Follow your nose to Garlic Fest, Greek Festival, Rum Congress

Between you, me and the garlic shrimp scampi, there probably aren’t enough Tic Tacs in the country to tame the stink raised at the South Florida Garlic Fest.

We mean “stink” in the best possible way: Overthe-top smelliness is how this garlic-centric celebration rolls. But the South Florida Garlic Festival won’t be the only purveyor of pungent aromas this weekend, with fragrant competition from the Fort Lauderdale Greek Festival and, farther south, the inaugural Miami Rum Congress.

Follow your nose to these three weekend festivals in Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Lake Worth.

Fort Lauderdale Greek Festival

Noon-11 p.m. Saturday and noon-7 p.m. Sunday at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, 815 NE 15th Ave., Fort Lauderdale; 954-761-3378 or FortLauderdaleGreek Festival.org

The Hellenic slice of life known as the Fort Lauderdale Greek Festival has for 40 years been a haven of ouzo and baklava, flaming saganaki cheese and traditional circle dancing. It rarely gets more authentic than this, with Palazakia and Kamaria dancers in flowing white dresses cutting a rug on the stage, paired with indoor vendors selling jewelry and outdoor vendors selling moussaka, souvlaki and – our favorite – loukoumades, aka Greek doughnuts. Admission is $5 at the door, but it’s free on Thursday with canned food donation to benefit the Broward Partnership For the Homeless, and free noon-6 p.m. Friday with this downloadable pass.

South Florida Garlic Fest

11 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday today and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday Feb. 10 at John Prince Park, 4759 S. Congress Ave., Lake Worth; 561-279-0907 or GarlicFestFL.com

The stinkin’ capital of Palm Beach County can be found inside the 726-acre John Prince Park, featuring a music bill headlined by Boston ska punks Mighty Mighty Bosstones (Feb. 9) and veteran roots reggae band Steel Pulse (Feb. 10). Garlic indulgences will be plentiful at this 20th annual bash, including garlic crab cakes, garlic Argentine barbecue and garlic ice cream, along with the finals of the Garlic Chef competition. Admission is $10-$20 via Eventbrite. com (children 12 and under are free). Parking costs $10-$20 at John Prince Park, but it’s free at Palm Beach State College Lake Worth Campus, where a free shuttle will carry passengers to the park.

Miami Rum Congress

1-7:30 p.m. today at Shane Center, 6500 Indian Creek Drive, Miami Beach; 305-861-8837 or Miami RumCongress.com

Miami and rum are apparently inseparable, and the proof is in this inaugural spirits festival from organizers Federico Hernandez and Ian Burrell, featuring two days of tastings and seminars devoted to the sugarcanedistilled liquor. Day one will include cocktail tastings and five symposiums featuring guest speakers, while the second day features tastings and a main-stage cocktail battle with competitors from Broken Shaker, Sweet Liberty, Tiki Ono and others. Tickets cost $35-$140 for various tasting sessions via Eventbrite.com, or $39 for Saturday general admission via Groupon (normally $60-$80).