Lots of things to do in Miami in May 2024 you’ll want to check out including Ping Pod that has attracted 85000 ping pong lovers across the USA and now in Miami, a men’s fashion destination, the Little Haiti Book Festival with events for all interests, the annual Hyundai Air & Sea Show, Grand Tasting of the Authentic Italian Food and Wine Festival, a fascinating photo exhibit on Operation Moses, Cuba 2024 music showcase and more.
Little Haiti Book Festival 2024
Miami Book Fair, in partnership with Soyeste Koukouy,brings the 10th Little Haiti Book Festival to the heart of Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood for a full day of authentic Haitian culture, up close and personal.Mark your calendar Sunday, May 5 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex. It’s free and open to the public. There are truly events for all interests, from music, comedy and dance with workshop to hands on craft project, storytelling sessions, poetry workshop, free children’s books and more. Plus, for you news junkies,Panel discussions and conversations about AI and the complexities of reporting the news from and about Haiti. For more information, click here.
Hyundai air and sea show 2024
It’s back Memorial Day Weekend, the Hyundai Air & Sea Show®, known as “The Greatest Show Above the Earth,” It returns to the shores of Miami Beach on May 25th and 26th from 12:00 PM-6:00 PM. This free-to-the-public extravaganza promises a patriotic salute, showcasing the valor, technology, and sheer power of the United States Military alongside our dedicated first responder agencies.
The Hyundai Air & Sea Show® is not just an event; it’s an experience. As one of the largest gatherings of military equipment in the country, attendees will be treated to a spectacle of epic proportions. From United States Military Aerial Demonstrations to Cigarette Offshore Powerboat Racing Exhibitions, from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Drug Interdiction Exercises to Military Parachute Team Demonstrations, there’s something for everyone at this family-friendly event.
Music Explosion at Hyundai Air and Sea Show
But the excitement doesn’t stop there. Following the Hyundai Air & Sea Show® on Saturday, May 25th from 7:00 PM-10:00 PM, attendees can revel in the Music Explosion Presented by Hyundai. With a lineup featuring a DJ, U.S. Army’s “As You Were” band, U.S. Air Force Drill Team, and The Miami Beach Classical Music Festival Orchestra playing a patriotic music concert along Ocean Drive, the entertainment is guaranteed to keep spirits soaring. As night falls, prepare to be dazzled by a breathtaking 3D Mapping Projection, illuminating Ocean Drive’s iconic buildings with patriotic graphics, followed by a spectacular pyro parachute jump by the U.S. Army Golden Knights and the FRLA Fireworks Extravaganza presented by the Florida Restaurant Lodging Association.
(Photos Courtesy of Hyundai Air & Sea Show® and NL|PR)
Ping Pod
Would you believe table tennis (ping pong) is the eighth most played sport in the world and the 6th sport with the most fans? A few years ago in the US three partners banked on that popularity to open PingPod, a place to learn, play and compete that’s open 24/7. Now, three years later PingPod has over 85,000 customers across the US and just opened in Wynwood and is soon to open in the Brickell area. On the app you rent a table by the half hour. Bring a friend, rent a coach, or go in one of their open classes and pick up a partner. You’re given a code to open the door and a screen on the wall measures the time you play. You just close the door on your way out.
Screen that monitors rental time and is scorecard at Ping Pod
In Wynwood there are four tables. Mr. W and I hadn’t played in years but we picked up the paddles, got into it and agreed it’s quite the exercise. One of the players, an Asian man (table tennis is most popular in China) who’s 73 was there. He’s the US over 60 and over 70 champion. Rental rates are by time of the day. They sell non alcoholic refreshments , snacks and merchandise. Prices are $20 an hour off peak and $30 peak time ( 5-10 pm. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 6 pm weekends). Membership is $90 a month which brings with it free play until 12 pm; $10 for 12 -5 and $15 for 5 to 10 p.m. PingPod, 2209 North Miami Avenue, Miami.
Men’s Shop at CURIO at Faena Bazaar
Male readers (FYI 30 % of my readers are men), know that I’m always on the lookout for quality fashion boutiques for men, not easy fo find. Happy to report I found a new gem in CURIO at Faena Bazaar,a three story stylish fashion destination across from the Faena Hotel. Over 1900 square feet, the newly renovated men’s store features over 50 brands from 20 countries at different price points, from high luxury to more accessibly priced high end, brands you probably haven’t heard of, so think “discoveries”. So that means next to, let’s say Marni, Jil Sander and Maison Margiela you’ll find Reverse United, a Miami based company that’s a twist on Western streetwear, and Japanese Sage de Cret.
Men’s Shop at CURIO at Faena Bazaar
The idea is to have a solid range of options, appealing to locals and visitors who might need a sweater as it’s cooler than they thought, a dress shirt and tie for an unexpected event or even flip flops, albeit ones with style. There’s resortwear of course, but also fancy event wear and accessories. Gifts, too. And ladies, CURIO at Faena Bazaar is well worth a visit for you. I ended up buying some earrings and bracelets, and had to control myself to not get more.
Authentic Italian Wine and Food Festival Grand Tasting
Love Italian food and wine? Then put the “The Authentic Italian Food & Wine Festival” from the Italy America Chamber of Commerce on your calendar..The event will take place on May 14thand 15 th, 2024 in Miami at the Coral Gables Country Club. It’s for food and wine professionals but there’s a great event for the public, the Grand Tastingsession (6:00pm-8:30pm), which will include tastings and product presentations. Chefs from local Italian restaurants will also delight the public with their signature dishes prepared using authentic Italian products.
Tickets can be purchased on Eventbrite by clicking on the following link:
Professor Tudor Parfitt at the Operation Moses exhibit
Checked out a fascinating photo exhibit for you history buffs called Operation Moses at the Jewish Museum of Florida that’s well worth a visit. What came to be known as Operation Moses involved the evacuation of around 10,000 Jews from Sudan, a state which was technically at war with Israel, seen as the Zionist Enemy. They were moved to Israel in a joint operation involving the Israeli government, the Sudanese Secret Service, the White House, the State Department, Mossad, CIA, and the Geneva-based International Organization for Migration. It tells the story in text and images. On November 19, 1984, Tudor Parfitt, an FIU professor, arrived in Sudan. He had been sent by the London-based Minority Rights Group to investigate reports that the Ethiopian Jews or Beta Israel as they called themselves, were being poisoned by Christian Ethiopians in the refugee camps. The camps had sprung up along the Sudanese-Ethiopian border to provide shelter for starving people fleeing the civil war and the Great Famine of 1983-5, which was a landmark in global humanitarianism. The Ethiopian Jews were known in Ethiopia as Falasha, a pejorative term meaning alien or exile.
During his visit, Parfitt was walking around a camp and saw dozens of Beta Israel being loaded onto buses. He had stumbled over what came to be known as the first phase of Operation Moses. .
Photographer Peter DeCherney at the Operation Moses exhibit
Wonderful contemporary photos are also featured by Peter Decherney, Professor of Cinema and Media Studies at the U of Penn; Director, Penn Global Documentary Institute; author (and more) has movingly recorded the community that stayed behind in Ethiopia. This includes major Jewish holidays, during the civil war in the neighboring region of Tigray, and images of daily life ranging from weaving a talit and cooking matzoh on injera griddles to a circus performer.Jewish Museum of Florida, 301 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach, FL
Cuba 2024: A Contemporary Showcase of Cuban and Cuban American Composers from the Dranoff 2 Piano Foundation will showcase top Cuban musicians from around the U.S. playing award-winning Cuban and Cuban American composers leading their fields today in Classical, Jazz, Latin Jazz, and Afro Cuban. It’s scheduled for Friday, May 17 at 8 p.m. in Coral Gables.
The program narrative will orchestrate the role of the history of Cuba in the music of the island, and the impact and changes that music has made becoming popular in the United States.
Pre-concert talk will feature musicians and scholars in discussion of how South Florida is both a catalyst and melting pot for Cuban American art. Location:
Sanctuary of the Arts
410 Andalusia Avenue, Coral Gables FL 33134
TICKETS: Tickets are available on the website www.dranoff2piano.org at $40.00 for VIP seating and reception, $30.00 general admission, and $5.00 students.
