An idiot’s guide to Mother’s Day fun
What I don’t know about motherhood could fill a book. My wife, a mother, would tell me to stop being modest: I could fill many books with things I don’t know about.
Here we are on Mother’s Day Weekend and in my typical stumbling around I have come up with a few ideas that, I think, have a chance at winning over my wife, maybe yours.
Nailed it
I am not completely clueless and pretty quickly decided that just-purchased Chris Stapleton tickets (for his Nov. 20 concert at iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach), while joyfully symbolic of future normalcy, is not something my wife would consider a proper gift. I’m a bigger fan, for starters.
On the other hand, we could both find something to like about David Nail at the Funky Biscuit in Boca Raton this weekend. Nail is a versatile country performer — he was a hit with the ballcap crowd at Tortuga Music Festival a few years ago and is man enough to cover Adele’s “Someone Like
You.” Nail performs 9 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday, with tickets $40. Visit FunkyBiscuit.com.
Air and water
The Water Taxi has always been an enjoyable diversion in downtown Fort Lauderdale ,a reminder of what a visually impressive place it is to call home. On Saturday and Sunday the Water Taxi will be offering its all-day Hop On Hop Off Service for a discounted $19, kids younger than 5 free. (OK, it also happens to be Fort Lauderdale Air Show Weekend, and the Water Taxi will be a great way to see planes overhead.) Visit WaterTaxi.com.
No reservations
So, yeah, Air Show. You’d think that such a popular display would mean a Mother’s Day reservation is impossible at waterfront special-event dining staple Coconut’s on Fort Lauderdale beach. Not exactly. Owner Elliot Wolf says the restaurant will be walk-ups only, no reservations, on Sunday. Visit CoconutsFortLauderdale. com.
Pretty simple
It’s amazing how rejuvenating a simple walk down Las Olas Boulevard can be. It doesn’t cost a dime to soak up the atmosphere and snark up the unintelligible fashion statements. If we do want to stop and spend a dime or two, the sidewalk café outside Ann’s Florist & Coffee Bar continues to be a steady go-to as a couple. It’s the simple things. Visit AnnsFloristLasOlas.com.
Uneasy process
For a quiet glass of wine,
Vinos Wine Bar & Cocktail Lounge is a perfect spot on Las Olas. Like me, perhaps you stay up at night wondering when owner Clayton Chelley will finally be able to debut his down-the-alley speakeasy. He’s still ensnared in state bureaucracy but this week predicted it will be open by the end of the month. Visit Facebook. com/vinosonlasolas.
Mood music
I’m told there’s nothing wrong with staying in for a date night (apparently, to qualify, the Marlins cannot not be on a screen within view). If you are looking for a soundtrack, charismatic South Florida vocalist Nicole Henry has plenty of mood-setting music (see NicoleHenry.com). Her new single, “Feeling Good,” was released in April. As it happens, on Wednesday, the Nicole Henry Quintet will perform live in the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets for the 7:45 p.m. show, sponsored by Gold Coast Jazz, cost $35. Visit BrowardCenter.org.
More mood music
You know who else has new music you should stay in for? Singer-songwriter Mary Karlzen recently released the album “Shine” (Y&T Music), a beautifully affecting collection of jangly light and moody recesses floating on the still-potent voice that took her from South Florida to the edge of national stardom in the early ’90s. Tracks to look out for include “Slowly Disappear,” “One Step Away From Home” and “You Still Belong to Me.” For more on Karlzen, check out the interview by WLRN’s Michael Stock at WLRN. org and visit YTMusicOnline.com.
Future beer
Contrary to what my wife may tell you, I try to plan ahead in thoughtful ways. You, too, I imagine. The long-awaited Dogfish Head Miami brewery, a conversion of the old Concrete Beach tap room in Wynwood by the group responsible for the diabolical 120 Minute IPA, will open on May 21. Visit Dogfish.com. There, we’re up to speed.
Dude perfect
Can I pitch an evening on Old School Square in Delray Beach with comic filmmaker, author and unrepentant dude’s dude Kevin Smith (“Clerks,” “Chasing Amy,” “Dogma,” “Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back,” “Red State”) as some kind of couple’s outing? Not really. Even by comparison I don’t stack up well. Smith will do whatever he does at 8 p.m. Friday. Tickets are being sold in pods, beginning at $75 for a two-person set-up. Visit OldSchoolSquare.org.
Phoning it in
For some reason, many moms prefer to spend Mother’s Day with their kids. This weekend Coral Gables Art Cinema will offer two Family Day on Aragon screenings of “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” Steven Spielberg’s poignant examination of that thing that makes parenthood worth it: the indefatigable wonder of kids. Saturday’s 8 p.m. screening will be shown outdoors at the nearby Coral Gables Museum, and Sunday’s 11 a.m. screening will be in the theater. Tickets are free, or “pay what you can,” with concessions by pre-order. Visit GablesCinema.com.