By:  Mary Jo Almeida-Shore

In South Beach where it’s perpetually New Year’s Eve,  you will find an onslaught of places to pop your bottles in the ice and get “snizzled and sizzled” as the clock strikes 12 and you usher in 2011, albeit at 1000% mark-up.  We trust that you have been eating your Wheaties, taking your vitamins and have stashed away some cash to blow on the big night, so we are providing you with a short list of parties that may actually be worth said cash.  After all, is two months’ salary too much to spend on the most fun night you won’t remember? Happy New Year!  Read the rest of this entry »

The Big Top by the Bay – KOOZA
The raising of the Blue-and-Yellow Grand Chapiteau (Big Top) and the set up of the Cirque du Soleil Village at Miami’s Bicentennial Park can only mean that Cirque du Soleil’s critically acclaimed production KOOZA is in town!
KOOZA is an attempt to return to ‘the origins’ of circus performing by combining clowning and high tension acrobatics while exploring the themes of fear, identity, recognition and power through a variety of amazing acts showcasing the soul of circus tradition.

KOOZA is the story of a character called the Innocent who takes you along on his journey through the world of KOOZA while he meets characters like the Trickster, the King, the Pickpocket, the Obnoxious Tourist and his Bad Dog.  A word of caution about the Pickpocket, if you happen to be the lucky audience member who is taken on stage for a “demonstration” with the pickpocket, well let’s just say….hold on to your hat Read the rest of this entry »

By:  Mary Jo Almeida -Shore

As many of us complete our 12- step Art Basel recovery program, and begin to stress about New Year’s week (which, in the spirit of “If it’s worth doing it’s worth overdoing,”- lasts about a week), we know what you’re thinking…Art Basel- isn’t that LONG over?! Well to answer, “You didn’t really think we’d be able to cover all the fabulocity Basel has to offer in just one week, did you?” After all, it is the world’s biggest art show!  So here are just a few more great events we didn’t get to last week- for sheer lack of space and strength. Read the rest of this entry »

Last Tuesday, after months of anticipation, Gloria and Emilio Estefan and cb5 Restaurant group officially opened the doors to Bongos Cuban Cafe at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino with a star-studded grand opening celebration. Guests included Jody Pennette (President of cb5 Restaurant Group), Jon Secada, Lili Estefan, Raul de Molina, Candela Ferro, Mauricio Zeilic, Actor Jonathan Silverman, Actress Jennifer Finnegan, James Allen (CEO Seminole Gaming), Recording Artist Christian Acosta, Marysol Patton, Frank Amadeo and Enrique Santos among many others.

JR and Loren Ridinger celebrated their anniversary in style at Prime 112 on Saturday night, alongside close friends Kim Kardashian, Serena Williams, Larsa Pippen and Kamal Hotchandani.

 Hunky, Latin pop-star, Ricky Martin hung out at Cafeina on Thursday night.

Ricky Martin at Cafeina Lounge in Miami's Wynwood art district.

 Low-key in demeanor, the heartthrob traveled with a minimal entourage and was overheard chatting about his children and upcoming holiday plans. Just before catching a plane home, Martin posed for photos and complimented the lounge to the Ivette Naranjo, proud owner of Cafeina.

During Art Basel,  Chris Bosh joined Kelly Rowland and Serena Williams (fresh from surgery in a bejeweled leg cast) for dinner at new favorite restaurant, Eden South Beach.  The group snuck into one of the cabanas outside in the “Garden of Eden” where they noshed on a few chef favorites. Serena was having so much fun, she was dancing on one leg in the garden and jumped behind the bar and began to serve shots to diners at the restaurant.  The group stayed for over three hours.  Bosh was so impressed he made a reservation for the following week.

During  N*E*R*D’s performance, Pharrell Williams was surprised when a stage crasher made it past the security and ended up right next to him on stage in the middle of one of the songs.  Security removed the camouflage-dressed man from the stage, but after finishing his song, Pharrell told the security that he was so impressed that the guy made it to the stage that he brought him back on to perform his next two songs with him!

 By: Maryanne Salvat and Mary Jo Almeida-Shore

 Pucci’s Pizza: Back By Popular Demand

After an eight year hiatus, Pucci’s Pizza, known to many club goers from back-in-the-day as “Hangover Helper” is back- to feed those late-night/early morning cravings and give you the best Brooklyn style pizza all day long. Tommy Pooch and long time business partner Alan Roth along with, Miami Favorite, DJ Irie have re-opened Pucci’s Pizza in the heart of Washington Avenue and 15^th Street in Miami Beach.   Serving patrons into the wee, post-club hours of the night, diners can expect traditional pasta dishes, hero sandwiches, salads, and good old fashioned slices. Just remember,   “A slice and a Coke, you’ll never go broke!”  Pucci’s Pizza is located at 1535 Washington Avenue.

Titanic Brewery Presents Hoosha

Join local favorite Hoosha as they take Coral Gables by storm hitting the stage on Friday, December 17, at 10 p.m. at Titanic Restaurant & Brewery.  The band is thrilled to welcome a new addition to their family, Alessandro Martino, on guitar, followed by Dizzy Bird at midnight.  Come out and support some great local music along with a free shot with every drink purchase.  Titanic Brewery is located at 5813 Ponce De Leon Boulevard in Coral Gables.

Justin Bua’s Legends of Hip Hop Tour

 On Saturday, December 18, 944 Magazine along with Original MOONSHINE hosts an evening of groundbreaking art, throwback music, and cocktails.  Justin Bua, internationally known for his best-selling collection of fine art posters,  will be unveiling one of his most important pieces to date, a 12-foot original oil painting of the Notorious B.I.G.    Doors open at 6:30 p.m., with a viewing at 7:30 p.m.  The Pick Nation Building is located at 7521 Biscayne Boulevard.  To RSVP to this event, visit info@taient.com.

Zoo Lights and Dinner with Santa

Zoo lights kicks off this weekend at Zoo Miami, formerly Miami Metro Zoo (12400 SW 152 Street) and runs from December 17-30.  Guests can enjoy beautiful animal-shaped lights as they stroll zoo walkways during the 12 nights of Zoo Lights (excluding December 24 and 25) from 7 – 10 p.m. (ticket booths close at 9:30 p.m.).  Guests can enjoy dozens of bright animal-shaped lights, while sipping hot chocolate, munching on delicious cookies, and listening to wonderful holiday music.  Included with admission is a pair of 3D glasses, which will make the Zoo Lights experience even more engaging and amusing.  General admission is $8.95 plus tax per adult and $6.95 plus tax per child.  Zoo members are $7.95 plus tax per adult and $5.95 plus tax per child. 

 Dinner with Santa will take place on December 23, from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.  Families will be treated to a delicious dinner and photo op with Santa at Wings of Asia.  Children will receive a holiday plush gift and will get to make their own holiday ornaments!  Admission includes parking, entry to Zoo Lights with unlimited carousel rides from 7 – 10 p.m. and a classic holiday menu of fresh roasted turkey with homemade gravy, baked ham, candied sweet potatoes with melting marshmallows, herbed buttery carrots, homemade cranberry sauce, dinner rolls with butter, homemade seasonal pumpkin cake with cream cheese icing, strawberry-infused lemonade, and cranberry mint-infused water.  General admission is $42.95 per adult and $39.95 per child ages 3-12.  Zoo members are $38.95 per adult and $36.95 per child ages 3-12. Children ages 2 and under are free. 

By:  Mary Jo Almeida-Shore

Those with an unrequited, inexplicable obsession with all things social, artistic, fashionable and fabulous got our annual fix last week during Art Basel 2010, where for seven straight days we were over stimulated from the rooster’s crow to the coyote’s howl-and are just slightly the worse for wear this week. At what other time of the year does the bar line at any given event seem transported from the Tower of Babel? Or does one’s daily conversation involve such derivatives of the word “Basel” as: Baseling, Baselites, Basel brain, Basel Tov, Basel hangover or Baselitis? And when else are you just as likely to bump into Academy Award winners, Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon as funny men, Steve Martin and Ben Stiller; social fixtures, Andre Balazs, Daphne Guinness, Nicky Hilton; designers, Calvin Klein, Christian Louboutin; music moguls, Russell Simmons and the Estefans, or singer, Pharrell Williams; swoon-worthy beautiful people, Gerard Butler, Isabella Rossellini, Naomi Campbell; sports figures, Alex Rodriguez and Serena Williams; art collectors Johnny Pigozzi, Sheikh Mubarak Al-Muhairi, or artistic genius Julian Schnabel, in mismatched clothing as if he’d just gone on a shopping spree at Goodwill? Far from exhaustive, here’s the short list of some of the Basel events that put the “ART” in P-ART-Y. Read the rest of this entry »