South Florida Labor Day Weekend things to do: Aug. 31

Jun 18, 2023

The three-day Labor Day Weekend (a five-day weekend here at the Go Guide) arrives with a reminder, from our fellow Floridians to the north, that we’re not even halfway into hurricane season and that there are long-term effects of storms on the physical and emotional environment of a town. This would be a good time to appreciate a weekend event happening under a canopy of trees, say the ArtsPark in Hollywood or the Riverwalk in Fort Lauderdale. Here’s what we’re looking forward to.

Dine Out extended: Citing a “fantastic” response so far, Visit Lauderdale’s Dine Out Lauderdale month, set to end on Thursday, has been extended through Sept. 30. The annual celebration of local restaurants offers multi-course lunches and dinners ranging in price from $45 to $75 per person (plus tax/tip) at more than 100 eateries in the Greater Fort Lauderdale area. Visit VisitLauderdale.com/dineout.

Weekend laughs: Steve Byrne is funny, which is why the actor-comedian is booked for six performances from Thursday through Sunday at the Dania Improv. Tickets cost $22+ at DaniaImprov.com. While you’re there, you may notice that next weekend’s Friday-Sunday shows by Marlon Wayans are not yet sold out. But they will be. Tickets cost $55+.

Future laughs: Jerry Seinfeld is returning to Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood on Jan. 27 and 28, with tickets (starting at $81+) on sale at 10 a.m. Thursday. Visit MyHRL.com.

Fire and light: The Wharf Fort Lauderdale will host a riverside Full Moon Party on Thursday from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m., including live entertainment, fire performers and fortune tellers. If you’re looking to psych yourself up early, the happy hour special from 4 to 7 p.m. will be $5 Tito’s cocktails. Visit WharfFTLl.com.

Bumblefest is back: The seventh edition of PureHoney Magazine’s indie-music pileup Bumblefest unfolds on Friday and Saturday, bringing more than 40 acts from across the country to five stages at Respectable Street in downtown West Palm Beach. Top bands include Los Angeles-based Death Valley Girls (who inspired the greatest Iggy Pop video moment you didn’t know you needed), Al Lover (also from Los Angeles), Gnarcissists (New York) and Dusted (Nova Scotia), along with locals including Brett Staska, The Dewars, Sweet Bronco and The Zoo Peculiar. Tickets cost $50+. Visit Facebook.com/PureHoneyMagazine.

Friday DJs: At Miami Beach’s swank Fontainebleau resort, LIV nightclub hosts South Florida-raised, global DJ icon Steve Aoki at 11 p.m. Friday, with tickets starting at $100+ at LivNightclub.com. … DJ Pauly D, otherwise known as that guy from “Jersey Shore,” performs at DAER Nightclub at the Hard Rock on Friday (doors open at 10 p.m.), with tickets on sale for $30+ at HardRockNightlife.com. … Last and, obviously, not least, Funky Buddha Brewery in Oakland Park will co-host a live vinyl DJ set with Radio-Active Records from 8 to 11 p.m. Friday. It’s free. Visit Facebook.com/FunkyBuddhaBrew.

Remodel behavior: The massive Fort Lauderdale Home Design and Remodeling Show returns to the Broward County Convention Center Friday-Monday, opening at noon each day to showcase hundreds of exhibitors distributed over 150,000 square feet of air-conditioned space. Tickets cost $14 per day. The answer to your other question: The celebrity guest will be Craig Conover from Bravo’s “Southern Charm,” the “Pillows and Beer” podcast and the book “Pillow Talk.” Conover is scheduled to be at the show at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, also taking part in a meet-and-greet book signing at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. You must purchase the book ($25) in advance of the signing. For more information, visit HomeShows.com.

Take the kids: Beginning on Friday, Broward Attractions & Museums Month offers free or buy-one-get-one admission to 20 of the area’s most popular cultural venues through Sept. 30. To take part, use the promo code BAMM when reserving a ticket online or at the box office. Among venues offering free admission are the Coral Springs Museum of Art, the International Swimming Hall of Fame Museum and the Stonewall National Museum & Archives in Fort Lauderdale. BOGO admission will be offered at, among others, Art and Culture Center/Hollywood, Butterfly World, Flamingo Gardens, the Jungle Queen, the Museum of Discovery and Science and NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale. Some attractions have restrictions, so check their websites for the latest updates. For more information about the program, visit Facebook.com/BAMMSFL.

Throwin’ down: Thrōw Social in downtown Delray Beach will host a Labor Day Weekend celebration Friday through Monday with grilled burgers and dogs, a pie-eating contest (7 p.m. Saturday), live bands and DJs, specials on beer buckets and patriotic flag shots (because labor is America) and, of course, the throwing of axes. Cover is $10 after 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and after 6 p.m. Sunday. Visit Facebook.com/throwsocialdelray.

Brotherly love: The brainchild of Ky-Mani Marley, son of reggae legend Bob Marley, the Maestro Marley Cup comes to the ArtsPark in downtown Hollywood on Saturday for an afternoon of Caribbean food and music, plus a 6 vs. 6 soccer tournament. The impressive lineup of performers will include, among others, Marley brothers Ky-Mani, Stephen, Damian and Julian, along with international reggae icons Inner Circle and the energetic Latin rap-reggae of Miami’s Locos Por Juana. Tickets start at $50+ (free for children 12 and younger), with a portion of proceeds going to the Love Over All Foundation. Gates open at noon. Visit MaestroMarleyCup.com.

Steam Horse at 5: Labor Day Weekend at the Warehouse District in West Palm Beach includes a five-year anniversary celebration at Steam Horse Brewing Co. on Saturday from 3 to 10 p.m., in conjunction with distillery Steel Tie Spirits Co.’s National Rum Day events. The evening will include live music, food trucks, limited-edition metal anniversary cups ($13) with $5 refills, new beer releases and a local market from 5 to 9 p.m. Performers include Girlfriend Material (3:30–5:30 p.m.), Uproot Hootenanny (6-9 p.m.) and Sierra Lane (7-10 p.m.). Visit Facebook.com/SteamHorseBrewing and Facebook.com/steeltiespiritsco.

Saturday blues: Nashville blues-rock guitarist and singer Lance Lopez will bring his tour to restaurant-music venue Crazy Uncle Mike’s in Boca Raton at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. A performer that Jeff Beck has described as “a very exciting and intense blues guitarist,” Lopez is touring in support of new album “Trouble Is Good.” Get there early, as the opening act is forceful and fiery young Pompano Beach blues guitarist Shaw Davis, a must-see. Tickets start at $20+ for general-admission standing room. Visit CrazyUncleMikes.com.

Tribute weekend: Saturday is a uniquely lively time when it comes to local tribute bands, if you’re into that kind of thing (many of them are quite good). The Tropical Heat Wave Rock Music Festival is a free 2-11:30 p.m. showcase at Mathews Brewing Co. in Lake Worth Beach, featuring Nothing’s Shocking (Jane’s Addiction tribute), 46 & Tool (Tool) and Maximum Friction (heavy metal). Visit Facebook.com/mathewsbrewing.

Elsewhere on Saturday, the Petty Hearts (Tom Petty) and Touch & Go (The Cars) are at Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale, with tickets starting at $15+ and doors open at 7 p.m. Visit JoinTheRevolution.net. Petty Camp Junction (Tom Petty/John Mellencamp) plays a free show at Galuppi’s in Pompano Beach at 7:30 p.m. Visit Galuppis.com. And popular Billy Joel tribute band Turnstiles returns to The Funky Biscuit in Boca Raton at 7 p.m, with tickets starting at $25+. Visit FunkyBiscuit.com.

Hug a tree: One of the other reasons to enjoy this month’s edition of the free Sunday Jazz Brunch is the setting on downtown Fort Lauderdale’s scenic Riverwalk, under the embrace of many old-growth oaks and other trees. Seeing how quickly they can disappear — as illustrated this week up north with Hurricane Idalia — we need to appreciate this environment. The Sunday Jazz Brunch runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with three stages of live music separated by a parade of local vendors and prime riverside picnicking opportunities. Visit Parks.FortLauderdale.gov.

Summer sounds: One of the more perfect toruing lineups to celebrate summer brings Slightly Stoopid and Sublime with Rome, plus special guests Atmosphere and The Movement to iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach at 5 p.m. Sunday (gates open at 4 p.m.). Tickets start at $29.50+ or $22.50+ as part of a lawn four-pack at LiveNation.com.

Art you can dance to: Trailblazing electronic soundshapers Above & Beyond — called “the world’s biggest cult band” by UK music publication Q Magazine — has sellouts at such signature venues as Madison Square Garden, the Hollywood Bowl, Sydney Opera House, London’s Royal Albert Hall and Red Rocks Amphitheater. On Sunday at 10 p.m. they will squeeze their sound into DAER Nightclub at the Hard Rock. Tickets cost $75+ at HardRockNightlife.com.

Big-game Noles: The stakes haven’t been this high in some time for Florida State Seminoles fans, gathering in restaurants and bars across South Florida for Sunday’s huge season-opening 7:30 p.m. game against LSU in Orlando. The Seminole Club of Broward County will hosta watch party at Slacker’s in Fort Lauderdale (see Facebook.com/BrowardNoles), while the Palm Beach County Seminole Club (Facebook.com/PBNoles) will divide into watch parties at three locations: Jumby Bay Island Grill in Jupiter, Grease Burger Bar in West Palm Beach, and American Social in Boca Raton.

Block party: A free pre Labor Day Festival will take place 2-10 p.m. Sunday in the eclectic center known as the North Beach Restaurants and Shoppes, between A1A and the Intracoastal, north of Oakland Park Boulevard, in Fort Lauderdale. Lined with more than a dozen restaurants and bars, and an array of local vendors, the block party will begin with a car show from 2 to 6 p.m., leading into live music on three stages at 7-10 p.m. Performers include Big City Dogs, Dottie Kelly and the Rock the House Band, and the Smokin’ Aces. For parking information and other details, visit Parks.FortLauderdale.gov.

Ice cream Sunday: Who says a plant-based, gluten-free diet is no fun? Angie’s Epicurean, with locations at The Square in West Palm Beach and Aventura Mall, has a new flavor: Cookies and Cream, made with creamy cashew milk, gluten-free Oreos and brownie cookies. Visit AngiesEpicurean.com.

Monday brunch: Three days of brunches, extending into Monday, is just so civilized. Among the restaurants offering brunch Saturday, Sunday and Monday are two Fort Lauderdale favorites on Las Olas Boulevard: Timpano Las Olas and Rocco’s Tacos & Tequila Bar. Both will offer a brunch menu 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Visit Facebook.com/TimpanoLasOlas and Facebook.com/roccostacosftl. (Psst: Rocco’s West Palm Beach location will offer the same Monday brunch: Facebook.com/roccostacoswpb.

Easy riders: Tarpon River Brewing co-owner Adam Fine hosts the every-Monday Gears & Beers series, a group bike ride around downtown Fort Lauderdale from 7:30 to 9 p.m. These casual rides, open to all skill levels, are about camaraderie and the after-beers at the brewery, but also to promote more respect and awareness of bicyclists on the roads of South Florida. For details, visit TarponRiverBrewing.com.

Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at [email protected]. Follow on Instagram @BenCrandell and Twitter @BenCrandell.

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