Events

The Best Places to Spend New Year’s Eve in South Florida

December 30, 2015 by Olivia Lancaster Leave a Comment

One of the greatest things about living in South Florida is that there is plenty to do on holidays, especially the one that brings everyone together – New Year’s Eve.

Fortunately, you don’t need to wait for an invite or see a posted flyer to find out what’s going on. In today’s world, a simple search for “New Year’s Eve in South Florida” will yield a treasure trove of results for things to do in Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties.

Broward and Palm Beach Counties

The top result while searching for New Year’s Events – with good reason – is South Florida’s New Year’s Eve 2016 Party Guide by the New Time Broward-Palm Beach, a daily South Florida news website with a weekly paper.

There is literally a plethora of options available in Broward and Palm Beach Counties that would make you wish New Years coincided with Ground Hog Day so you could attend each one of them and not miss a thing.

Sadly, this is reality and you can only pick one.

Will it be a countdown drink at Blue Martini in Downtown Ft. Lauderdale? Live music at Murphy’s Law? Maybe you’d prefer a 2015 last meal at Tap 42 in Boca Raton. I’ll probably be at the Funky Buddha in Oakland Park because there is no cover charge and it is close to home, meaning less exposure to potential drunk drivers.

If you’re closer to Palm Beach, the Palm Beach Post posted The Best New Year’s Eve events in Palm Beach County with a whole host of choices.

Miami

If you’re lucky enough to be in Miami, where they have been practicing for New Year’s Eve for 364 days with a bustling night life, it is going to be a tough choice.

It would seem to be a hard decision to make between Downtown Fort Lauderdale and the City of Miami Beach New Year’s Eve Celebration, where you can enjoy free fireworks at Midnight in the heart of South Beach, but have you heard about Pitbull’s New Year’s Eve Revolution 2015?

If you have, then it might be a no-brainer.

PITBULL’S NEW YEAR’S EVE REVOLUTION 2015

“Start planning now to ring in the New Year with Mr. 305 himself, as Pitbull’s New Year’s Eve Revolution returns to Bayfront Park for a live, FOX television broadcast! This is the place to be for the largest FREE New Year’s Eve party in South Florida!”

Bayfront Park for a live, FOX television broadcast while dancing in the New Year?

Scratch that, I might end up in Miami after all.

Good luck deciding.

One thing you should know is to prepare and plan for a safe and fun night.

Happy New Year, South Florida!

The Python Challenge

December 6, 2012 by I Love South Florida Leave a Comment

The state wildlife commission is offering $1,000 for catching the longest snake in the Everglades, and $1,500 for catching the most. The event is to be called the 2013 Python Challenge.

2013 Python Challenge — Credit: Pat Lynch – South Florida Water Management District

The challenge will start on January 12 at UF’s Davie campus and move off to the wilderness after a daylong open house on pythons and other invasive species.
Competitors will be allowed to catch snakes at four state wildlife management areas: Francis S. Taylor, Big Cypress, Holey Land, and Rotenberger.

The competition is being sponsored by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Nature Conservancy, the Future of Huniting in Florida, Zoo Miami, and others. The prizes will be awarded Feb. 16 at Zoo Miami.

To learn more about the 2013 Python Challenge, check out PythonChallenge.org http://www.pythonchallenge.org/

News: Red Bull Flugtag Miami Prepares for Liftoff: Teams Selected

September 14, 2012 by I Love South Florida Leave a Comment

FINAL TEAMS SELECTED TO TAKE FLIGHT NOV. 3

Chosen Aviators for 2012 Event Announced at Unveiling Party

To prepare for Red Bull Flugtag soaring back to Miami this year, Red Bull hosted an unveiling party on Sept. 6 to give “wiiings” to 34 teams chosen to participate in South Florida’s flight and fight event on Saturday, Nov. 3. The main event at Bayfront Park will launch at noon to welcome thousands of Downtown Miami residents and visitors to its beautiful waterfront to watch as the avid aviators compete in the flying spectacle that awes millions around the world.

Rock With U Entertainment’s Ross Bielejeski kicked off the unveiling party at Bongos Cuban Café by announcing the selected teams as they revealed their imaginative aircraft sketches and team names, as well as took part in a little smack-talking with their competitors. This year’s participants are from all over the southeastern United States, with many living locally and around the state, but some hailing from as far as Tennessee, South Carolina and Georgia. From art students and firefighters to engineers and self-proclaimed “pirates,” the mix is sure to please the crowd as their crafted handiwork makes its way into the air…before splashing into the sea below.

The teams participating in the 2012 Red Bull Flugtag Miami are: $2.50; Angry Flamingos; Bacon Soldiers; Bakerized; Banana Pelada; Cublice MADNESS!; Da Avincineers; Despicable Me; Dragon Riders; Fins of Fury; Flyin Shiners; Flying Cox; Go Batty; Hurricane Engineers’ Angry Birds, I Love LA Eats; La Vaca Roja; Magic Carpet Ride; Mars Attack; Pirates of the Care Free Being: Return of the Castaways; Slamacow; Snow Birds; Space Cadets; Spacecoast Flugtag Associates; Team DarkWing; Team Pirate’s Palette; Team Popow with the Flying Chaparro; Team Signal 20s; Team Venezuela; The Iron Manning Iron Men; The Oatmeal Effect; The Shock Guys; Tobacco Road’s Band of Road Warriors; Twisted Sister; and UNF SAME.

“After the thrill of traveling to compete in Red Bull Flugtag Tampa last year, we knew we had a to make a second go of it this year now that it’s back in our hometown of Miami,” said Mitch Phillips of the Hurricane Engineers’ Angry Birds. “We’re even more excited about this year and plan on using our engineering knowledge to create something that’s set to take home the prize, all while having a blast and making sure everyone knows it.”

Teams of four flight crew members and one pilot will not only compete in their distance from the launch pad, but also on innovation of their crafts and costumes to impress the judges. Before watching the teams fly – at least for a few seconds – guests will also have the opportunity to meet participants, view their aeronautical inventions and vote for their favorite to win the “People’s Choice Award.” Each team will also perform a 30-second skit to win over the judges and crowd.

AIM FOR THE SKY

Flugtag, German for “flying day,” is a competition that dares the brave and tests the brainy to design, build and pilot homemade aircrafts off a 30-foot high ramp in hopes of achieving human-powered flight. All aircrafts are entirely human-powered – no motors or stored energy such as slingshots or catapults are used.

Since the first Red Bull Flugtag in Vienna, Austria, in 1991, more than 100 Flugtags have been held around the world, attracting up to 300,000 spectators for a single event. The record for the farthest flight-to-date in the United States currently stands at 207 feet and was set at Red Bull Flugtag Saint Paul in 2010 by team Major Trouble and the Dirty Dixies. The pressure is on for this year’s Red Bull Flugtag flyers to blow these records off the charts! The Red Bull Flugtag in Miami will be the third of four Flugtags held this year, with other competitions occurring in Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco.

Red Bull Flugtag is free and open to the public. For more information, visit redbullflugtagusa.com. Select photos are attached, but for additional images and video from past Red Bull Flugtag events for editorial use, visit redbullcontentpool.com.

9/11 Ceremonies in South Florida

September 11, 2012 by I Love South Florida 1 Comment

The 11th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks will be remembered by South Floridians throughout Miami-Dade and Broward Counties on Tuesday. Here are some events that have been scheduled:

Miami-Dade

• Miami Shores: Commemoration Mass with Archbishop Thomas Wenski, 11:45 a.m. at St. Martha Catholic Church, 9301 Biscayne Blvd.

• Miami-Dade: Ceremony of Remembrance, 9:30 a.m. at Tropical Park, 7900 SW 40th St.

• Miami-Dade: Memorializing a steel beam from the World Trade Center, 11:30 a.m. at Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Station 3, 3911 SW 82nd Ave.

BROWARD

• Margate: 9/11 Ceremony, 8:30 AM at Firefighters Memorial Park, 2500 Rock Island Rd, Margate, FL

• Coral Springs: Memorial Service, 6 p.m. at Northwest Regional Library, 3151 University Dr.

• Hollywood: Memorial Concert, 7:30 p.m. at ArtsPark at Young Circle, Federal Highway and Hollywood Boulevard.

• Fort Lauderdale: All Wars End film premiere, 8 p.m. at Cinema Paradiso, 503 SE Sixth St. Cost: $25. Activities include color guard, poetry reading, and Q&A with cast and crew.

• Fort Lauderdale: 9/11 Ceremony, 9:30 a.m. at Fort Lauderdale Fire & Safety Museum, 1122 W. Las Olas Blvd.

• Fort Lauderdale: 9/11: A Conversation with Bob Graham, 5:30 p.m. at Museum of Art, 1 E. Las Olas Blvd. General admission: $30.

• Fort Lauderdale: Patriot Day Ceremony, 8:30 a.m. at Ron Cochran Public Safety Building, 2601 W. Broward Blvd.

• North Lauderdale: Wreath Laying Ceremony, 1:30 p.m. at North Lauderdale Veterans Memorial, Rock Island Road and Kimberly Boulevard.

• Parkland: Remembrance, 5 p.m. at Parkland YMCA Family Center, 10559 Trails End. Activities include Broward Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard, Trade Center steel display and reading by children.

• Pembroke Pines: Patriot Day Remembrance Ceremony, 8:30 a.m. at Pembroke Pines City Center, 10300 Pines Blvd.

Resources:

Ceremonies to remember 9/11 happening in Southwest Florida – http://www.winknews.com/Local-Florida/2012-09-11/Ceremonies-to-remember-911-happening-in-Southwest-Florida#.UE8rvI1lQf4

NBC Miami: 9/11 Remembrance Events in South Florida – http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/911-remembrance-events-in-south-florida-169286546.html

The Miami Herald: Here are some commemorations scheduled for Tuesday to remember 9/11 – http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/09/10/2995947/here-are-some-commemorations-scheduled.html

CBS Miami: Guide To 9/11 Anniversary Observances In S. Florida – http://miami.cbslocal.com/guide/guide-to-911-anniversary-observences-in-s-florida/