Consulate of Peru in Miami, Marca Perú, Sierra Exportadora, Taca Airlines, Cristal – Cuzquena and Goya Foods among other prestigious organizations.

Peru’s Ambassador to Washington Harold Forsyth, “Padrino of Taste of Peru 2012” will cut the ribbon at the Grand Opening Ceremony. “I’m deeply humbled to have received this honor bestowed on me by the Peruvian American Chamber of Commerce of South Florida”. “We certainly encourage and support any initiative to promote the commercialization of our Peruvian products and of course the culinary art of Peru” proudly commented Peru’s Ambassador to Washington DC, Hon. Harold Forsyth.

Taste of Peru 2012 will feature local restaurants from Peru to delight our palates with the best of Peruvian cuisine. Local area restaurants from like El Chalan, Chalan on the Beach, Aromas del Peru, Divino Ceviche, Goyo Pollo, Mixtura, Pisco O, Pisco Viejo Tonel, Pisco Don Benedicto, among others will be the key exhibitors of Taste of Peru 2012.

Event venues will include culinary live demonstrations led by famous world renowned Chefs Bocchio, Benoit and Pesaque . there will be “ Pisco competitions”, an attraction that has captivated the attention of bartenders from all nationalities not only from Peru but the United States as well.

Taste of Peru 2012 theme this year will focus on promoting different regions of Peru. The Loreto Region being one of those, has confirmed their participation this year in an effort to promote fruits and vegetables from their region.
“Perú continues to augment its culinary talent thus attracting top quality international attention to their culinary achievements and innovations,” said Maricarmen Sega, PACCSF President. “This is the ideal momento to further contribute to the food chain represented by farmers, exporters, chefs and restaurants of our country”, concluded Ms. Sega.

For more information, please contact the Ms. Melvi Dávila at 786-333-8371 or email info@tasteofperuusa.com

Miami Attractions Month Offers Buy One, Get One Free Admissions and Special Deals at Top Attractions
October 2012
www.MiamiAttractionsMonth.com

The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) proudly announces the Fourth Annual Miami Attractions Month, set to take place from October 1 – 31, 2012, in which a record-breaking  19 top attractions in Greater Miami will offer buy one, get one free admissions and other special deals.

Now in its 4th year and part of the GMCVB’s Miami Temptations line-up, which offers year-round monthly promotions such as Miami Spa Month (July – August) and Miami Spice (August – September), Miami Attractions will feature one-of-a-kind experiences that can only be found in the destination. Via these amazing discounts, locals and visitors of all ages, will double their fun and have an opportunity to visit historic homes, take a thrilling speedboat ride, perch a parrot on their shoulder, swim with friendly marine life, or tour the southernmost winery in the United States, just to name a few of the many activities offered at Miami’s amazing attractions. 

“In October the weather is cooler and perfect for outdoor activities,” says William D. Talbert III, CDME, President and CEO of the GMCVB. “Miami Attractions Month gives everyone, especially families an opportunity to explore and re-experience local attractions at a fraction of the cost.”

Participant’s confirmed to-date in the Miami Attractions Month program include the Ancient Spanish Monastery, Coral Castle, Deering Estate at Cutler, Dolphin Harbor at Miami Seaquarium, Everglades Alligator Farm, Fruit & Spice Park, History Miami, Island Queen Cruises, Jungle Island, Miami Children’s Museum, Miami-Dade Parks EcoAdventures, Miami Science Museum, Miami Seaquarium, Monkey Jungle, Schnebly Redland’s Winery, Sea Trek Reef Encounter at Miami Seaquarium, Thriller Miami Speedboat, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, and Zoo Miami.

The Children’s Trust 2012 After-School Programs Guide Available Online and at Winn-Dixie Stores in Miami-Dade County

Direct link to After-School Programs Guide PDF

The Children’s Trust 2012 After-School Programs Guide, offering parents and caregivers free information they need to locate and enriching after-school program for their child, is available online at www.thechildrenstrust.org, and in all Miami-Dade Winn-Dixie stores. Look for them, while supplies last, in specially identified racks near the front of your local store or near the customer service desk. The same information can also be accessed by calling 211, The Children’s Trust Helpline.

The trilingual guide provides a comprehensive overview of available programs, whether or not they are funded by The Children’s Trust. After-school programs help working families by keeping children safe, while inspiring learning. While safety is always a priority, parents should select programs that meet and exceed expectations by providing homework help, enrichment activities and literacy support.

This year’s guide features numerous articles that will help parents select the right program for their child. These include: Selecting the Best After-School Program, Homework and School Help, Playing to Learn, Meet Me at the Library, How to Use the Listings, as well as the actual directory of programs.

Organized by geographic regions and zip codes, the guide’s list of programs includes addresses, contact information, fees, the ages of children served, and brief descriptions of hundreds of locations. The Children’s Trust-funded sites are clearly identified. Programs are operated by mostly non-profit and faith-based organizations, as well as city and county programs. Trust support allows many of these programs to serve families for free or low cost, but once those scholarships are utilized, regular fees may apply.

The Children’s Trust is the largest funder of summer, after-school, and youth development programs in Miami-Dade County, serving more than 50,000 children annually, including programs that serve children with disabilities.

The Children’s Trust is a dedicated source of revenue established by voter referendum to improve the lives of children and families in Miami-Dade County.

Freedom is Blogging in Your Underwear in stores TODAY!

This information is supplied via the Beacon Council:

The Beacon Council releases video of Miami Marlins President
The Beacon Council frequently invites business and community leaders to speak to our members as part of our ACCESS series breakfasts. On March 6, Miami Marlins President David Samson was our guest.

More than 50 people attended, including Channel 10 reporter Todd Tongen and his cameraman, Miami Today reporter Scott Blake and his photographer, and a Channel 7 cameraman. Samson spoke candidly about the issues surrounding the new stadium deal. He did not read a prepared speech and came across forthright. We heard positive feedback from the audience.

What happened next is for a university journalism school to review. One or more misquotes in Miami Today made the story run like wildfire through national media outlets. Channel 10 reporter Will Manso released a clip to set the record straight. The rest of the media wanted the video and apparently could not use it from their “competitor.”

Our hired videographer gave it to us March 8 and we had the press come in to make copies because the 51-minutes-long 20-gigabytes video was too large to post on standard sites, such as YouTube or our website. One by one the press produced their own stories. Thankfully, Vimeo has the capacity to post and share.

Watch the entire video:

Beacon Council Mission: Create jobs for Miami-Dade County residents by helping businesses locate and expand here. We want families and residents in Miami-Dade County to prosper. Help us help others. Will you join us? Call Member-Investors at 305.579.1326

Miami Escapes Luxury Travel
Top Hotels, Restaurants, Activities
Miami and the Beaches

Miami ESCAPES is the vanguard of unforgettable experiences for the visitor to South Florida. The featured luxurious accommodations, fine restaurants, activities, and retailers are recommended for providing superb services for discerning travelers. Explore and book your hotel, reserve your dinner plans, or plan your next adventure knowing that each of the establishments are amongst the finest in Miami. Reserve online or call us at (281) 8-MIAMI / (281) 846-4264.

Book your travel at www.MiamiEscapes.com

Knight Arts Challenge- Submit your best idea!

Such projects now have a home here in town because of the Knight Arts Challenge:
New World Symphony’s Sound and Sight Video series. Sleepless Night Miami Beach. Miami Lighthouse for the Blind. Bass Museum’s TC Temporary Contemporary public art project. AIRIE Encountering art in the Everglades. Miami-Dade County Public Schools Cultural Passport. Little Haiti Cultural Center’s Haitian Heritage Art Project. Florida Grand Opera in unexpected places. Dawntown Architecture Contest. Playground Theatre’s world premiere production of “The Red Thread.” Cuban Museum’s Sweet Home Museo Cubano. Rhythm Foundation’s Big Night in Little Haiti. Karen Peterson’s Inclusive Dance for MDPS students. DDA’s Downtown Miami Concert Series Summer Shows at the Gusman. Noches Tropicales/Tropical Nights free music and dance concerts in Miami Dade Parks. Free Gospel Sundays at the Arsht, Borscht Film Festival. O Cinema, Miami International Film Festival. South Florida Composers Alliance’s The Listening Gallery. Cleveland Orchestra and Miami City Ballet together. Bas Fisher Invitational’s Weird Miami Bus Tours. Seraphic Fire’s Miami Choral project. Peter London Global Dance Theater. City Theatre’s CityWrights training mentorship project. Hannah Kahn Poetry Foundation. Commissioned site-specific contemporary art works at Vizcaya….and so many more.

And all it took was a good idea!

Knight Arts Challenge Contest Opens For Applications
 
Bginning Feb. 21, South Floridians can begin applying for a share of millions in funding through the fourth annual Knight Arts Challenge. The community-wide contest to find the best ideas for the arts in South Florida is sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Applications will be accepted between Feb. 21 and March 19, 2012 at KnightArts.org.

There are only three rules for applying: The idea is about the arts; the project takes place in or benefits South Florida; and applicants must find other funding to match the Knight Foundation grant.

Individuals, nonprofits and for profit organizations are eligible to apply.
In just four years, Knight Foundation has invested close to $19 million in projects for the Challenge, which aims to bring South Florida together through the arts. Local arts supporters are doubling that amount with matching funds.

In 2011, the winning ideas included expansion of the Hispanic Theatre Festival, the launching of free concerts downtown and in Miami-Dade Parks, expanding the Artist in Residence program in the Everglades, launching a new dance company and initiating a teen creative writing mentorship project, among other creative endeavors that bring the arts into people’s everyday lives.

“This contest is about innovative ideas, artistic excellence and inspiring our community. The best projects will help weave culture into the everyday fabric of this region.  We want to hear from everyone with a great idea,” said Dennis Scholl, VP Arts/ for Knight Foundation, who leads the initiative.  

Have an idea? Visit www.KnightArts.org through March 2. The two-question application is designed to be simple to attract applicants who aren’t traditional grant seekers.

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation advances journalism in the digital age and invests in the vitality of communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Knight Foundation focuses on projects that promote informed and engaged communities and lead to transformational change. For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org.

The contest is part of Knight Foundation’s five-year, $40 million Knight Arts initiative, to help bring the S.. FLA community together through the arts. Over the past four years, the Knight Foundation has invested almost $19 million in this community based contest.

Jeronimo Hirschfeld, visionary businessman and developer, has officially opened Jeronimo’s Bar, a much needed neighborhood bar/lounge that promises to bring a breath of fresh air to the South Beach nightlife scene. Located in the more sophisticated South of Fifth neighborhood of Miami Beach, Jeronimo’s Bar sets out to distinguish itself as the alternative to the loud and boisterous club options currently permeating the area.

Occupying approximately 2,400 square-feet, Jeronimo’s Bar is located in the South of Fifth (SoFi) neighborhood of South Beach at 814 First Street, Miami Beach, FL 33139.
For more information call 305.397.8382 or visit www.jeronimosbar.com.

Discouraged by the lack of diversity in the scene, Jeronimo’s Bar was inspired by Hirschfeld’s desire to create an environment that was warm, inviting and the antithesis of other South Beach destinations. Unlike other venues in the vicinity, Jeronimo’s Bar is a place to bring friends for quality conversation and savory drinks. Modern, minimalist décor and industrial overtones come together to produce a space that is both intimate and welcoming. The maple wood tables and lounge seating play upon classic bar elements while louver wood panels and exposed brick line the walls to generate an open and roomy finish.

“I have lived in the area for several years and recognized a void for a good neighborhood bar that offers a full premium bar and is opened late,” says Hirschfeld. “I found this great location and thought this is the ideal space to create a contemporary and inviting lounge with great cocktails and music for locals in the area. I wanted to create a place where I would want to come and hang-out with my friends.”

Jeronimo’s Bar’s octopus logo is a testament to Hirschfeld’s entrepreneurial spirit, signifying his many interests and business ventures. The symbol also pays homage to the bar’s playful tagline, “Once you’re here…you’ll never leave.” The logo includes a radio tower as well because Jeronimo’s Bar is located behind a local radio station. Subtle branding is frequent throughout the space; there are understated octopus patterns that reoccur across the venue and an original painting depicting an old world underwater diver is situated near the back of the bar. Patrons can enjoy a drink at the elongated custom-made bar, banquettes or lounge seating areas. There is also an old-fashioned popcorn maker at the bar, highlighting the venue’s carnivalesque spirit.

DJ Gunars, Eyal Agai from Pirate Stereo and DJ Ruen have created the music programming for the bar. The musical selections span across the board, offering something for everyone’s taste, incorporating old school hip-hop and funk, new wave and rock & roll.

The cocktail menu features several signature drinks, including: Jeronimo’s Punch: Zu Bison Grass Vodka, St-Germain, fresh squeezed lemon and mint topped with ginger ale; Octopus’ Garden: Death Door Gin, cucumbers, lime slices, sugar and mint; Azucar Morena: Johnny Walker Black, cream soda, brown sugar and lime; and Platino Fizz: Jose Cuervo Platino, crème de cassis and ginger beer. Jeronimo’s also offers a variety of red and white wines, as well as domestic and international beers.

This emerging neighborhood is quickly becoming a destination spot for both locals and tourists alike, offering patrons a refuge from the congestion north of Fifth Street. With its attention to detail, inviting ambiance and premium bar selection, Jeronimo’s Bar is certain to become a favorite among locals in the area, a home away from home. Jeronimo’s Bar is open seven days a week, Monday through Sunday, from 6pm to 4:30am. There is plenty of parking; patrons can choose to self-park or valet. Jeronimo’s Bar will be opening a second location in Brickell later this month.

Digest Miami is celebrating the holidays with the Digest Miami Holiday Survival Guide, composed of mouth watering holiday dishes from some of the city’s leading chefs. Specially created for the Holiday season, this extensive collection features recipes from twelve Chefs, many of whom are James Beard winners or nominees. Since the introduction of Digest Miami, it has garnered the interest of the best Chefs in South Florida and now allows you to step into the kitchen of some of our favorite restaurants.

The Survival guide is a comprehensive step-by-step resource for anyone wanting to create the perfect holiday meal, from appetizers like Chef Michael Shikany’s Foie Terrine, to main courses like Paula DaSilva’s Rack of Lamb and Peter Vauthy’s Standing Rib Roast. The menu also includes side dishes like Chef Paul Griffin’s Asparagus Al Forno, Chef Michelle Bernstein’s Patatas Bravas and Chef Dana Brizee’s Truffle Mac & Cheese. And to add a bit of decadence we’ve included desserts such as Chef Antonio Bachour’s Panna Cotta and Chef Miguel Aguilar’s Bread Pudding. Specialty cocktails from Morton’s Steakhouse and Wynwood Kitchen complete the menu.

Digest Miami is your visual guide to the best restaurants, chefs, and gastronomical experiences in South Florida. DigestMiami.com harnesses technology to provide an unbeatable user experience delivered by way of a multi platform-multimedia network.
The Company curates original high definition content and programming with a focus on the finest restaurants, the chefs and personalities that make up the South Florida dining experience.

For more information about DIGEST MIAMI, please visit www.digestmiami.com or contact Nick Betancourt, Nick.Betancourt@yahoo.com.

New Theatre Finds Home With The Roxy Theatre Group For Current Season

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, The Roxy Theatre Group (RTG) a non-profit youth arts organization is honored to welcome professional theater company, New Theatre to The Roxy Performing Arts Center (1645 SW 107th Ave. Miami, FL). This collaboration marks the first time in recent years, an educational performing arts program houses a resident theatre ensemble in Miami-Dade County. As education and the creative spirit of the arts are instrumental principles for both organizations, this effort shall strengthen Miami’s arts network.

New Theatre had to seek another venue, as the 100-seat locale where they commissioned and world premiered over fifty ground breaking productions, such as Nilo Cruz’s Pulitzer Prize winning play Anna In The Tropics (2003), since 2001 is to be demolished in January, 2012. Established in a renovated movie-house since 2002 and best known for their children’s performing arts programming, The Roxy Theatre Group is thrilled to provide New Theatre with a headquarters for the 2011-2012 season.

As part of the partnership, RTG’s advanced students will have the opportunity to audition and work backstage for New Theatre’s shows, enabling young performers to gain Actors’ Equity Association credentials, essential for theatre professionals. Artists from New Theatre will also provide theater workshops to RTG students. While this commences an extraordinary culmination, each organization will remain producing artistic endeavors separately.

“We wanted to help New Theatre, as soon as we became aware of the situation. After all the show must go on!,” said Jorgina Fernandez, Artistic Director & Co-Founder for The Roxy Theatre Group.

“We are incredibly appreciative of The Roxy Theatre Group opening their home to us! It completely makes sense that a top-notch performing arts youth program partner with an award-winning, nationally recognized theatre company. Our individual missions can only be strengthened by our co-existence!,” said Ricky J. Martinez, New Theatre’s Artistic Director. Founded in 1986, New Theatre is a multi-cultural theatre producing a season of Nouveau Classic works, blending classics and new works.

Please visit www.RoxyPac.com & www.new-theatre.org for The Roxy Theatre Group’s and New Theatre’s respective seasons. The Roxy Theatre Group offers classes in drama, voice and dance to children ages 3-17, with year-round programs including two after school care programs and a performing arts summer camp. For more information please call 305-226-0030, email Ana Andreu, Programs Director via Aandreu@roxypac.com.

Photo attached: 2910, jpg. Caption: New Theatre, Artistic Director, Ricky J. Martinez, Managing Director, Eileen Suarez, The Roxy Theatre Group, Theatre Arts Director, Charles A. Sothers and Artistic Director, Jorgina Fernandez, celebrate this extraordinary collaboration. Photo by: Nora Oñate.

Get The Green Light G*Spot Tour
www.gspotartproject.com

Ten Miami-based Artists, Grolsch European Lager and curator Claire Breukel team up to give you the “go ahead” you’ve been waiting for. Wilder than the look on your face is Get The Green Light, an exhibition of ten works that make up the G-spot Tour. Are you blushing? This ambitious exhibition removed as many parameters as possible commissioning the artists to make work with just one rule: make anything and make it anywhere you want. The result is ten site-responsive works in ten different locations, just in time for the 10thanniversary of Art Basel Miami Beach. The exhibition opens with a G-spot VIP invite-only reception on November 10, 2011 at Ricochet bar and lounge and is supported in full by Grolsch European Lager.

The G-spot Tour is a scavenger hunt of 10 interactive and site-responsive murals and installations by artists Edouard Duval Carrie, Susan Lee Chun, Kerry Phillips, Domingo Castillo, Kyle Trowbridge, Loriel Beltran, TM Sisters, Pachi Guistinian and Grolsch SwingArtist 2011 Jaie Hwang. The tour spans 10 locations throughout Downtown, Wynwood Art District and the Design District, and include venues such as Little Haiti Cultural Center, Grand Central, the Historic Alfred Du Pont building, Dorsch Gallery, Ricochet, LegalArt, The Stage, Electric Pickle, Grand Central as well as public space (full map available for download on www.gspotartproject.com)

Without the hindrances such as limitation of space and concept eliminated, Get The Green Light serves as an open interface between the public, public space and artwork ultimately opening the way into a new chapter of interactive art. The result is ten dynamic and challenging art installations that push the boundaries of interaction to a new and inspired level, not only in the physical space but online as well. Visitors are invited to “find their G-spot” favorite by voting for their winner and posting pictures of their favorite artwork online at www.gspotartproject.com.

At a time when art becomes about everyone else coming to Miami, Get The Green Light has chosen to highlight artists working in Miami. Not only this, artists that are making work outside of convention modes of exhibition.

Filmmakers Wet Heat project, as part of Wet Heat TV, are creating a short movie of the Tour featuring a local cast and will debut at the opening event on November 10 at Ricochet bar and lounge.

The G*spot bike-ride will be organized in collaboration with Beached Miami and will take you by all 10 art-installations which will end at The Stage (date tbd).

Get The Green Light is made possible with the support of Grolsch, the Historic Alfred Du Pont building, Wet Heat TV, Alan Roth, Paul Jacober and Associates, Claire Breukel, Tina Acevedo as well as the participating artists and venues.

Auditions For Specialty Music And Dance Groups
september 21, 2011, 10 am
by appointment only
Auditions by appointment – Sept. 21, 2011 (Orlando, FL)
Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Los Angeles based production company is now casting for specialty music and dance groups, acrobatic groups, freerunner troupes (parkour), performance artists, celebrity impersonators, solo vocalist, vocal groups, specialty bands, celebrity impersonators, close-up magicians, ventriloquists, clean comedians, original performances and acts of any kind (family friendly).

Please submit a current headshot, promotional material (if app), and resume via email (please include a valid phone number). If you qualify for consideration, you will receive a phone call within 48 hours of submission to schedule an appointment and all details will be given out at that time. Send to: Jonathan Piumelli auditions@themeparkshow.com

Thank you for your interest! Space is limited, so please make your submissions ASAP!! Performance dates are ongoing – We book talent for special events, theme parks (seasonal), and cruise ships (seasonal). Looking to expand list of acts currently offered.

Revolutionary Move as The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. Checks in to Foursquare and Travels with You

Travel the globe, check in to locations and landmarks in 25 countries, and you will find far more information than you were expecting from a luxury hotel operator as The Ritz-Carlton introduces the World Concierge on Foursquare. This is the first time a luxury hotel brand has extended their exclusive services to a mobile public audience. Tips will be populated regularly by concierges from all 75 Ritz-Carlton hotels around the world contributing, with the knowledge-base growing and evolving every week.

There is not a mention to be found about the soup of the day at a particular hotel; instead, the ladies and gentlemen of The Ritz-Carlton have taken their phenomenal knowledge and expertise beyond the four walls of the hotels in which they reside, providing insight into cities such as Toronto, Miami, Berlin and Dubai to name a few. The result: hundreds of tips and insights about local destinations and landmarks all over the world.

“Guests of The Ritz-Carlton have always enjoyed the expertise of concierges who are the best in the business. Their local knowledge, VIP access and incomparable contacts make them an invaluable resource for travelers”, said Chris Gabaldon, chief sales and marketing officer, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. Foursquare enables The Ritz-Carlton Concierge to travel with you. “It’s possible to access their destination knowledge instantly as you check in to multiple global landmarks,” added Gabaldon. “Foursquare users across the globe are invited to access knowledge and valuable tips just by following The Ritz-Carlton on Foursquare. For the first time ever, the collected local knowledge of The Ritz-Carlton is available in your pocket.”

Foursquare users are able to find local information by visiting the profile of The Ritz-Carlton or by checking in to numerous locations of interest around the world. To receive tips as they go live you can follow The Ritz-Carlton on Foursquare. To start exploring, visit www.foursquare.com/ritzcarlton. Alternatively, you can always connect with The Ritz-Carlton on Facebook and Twitter to see featured tips as they go live by visiting www.facebook.com/ritzcarlton and www.twitter.com/ritzcarlton.

Hotel Breakwater Reopens On Ocean Drive After Multi-Million-Dollar Renovation

Luxury boutique resort and Art Deco jewel celebrates the past and supercharges the future

Hotel Breakwater, the upscale oceanfront boutique resort on Miami Beach’s legendary Ocean Drive, has officially reopened its doors. On the heels of a multi-million-dollar renovation, the property will again capture the essence of the city’s glamorous lifestyle with its 100 sleek rooms and suites, chic lounges and “unfiltered” concierge services.

“Hotel Breakwater is much more than a chic destination,” said Regional Hotel Director Axel Gasser. “We aim to provide our guests with an unfiltered lifestyle experience that goes beyond anything tangible. Our concierges, or ‘magicians,’ as we like to call them, along with several other programs unique to the property, help us achieve our goal of making each individual’s wishes—no matter how big or small—come true. This is what we call our 100 Percent Wish Guarantee.”

Architecture & Design
An Art Deco property built in 1939 by Yugoslavian-born architect Anton Skislewicz, Hotel Breakwater most recently underwent several years of upgrades under the direction of designer Stephen B. Jacobs. Since its inception, Hotel Breakwater has been regarded as a glamorous South Beach destination catering to a hip, of-the-moment clientele. The hotel became legendary in the 1980s when it was immortalized in the popular Calvin Klein advertisement for Obsession perfume featuring supermodel Kate Moss and shot by Bruce Weber on the famed rooftop terrace.

In spite of a long series of renovations, the hotel’s décor has remained true to the classic Art Deco styling and color palette. With 100 guest rooms and suites featuring modern furnishings, luxurious fabrics and stylish accents, the historic property now matches the clean, sophisticated vibe of its fashion-forward clientele.

Guestrooms & Amenities
Standard rooms, available with city or ocean views, each feature a foyer, king-sized bed, sitting area, writing desk, flat-screen television, entertainment unit, iPod docking station, high-speed internet access, organic mini bar and bathroom with a rejuvenating rainforest shower, double sinks and Pharmacopia products. Private penthouses exude true exclusivity, with scenic ocean views, living rooms and secluded terraces, while select penthouse terraces feature private plunge pools.

Hotel Breakwater also houses several lounges to satisfy a variety of downtime styles, whether one is looking to chill out, entertain or conduct a power meeting. Standing five stories above the South Beach Art Deco District, Intimissi Lounge is an intimate rooftop sanctuary offering a sense of tranquility, with sprawling daybeds, plush loveseats and unobstructed panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean. Upon nightfall, the candlelit deck, accented with soft lighting and music, transforms into an adults-only tropical oasis. Two floors below, the Wellness Garden is a poolside retreat where guests can relax in cabanas, enjoy massages and wade in the floating lap pool. The hotel’s guest-only beach zone is located directly across Ocean Drive, offering lounge service along with a variety of water-sports activities for those seeking the definitive South Beach experience. For those who must attend to business, the state-of-the-art, butlered Internet Lounge is at their service.

Restaurants & Lounges
NINE, Hotel Breakwater’s “east-meets-west” culinary concept, offers European-American comfort cuisine in a casual indoor-outdoor setting. Under the guidance of its three executive chefs, Ezequiel Zingoni, Billy Devlin and Manuel Mattei, NINE will offer natural and organic menu items including traditional Neapolitan pizzas, hand-made pastas, local seafood as well as inventive meat and poultry dishes. The restaurant will also feature a regional cheese bar imported from Europe. Located in the hotel’s lobby, NINE’s décor will be a combination of classic art deco and Mediterranean style.

NINE will be open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. daily.

Hotel Breakwater is a glamorous and stimulating lifestyle destination that prides itself on its ability to create “unfiltered” individual experiences. Whether it’s satisfying a craving in the middle of the night or planning an impromptu night out, the unique, on-demand concierge service will turn guests’ dreams into a reality. Special packages, including the “Bromance,” “Fun in the Sun,” “Girls in the City,” “Sinful Indulgence,” “Status Quo,” “Relax and Detox” and “Florida Resident Special,” are also available to satisfy individual needs. For more information, visit www.breakwatersouthbeach.com.

From: Dena Stewart & Stewart Stewart

As heads of the South Beach Bureau for SyndicatedNews.Net, a Radio/TV internet site, we are producing a show called “Alive on South Beach”.

You can go directly to our show – the video crowd scene (first video): click here or go to www.SyndicatedNews.Net which is the home page and click “Syndicated South Beach”.

Our first epidsode of “Alive on South Beach” includes our report on Urban Beach Week, an interview with George Neary about the Miami Beach Sister City Program, a look at the new gigantic movie screen on the wall of the New World Symphony Center and a moment on Lincoln Road.

The show will contain a little bit of this and a little bit of that – including interviews with interesting and passionate people, as well as our perspective on the Miami connection to world events.

If you would like to suggest someone for an interview or an event you would like covered, please e-mail us at: speakwithstewart@aol.com.

To View The Show: click here.

On May 20th, 2011, this article ran in the Miami Herald.

Environmentalists fight plan to weaken protection of Biscayne Bay
A legislative proposal would cut funding for an office that works to preserve Biscayne Bay.

In response, the letter below or one similar addressed to the politicians has been circulating. We at Soul Of Miami support the position of protecting the Bay for both environmental and economic reasons.

Dear Joint Budget Commission and Miami-Dade Delegation:

I am writing to express my deep concern with proposed budget cuts to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Aquatic Preserve program. I respectfully request your consideration of the vital role this department plays in the critical maintenance and protection of Florida’s most pristine coastal and marine resources. These resources serve our local economies as the key economic drivers to our fishing, tourism and recreational economies that provide billions of dollars to our citizens and our state each year.

I read the Miami Herald article on the front page of the Local section and understand that Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve office in particular will be defunded. Our aquatic preserve supports a multi-million dollar commercial fishery and recreational tourism like fishing charters, diving, ecotours, kayaking and other revenue-generating activities. The bay has come a long way because of the management its been afforded and I want my tax dollars to continue to support this nationally-recognized and much-visited resource. Here is a link the the article–I ask that you read it and take this under consideration.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/04/20/2178292/environmentalists-fight-plan-to.html

Personally speaking, as a concerned and responsible citizen of this city and planet, I depend on the health and vitality of our waterways to maintain my lifestyle. I understand the importance of preserving our precious coastlines and world renowned natural resources. I realize budget cuts are inevitable in these economically sensitive times, however, short-term budget cuts to CAMA could lead to potentially devastating long-term effects on our economy and lifestyle, as well as our future and that of the children.

Sincerely yours,
James Echols
Annette Peikert
Soul Of Miami

Please feel free to copy the above and customize it to your own usage and send it to the appropriate elected and appointed officials.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Annette Peikert
annette@lifeisartfest.org
Tracy Adamsky
tracy@abovead.com

Life Is Art Showcases South Florida at The Shops at Boca Center on April 30th, 2011

A full day of art, music, fashion, performance and more!

Right now, South Florida is one of the most exciting and dynamic emerging art scenes in the world. With numerous art walks popping up all over the area, many mega art fairs and festivals, and the largest art week in the world, the eye of the art world is focused squarely on South Florida. Yet, much of the local talent is left out of the explosion of artistic opportunity. South Florida is the home of many, many truly talented artists, all with their own unique voice and style, but it seems as if, in our rush to be a big-time player on the world art stage, we sometimes forget what we have right here.

Life Is Art, through the support of The Shops at Boca Center and StarMar Events, inaugurates the first Life Is Art Boca Center South Florida Artist Fair to celebrate and showcase what our area has to offer. This is a day filled with art and entertainment, featuring dozens of accomplished south Florida artists of all types, from emerging to experienced to world-renowned. The event also includes live music, fashion shows and even circus performances, all for free!

“This is a great way for The Shops at Boca Center to give back to the community,” states Candace Goldstein, manager of the center. The Shops at Boca Center, an upscale luxury shopping and fine dining center, is donating the space for the art fair. James Echols, co-founder of Life Is Art, said, “We are very excited about this opportunity to expand our mission of supporting the south Florida art community.” Life Is Art is a non-profit founded in January of 2009 that is dedicated to providing opportunity for south Florida artists. All of this is made possible through the support of StarMar Events; a comprehensive Event consulting, production and management firm. “When Life Is Art approached us with their needs for this event, we were more than happy to contribute to such a worthy cause and organization” states Marlene Quincoces, Chief Planning Officer.

This will be a full day of arts, culture and entertainment. With over forty visual artists represented, there will be a feast for the eyes. However, it does not stop there. Fab C Productions is producing two fashion shows and will be showcasing several south Florida based designers with cool vintage fashions. Motivational Edge, a music non-profit serving children, is bringing their student band, SoMeTiMeS Y to perform.

To tantalize your taste buds, Barefoot Wine & Bubbly is doing a free tasting for all attendees. Renda Writer, publisher of WeMerge Magazine, is going to be doing a live poetry reading. As if all this were not enough, there is even going to be a circus performance! Rainbow Circus, a premiere south Florida performance troupe, is going to be performing live acts of amazement. The day tops off with live music by Krisp, a hot local band playing your favorites and original numbers. DJ Silvio will be supplying the tunes all day to create a perfect background for the event.

This is truly an event not to be missed. The Shops at Boca Center are located at 5150 Town Center Circle in Boca Raton, FL 33486. The fair is taking place in the lush courtyard, surrounding the fountain. It is happening Saturday, April 30th, 2011 from 10:00am to 7:00pm, or later. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information about The Shops at Boca Center, please visit www.bocacenter.com. For more information on Life Is Art, please visit www.lifeisartfest.org.

Auction Hunters on the Road

Official about the show:
Every year in America, 50,000 storage facilities hold auctions for abandoned storage units and, at these auctions, over $1 billion worth of goods changes hands. Each unit has the potential to be a goldmine or a bust for those who make their living hunting unclaimed property. “Auction Hunters” cuts the lock and opens the door into the high stakes, financial risks and potential rewards where the right purchase can bring in serious cash. The series follows Haff and Jones in their quest to win auctions, dig for abandoned historical treasure and sell them for a profit. This season they uncover high-valued items including a Winchester model 1912 shotgun valued at $1,500 and the exact scale remote control replica of a $3,000,000 luxury Viper Fan Jet plane valued at $11,500.
Allowed only a brief glimpse inside the unit before each fast-paced auction begins, skill and strategy are paramount as Haff and Jones have only seconds to estimate the value and determine how high they’re willing to bid to beat out the completion. Each episode will also feature “the dig,” a process by which our hunters literally dig into the contents of the unit and assess every item within as well as “the sell” where they consult experts, establish value and negotiate a sale with collectors and dealers.

{Sponsored Content}

Covert kitchen operation at The Miami Beach Convention Center acts as the “engine room” for two of the most prestigious events during this year’s festival

Centerplate at the Miami Beach Convention Center, part of the largest hospitality partner to North America’s premier sports stadiums, convention centers and entertainment venues, will once again act as the host kitchen and principal caterer for this year’s Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival.

Executive Chef Jonathan Barnett and his army of dedicated staff will manage the kitchen operation and on-site catering service behind two of the most prestigious events taking place during this year’s South Beach Wine & Food Festival. 2011 marks the fifth consecutive year in which Centerplate and Chef Barnett have quietly become the driving force behind the decadent culinary presentations to which attendees at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival have become accustomed.

Centerplate’s Chef Barnett will work hand-in-hand with Chef Michael Moran, Lead Chef Instructor and Culinary Coordinator for the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, from Florida International University’s School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, to provide the savory treats being served during the opening reception at the highly anticipated “Let Them Eat Cake” party – the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival 10 Year Anniversary celebration, presented by Moët Hennessy USA and hosted by Martha Stewart and Emeril Lagasse, taking place on Friday, February 25 at the prestigious 1111 Lincoln Road venue in Miami Beach.

Savory selections on the menu for the event, developed by Chef Barnett and prepared by both chefs in Centerplate’s hot kitchen at the Miami Beach Convention Center, include: Chilled Malted Duck (Barley malt cured breast, S&S pineapple-barley-mustard seed and Pretzel snap); Warm Crispy Potato Cakes (Crème fraiche with cardamom spiced green apple); Chilled Fruit with Mint (best of season dates and mint leaves served on a bamboo skewer with dry ice and banana leaf); Warm Pimenton Shrimp (Smoked Spanish paprika and sherry marinade served in terra cotta cazuelas on lighted rock salt with pinchos); Chilled Tamari Tuna and Cucumber (Dynamite sauce, wasabi micro greens and sesame seed flatbread) and Three Chilled Tomatoes and Crustiness (served with white balsamic, basil oil on a semolina toast glazed with herb springs).

The menu created for the event is being prepared for 800 people and will be offered by Centerplate’s distinguished catering staff and servers being provided on-site at the event.

“We are honored to be continuing our long-standing affiliation with the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival,” says Centerplate’s Executive Chef Jonathan Barnett. “The items on our savory menu for the Let Them Eat Cake 10 Year Anniversary celebration have been specially designed to suit the occasion. We also have a few surprises in store that we hope will make our two celebrity hosts proud! When creating our menu of savory treats, I asked myself….what would Martha Stewart do?”

For a fourth consecutive year, Centerplate will be providing a supporting role to FIU and its renowned Chef Michael Moran for this year’s acclaimed Perrier-Jouët BubbleQ event, presented by Allen Brothers and hosted by Bobby Flay and Friends, also taking place on Friday, February 25 at Delano in Miami Beach. One menu item chosen by each celebrity chef will be prepared in Centerplate’s cold kitchen by Chef Barnett and Chef Moran, before being transported to the Delano hotel to be enjoyed by the estimated 1000 attendees. Each celebrity chef will present his or her own signature plate on the night. America’s most respected grillmaster, none other than Bobby Flay himself, will lead a pack of skilled chefs who will artfully play with fire to prepare everything from gourmet pulled pork sandwiches, succulent steaks, and saucy ribs to juicy skewers of grilled fruit dipped in chocolate sauce. This year marks the tenth edition of BubbleQ and the last rendition of the festival’s most celebrated night. Celebrity chefs presenting on the night with Bobby Flay will include: Cat Cora, Todd English, Jonathan Waxman and Al Rocker, some of whom may even join our in-house chefs to oversee the finishing touches prior to the event in Centerplate’s kitchen.

For a fourth year, Centerplate will also have a presence at the Whole Foods Market Grand Tasting Village on the sands of 13th Street & Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, during the weekend of this year’s festival. Chef Barnett will serve a selection of Centerplate’s own creations with a Malt and Barley theme. A total of 625 pounds of pork is being shipped in to Centerplate’s kitchen for an estimated 10,000-person attendance over the two days. Last year, Centerplate prepared 600 pounds of Aligator peccadillo that was served by the Florida Department of Agriculture at the Grand Tasting Village.

Centerplate is a proud Silver level sponsor of the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival and is also recognized as a Preferred Caterer for the three-day event that attracts more than 20,000 people.

Mercadito Midtown Continues To Spice Up Miami
3252 NE First Avenue
Midtown Miami

Hip, Contemporary Mexican Restaurant Debuts 3 Exciting New Programs

With a creative, exciting concept that’s tailor made for Miami’s trendy, multicultural mix, Mercadito Midtown located at 3252 NE First Avenue in Midtown Miami is debuting three new programs: a new Happy Hour, Taco Tuesday & an All You Can Drink Wednesday Revolicion.

Happy Hour
Every Monday through Thursday from 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM, the bar and lounge area at Mercadito Midtown will be the place to be for Happy Hour. For only $5.00 per cocktail guests will be able to enjoy a Margarita Tradicional, Auntie Ox (Green Tea infused vodka, passion fruit, agrave, orange & guajillo) or an El Tucan Mojito (served with a daily selection of fresh fruit). Also for just $5.00 a glass, a selection of red & white wines will be available. All beers will available for $3.00 (Corona, Corona Light, Dos Equis, Modelo Especial, Negra Modelo, Tecate, etc).

Taco Tuesday
Every Tuesday, Mercadito Midtown will debut its weekly Taco Tuesday menu. Beginning at 5:00 PM, guests will be able to order any taco on the menu for $2.50 per taco (minimum order of 2 tacos with no maximum). Tacos that diners can choose from include but are not limited to: Pastor (chile ancho rubbed pork, grilled pineapple, chile de árbol salsa), Camarón (shrimp, roasted garlic, chipotle mojo, avocado), Carne (rosemary marinated skirt steak, potato-rajas fundido, avocado), Estilo Baja (beer battered mahi mahi, mexican style coleslaw, chipotle aioli), Carnitas (michoacán style braised pork, chile de árbol coleslaw, toasted peanuts), Pollo (grilled chicken, cactus salad, tomatillo salsa, avocado) and Pescado (tilapia, chile poblano, tomatillo-garlic mojo), among many others.

All You Can Drink Wednesday
Every Wednesday, Mercadito Midtown will hold a weekly “All You Can Drink Revolucion.” For just $25.00 and 6 very important rules, guests can enjoy an all inclusive beverage menu including a selection of beers, house white and red wines & cocktails such as the Margarita Tradicional (el jimador blanco, grand marnier, lime juice, organic agave nectar), Little Market (tequila reposado, fresh pineapple, chile guajillo, pico piquin), Pepino el Pyu (herradura blanco, cucumber, lemon, hoja santa, cumin salt), Smokey Pablo (regional reposado, mango, chile morita, blueberry float) and Los Hermanos (mescal, averna, grapefruit, lemon, ginger beer, cayenne). The 6 “All You Can Drink” rules are: 1.) To conquer it – must show up on Wednesday as early as 5:00 PM. 2.) Participants only have 2 hours to destroy the enemy. 3.) Everyone at the table must be a soldier but one who must be the designated revolutionary driver. 4.) One drink at a time. 5.) no shots are allowed. 6.) No extra loaded drinks.

Mercadito Hospitality has grown from their first New York City location in 2004 to become a renowned restaurant group specializing in Latin American cuisine. The popularity of these restaurants can be attributed to the innovative interpretations of traditional Mexican cooking created by Chef Patricio Sandoval, and their partnership with renowned beverage consultants Tippling Bros., who add creativity to their beverage programs by merging complex flavors, drinkability and the unexpected. The group currently owns and operates four acclaimed restaurants: Mercadito and Mercadito Grove in New York City, Mercadito in Chicago, and Mercadito in Miami. They also own and operate Double A, an intimate, exclusive cocktail lounge located beneath Mercadito in Chicago. Tavernita will also open in Miami this fall. For additional information, please visit www.mercaditohospitality.com and www.tavernita.com.

Featuring authentic and innovative signature tacos made with homemade corn tortillas, delicious guacamoles and salsas, plus a full bar and lounge with hand-crafted cocktails; the sleek and stylish Mexican eatery, with critically acclaimed locations in New York City and Chicago, Mercadito Midtown embraces the seductive flavors of traditional Southern Mexican regional cuisine with one-of-a-kind interpretations by chef/partner Patricio Sandoval. “We’ve been successful in bringing the best of our Mexican culture to the nation’s top metropolitan cities and Miami has been a perfect fit thus far,” says managing partner Alfredo Sandoval, one of three brothers who owns and operates the Mercadito family restaurant group. “For Midtown we’ve created a hip ambiance with an exciting, yet affordable, menu.”

Modeled after Mexico’s version of farmer’s markets, Mercadito, Spanish for “little market,” is designed to appeal to the fashionable, savvy gourmet. The Midtown restaurant, which seats 95 in the dining room, encompasses striking 3-D style art murals by urban graffiti artist Erni Vales. A lively lounge area, with an additional 24 seats, boasts a convivial bar and an outdoor patio. Mercadito Midtown also features a beautifully appointed semi-private dining room “El Mural” that will accommodate up to 50 guests for parties and events. A perfect alternative for those on-the-go, the taqueria, located adjacent to the restaurant, offers casual service, take-out, or delivery.

Mercadito’s menus, using the freshest ingredients available and served in small sharing portions, embrace the sociable approach that has been a Mercadito seal. One of the main attractions at Mercadito Midtown is the “guacamole, salsa and ceviche bar,” where a variety of savory guacamoles ($8.50 – $12.50), mouth-watering ceviches ($10.50), and spicy salsas ($2.50 – $4.50), are made in-house while guests watch. Signature guacamoles include avocados expertly blended with interesting ingredients such as: mango – jicama, chipotle, pico de gallo; mole poblano – plantain, mole poblano, chile Serrano, pico de gallo; and manzana – apple, tomatillo, almonds, habanero. Crispy chips accompany every order. Salsas, served with delicious corn bites, range from chipotle to cacahuate (peanuts).

Mercadito’s selection of mouth-watering tacos ($13.50) that come four to an order. These tasty delights include Chef Sandoval’s pescado tacos, made with pan seared tilapia, a bold chile poblano and tomatillo-garlic mojo, named “Best Fish Taco in New York City” by New York Magazine. Also designed to please palates, Mercadito’s signature estilo baja – beer battered mahi mahi, with coleslaw, drizzled with chipotle aioli; and pastor – succulent, chile-ancho rubbed pork, grilled pineapple, and chile de arbol salsa; one of the 11 different salsa varieties available.

Side dishes, para acompañar ($4.50 – $6.50), include arroz verde – green rice casserole with Oaxaca and manchego cheeses, a favorite among diners at Mercadito restaurants in New York and Chicago; elote Mexicano – Mexican style corn on the cob with lime mayonnaise and chile piquin, and rajas – mild roasted strips of poblano pepper and onion with hominy corn and crema fresca.

Here, seafood lovers can enjoy a variety of refreshing ceviches ($11.50 – $24.50). Stand-outs include camaron – shrimp, tangerine, roasted jalapeños, in a citrus-guajillo broth; callo de hacha – bay scallops, red apple, tomatillo pico de gallo, key lime-morita broth and mint; and, dorado – lime marinated mahi mahi, avocado and tomato, in a tangy orange-chile de arbol broth.

Botanas ($10.50) are a sumptuous collection of Mexican style appetizers such as tostadas de hongos – crispy corn tortillas, topped with wild mushrooms, pinto bean hash, manchego cheese, tomatillo salsa, and flavorful epazote crema fresca, and flautas – crispy tortillas filled with chicken barbacoa, served with black bean purée, tomatillo salsa and crema fresca. Meant to be shared with dining companions, and a perfect way to kick start any meal, is the queso fundido – baked Oaxaca and manchego cheeses served with a choice of wild mushrooms, rajas (roasted poblano strips), or chorizo.

A visit to Mercadito Midtown isn’t complete without a handcrafted margarita. Mercadito’s beverage program, created by Tippling Bros., (industry veterans and leading beverage experts, Paul Tanguay and Tad Carducci), features a dizzying array of Mexican tequilas and creative takes on traditional Mexican cocktails, along with an assortment of beers. Diners can wash down bites with individually muddled fresh fruit margaritas made with 100% blue agave tequila such as the Little Market (tequila reposado, fresh pineapple, chile guajillo, cilantro), or the Smokey Pablo (cien años reposado, mango, chile morita, blueberry float), among others.

For this distinctly urban location, the Sandoval brothers tapped New York City based Seed Design Studio to create a chic, welcoming restaurant boasting sleek banquets, handmade pyramid-shaped copper lights, and white quartz table tops accented with pale wood floors. Here, contemporary urban artist Erni Vales draws his own interpretation of Mexican history, cultural diversity, and ethnic multiplicity, showcasing stunning wall-to-wall 3-D graffiti style art murals.

Mercadito Midtown, located in Midtown Miami at 3252 NE First Avenue, is open seven days a week, serving daily lunch and dinner nightly. The taqueria, adjacent to the restaurant, offers casual service, take-out and delivery service from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. All major credit cards accepted; ample municipal parking is available. Reservations are recommended: (786) 369-0430 www.mercaditorestaurants.com

{Note from the editor: We were members of Gen Art for years. They helped introduce us to Miami when we first moved here. We met many wonderful people through Gen Art and learned a lot about fashion, art and music. We were saddened when they shut down a couple years ago. Now, they are returning under new ownership and we at Soul Of Miami are very excited! Read the full press release below.}

February 22, 2011
Dear Friends,

Gen Art was built on the incredible dedication of its loyal audience. As an active supporter, you helped us sustain our mission of providing platforms and opportunities for emerging talent to showcase their work. It was with a heavy heart that Gen Art’s original founders had to close its doors in May after 16 years in business.

In December, Gen Art was acquired by Sandow Media, an innovative media company that recognized the value of the organization, the importance of its mission and the void that was left in its absence. We were thrilled when Sandow asked us to carry on in the legacy of the former leadership and help guide the company into the future. As former Gen Art SVPs who oversaw content and events for nearly a decade, we are deeply vested in Gen Art’s mission and passionate about preserving its core values.

In the coming year, we look forward to bringing you the best of Gen Art’s signature events as well as offering new and innovative programs. This spring Gen Art will return with an exciting line-up of national events kicking off with the Gen Art Film Festival which will take place this June in New York City. A full calendar of annual events and our new membership program will be announced in the coming weeks.

Your continued support is extremely important to us. We look forward to seeing you at our events and building the next chapter of this incredible organization together.

Kind regards,
Jeffrey Abramson & Elizabeth Shaffer
Co-Presidents

For more information about Gen Art, please visit www.genart.org.
Facebook: facebook.com/genartnational.
Follow Gen Art on Twitter @Gen_Art

Owners Rocco Mangel & Big Time Restaurant Group (the company behind Big City Tavern) will open the doors to the third Rocco’s Tacos & Tequila Bar on Saturday, February 19 on downtown Fort Lauderdale’s famed Las Olas Boulevard. The highly anticipated 6,600-square-foot indoor/outdoor restaurant will offer a full-sensory Mexican dining experience complete with live mariachi bands on occasion and free tequila pourings by Rocco himself. Diners can sample from over 225 varieties of tequila, nibble on guacamole prepared tableside and enjoy a traditional Mexican dinner at the playful restaurant that embodies the true spirit of Mexico.

Offering lunch, dinner and late night dining options seven days a week, Rocco’s Tacos is a welcomed addition to Broward County. “I’m excited to introduce Rocco’s Tacos to the Fort Lauderdale market, bringing the Rocco’s energy to an already thriving destination,” says owner Rocco Mangel.

Similar to the West Palm Beach and Boca Raton restaurants, the new location will offer a diverse menu with a distinct attention to detail including handmade corn tortillas cooked fresh on the restaurant’s Cormal, just as they’re made in kitchens throughout Mexico. Signature starters presented by Chef Adam Dombrowski include Esquitas (Mexican Street Corn) grilled with cotija cheese, cilantro and chile ‘d’arbol and the Camarones Patron with sautéed shrimp in tequila chipotle butter, scallions, tomatoes and nopales. Highlights of the main menu include California Fish Tacos, battered & fried mahi mahi with traditional cabbage slaw and jalapeno mayo, spicy white rice and black beans; Pollo Mole Poblano with grilled chicken breast, mole poblano, red rice, black beans and escabeche vegetables; and Carne con Chipotle, sliced flatiron steak grilled with smoky chipotle cream, sweet potato & spinach, and tomato salad.

Every Tuesday, guests can pick and choose from a selection of Rocco’s famed tacos from the Cochinitas Achiote (show roasted pork) or Hongos (mushroom) to Pesca (grilled or blacked mahi) and Carne Molida (spicy ground beef), to name a few, for their $14.95 all-you-can-eat Taco Tuesday celebration. The restaurant will also run daily happy hour specials with discounted drinks at the bar.

With seating available for up to 200 people, the restaurant is decorated with authentic Mexican flair purchased by Rocco himself at small villages throughout Mexico. Eight five oversized wicker lanterns adorn the trees outside the restaurant setting the scene as guests approach, while large hand crafted masks line the building to ward off evil spirits. Upon entering through the front door, guests are met with a colossal one-of-a-kind blown glass chandelier hanging above the reception area adding a touch of sparkle to the exposed brick walls and etched tin roof. Rocco’s signature star-shaped, punched-metal lantern chandeliers hang throughout the venue along with bright painted tribal masks and vintage movie posters. Unique to the Las Olas location is ‘The Wrestler Room,’ outfitted with images of famous Mexican luchadors, authentic black & white fight photos and a wall mural reading “Rocco vs Santo” – one of Mexico’s most celebrated wrestlers. The restaurant also has a 10-person private dining space, The Milagro Room, with glass encased display of Milagro’s vast selection of tequilas.

While the superior cuisine and cheerful décor have put the Rocco’s Tacos brand on the map, it’s Rocco’s “welcome to my house” attitude, contagious energy and show-stopping sense for creating an unforgettable experience that draws guests in again and again. When regulars hear the buzzword “Tequila!” echo through the restaurant, everyone prepares for Rocco to take his spot on the bar top, dancing feverishly in his legendary shiny-white shoes. The scene reads like one out of Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, sans the angry bikers, Rocco steps on ‘stage’ with a bottle of Patron in hand, ready to pour into eager patron’s mouths. This exhilarating display of merriment has made Rocco’s Tacos & Tequila Bar a cherished destination and this location will be no exception.

Hours: Lunch 7-days-a-week 11:30am – 4:00pm; Dinner Sun – Wed 4:00 pm – 11:00pm; Dinner Thurs – Sat 4:00 – Midnight; Late Night Taco Menu 7-days-a-week until 3:00am

The new Rocco’s Tacos & Tequila Bar is located at 1313 East Las Olas Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, FL. You can also visit Rocco in West Palm Beach (224 Clematis Street, West Palm Beach, FL |561.650.1001) or Boca Raton (5250 Town Center Circle, Boca Raton, FL | 561.416.2131). For more information: www.roccostacos.com or www.bigtimerestaurants.com.