Lantana, FL Outdoor Activities

On April 26-28, the Deerfield Beach Wine & Food Festival unites friends and neighbors with gourmet food, fine spirits, and live music from the tri-county region throughout a three-day celebration. When not hunkering down for starlit picnics or strolling through Quiet Waters Park, attendees can expand their palates with wine-and-food pairing workshops, an around-the-world tour of wines, and seminars by an international cadre of wineries. Showcasing the rich culinary heritage of the region, the food tastings run the gamut from hearty braised-beef dishes of English-pub fare to fresh seafood dishes of South Florida to fondue. Friday invites guests to a vineyard party backed by live music, where they dig into lavish four-course feasts accompanied by glasses of wine selected by professional sommeliers. On Saturday, ticket holders stroll through the park's scenic avenues to savor decadent chocolates, top-shelf wines from Europe and the Americas, and a spread of cuisine from local Mexican, Greek, American, Italian, and fusion restaurants. The Deerfield Beach Wine & Food Festival sends patrons off with a relaxing outdoor Sunday-morning brunch chock-full of fresh seafood catches, buffet stations of European breakfast fare, and bloody marys and mimosas. As guests nibble and sip to their hearts’ content, they’re serenaded by the dulcet tones of Gyorgy Lakatos.

Mobile Gaming Events’s owner Jessy gives a new definition to "playing outside." With stations that can be set up beneath tents, his team of gaming experts let party guests play Xbox 360 and Wii consoles amid fresh air and spectating squirrels (game stations can also be set up indoors). Thirty-six-inch TVs or projector screens beam the familiar faces of characters from dozens of games, such as Halo 3 and Mario Kart. Mobile Gaming Events crew also brings along dance pads so players can master DDR and microphones so they can belt out karaoke.

During the Superhero Scramble, racers of all fitness levels tear across over eight miles of arduous terrain littered with more than 25 body- and mind-challenging obstacles. Participants must wade through mud and, to reach the finish line, persevere through a barrage of Super Slime generously donated by retired Ghostbusters.

Upon completing the race, athletes ride their endorphin high into a party stocked with ice-cold beer. There, they can mingle with other contestants, sway to live music, and see awards doled out to the fastest runners. Male and female Scramble Gamble contestants compete for a cash prize that can cover the cost of replacing the engines in their sneakers. The benefits of the race extend beyond the Gamble winners, too—the organizers donate 5% of each registration fee to charity.

At the center of Playtown Cafe’s child-size indoor town, servers escort gourmet sandwiches, wraps, and flatbreads to parents and kids seated at café tables. As their parents continue to munch and mingle, children frolic in and out of small storefronts painted in bright colors, pretending to run a bakery, create masterpieces in an art gallery, and shoplift from La Boutique. Youngsters dress up as superheroes and princesses in the boutique; play air hockey, arcade games, and dual Nintendo Wiis inside the garage; and manipulate a train set in the building zone, which is designed to resemble an unfinished house.

To burn off boundless stores of energy, kids can cross the play-city’s traffic-free road to cavort in a turf-floored indoor park, where staffers monitor them as they scale climbing walls, cross blue climbing bars, and shoot down wavy orange slides. Playtown’s staffers show an additional commitment to safety as they oversee a separate play area and ball pit designed just for toddlers, which is free of boogie monsters.

For a decade, LunaFest has raised awareness about breast cancer and connected women across the U.S. by screening short films made by, for, and about women. Each year, the nine selected films range in genre from comedy to drama and explore themes such as body image, childbirth, and gender identity. The profits from each LunaFest screening benefit the Breast Cancer Fund and other local nonprofits nationwide. To date, the festival has featured more than 92 filmmakers and raised nearly $1.2 million dollars for charity.

A frigid oasis amid Pompano Beach's tropical heat, Glacier Ice and Snow Arena hosts everything from public ice-skating to snowball competitions within its 40,000-square foot facility. Throughout the week, skaters of all ages share the arena with programs such as the Sharpshooters Hockey Club, birthday parties, and weekly lessons. A fully stocked pro shop proffers equipment for various styles and sizes, and a snack bar keeps visitors energized with soda, pizza, and popcorn, at least until the ice fishermen manage to reel anything in from their hole in the center of the rink.