This is the weekend when we begin to feel a joy and light return to the land (even for Florida and Florida State football fans). When, perhaps with out-of-town-guests, we take a moment to appreciate some things that make our place on this quirky peninsula special: The Mai-Kai, The Guitar Hotel, a great Elvis tribute artist, stone crabs for Thanksgiving, and ice skating when it’s 80 degrees out. This is why we’re here.
THURSDAY
5K on ice: If you’re looking to get people out of the house while preparations are happening, on Thursday morning the Florida Panthers will host the Turkey 5kATE race, followed by the Turkey Day Public Skate at Baptist Health IcePlex in downtown Fort Lauderdale. In case you didn’t know (who did?), 11 laps on an NHL rink is a mile. The Turkey 5kATE will be a 34-lap, 5K event (skating experience required) with participant medals at the end. The event begins at 8 a.m., with check-in and light refreshments before the race from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Cost is $40. The Turkey Day Public Skate takes place from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Skating costs $17, spectating is free. For registration to each event, visit FTLWarMemorial.com.
Lion eyes: Zoo Miami is open this weekend, including on Thanksgiving Day from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., when you may see the newest residents, two young male lions, Azizi and Jasiri, that recently arrived from the Phoenix Zoo in Arizona. The brothers, less than 18 months old, are adapting to a new environment so their appearances are unpredictable. Tickets cost $25.95, or $21.95 for guests ages 3 to 12 . Visit ZooMiami.org.
More skating: At The Ben hotel in downtown West Palm Beach, the Winter Wonderland will be open on Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., with skating on a 50-by-66-foot outdoor ice rink, a full-service holiday bar serving hot chocolate, hot toddies, s’mores, popcorn and other treats, plus the Holiday Tree Forest created in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County. Admission is free, but 90-minute skating sessions cost $25, or $10 for children ages 4 to 11. Skate rentals also are available. Visit TheBenEvents.com.
Distinctive dining: If you are looking to dispense with the cooking in a fun way on Thursday, you’ll find a special atmosphere at one of South Florida’s most distinctive dining destinations, the Mai-Kai in Fort Lauderdale, a year removed from a glorious four-year, $17.5 million restoration. The Polynesian restaurant, bar and entertainment venue will be serving from its regular menu while also offering a South Seas-themed Thanksgiving option in two seatings at 2 and 5 p.m. The Thanksgiving meal, including an appetizer, entree and dessert, with three options for each course, will cost $75. Visit Facebook.com/maikairestaurant or call 954-563-3272.
Eating for good: The 19th annual SubCulture Group Thanksgiving Charity Dinner will feature multicourse Thanksgiving meals — roast turkey, hearty sides and housemade desserts — and a thankful vibe at some favorite Palm Beach County restaurants on Thursday, with all proceeds supporting efforts by Hospitality Helping Hands to help feed families and dogs in need. They include Dada in downtown Delray Beach ($34.95 per person), Hullabaloo ($41.87 per person) and Howley’s ($28.95 per person), both in West Palm Beach. Visit Facebook.com/subculturegroup.
The other claws: Catch & Cut restaurant on downtown Fort Lauderdale’s buzzy Las Olas Boulevard will be serving a special Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday from noon to 8 p.m. featuring turkey breast (brined for 12 hours) with herb stuffing and gravy, whipped potatoes, green bean and mushroom casserole, sweet potato mash with toasted marshmallow and a slice of pumpkin pie. Price: $59 per person. But how about creating a new, very South Florida tradition? Stone crabs, anyone? Catch & Cut executive chef André Bienvenu is a former executive chef at Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami Beach, and he’ll be serving stone crab claws on Thanksgiving as well. They’ll be market price, which currently means large stone crabs are sold two per order for $31; jumbo size are $44.50 per claw; colossal stone crabs (when available) are $49.50 per claw. Visit CatchAndCut.com.
Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel
Anyone want to help make stone crabs a new South Florida Thanksgiving tradition? (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel file)
Free for kids: A family friendly production founded in Canada nearly 100 years ago, Garden Bros. Nuclear Circus includes clowns, aerialists, the Human Cannonball and a performer billed as the world’s smallest man. The production will set up under a big-top tent at Sunset Cove Amphitheater in Boca Raton this weekend for performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday; 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Friday; 1:30, 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; and 1, 4 and 7 p.m. Sunday. The show moves to the South Florida Fairgrounds in West Palm Beach for performances on Dec. 4 through Dec. 14. Discounted tickets at Sunset Cove start at $23.27, and entry is free for kids age 13 and younger accompanied by an adult. Visit WhatsOn.GardenBrosNuclearCircus.com.
Even more skating: Thanksgiving Roller Disco, a free event, returns to the Miami Beach Bandshell at 5 p.m. Friday. DJs Mutant Pete and Terence Tabeau will make the grooves, and All Skates Go To Heaven will offer rentals. Food and beverages will also be available for purchase. Tickets are free with RSVP at MiamiBeachBandshell.com.
FRIDAY
Now, Dancer! Cirque du Soleil’s “’Twas the Night Before” will have its final performances at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach through Sunday. Based on the classic Clement Clarke Moore poem “A Visit From Saint Nicholas,” this family-friendly production is the acrobatic troupe’s first holiday show, with a story that follows a jaded young girl in her search to rediscover the magic of the holidays. Weekend performances will be at 1 and 4 p.m. Friday; 1, 4 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; noon, 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $69. Visit Kravis.org.
Boogie fever: The Norton Museum of Art in downtown West Palm Beach will put on its boogie shoes during Art After Dark on Friday from 5 to 10 p.m. Highlights include ’70s music trivia from DJ Adam Gold while he spins the hits from 6 to 7:30 p.m., then an outdoor dance party from 7:30 to 9:30 with DJ Konflikt in the lovely Goergen Garden. Konflikt is a globally touring DJ who is also music director at Good Night John Boy, the nostalgic, all-disco nightclub in Delray Beach. Art After Dark tickets cost $10, $5 for students, and can be purchased at the reception desk or in advance at Norton.org.
Good cheers: Ravish Kitchen & Cocktails in Lantana will lean into the holidays by turning itself over to Miracle, the nationwide holiday cocktail pop-up that is heavy into over-the-top decorating and inventive seasonal drinks. You’ll find Miracle at Ravish starting Friday through Dec. 28. Visit RavishKitchen.com. Rooftop@1WLO in downtown Fort Lauderdale will offer a chic Christmas cocktail vibe beginning on Friday, with an 18-foot centerpiece Christmas tree (it’s a rooftop!) and a new menu of seasonal cocktails. The pop-up runs through Dec. 30. Visit Instagram.com/rooftop1wlo. … Across the street from Rooftop, at the Hyatt Centric, speakeasy Room 901’s Whiskey Workshop will put on its Santa outfit for some secret partying Dec. 2 through Jan. 2. Seatings will be at 5, 7:15 and 9:30 p.m. To visit Room 901 you’ll need a reservation, which gets you the password that you’ll give at the front desk to get the room key. Anyone who drops off a gift for Toys for Tots receives a complimentary “warming” shot of whiskey. Visit RoomNine01.com.
Melissa Hom for Miracle / Courtesy
The Christmapolitan (vodka, elderflower, dry vermouth, spiced cranberry sauce and absinthe mist) is a staple of the holiday bar pop-up Miracle, setting up at Ravish in Lantana on Friday. (Melissa Hom for Miracle/Courtesy)
Adele and St. Nicks: The Candlelight concert series, which offers a pop soundtrack played by a classical quartet amid the warm flicker of candles, will be at Savor Cinema in downtown Fort Lauderdale on Friday with a tribute to Adele at 6:45 p.m. (tickets start at $53.10) and Fleetwood Mac at 8:45 p.m. ($48.15). Visit Feverup.com.
Taylor tribute: The free Friday Night Sound Waves concert series will host Love Story, a nationally touring tribute to Taylor Swift by singer Rikki Lee Wilson, at Las Olas Oceanside Park in Fort Lauderdale on Friday from 7 to 9:30 p.m. The concert will kick off Seas & Greetings, nearly a month’s worth of holiday festivities at the LOOP. Visit TheLoopFLB.com.
Young King: Wellington-raised Matt Stone, one of the most accomplished Elvis tribute artists in the world, will perform as the King in his slim-trim prime at the Arts Garage in Delray Beach on Friday at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $55.50 at ArtsGarage.org.
Matt Stone
Wellington-raised Matt Stone, one of the top Elvis tribute artists in the world, will perform at the Arts Garage in Delray Beach. (Matt Stone/Courtesy)
Weekend laughs: Probably the funniest thing about Fox’s sketch comedy show “Mad TV,” Aries Spears comes to the Fort Lauderdale Improv in Dania Beach for a full bag of shows at 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday; 7, 9:30 and 11:59 p.m. Saturday; 6 and 8:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets cost $36.90. Visit ImprovFTL.com. … Comedian and podcaster Jared Freid brings comes to The Parker in Fort Lauderdale at 7:30 p.m. Friday on his Table for One Tour (about traveling through Europe when you’re single and 40, which is apparently not what you think it would be). Tickets start at $35.40 at ParkerPlayhouse.com.
Classic Dickens: The Wick Theatre & Costume Museum in Boca Raton opens a musical adaptation (from Broadway veterans Alan Menken and Lynn Ahrens) of Charles Dickens’ heartwarming holiday treat “A Christmas Carol” on Friday for a run through Dec. 24. Performances this weekend will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets cost $109 and $119. Visit TheWick.org.
SATURDAY
Light and sound: The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood will open a new light show, “Hard Rock the Holidays,” at The Guitar Hotel on Saturday. The family friendly experience will transform 24 acres around the hotel pool into a winter wonderland with more than 2 million LED lights, 20 themed areas and a light and music show synchronized to holiday classics. Shows will take place 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 6:30 to 11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday through Jan. 3. Admission is $45 for adults, $10 for kids ages 7 to 12, free for 6 and younger. Visit HardRockTheHolidays.com.
An artist’s rendering of “Hard Rock the Holidays,” a new light-and-music experience opening on Saturday outside The Guitar Hotel at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood. (Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino/Courtesy)
Cows and beer: LauderAle Brewery in Fort Lauderdale will host a Small Business Saturday event from 2 to 8 p.m., with vendors, food from Halo Project and live music from country singer Chris Collins. The latter makes some sense given that the day also will include a group of woolly-faced Highland cows to pet and interact with. The Highland Cow and Beer Experience costs $16.95 for 10 minutes with the cows and a beverage of your choice. Visit Facebook.com/lauderale.
Heavy holidays: Metal veterans Queensrÿche (with original guitarist Michael Wilton, bassist Eddie Jackson and longtime vocalist Todd La Torre) bring their Volume and Vengeance Tour to the Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for a set by special guests Accept. General-admission tickets cost $81.90 at Ticketmaster.com.
Old school: Respectable Street in downtown West Palm Beach on Saturday will host the Y2K Party, a celebration of the flip-phone era hosted by MC Elgin David, former cast member of MTV’s “Wild ‘n Out.” DJ Lindersmash will drop hits from the late 1990s to 2010, including favorites from Eminem, Blink-182, Beyoncé, Linkin Park and Avril Lavigne. Doors open at 10 p.m., with the 21-and-older party starting at 11 p.m. Tickets cost $10+ in advance, $15 at the door. Visit Sub-Culture.org/respectable-street.
People who need Barbra: The Pompano Beach Cultural Center on Saturday will host a different kind of tribute with the show “Her Name Is Barbra,” featuring Brooklyn-born singer-actor Joy Altman on a musical journey through Barbra Streisand’s film, stage and pop chart career, from “People” to “The Way We Were.” Performances will be at 2 and 7:30 p.m. General-admission tickets cost $28.52. Visit PompanoBeachArts.org/events.
Christmas town: Still one of my favorite downtowns (I’ll miss it when the developers take over), Lake Worth Beach will host its free holiday tree-lighting festivities from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Lake Worth Cultural Plaza. The evening will include food trucks, entertainment (from the Victorian Voices of South Florida, among others), Santa and other family fun. Plus, that elusive village-y vibe that feels like the holidays. Visit LakeWorthBeachFL.gov.
SUNDAY
Season of love: Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, original stars of the Tony Award-winning Broadway hit “Rent,” will be the headliners at a World AIDS Day Concert on Sunday at Las Olas Oceanside Park in Fort Lauderdale, hosted by CAN Community Health, the national nonprofit dedicated to ending epidemics. The performance will begin at 6 p.m. General-admission tickets cost $10+, or $150+ for VIP. Proceeds from the concert benefit the Susan Terry Foundation, which supports people living with HIV. Visit NoDayButToday.org.
Local sounds: South Florida “campfire punk” songwriter Dominic DeLaney spent great stretches of 2023 on an Amtrak tour of the East Coast and Midwest, and he has written a book about the townsfolk and train passengers met along the way, “Playing to Nobody (and Sometimes Everybody),” published on Nov. 17. His band DDRB (with fellow traveler Ricky Bolufe) will play a book-signing show of sorts at the Bamboo Room in Lake Worth Beach on Sunday at 7 p.m. The cover is $10. Visit Instagram.com/dominicdelaney.
Nashville sounds: The Rhythm Foundation and Miami Beach Bandshell will kick off Miami Art Week with country music, because of course. The Nashbash Miami party takes place at the bandshell on Sunday beginning at 3:30 p.m. (doors open at 2:30 p.m.), with a serious lineup of Nashville talent: Maggie Rose, Moon Taxi, Paul McDonald & the Mourning Doves and newcomer Jess Nolan. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. Tickets cost $46.35 at MiamiBeachBandshell.com.
Beer and shopping: Barrel of Monks Brewing in Boca Raton will host Crafts & Drafts, a holiday market featuring local art, handmade goods, home decor and good vibes on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Be sure to say hello to resident chef Cheffrey Eats and ask if you can get a sneak peek at his December Burger of the Month. He’s crazy. Visit Facebook.com/barrelofmonks.
What is hip?: Underappreciated old-school funk band Tower of Power will bring their Holiday and Hits Tour to The Parker in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Holiday music is fine, but hearing “What is Hip?” and “So Very Hard To Go” would be a real gift. Tickets start at $46.61 at Ticketmaster.com.
Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com. Follow on IG: @BenCrandell.