The season is heating up, with more things to do in Miami by the day and night. Our picks this month range from a Collectors Weekend at Bal Harbour Shops, Doral Food and Wine Festival, first ever Celebrity Soccer Beach Match and Le Diner en Blanc to the book fair with the likes of Tina Brown. And then there are special foodie and film events and concerts. We love them—and we think you will, too!
3rd-Annual Bal Harbour Shops Collectors Weekend
Thursday, November 1st to Sunday, November 4th
Once again, one of Miami’s most exclusive shopping areas, Bal Harbour Shops, will kick off the fall and winter season in South Florida with Bal Harbour Shops Collectors Weekend, a high-end affair for aficionados of fine timepieces and automobiles. Throughout the weekend, guests can experience special store activations in various boutiques, as well as see a showcase of rare and limited-edition timepieces from Audemars Piguet, Buccellati, Bulgari, Chopard, David Yurman, Graff, Harry Winston, Hublot, Panerai, Rolex by Tourneau, Tourneau, and Van Cleef & Arpels and more. On November 1st and 2nd, the center courtyard of the outdoor mall will unveil a pop-up VIP suite with select watch brands, accessible to in-the-know guests by invitation only. Then, on November 3rd and 4th, guests can attend a luxury car show with supercars, hypercars and the one-of- a-kind Pagani Huayra L’Ultimo, a new hypercar that resulted from a collaboration between Pagani of Miami’s Brett David and Pagani Automobili S.P.A., in the center premium parking lot. Bal Harbour Shops is located at 9700 Collins Avenue. This event is free and open to the public.
Le Dîner en Blanc Miami 2018
Friday, November 9th
Join 1,200+ friends and friends-of-friends for the chicest dinner party the world has ever seen: Le Dîner en Blanc! This magical, all-white affair is for in-the-know South Floridians only. Here’s how it works: If you’re on the list, you’ll put on your finest white attire and meet at a secret location with food, tables, chairs and place settings (all white, and no plastic!) in tow. To keep it extra exclusive, the meeting location won’t even be released until the afternoon of the event, and from that location, a volunteer will lead you to the actual party. After an ethereal night of dining, drinking and dancing, everyone in attendance will pack up everything they brought with them, even their trash, and disappear into the night like they were never there in the first place. Magnifique! This event is only open to those who have dined before, are referred by those who have participated before, and those who registered on the waiting list. Because of the limitations of the event, not everyone will get on the list. Alcohol must be purchased through Dîner en Blanc’s e-store. Should guests not want to bring their own food, they can purchase a catered picnic basket during the registration process that can be picked up on site. Full details about the event’s rules and regulations are available at miami.dinerenblanc.com.
3rd-Annual Doral Food and Wine Festival
Saturday, November 10th + Sunday, November 11th
The annual Doral Food and Wine Festival is coming back bigger and better than ever! Taking place at Doral Central Park, this year’s theme is “World Flavors,” and to that end, 30+ South Florida restaurants with influences from across the globe will converge in the festival’s Grand Tasting Pavilion. To go along with all that food, there will also be delicious wines from around the world, and scattered throughout the festival, a variety of spirits booths. But this year, it’s not just about the pavilion. Attendees have a lot to get excited about for the 2018 edition: like two intense days of live performances, interactive spaces, music, artists, celebrities, live cooking shows and tastings by chefs and special guests, the new Veza Sur Brewing Doral Beer Garden, mixology demonstrations, a new-and-improved Kid’s Zone with a special area for teenagers, and of course, unlimited bites from the best of South Florida. Stepping it up a notch, there will also be a DFWF 2018 Grand Gala Night, which will benefit research and educational programming for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Doral Central Park is located at 3000 NW 87th Avenue. Festival tickets for adults start at $75 per person and can be purchased here.
Miami Book Fair 2018
Sunday, November 11th to Sunday, November 18th
For eight days every year, the Miami Book Fair stuns book lovers with nightly presentations by some of the world’s most notable authors, a “Festival of Authors” with 450+ authors reading and discussing their work, a “Children’s Alley” with theater and arts and crafts, the weekend Street Fair, collectible exhibitions and more. Adding something new this year, there will be a section just for kids and teens, and presentations and talks led by popular graphic novelists and illustrators. This festival debuted in 1984, and since then, it has gained a reputation for being the nation’s finest literary festival. This year’s festival will take place at the Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus, in Downtown Miami, and guests can get excited for a schedule of impressive authors and speakers, including: Tina Brown, José Andrés, Liane Moriarty, Tayari Jones, Pete Souza and much, much more. Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus is located at 300 NE 2nd Avenue. For more information about events or to buy tickets, click here.
Celebrity Beach Soccer Match + World Fútbol Gala
Saturday, November 17th
Debuting here in Miami, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit and GACP Sports will host the first-ever Celebrity Beach Soccer Match! Taking place on the beach at the W Hotel South Beach at 11 a.m., this fun-filled, charitable soccer game—between two teams of Sports Illustrated models, athletes, influencers, comedians and other celebrities—will benefit Best Buddies. And just because the game is over, doesn’t mean the fun has to stop! Starting at 9 p.m. that night, attendees can throw on their finest and head to the soccer-themed World Fútbol Gala, at the Miami Marine Stadium, for an elegant evening of food stations, artisan cocktails, bubbly, wine, live entertainment, DJs and interactive booth activations. Proceeds from the gala will benefit the Little Lighthouse Foundation, an organization created to help underserved children in South Florida and their families. W Hotel South Beach is located at 2201 Collins Avenue. Miami Marine Stadium is located at 3501 Rickenbacker Causeway. Tickets to the Celebrity Beach Soccer Match start at $50 per person, and tickets to the World Fútbol Gala start at $250 per person. All tickets can be purchased here.
First “Locavore Culinary Experience” Harvest Dinner with Taste of Redland
Saturday, November 17th
Taste of Redland, a group dedicated to raising awareness and market share for the bounty of produce grown in South Florida’s fertile farmland, has a new dinner and brunch program: the Locavore Culinary Experience! Taking place once every month at different locations in the Redlands, these exclusive dining opportunities will run through June 2019 and feature celebrity chefs, live entertainment and farm-to-table fare inspired by the produce grown right here in our own backyard. Kicking-off the series, this inaugural Harvest Dinner will start at 5:30 p.m. with a sunset wine reception and passed hors d’oeuvres at Takoda Farmstead. Right after, guests will head to TILT Farms, right next door, for a three-course, family-style meal and performances of Porgy and Bess, Carmen, Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, Magic Flute, Don Giovanni and more by the 50-person South Florida Symphony Orchestra. On this night only, the menu and food will be prepared by award-winning chefs Cindy Hutson of Ortanique On The Mile and Zest restaurants, Allen Susser of Burger Bar by Chef Allen, and Maxi Fava of Fava Catering, all with the help of Chef David Schwadron Catering. Proof it’s going to be good? It was designed by Steve Haas, the architect of Miami Spice. Event tickets start at $150 for single tickets and $1,000 for a table of eight. All tickets can be purchase here. Transportation will be provided from Takoda Farmstead to TILT Farms, should guests need it (it’s in walking distance).Taste of Redland events will serve as a platform to bring awareness and raise funds for various community wide philanthropic initiatives. Portions of ticket sales will benefit Miami-Dade County’s Redland Fruit and Spice Park.
7th-Annual Key West Film Festival (KWFF)
Wednesday, November 14th to Sunday, November 18th
The Key West Film Festival is back! Over five days, it will once again grace South Floridians with special-event screenings and a curated selection of over 30 feature and shorts films—all chosen from over 350 submissions. This festival has long been a wonderful platform for aspiring and established filmmakers alike to exchange ideas and share what they’re working on with a live, passionate audience. This year, KWFF will welcome its 4th Annual Critics Focus program, debuting viewings and discussions centered around Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma and Florida-born director Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk. The 2018 “Centerpiece” film will be the Florida premiere of Miami-based filmmaker Billy Corben’s Screwball. Other screenings will include the Florida premiere of Emilio Estevez’s The Public, Paul Sanchez’s Brothers in Arms, Pawel Pavlikoskwi’s Cold War, Peter Hedges’ Ben is Back, Cleo 5 to 7, Stephen Belber’s The Laramie Project and more. Adding to its allure, there will be plenty of film critics in attendance: like Eric Kohn of Indiewire, Joshua Rothkopf of Time Out New York, David Fear of Rolling Stone, Monica Castillo, Alicia Malone of Turner Classic Movies and Shirrel Rhoades of the Key West Citizen, many of whom will participate in panel discussions and choose the winner of KWFF’s 2018 Critics Prize, a prize given to only one film and one that is voted on by critics in attendance. New this year? KWFF Frights, a midnight screening of Anna and the Apocalypse in conjunction with local ghost tour companies. The Key West Film Festival will take place at different venues throughout Key West. For a full list of screenings, events and locations, visit the KWFF website.
More for Film Lovers
Every Wednesday from today through Dec. 12, CMX Cinemas in Brickell City Center and CineBistro City Place Doral will be showing classic films for a discounted rate of $10.00. Guests are invited to view and enjoy throwbacks to their favorite films, while being immersed in the upscale CMX Cinemas experience. Want to combine the movie with dinner or light bites? They’ll bring anything from the menu ranging from the CMX Filet Mignon and Skillet Baked Chocolate Cookie at CMX Brickell City Center to the Shrimp Mac & Cheese and the Vaca Frita Burger at CinéBistro Doral. The full Cineclassics Series lineup includes:
Wednesday, November 7 7:00 p.m. “Gladiator”
Wednesday, November 28 7:00 p.m. “The Big Lebowski”
Wednesday, December 5 7:00 p.m. “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”
Wednesday, December 12 7:00 p.m. “It’s a Wonderful Life”
Movie times begin at 7 p.m. Guests must be 21 or older for admittance. To purchase your ticket to one of the Cineclassics Series showings visit www.cmxcinemas.com.
Francophiles take note, November 2 to 4 is France Cinema Floride. Check out the details here.
Finally, looking for top concerts in South Florida, check out an earlier blogpost with November headliners.
