{"id":160475,"date":"2026-02-18T23:15:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T23:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/160475\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T23:15:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T23:15:16","slug":"things-to-do-this-weekend-in-south-florida-feb-19-22","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/160475\/","title":{"rendered":"Things to do this weekend in South Florida: Feb. 19-22"},"content":{"rendered":"

This isn\u2019t the month that comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, right? (Where did that Farmers\u2019 Almanac get to?) It feels like the February events calendar came in like a baby dromedary, turns into a full-grown dromedary right about now, and will go out like a small bison.<\/p>\n

No matter your interest, there are choices aplenty this weekend: Miami City Ballet and Palm Beach Opera; the 20th annual African American Film Festival and 40th annual Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival; comedians Hannibal Buress and Zarna Garg; Monster Jam and WWE\u2019s \u201cSmackdown\u201d; Terence Blanchard and Oigovision Superjam; Styx and Boy George; tributes to Johnny Cash and the Bee Gees; Riverwalk Chili Cook-off and Science of Chocolate.<\/p>\n

You may need a drink to get over the hump \u2014 perhaps not coincidentally, Sunday is National Margarita Day.<\/p>\n

Thursday<\/p>\n

Black lives: The 20th annual African American Film Festival kicks off on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. with a screening of \u201cMuhammad Ali, The Greatest\u201d at Rinker Playhouse at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach. Photographer and director William Klein\u2019s film follows the transcendent boxer\u2019s evolution into a cultural icon during a turbulent period in America\u2019s civil rights era, bookended by his legendary 1964 fight with Sonny Liston and his epic Rumble in the Jungle with George Foreman a decade later. Other films included in the series, curated by author and cinema scholar Terri Francis, are \u201cPrincess Tam Tam,\u201d starring Josephine Baker (6:30 p.m. Friday); \u201cLove & Basketball,\u201d with Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps (1 p.m. Saturday); \u201cHe Got Game,\u201d featuring Denzel Washington and former Miami Heat star Ray Allen (6:30 p.m. Saturday); and \u201cStormy Weather,\u201d starring Lena Horne, Bill Robinson, Fats Waller and Cab Calloway (1 p.m. Sunday). Tickets for individual films and a discounted five-film package are available at Kravis.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Brahms away: The Philadelphia Orchestra, led by acclaimed music and artistic director Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin, comes to the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami at 8 p.m. Thursday to perform Brahms\u2019 mighty Third and Fourth Symphonies. Tickets: ArshtCenter.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Making a racket: The annual Delray Beach Open tennis tournament is back this week and, again, has the tone of everything in downtown Delray changed? Is it because all these visitors are so toned? While the tournament is apparently about tennis, it\u2019s also about purposeful food and wine parties. The popular Game, Set, Pour on Friday is sold out, but so far there are still general-admission tickets to the annual Tacos, Tequila and Tennis event on Thursday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. (VIP is sold out) and the Serve & Savor wine party on Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m. Visit DelrayBeachOpen.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Stars come out: Latin-music awards show \u201cPremio Lo Nuestro\u201d takes place on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Miami\u2019s Kaseya Center, with scheduled performers including Marc Anthony, Maluma, Sebasti\u00e1n Yatra, Gente de Zona, Thal\u00eda, Ryan Castro and more. Tickets: KaseyaCenter.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Local sounds: The Oigovision Superjam takes over the North Beach Social, the Rhythm Foundation\u2019s free monthly gathering at the Miami Beach Bandshell on Thursday, when multi-instrumentalist Adrian Gonzalez-Arredondo (Oigo) will host artists working at the heart of Miami\u2019s experimental live music scene, where jazz, funk, Latin and electronica unite. The lineup will include Electric Kif, Anemoia, Lemon City Trio, Twyn, The Lab and Anthony \u201cSmurphio\u201d Laurencio,\u00a0 keyboardist, producer, DJ and cofounder of Suenalo and Afrobeta. Admission is free. Information: MiamiBeachBandshell.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"MiamiMiami jazz experimentalists Electric Kif will play the free Oigovision Superjam at the Miami Beach Bandshell on Thursday. (Lucas Mc Guire\/Courtesy)<\/p>\n

Take the kids: Opening on Thursday under a big-top tent at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Cirque du Soleil\u2019s new all-ages production \u201cLuzia\u201d creates a colorful world of acrobatics, music and fantastical visuals that bring the sights and sounds of Mexico to life, from the beach to a barren desert. Showtimes this weekend will be 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 4 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and 1:30 and 5 p.m. Sunday. Performances will take place through April 25. Tickets: CirqueDuSoleil.com\/Luzia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Thursday laughs: Actor and comedian Chris Kattan, who has created indelible characters from \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d to \u201cA Night at the Roxbury\u201d and \u201cThe Middle,\u201d will perform at the Boca Black Box Center for the Arts on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets: BocaBlackBox.com<\/a>. \u2026 Comedian, actor and radio host Tom Papa brings his Grateful Bread Tour to the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale at 7 p.m. Thursday. Tickets: BrowardCenter.org<\/a>. \u2026 In case you were wondering, both Thursday night shows by young Nashville comic Amber Autry at the Fort Lauderdale Improv are sold out.<\/p>\n

Time won\u2019t give me time: Boy George & Culture Club have been singing \u201cDo You Really Want to Hurt Me,\u201d \u201cI\u2019ll Tumble 4 Ya,\u201d \u201cKarma Chameleon\u201d and \u201cMiss Me Blind\u201d for more than 40 years, and no one seems to want to let go. The band\u2019s 8 p.m. Thursday show at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood is sold out. Check resale updates at Ticketmaster.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Friday<\/p>\n

Golden horn: Grammy-winning trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard<\/a> will perform an expanded version of his iconic Malcolm X Jazz Suite \u2014 joined by The E-Collective and Turtle Island Quartet \u2014 at 8 p.m. Friday at the Arsht Center in Miami as part of the venue\u2019s thoughtful Jazz Roots series. The work, inspired by Blanchard\u2019s score for the 1992 Spike Lee biopic \u201cMalcolm X,\u201d is being performed during the ongoing centennial celebration of the slain civil rights icon. Visit ArshtCenter.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"JazzJazz musician and composer Terence Blanchard will bring an expanded version of his iconic Malcolm X Jazz Suite to the Arsht Center in Miami on Friday. (Burgess Management\/OTG Productions\/Courtesy)<\/p>\n

Winter dance: Miami City Ballet introduces something new with its Winter Mix program, \u201cInto the Magic City,\u201d at the Arsht Center, with performances Friday through Sunday. The program includes George Balanchine\u2019s famed \u201cSerenade\u201d and dynamic \u201cTarantella,\u201d as well as \u201cRoses from the South, Three Waltzes for Toby,\u201d a world premiere by Alexei Ratmansky honoring MCB\u2019s visionary founder, Toby Lerner Ansin. Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday. MCB will then bring the program to the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach on Feb. 28 and March 1. Tickets: MiamiCityBallet.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Weekend laughs: Writer, actor and comedian Hannibal Buress apparently has no hard feelings toward South Florida, setting up at the Fort Lauderdale Improv in Dania Beach for weekend performances at 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday, and 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets: ImprovFTL.com<\/a>. In December, as reported by Miami New Times<\/a>, Buress settled a lawsuit (for $200,000) against the Miami Police Department for his detainment during Art Basel, way back in 2017, an era that seems almost quaint today.<\/p>\n

The look of love: Palm Beach Opera offers its ravishing production of Georges Bizet\u2019s forbidden romance \u201cThe Pearl Fishers\u201d (with sets and costumes designed by fashion icon Zandra Rhodes) at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday. Performances will be in French with English supertitles. Tickets: Kravis.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Troubles with Harry: At the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale, CineConcerts will present the fan-favorite film \u201cHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban\u201d accompanied by a live symphony orchestra. Showtimes will be 8 p.m. Friday and 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets to both screenings are available at BrowardCenter.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Grapple watch: \u201cWWE Friday Night SmackDown\u201d will broadcast live from Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise at 7:30 p.m., showcasing the Shakespearean grappling dramatics of Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, Jacob Fatu, Solo Sikoa, Charlotte Flair, Jade Cargill, Tiffany Stratton and many more. Tickets: AmerantBankArena.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Friday tribute: Johnny Rogers will embody the swagger and music of Johnny Cash at The Studio at Mizner Park in Boca Raton on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets: TheStudioAtMiznerPark.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Saturday<\/p>\n

More movies: Saturday is opening night at Savor Cinema for the 40th edition of the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival<\/a>, featuring a 7 p.m. world-premiere screening of \u201cMiami Nights,\u201d a crime thriller shot on location in Miami. Events will include red-carpet arrivals at 6 p.m. with scheduled appearances by Terrence Howard, Jeremy Sumpter, Danay Garcia and others. The film is sold out, but for $40 you can attend the post-film street party with the stars beginning at 8:30 p.m. The festival continues through Feb. 28. Tickets, information: FLIFF.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Crooning by candlelight: Classical crossover vocal quartet Il Divo will share music from their latest release, \u201cXX: 20th Anniversary Album,\u201d when they bring the Il Divo by Candlelight world tour to the Arsht Center in Miami on Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets: ArshtCenter.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Take the kids: Monster Jam unleashes the diesel-powered, dirt-kicking acrobatics of Grave Digger, Megalodon, El Toro Loco and many more when its 2026 stadium tour pulls up at loanDepot Park in Miami at 5 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. The shows will include the fan-focused Pit Party on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. and the Trackside Experience at 4 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: MonsterJam.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"ThisSee longtime fan favorite El Toro Loco at Monster Jam, coming this weekend to loanDepot Park in Miami. (Feld Motor Sports\/Courtesy)<\/p>\n

Chili forecast: The 10th annual Riverwalk Chili Cook-off returns to Esplanade Park in downtown Fort Lauderdale on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m., with chefs vying for a chance to participate in the World Championship Chili Cook-Off, while also supporting a local nonprofit. The public can participate in the judging by purchasing sample cups and casting votes for the best chili. Admission is free. Information: Facebook.com\/RiverwalkFTL<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Cuckoo for cocoa: The Cox Science Center and Aquarium in West Palm Beach hosts Science of Chocolate on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., an exploration of the physics, chemistry and biology that make chocolate so chocolatey good \u2014 and no homework! (Unless you assign some yourself.) You\u2019ll find hands-on chocolate experiments, including a liquid-nitrogen ice cream treat for the family, along with a chocolate fountain, trivia, lawn games, photos with Willie Wonka and more. It\u2019s all included with museum admission. Tickets: CoxScienceCenter.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Saturday tribute: World-touring tribute band Bee Gees Now! will perform two shows at the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center on Saturday at 3 and 8 p.m. Tickets: AventuraCenter.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sunday<\/p>\n

Sunday laughs: Zarna Garg is an Indian immigrant mom from New York City and also a masterful humorist,\u00a0 illustrated on her Amazon Prime comedy special \u201cOne in a Billion,\u201d on \u201cThe Zarna Garg Family Podcast,\u201d and in opening for Tina Fey and Amy Poehler on their Restless Leg Tour. Garg\u2019s previous two South Florida visits were sellouts, as is her 6:30 p.m. Sunday show at The Parker in Fort Lauderdale. The Parker has added a second show at 9 p.m., but don\u2019t expect those seats to last. Tickets: ParkerPlayhouse.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The best of times: Classic-rock icons Styx \u2014 still led by James \u201cJY\u201d Young and Tommy Shaw \u2014 bring the tour supporting their 2025 album, \u201cCircling From Above,\u201d to the Pompano Beach Amphitheater on Sunday at 7 p.m. Tickets: PompanoBeachArts.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"JamesJames “JY” Young, left, and Tommy Shaw, shown performing at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood in 2025, will bring Styx to the Pompano Beach Amphitheater on Sunday. (Michele Eve Sandberg\/Contributor)<\/p>\n

The best of margaritas: Sunday is National Margarita Day, and if you don\u2019t have a favorite go-to for this tangy cocktail, consider Lona Cocina & Tequileria on the beach in Fort Lauderdale, which was judged to have the best marg in town by a couple of thousand amateur experts at the Fort Lauderdale Margarita Festival in October. Lona will celebrate National Margarita Day on Sunday with a Bottomless Beachside Brunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., featuring food stations and endless pours of their award-winning Lona Margarita (multiple flavors), mimosas and Bloody Marys. From 3 p.m. to closing, the Lona Margarita will be available for a discounted $12. Information: LonaRestaurant.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Inner Circle outing: Reggae stars Inner Circle will be the headliners at the free Rhythm by the River in Fort Lauderdale\u2019s Esplanade Park at 2 p.m. Sunday. This \u201ccelebration of local voices\u201d also will include performances by the relentlessly energetic Les Greene and The Swayzees, the Nina Simone tribute group Ladies of Simone and the Luigi Arredondo Sextet. Part of the Broward Center\u2019s new Amplify Arts initiative, the afternoon will include free arts and crafts, interactive games, food trucks and a variety of free community workshops in the Mary N. Porter Riverview Ballroom. Admission is free. Information: BrowardCenter.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Boot up: Fast-rising country singer-songwriter Tucker Wetmore \u2014 on the road supporting hit debut album \u201cWhat Not To\u201d \u2014 brings The Brunette World Tour to Hard Rock Live in Hollywood on Sunday at 8 p.m. Special guest Dasha will open. Tickets: MyHRL.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at\u00a0bcrandell@sunsentinel.com<\/a>. Follow on\u00a0IG: @BenCrandell<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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