After the big festivals (and guests) leave town, neighbors reunite with shared meals, strolls and bike rides. Comfort foods prepared by others. Cookies for a cause. Can’t beat that.  This may be the last weekend to buy Girl Scout cookies until next year. Local troops set up outside Milam’s Market[Read More…]

Grovites know exactly where they want to be on this super-busy weekend. Many will tell you “get out of town!”  Others have equally strong convictions to stay and take advantage of the signature weekend. Here are some tips to help you and your guests navigate the festivals. The Valentine’s Day[Read More…]

If you want to be in the mix as the art festivals near, there is no more central point than as a volunteer at the St. Stephen’s Art & MakersFest. Adults can help, of course, but so too can parent-child teams for younger students ages 8-11. Students 12-18 can earn[Read More…]

Can you hear them coming? Folks from around the world come to our neighborhood.  First the sailors come for world-class regattas. Now come the runners, romantics and artists. Look into the trees and marshes and you’ll see migrating songbirds too. Lead with romance as operatic tenor Arturo Chacon Cruz performs[Read More…]

When friends from the Frozen North call and ask you about the weather, don’t you feel just a little bit guilty that the days here are so beautiful? OK, maybe not, but now is the time to start planning for their visits, as so many cornerstone events in our neighborhood[Read More…]

With three public libraries and a large variety of Little Free Libraries close at hand, Spotlight readers are already blessed with access to many free sources of information. However, the Miami-Dade library system now provides readers with even greater access through free online access to The New York Times. Included[Read More…]

While Miami is known for its beaches and high rises, insiders know that – incredibly – one-third of land in the county is agricultural. The Redland Riot Road Rallye creates a near-perfect way to explore those green areas, known as Redland. The Riot’s team format playfully explores the farms, gardens,[Read More…]

The week’s cooler weather is a great excuse to check out some outdoor spaces that have changed perhaps since you were last out.  Just a short hike or bike ride from Alice Wainwright Park towards Key Biscayne, you’ll find the north side of Hobe Island has been rebuilt after a[Read More…]

Everglades National Park can provide out-of-town guests—and you too—with a day that balances the energy of Miami and its beaches with the quietude of the ‘river of grass’.  Although the variety within the park is truly enormous, a few easily accessible spots may be a perfect introduction for your visitors.[Read More…]

Sharing a good book with a neighbor can spread goodwill through both the giving and receiving.  Shenandoah, Silver Bluffs and Coconut Grove are home to many Little Free Libraries—neighborhood book-exchange boxes installed and maintained by volunteer neighbors.  In fact, the official Little Free Library website map indicates that the Spotlight’s[Read More…]