Fine art blocks nearly a whole mile of Coconut Grove’s streets throughout the holiday weekend, with more than 360 artists and craftsmen converging from around the world.
Just a few miles away is another big event, a water show so popular that it is in its 71st year here in South Florida.
Yes, it is that time of year again – a busy part of the calendar when something is going on in South Florida just about every weekend.
This weekend, the Coconut Grove Arts Festival and the Miami International Boat Show take center stage again. The Coconut Grove event, one of the country’s top arts festivals, is in its 49th year.
Besides visual art a plenty, it features live music by Nestor Torres, Suenalo and more, a culinary pavilion with appearances by numerous chefs, and a “Global Food Village” in Myers Park.
At this year’s Miami International Boat Show, exhibits are set up at three locations, including the Miami Beach Convention Center and the Sea Isle Marina & Yachting Center, showing off a total of 3,000 boats and 2,000 exhibitors.
One new wrinkle this year is that the boat show is offering “do it yourself” help from boat experts. Hourly seminars and one-on-one help teach you about fiberglass repair, changing props on your motor, and maintaining gas or diesel motors, among other things you can do yourself to save you time and money.
“There’s a lot of things that are much easier on the boat than people realize,” said Keith Ammons, “The Boating Guy.” “After they sit through the seminar they go, ‘Wow, I can do that myself.’”
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Another fairly new exhibit brought back this year is the Affordability Pavilion – Boating 101, if you will, for people who have thought about getting a boat but think it’s just way out of reach.
Norm Schultz says nearly a dozen examples right on sight prove that it’s not.
“The whole purpose is to acquaint people with the fact that boating is very affordable. It’s a great family sport. And it’s actually purchased in the same way that you purchase a car. Monthly payments,” Schultz said. “But you know, the truth is at $150-$250 a month, your payment for your boat’s probably gonna be less than your car.”
