Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
‘Dirty Dancing’ in weekend preview
We’ve been thinking about South Florida artist Renda Writer, well-known around the country for his hand-written murals, covering walks with jumbles of words that convey a wish (“world peace”), a feeling (“love”) or an admonition (“love is a risk”). If we were to commission a wall by Writer this weekend, it would say: “Wear a mask.”
Girls night out
Nothing says normalcy in South Florida like a roomful of drag queens, and you may be happy to know that this is reopening weekend at Lips, Fort Lauderdale’s iconic dragentertainment restaurant. Lips will be operating at reduced capacity and reservations are a must. Call 954-567-0987 or visit LipsUSA.com.
Swayze days of summer
More suggestive moves can be found on Friday when the FLIFF Drive-In Cinema series returns to a waterside spot near Fort Lauderdale’s Pier Sixty-Six Hotel and
Marina with a screening of the classic Patrick Swayze-Jennifer Gray romance “Dirty Dancing.” Gates open at 7 p.m. for the show at 8:30 p.m. (be parked by 8:15 p.m.). There will be food trucks at site. Admission is $30 per car at FLIFF.com.
Dog days of summer
Salty Dog Paddle, the West Palm Beachbased nonprofit surf and SUP brand that sup
ports injured rescue dogs and marine life, will host the Four-Legged Lunch noon-3 p.m. Sunday at Death or Glory in downtown Delray Beach. You’ll find food and drink specials and a $50 Death or Glory gift-card raffle to raise money for Salty Dog Paddle’s Salty Dog of the Month, Dutch, rescued from a grim existence and in need of surgery. Leashed dogs are welcome. For information on the event and on Dutch, visit Facebook.com/SaltyDogPaddle.
Time for love
Globe-trotting Coral Springs-raised poet and painter Renda Writer this week completed a large mural in the Warehouse
District in West Palm Beach called “Love Conquers Wall.” In Writer’s inimitable style, the words “love,” “conquers” and “wall” coalesce into a call — visually chaotic yet reassuring — for barriers to come down. The work can be seen on the Palm Beach
Squash Building, 1220 Elizabeth Ave., adjacent to the Grandview Public Market.
Visit TheDistrictWPB.com.
Fashion statement
Miami-based stylist Calyann Barnett, longtime stylist for former Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade, last weekend reopened The
Shop In Pop-up Shop, a tightly curated brick-and-mortar space in Wynwood for young designers who can’t yet afford their own store.
Among the items on sale are a line of T-shirts designed by Barnett called American Victims, with each jersey-style shirt telling the story of a different person killed by police. The front of the shirts display the words American Victims in reverse (readable in a mirror) with a number that signifies how many bullets were used to kill the victim.
On the front shoulder is the city in which the shooting occurred. On the back is the victim’s name and another number that indicates the age of death. The shirts are $25, with all proceeds going to the Florida-based social-justice organization Dream Defenders.
The Shop In Pop-up Shop is at 285 NW 26th St., Miami, a few doors down from Zak the Baker. Visit TheShopInPopuUpShop.com.
No time for love
R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe and Big
Red Machine (Aaron Dessner) this week premiered the single “No Time For Love Like
Now” on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” and it’s now available via the usual digital music sources. A poignant postcard from the pandemic — “There’s no time for dancing / no time for undecideds / no time for love like now,” Stipe sings — the song comes with a T-shirt and tote bag at AmbientInks.com. All proceeds go to The Equal Justice Initiative and Covid-19 Protest Relief Fund.
Weekend cocktail
The South Beach Wine & Food Festival’s Zoom-enabled cocktail classes continue 6-7 p.m. Friday with one of my favorite local bars in the spotlight, featuring bartender Ben Potts of Beaker & Gray in
Wynwood. The lessons are free, but donations will accepted for the SOBEWFF and FIU Chaplin School Hospitality Industry Relief Fund. Visit SoBeWFF.org/events.
Weekend s’mores
Your backyard summer vacation will not be the same with the release of S’mores! ,a sweet new release from Broski Ciderworks in Pompano Beach at 1 p.m. Saturday. There is outdoor seating, but limited space indoors. Or you can take it to go. Visit BroskiCiderworks.com.
Time for ‘Joy’
Miami-based Nu Deco Ensemble recently released a video from their collaboration with equally adventurous string trio
Time for Three, a jaunty number called “Joy.” The performance, which NDE cocreator Jacomo Bairos called “a sensational moment for us,” can be seen on the group’s Instagram (instagram.com/Nu DecoEnsemble) and accompanied by an interview with Bairos and co-founder Sam
Hyken at TheViolinChannel.com.