Downtown Miami

A weekend of free events was scheduled.

We can think of no better reason to make a Miami pilgrimage than for a weekend of free stuff, and Dwntwn Art Days will provide that excuse Friday through Sunday.

Miami’s Downtown Development Authority will host an overstuffed bill of 50 special exhibitions, art parties, theater shows, pop-up concerts, cocktail mixology demonstrations and walking tours at 28 venues around the downtown area, including the Adrienne Arsht Center, the Perez Art Museum and the Miami Center for Architecture and Design. All events are open to the public, and many are free.

Below are some Dwntwn Art Days gatherings. For the full list of events, go to DwntwnArtDays.com. The Hub

Friday through Sunday at the Miami Center for Architecture and Design, 100 NE First Ave.; free; 305-448-7488

The hub of activity for most Dwntwn Art Days gatherings, MCAD will host a free “Drink and Draw” (4-8 p.m. Friday) with cocktails and a drawing activity with illustrator Emerson Calderon. The venue will also host free T-shirt designing and sidewalk coloring events

(all day Sunday) and “Miami Mix: How Brazil Became Part of Miami” (through Sept. 15) an exhibit about the Brazilian influence on Miami’s architecture and urban design. Downtown ARTchitecture Tour

3-4:30 p.m. Friday at HistoryMiami, 101 W. Flagler St.; free; HistoryMiami.org.

HistoryMiami historians will take visitors on a guided tour of Miami’s history along the Miami River and Biscayne Bay, with an emphasis on the Tequesta tribe and the city’s early pioneers. “Miami: A Very Funny History”

6-8 p.m. Friday at HistoryMiami Museum, 101 W. Flagler St.; $20-$30 via Eventbrite.com; 305-375-1492 or HistoryMiami.org

Miami standup Freddy Stebbins, a voice actor and recent Brickell Comedy Festival headliner, will offer an evening of costumes and impersonations tracing the history and cultures of the city. The performance will benefit Comic Cure, which uses comedy to raise money and awareness for local nonprofits. MDC Live Arts Presents LALA

7-9 p.m. Friday at Freedom Tower, 600 Biscayne Blvd.; free; 305-237-3010 or

MDCLiveArts.org

The six artists of MiamiDade College’s Live Arts Lab Alliance will rehearse and workshop new performance-art works in progress for the public. The artists are: Rosie Herrera, Juraj Kojs, Claudio Marcotulli, Ana Mendez, Adele Myers and Pioneer Winter. ArtsLaunch2017

9 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday at Adrienne Arsht Center, 601 Biscayne Blvd.; 305-949-6722 or ArshtCenter.org/ArtsLaunch

The Arsht’s official kickoff of its arts season is a massive music, arts and food festival overstuffed with family-friendly gatherings, including mini-concerts inside the Ziff Ballet Opera House (10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.); a “Sing Like Gloria” contest in the Peacock Foundation Studio (4-5 p.m.) ahead of the Oct. 5-15 Arsht run of Gloria and Emilio Estefan’s “On Your Feet!” musical; an interactive dance choreography workshop in the Carnival Studio Theater (10 a.m.); cooking and mixology demonstrations from Bradley Kilgore at his Arsht restaurant Brava by Brad Kilgore (11 a.m.-4:30 p.m.); and a Closing Party on the center’s plaza with local bands and DJs (7-10 p.m.).