Keeping cool during the hottest part of the year tops our agenda this week. As luck would have it, Coconut Grove has a new public pool – the Verneka Sturrup Silva Aquatic Facility in Elizabeth Virrick Park on Plaza Street, where you can swim laps, join a water aerobics class, or hear your kids squeal as they get splashed in the pool’s playground. We’ve got some other recommendations for chilling this week, so read on…
Saturday July 18
Summer Splash Time… The City of Miami has 12 aquatic facilities including the new Verneka Sturrup Silva pool at Elizabeth Virrick Park in Coconut Grove. The pool is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends. Admission is $3 for adults, $1 for seniors, and free for kids 17 and younger. For information about the pool’s learn-to-swim programs, lap lanes, water aerobics, and more, call 305-329-4791.
Free Tutoring for Kids… Certified teachers meet with small groups of students in one-hour sessions to provide homework help and tutoring in reading, math, and science. Free and available to students in grades K-12. Virrick Park Library, 3255 Plaza Street from 10 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Repeats Saturday July 25.
Everglades Exploration 101… Explore the River of Grass with a park ranger from Everglades National Park. Shenandoah Branch Library, 2111 SW 19th Street from 11 a.m. to 12 noon. All ages. For more information, contact the branch at 305-250-4688.
Sunday July 19
Vizcaya Village Market… Vizcaya’s eclectic farmers market runs on adjusted summer hours through September 27, with local vendors offering fresh-made delicacies, hand-crafted goods, fruits and vegetables, baked goods, and vegan products inside Vizcaya’s historic farm and village. Vizcaya Village, 3250 S. Miami Avenue. 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Beating the Summer Heat… Before you or your family gets flush with the heat, head to one of the city’s official Cooling Centers. The branch libraries in Virrick Park and Shenandoah (see above) are two designated centers. Hours vary, but the centers are typically open when the sun is up. See a full list of centers here.
Chilling at the Barnacle… Who needs air conditioning when you have Biscayne Bay? If you’re craving some outdoor time but sweating the heat, check out the Barnacle Historic State Park at 3485 Main Highway, where you can catch a breeze off the bay while chilling on the front porch. During the summer, the park is open Thursday through Monday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Or with an Icee in Kennedy Park… As legend has it, Alan Cohen of A.C.’s Icees was chilling under a tree in Kennedy Park more than 40 years ago when he decided to make the park his place of business. Cohen recently celebrated his 80th birthday in the park, where his food truck has been parked forever. “Some of us were sitting under a tree in Kennedy Park,” he told the Spotlight in 2021, “and I said if I’m going to work again, I want this park to be my office.” Read more: Sunday in the Park with A.C.’s Icees
Saturday July 25
Free Tutoring for Kids… Certified teachers meet with small groups of students in one-hour sessions to provide homework help and tutoring in reading, math, and science. Free and available to all students in grades K-12. Virrick Park Library, 3255 Plaza Street from 10 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Studio Vizcaya’s Fruitful Finale… Vizcaya Museum and Gardens wraps up its summer crowd-sourced art event The Fruit We Bear with an illuminated twilight procession through its waterfront gardens, at 7:00 p.m. Free for members. $15 for general public. Read More: A Crowd-Sourced Art Event at Vizcaya
A Little Romantic Chaos… Carrousel of Hearts spins together famous arias, live vocals, jealousy, heartbreak, reconciliation, and the emotional volatility of couples who probably should have talked things through earlier in the evening. Somewhere between melodrama and swooning is exactly where this music thrives. Sanctuary of the Arts, 410 Andalusia Avenue, Coral Gables. 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 3:00 p.m. Sunday. Tickets here.
Tuesday July 28
Fiction Book Club… Katherine Wakefield leads the discussion at this month’s fiction book club at Books & Books in Coconut Grove, 3409 Main Highway, starting at 7:00 p.m. This month’s book selection: “Mice, 1961” by novelist Stacey Levine. The program is free but, please note: Advanced Registration Required.
Thursday July 30
Poetry in the Grove… Books & Books Coconut Grove hosts a book talk and signing with poet and author Elizabeth Lake, in celebration of the paperback release of her poetry collection “Lipstick on the Wall.” 6:30 p.m. 3409 Main Highway. RSVP here.
Follow the yellow brick road… In this Prince Street Players adaptation, the Wizard of Oz follows the crew as they set off to find the Wizard and get home before the Wicked Witch has a meltdown. Funny, clever and built for munchkins large and small. Actors’ Playhouse brings Oz to the stage at the Miracle Theatre, 280 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables, Saturdays and Sundays through 7/25. More information.
Coral Gables Dresses Up… Giralda Plaza goes over the top with Cielo Tejido, a canopy of handwoven textiles created by artisan women from Etzatlán, Mexico and suspended above the pedestrian boulevard in bright, moving color. Public art with shade-adjacent benefits, cultural craftsmanship and absolutely no ticket counter. Giralda Plaza, Coral Gables. Daily from 9:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. through Friday 7/31. Free.
Kit Pancoast Nagamura lived her first four years at The Kampong as the great-granddaughter of plant explorer David Fairchild, and When We Come to Paint brings her back with a multigenerational exhibition pairing her parents’ artistic legacy with her own layered botanical observations. The Kampong, 4013 South Douglas Road. Admission is included with regular Kampong admission; online reservations required. On view from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., weekdays through Saturday 8/15.
