Tuesday, January 30th - 2024 - Strap in for a thrill-ride of Fort Lauderdale's finest! This week's newsletter is an explosion of the coolest, quirkiest, and most captivating events around town. Think of it as your golden ticket to a wonderland of art, flavors, and pure fun. From the dazzling NSU Art Museum's free day to the high-octane energy of the Renaissance Festival, we're not just filling your calendar, we're supercharging it! 👇

Stuff You Won't Want To Miss:

1. Thursday is Sunny Days/Starry Nights at the NSU Art Museum. That means free admission from 11am to 7pm and Mini-Muse activities for the wee-little ones. These drop-in art activities are for families and artists of all ages. (Free)
2. Friday night is Food In Motion at Esplanade Park. First Friday of the month means Food In Motion returns to Esplanade Park in downtown Fort Lauderdale for a night of food & fun. (Free)
3. Friday through Sunday is the Fort Lauderdale Home Design and Remodeling Show at the Broward County Convention Center. The Home Design and Remodeling Show is known for the impressive booth displays showcasing the products and services for your home in the most life-like type exhibits. (Tickets)
4. Saturday is ArtLit Day at the Broward Public Libraries. This year marks the seventh anniversary of Artlit, a free, popular community celebration of art and literature for all ages. Artit 2024 explores the Caribbean cultures of Jamaica, Haiti, and Trinidad-Tobago with a playful explosion of live music, art, spoken word and interactive experiences. (Free)
5. This weekend is also the Opening Ceremony and start of the 2024 Florida Renaissance Festival. If you haven't been before, this is a "must-see" event for South Florida with a pop-up village, marketplace, and amusements that rival our theme parks to the North. Each weekend there is a new theme and for this week it's the Cauldron of Chaos - The Rise of the Wizards! (Tickets)
6. The Tamarac North Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce is hosting its Biz Art In The Park on Saturday at Hampton Pines Park. Biz art in the Park unique original arts and crafts with local business booths. Music & food interactive activities makes this a great event. (Free)
7. And Saturday is also the Humane Society's Walk For The Animals down at Fort Lauderdale Beach. This event promises a day of fun for animal lovers. Participants can join a one-mile walk along the beautiful beach breeze location. The event offers vendor booths, entertainment, prizes, and more. (Register)
8. Sunday, come celebrate words, stories, and the magic of literature at the Fort Lauderdale International Book Fair. Started by a group of high schoolers from across Broward County, the mission is to promote literature and literacy. Through author interactions, workshops, and engaging activities, they aim to ignite a love for reading and writing among individuals of all ages. (Free)
9. If you come out Sunday for the Book Fair, you can also mosey down the Riverwalk for the Sunday Jazz Brunch and the New River Open Air Market on the grounds of History Fort Lauderdale. (Free)

Hey - quick question. What did we miss? Each week we do our research but you might know of an event, an organization, or a local business that deserves some love here in our weekly basket of goodies. Just hit reply to this email and let us know!

FEATURED Fort Lauderdale

Being a local school, we often come across the most amazing resources for homeschooling families and innovative approaches to education that hit home for young learners. Today's feature is all about one of Florida's biggest wonders, and that is our backyard of the Everglades.

Did you know about the Everglades Literacy Foundation? Their website is full of amazing resources. Some of it is for teachers to make the content come alive in their classrooms, and other sections are built for self-directed learners.

There are different age-levels, from habitat study for younger learners all the way through an exploration of Botony for our tweens and beyond. Each year over 200,000 students get access to the Everglades Ecoquest.

Just over one week (Feb 9th deadline) to enter your submission for the 2024 Everglades Challenge Coin design contest. They are looking for young artists who will bring a different look and fresh eyes to representing the Everglades, based on this year's theme - "Only One Everglades."

Do you have a favorite event, place, business, or organization you would like to see featured on the podcast? HIT REPLY and let us know!

So... You Think You Know South Florida?

You probably know... Pickleball in South Florida is a thing... right?

But what you might not know is... some of the biggest names in Tennis are competing for prize money this weekend out at the Pickleball Slam at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Tennis Legends John McEnroe, Andre Agassi, Stefanie Graf and Maria Sharapova set to compete for a $1 Million Purse.

SLAM 2 will be highlighted by an electrifying doubles match featuring the duo of McEnroe and Sharapova, who have a total of 12 Grand Slam singles titles between them, facing off against Agassi and Graf, who have 30 combined Grand Slam singles titles. The inaugural Pickleball Slam showcases McEnroe, Agassi, Andy Roddick and Michael Chang competing for the $1 million purse, the largest tournament purse in pickleball history. A first-of-its-kind event, the telecast was the highest-rated competition in pickleball history.

The weekend will once again feature the Amateur Slam Challenge on Friday, Feb. 2 and Saturday, Feb. 3. The amateur tournament will include doubles teams competing for a cash prize and the opportunity to play against the tennis legends. For more information and to register for the Slam Amateur Challenge, visit https://thepickleballslam.com.

Classifieds

• The Fort Lauderdale event is slated for May 11th at MODS. Applications will open up in early February.
• Have you picked up your 50th Anniversary special edition Broward County Library card yet? Broward County Libraries Division, named 2020 and 2015 "Library of the Year" by the Florida Library Association, is marking its 50th Anniversary in 2024. Special 50th Anniversary buttons, stickers and library cards are now available at all Broward County Library locations.
• Looking to help your child build confidence through self-defense? Come out Saturday for the Youth Self-Defense Camp by Diamond In The Rough Gym. The goal is to teach children practical skills to protect themselves and stay safe in various situations. From basic strikes and kicks to effective defense strategies, each child will gain valuable knowledge in a fun and supportive environment.
• ​The Florida Renaissance Festival is here and Weekend One means free admission for Kids and Scouts. It’s a celebration of youth, wonder, and pure joy. For this special weekend, we want to ensure that families can come together and create unforgettable memories. From thrilling rides to interactive exhibits, and tasty treats to live entertainment, this event is a treasure trove of delight for all ages.
  

Quote Of The Week

William James Durant (/dəˈrænt/; November 5, 1885 – November 7, 1981) was an American historian and philosopher, best known for his 11-volume work, The Story of Civilization, which contains and details the history of Eastern and Western civilizations.

Flotsam & Jetsam

For our fun "Flotsam and Jetsam" section (cool things, not necessarily about the greater Fort Lauderdale area) - we've been seeing some really amazing AI tools lately. Here's another one you might like to explore.

It's called MapsGPT and it lets you type in whatever you’re looking for and get an instant map back. Search for phrases like sports teams with losing seasons in Florida, grassy dog parks in FTL or places with ghost encounters in South Florida.

Tell Us How We Are Doing

Every week we are working to improve #FFFTL every week, both for your reading experience and to provide a cutting-edge media apprenticeship opportunity for our learners.

We want to hear from you. What do you love? What could we do better FOR YOU?