Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Putting the Krampus, Crist and Vanilla Ice in the season
We’re trying not to get our hopes up (in the season of high hopes), but there is real potential for a new South Florida holiday tradition in the inaugural Krampus Nacht celebration in Lake Worth Beach on Friday.
On the one hand, it feels authentic, based on German folklore, according to hosts at the American German Club of the Palm Beaches. Authenticity is important. On the other hand, some of the costumed Krampuses will be created by artists from Jim Hammond’s Florida Day of the Dead crew, who are experts at balancing tradition and irreverent showmanship. Hammond says he’s “very excited” about possible future collaborations on Krampus Nacht.
Also at the top of my list of weekend recommendations is the Dan Hosker Music Continuum fundraiser at Tarpon River Brewing in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday afternoon. As in years past, the live-music event will raise money for high school musicians in the name of Hosker, a beloved South Florida guitarist, and a beloved person, who died in a car accident 10 years ago.
The weekend also includes seasonal staples such as Vanilla Ice (of course), Crist (a comedian, not the other guy), Mankiewicz (not Manischewitz) in Boca Raton, and Dopapod (apparently not one of Santa’s reindeer).
Thursday
Weekend movie: The holiday edition of the Movies by Moonlight series brings a free screening of the Will Ferrell Christmas classic “Elf ” to the Main Lawn at Las Olas Oceanside Park (The LOOP) on Thursday night. The gathering, including a market for holiday shopping, is from 5 to 10 p.m., with the film at 6:30 p.m. Sponsor Jolly Time Pop Corn will provide free popcorn. It’s BYO chairs and blankets. Visit TheLOOPFLB. com.
Date night: Here’s the premise of “UpDating”: Two singles on blindfolded first dates arrive onstage, in front of a live audience, to compare notes with
New York-based comedians Brandon Berman and Harrison Forman. Weird, funny, cringey? Probably all of the above. The touring show stops at the Dania Improv at 8 p.m. Thursday. Tickets cost $25+ at DaniaImprov.com.
Friday
’Tis the season: … when Vanilla Ice’s agent is really busy. The hip-hop music and TV personality returns as the centerpiece of Wellington’s Winterfest, an annual holiday celebration that typically draws thousands to Village Park. From 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, find live music, silent disco, a variety of food and drink, holiday shopping and activities for children and teens. Admission is free. Look for free shuttle parking from The Mall at Wellington Green. Visit Facebook.com/winterfestwellington.
Beach boogie: Against a background of more than 50,000 holiday lights, Boogie Wonderland: A Silent Disco Experience brings a 21-and-older dance party to Las Olas Oceanside Park on Fort Lauderdale beach on Friday from 8 to 11 p.m. The headphone-enabled silent disco (check-in is at 7:30 p.m.) will feature three channels, each with a dedicated DJ, for classic disco and hip-hop, Top 40 or EDM. Admission is $20, $85 for a party of four with a reserved table (based on availability). Your ticket also gets you into the afterparty nearby at Rock Bar. Visit TheLOOPFLB.com.
Krampus Christmas: The inaugural Krampus Nacht — a “frighteningly fun” Christmas party celebration — takes place 7 to 11 p.m. Friday at the American German Club of the Palm
Beaches in Lake Worth Beach. Based on German folklore, and sounding suspiciously like Dwight Schrute’s Belsnickel on “The Office” (the good receive modest gifts from St. Nick, while the badly behaved are punished by Krampus with birch rods), the event will include a spooky DJ dance party; German schnapps, beer, wine and food; and photo ops with costumed Krampuses. Tickets (advance only) cost $10, with parking available for $10. Visit AmericanGermanClub.org.
Weekend cocktails: Burlock Coast at The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale turns itself over to the pop-up Frosty’s Beachside Bar at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. @ChatChowTV’s Giovanny Gutierrez will curate holiday-inspired cocktails such as the Snowball Old Fashioned (caramelized, pecan-infused Havana Club Añejo Clásico, gingerbread, wormwood bitters, orange essence and a snowball ice cube; $20) and Run Repo Rudolph (Patrón Reposado tequila, coffee liqueur, dry curaçao, spiced chocolate, aromatic and orange bitters, and an orange wheel dusted with cacao; $22). Visit BurlockCoast.com.
Weekend laughs: Popular Christian comedian John Crist — whose comeback after a 2019 sexual harassment scandal inspired the irony-free Christianity Today headline: “‘Canceled’ John Crist Has a New Book, Tour, and Comedy Special” — has four shows scheduled at the Palm Beach Improv in West Palm Beach on Friday and Saturday. Performances at 7 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Saturday are sold out; tickets for 9:30 p.m. Friday cost $35+. Visit PalmBeachImprov. com.
Beach music: The North Beach Music Festival returns to the Miami Beach Bandshell and the adjacent Bandshell Park on Friday and Sunday with a jammy-funky lineup of national acts and popular locals. Headliners moe., Lotus, and Lettuce, will be joined by Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Dopapod, Antibalas, Trouble No More, Keller Williams, Doom Flamingo, Brandon “Taz” Niederauer, Melt, Neighbor, Lemon City Trio, Guavatron, Afrobeta, Shira Elias and Cool Cool Cool. Doors open at 4 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday and 12:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets cost $65 on Friday and $99 per day Saturday and Sunday. Two-day and three-day passes, as well as VIP options, also are available. Visit MiamiBeachBandshell.com.
Ticket window: Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday to see country star Morgan Wallen at iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach on May 5. Visit MorganWallen.com. … Alt-country flag-bearers Drive-By Truckers will play the Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale on April 21, with tickets on sale starting 10 a.m. Friday. Visit CultureRoom.net. … Miami-based Latin pop icons Bacilos will open their first U.S. tour since 2004 on April 27 at the Miami Beach Bandshell. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at MiamiBeachBandshell.com. … Co-headliners Skid Row and Buckcherry will stop at Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale on March 22. Tickets are on sale 10 a.m. Friday at JoinTheRevolution.net. … Queensryche plays the Culture Room on March 4. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at CultureRoom.net.
World Cupping: Hard to imagine a more idyllic spot to watch the Netherlands-Argentina World Cup quarterfinal on
Friday than the waterfront terrace at Pérez Art Museum Miami, where the match will be shown on Ballyhoo Media’s floating 60-foot screen. The match starts at 2 p.m., and there will be food and drink for purchase. Admission is free. Visit PAMM.org/ events.
Saturday
The other boat show: The Seminole Hard Rock Winterfest Boat Parade returns to downtown Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, with boats beginning to inch along the New River at 6:30 p.m. Like everything else in South Florida these days, this signature event is likely to be even more popular than in years past. Of course, you can watch the parade for free anywhere you can find a view, with most waterfront restaurants booked solid that night. The official parade-viewing party, with seating, is at Las Olas Intracoastal Promenade Park (80 Las Olas Circle), on the south side of the
East Las Olas Boulevard bridge. Presented by the Florida Panthers, the party will include performances by the Shane Duncan Band and Southern Blood, food and drink, and parade commentary by Doc Reno and Amelia from BIG 105.9FM. Gates open at 4 p.m., with the parade expected to arrive at about 7 p.m. Tickets cost $25 for general admission and $20 for kids age 10 and younger at WinterfestParade.com.
Movie magic: Ben Mankiewicz, longtime host of Turner Classic Movies, will be at the Boca Raton Museum of Art from 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday for a meetand-greet for the popular “Art of the Hollywood Backdrop” exhibit of historic painted backdrops used in some of the most beloved films of all time. Also taking part will be the show’s co-curator, Emmy Award-winning art director Thomas A. Walsh. Museum admission is $16, $12 for seniors, and free for high school students and kids younger than age 15. “Art of the Hollywood Backdrop” is up through Jan. 22. Visit BocaMuseum.org.
Pop-up dinner: Young Boca Raton chef May Aungthet will host a pop-up dinner spotlighting her distinctive Burmese cuisine, from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday at the Sunset Cafe in Boca Raton. The three-course meal (Burmese favorites include coconut chicken noodle soup and semolina cake) costs $35. Visit Facebook. com/ahmaycuisine.
Take the kids: The North Pole Pajama Party returns to the Museum of Discovery & Science in Fort Lauderdale from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday and Dec. 17, with a variety of kid-friendly activities and a 10 a.m. screening of the holiday favorite “The Polar Express” on the big IMAX screen. Requested attire: Pajamas or a holiday costume. Tickets cost $40 per person for nonmembers (adult or child). Visit MODS.org.
Sunday
Hosker remembered: The annual Dan Hosker Music Continuum fundraiser returns on Sunday at Tarpon River Brewing in downtown Fort Lauderdale, its first live gathering since 2019. It’s been 10 years since Hosker, revered guitarist for the Holy Terrors, died after a car accident on the way home from a gig. Running from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., the free, family-friendly event features more than a dozen live bands, raffles and more to raise money for the Dan Hosker Music Continuum scholarship fund, which provides cash awards to high school students with a passion for music. Performers include Mandy Marylane, Russell Mofsky, Mark Dubin & The Honest Liars, Humbert and the DHMCFOUR (Javi Caballero,
Cori Elba, Rob Elba, Will Trev). Visit Facebook.com/DanHoskerMusicContinuum.