Greetings {name},

Monday, February 21 is Presidents' Day, a public holiday celebrating George Washington and founders of the republic. Many stores hold sales on Washington's Birthday weekend.

Tuesday, March 1 is Shrove Tuesday, commonly known as Mardi Gras (a state holiday in Florida) and the last day before Lent, a traditional period for fasting, and features large festivals and celebrations across the United States.

March 1 is also the first day of Women's History Month and Irish Heritage Month.

As always, make plans to enjoy the great outdoors in our little city. Walk down Miracle Mile, experience the live theatre and the best movies, browse the book stores, look into the art galleries and meet up with friends at the restaurants. Visit the parks and public spaces to appreciate the bounties of nature. 

Enjoy the best of Coral Gables in the coming days.

Robert and Robin Burr

please enjoy this image that reminds us of the beauty and serenity of our majestic city

Coral Gables Waterway between Granada and Riviera

Coral Gables scenic photo illustrations © Robin and Robert Burr.

Live Performances through March 6

On Your Feet Musical at Miracle Theatre

Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre presents its production of On Your Feet! -- the inspiring true story about heart, heritage, and two people who believed in their talent to become an international sensation: Gloria and Emilio Estefan. The Miami engagement of the hit Broadway musical will run from February 9 to March 6 at the Miracle Theatre -- here in the couple’s hometown -- in an original production that celebrates its South Florida Regional Premiere. The Miracle Theatre is located at 280 Miracle Mile. Call 305-444-9293. http://www.actorsplayhouse.org

Accepting Entries through April 1

Capture Downtown Coral Gables Photo Contest

The Coral Gables Museum and the Business Improvement District of Coral Gables (BID) invite photo-based artists of all ages and backgrounds to submit fresh and creative images of The City Beautiful to a Special Edition of the photography contest, Capture Coral Gables 2022. In honor of the 25th anniversary of the BID, this edition, devoted to Downtown Coral Gables, will offer 25 prizes to the best 25 photos. https://coralgablesmuseum.org/Capture-Coral-Gables/

Now Playing through February 19

Strong Black Leads Film Program

Experience a celebration of talented filmmakers and performers who, despite the odds, have made remarkable contributions to cinema through their respective crafts. Presented in recognition of Black History Month by the Coral Gables Art Cinema. The films include: Lilies of the Field, No Way Out, Paris Blues, Carmen Jones, Eve's Bayou, Chameleon Street, and Cotton Comes to Harlem. https://www.gablescinema.com/coming-soon/

February 19-21

Coconut Grove Arts Festival

The Coconut Grove Arts Festival is three-day outdoor art festival with a focus on world-class art, with culinary displays, live performances, and family areas. Held every Presidents’ Day Weekend, the Arts Festival is one of the nation’s premier arts festivals with more than 360 internationally-recognized and jury-selected artists. On-site general admission tickets are $25 on-site and $20 online per person per day. Discount tickets and packages are available in advance online. https://cgaf.com

Fridays Evenings

Club P.L.A.Y - Parents Night Out

Parents, drop the kids off at the War Memorial Youth Center, 405 University Drive from 6 to 9pm on Friday evenings and enjoy a night on the town. Club P.L.A.Y counselors provide fun-filled adventures as kids participate in active games, arts and crafts, and more. Pizza and juice are provided. Call 305-446-6800.

Friday, February 18 at 7:30pm

Elmer Bernstein at 100 — Henry Mancini Orchestra

Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra presents a special tribute performance at Gusman Concert Hall. While we all know composer Leonard Bernstein, film composer Elmer Bernstein’s work is even more familiar. Elmer composed some of Hollywood’s most memorable film scores, including The Great Escape, The Magnificent Seven, The Ten Commandments, and Ghostbusters. His rich and varied music lives on in his 100th birthday year. https://ci.ovationtix.com/1811/performance/10829997

Friday, February 18 at 7pm

Gables Moonlight Movies - Enchanted

Bring the kids to Phillips Park at 90 Menores Avenue for a magical evening as the real world and the animated world collide with Walt Disney's Enchanted. Attendees are encouraged to dress up as their favorite fairytale character. The screening begins at 7pm. Cost is $10 per family pod of up to four people, and includes a picnic blanket and popcorn per group. Presented in collaboration with the City of Coral Gables and the Coral Gables Community Recreation Department. Closed captioning is available. https://www.gablescinema.com/events/movies-under-the-gables-moonlight/

Starts Friday

Lingui, The Sacred Bonds

Celebrated Chadian director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun (A Screaming Man) makes a remarkable return to his home country with Lingui, The Sacred Bonds. Honest and poignant, this official submission to the 2022 Academy Awards is a stunning vision of female solidarity. On the outskirts of capital city N'djamena, resolute single mother Amina (Achouackh Abakar Souleyman) works tirelessly to provide for herself and her 15-year-old daughter, Maria (Rihane Khalil Alio). Their already precarious existence is rocked when Amina learns Maria is pregnant and does not want to carry to term. Abandoned by her own family as an expectant teenager, Amina is determined to secure another fate for her child. https://www.gablescinema.com/events/lingui-the-sacred-bonds/

Saturdays from 8am to 2pm

Farmers' Market At City Hall

Enjoy Coral Gables' iconic farmers market from 8am to 2pm every Saturday through March 26 featuring fresh fruits, vegetables, prepared foods, baked goods, flowers and plants, free tai chi classes, gardening workshops, cooking demos, and activities for children. https://www.coralgables.com/farmers-market-at-merrick-park

Saturday, February 19 from 9am to Noon

Bird-Friendly Gardening Day

Volunteer for Bird-Friendly Gardening Day at Tropical Audubon Society. Do you enjoy digging in the garden, learning about native plants that attract birds and other pollinators, or weeding invasives? Sign up to help us maintain our Bird-Friendly Demonstration Garden and near-native Steinberg Nature Center grounds! You'll get hands-on experience creating wildlife habitat under the guidance of our resident Master Gardeners. The knowledge and skills you gain will enable you to establish a bird-friendly garden in your own yard, patio or balcony. https://support.tropicalaudubon.org/a/bird-friendly-gardening-day

Saturday, February 19 at 5pm

Watching Movies With: Carmen Pelaez - Saturday Night Fever

Join playwright Carmen Pelaez and Cosford manager Rene Rodriguez for a screening and discussion of John Badham’s Saturday Night Fever (1977) at Cosford Cinema on the UM Campus. https://cosfordcinema.com/event/watching-movies-with-carmen-pelaez/

Saturday, February 19 at 7:30

JACK Quartet

Enjoy a performance by the JACK Quartet at Gusman Concert Hall. Hailed by The New York Times as "our leading new-music foursome," the quartet is one of the most acclaimed, renowned, and respected groups performing today. They maintain an unwavering commitment to performing and commissioning new works, giving voice to underheard composers, and cultivating an ever-greater sense of openness toward contemporary classical music. Get details and tickets online. https://ci.ovationtix.com/1811/performance/10829998

Saturday, February 19 at 9pm

Cotton Comes to Harlem

Adapted from Chester Himes’ novel of the same name, Cotton Comes to Harlem is a hard-boiled neo-noir with a nearly all-Black cast. Raymond St. Jacques and the underrated Godfrey Cambridge head the cast as Himes’ detectives "Coffin" Ed Johnson and "Gravedigger" Jones. The plot revolves around the robbery of $87,000 from a back-to-Africa scheme, and the whereabouts of the movie's MacGuffin, a wayward bale of cotton from which the story takes its title. https://www.gablescinema.com/events/cotton-comes-to-harlem/

Sunday, February 20 at 1pm

Claudia Rankine in Conversation with Bari Newport

At GableStage, Claudia Rankine's The White Card stages a conversation that is both informed and derailed by the black/white American drama. The scenes in this one-act play, for all the characters’ disagreements, stalemates, and seeming impasses, explore what happens if one is willing to stay in the room when it is painful to bear the pressure to listen and the obligation to respond. Claudia Rankine is also the author of five books of poetry. Watch this conversation live on Crowdcast. Get details and register online. 

Tuesday, February 22 at 1pm

Carl Bernstein - Chasing History: A Kid in the Newsroom

In this triumphant memoir, Carl Bernstein, the Pulitzer Prize-winning coauthor of All The President’s Men and pioneer of investigative journalism, recalls his beginnings as an audacious teenage newspaper reporter in the nation’s capital -- a winning tale of scrapes, gumshoeing, and American bedlam. Get details and register online.

Thursday, February 24 from 6:30 to 7:00pm

History of the Miami-Dade Public Library System

From the early beginnings of public libraries in Miami to the vibrant library system we have today, explore the rich history of the Miami-Dade Public Library System in celebration of our 50th anniversary during this special online presentation by HistoryMiami Museum’s Resident Historian Dr. Paul George. Sponsored by Friends of the Miami-Dade Public Library. Ages 19 years and up. https://mdpls.org/event/6051554

Friday, February 25 at 1pm

Trace Your Family Genealogy Class

This 10 week course on Zoom is designed to teach you how to begin researching your family. This is a true beginners course, and is perfect for someone who is just starting their research or those who need a review of the basics. Your Genealogical Society Of Greater Miami instructors will be Tamara Hallo, Lorrie Martin, Bill Walker, and Magaly Park. https://www.gsgmfl.org/beginning-genealogy-classes

Starts Friday, February 25

The White Card at GableStage

The Florida premiere of Award-winning poet/playwright Claudia Rankine's first published play, The White Card comes to GableStage, posing the essential question: Can American society progress if whiteness remains invisible? https://www.gablestage.org/production/

Friday, February 25 at 7:30pm

Johann Sebastian Bach: Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring

Seraphic Fire's Enlightenment Festival continues with two of Johann Sebastian Bach’s great cantatas: Cantata 147, Hertz und Mund und Tat und Leben, and Cantata 62, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland. A period chamber ensemble joins the voices of Seraphic Fire for this memorable concert. Additionally, Bach’s seldomly performed Mass in G minor features the entire ensemble in ravishing counterpoint. Enjoy this live performance at First United Methodist, 536 Coral Way. Tickets are $50. Get details and tickets online.

Sunday, February 27 from 10am to 4pm

South Florida Youth Symphony At The Garden

Enjoy a beautiful day at the Garden with The Gold-Medal and Emmy-winning South Florida Youth Symphony (SFYS.net), one of the nation’s leading youth music organizations. Concert goers will have the option of being indoors at the Garden House or -- because the doors to the Garden House will be open -- people can bring their lawn chairs and sit outside and enjoy the music and the beautiful surroundings. Concert begins at 2pm however, guests are welcome to enjoy the Garden all day. Get details and tickets online.

Saturday, March 5 at 3pm

Frost Opera Theatre - The Leopard

Frost Opera Theater with the Frost Symphony Orchestra present the world premiere of The Leopard at the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center. Based on the international best-selling novel Il Gattopardo. Set in Sicily in the year 1860, the opera is told through the eyes of Don Fabrizio Corbera, Prince of Salina (also known as the Leopard). Known for his commanding personality, he is a member of an impoverished Sicilian aristocracy soon to be obsolete. Now facing a society in upheaval, he is forced to choose between decay and progress, and between the downfall of the nobility and the future of his family. Music by Michael Dellaira. Libretto by J. D. McClatchy. The opera runs 120 minutes with intermission. Discount tickets are available online. Use code: FROSTFRIEND. The South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center is located at 10950 SW 211 Street in Cutler Bay. https://smdcac.org/events/leopard-world-premiere

The Season Is Here

Everglades Swamp Tours

Reserve space with Everglades Swamp Tours for an amazing adventure in the wild Everglades -- with your own custom tour of these vast open spaces. Experience the natural wildlife up close and appreciate the serene nature of this pristine environment. https://www.evergladesswamptours.com

Many of our favorite eateries in the Gables are offering curbside takeout, as well as delivery services. Here's a handy list of choices for Gables residents and friends.

http://www.greatgables.com/CoralGables/ToGo.html