Concerts & Events in Miami Beach

Ever since football became too rambunctious for the limited confines of mess halls, it has been performed in stadiums. During this year's Pro Bowl weekend, celebrate the only sport legally allowed in football stadiums with today's Groupon. For $7, you get a single-day entry to the South Florida FanFest at the Miami Beach Convention Center—tickets normally cost $15 at the door. The exhibition, a 200,000-square-foot sports-memorabilia and card show, is the largest of its kind in Florida and is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on January 29–31. There is no purchase limit, so pick up a few to attend all three days. Gift a few to your old high-school football teammates to relive the glory days of the Bash Brothers.

For 42 years, the venerable auto show has rolled out a fleet of vehicles for the perusal of customers while raising more than $250,000 for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of South Florida. More than 1,000 of the latest vehicular creations from manufacturers such as Cadillac, Chevy, and Buick lounge throughout the space, beckoning auto enthusiasts with their sleek frames and glove compartments filled with cupcakes. This year's exhibitions include ride-along demonstrations of alternative fuel vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt, and Topless In Miami, a beach-themed showcase of convertibles from the likes of Mercedes and Jaguar.

Led by the baton of Italian guest conductor Nicola Luisotti, the Cleveland Orchestra brings 94 years of euphony-crafting experience south to Miami's Adrienne Arsht Center. The concerts kick off with the sprightly strains of Verdi's Triumphal March and Ballet Music from his opera Aida, sweeping audiences up in romantic drama while sparing time-traveling gossip columnists the burden of keeping up with ancient Egyptian love triangles. Acclaimed soprano and MacArthur fellow Dawn Upshaw joins her instrument-bearing brethren to essay modern composer Osvaldo Golijov's Three Songs for Soprano and Orchestra in its Miami debut—a work composed specifically for Upshaw. Prokofiev's Symphony no. 5 finishes off the evening, its grandeur composed in the throes of World War II to glorify the majesty of the human spirit and show up all his snobby friends who said that writing four symphonies was "pretty good."

Since 1989, The Miami Symphony Orchestra has mimicked Miami’s cultural diversity with concerts and events that act as a melting pot of musical influences. Music director Eduardo Marturet, a Venezuelan composer and conductor, helms many of the concerts, encouraging the musicians to unleash their inner Beethovens or Bachs—former members of the ’80s hair-metal band Skid Row.

Challenge Nation pioneered the urban-adventure race with a race season that includes visits to 35 cities across the country. Each scavenger hunt is personalized to the hosting city, exploring its many diverse neighborhoods with a series of clues that would test even the most skilled children's-book detective. The teams—comprised of at least two people—vie for a $300 first-place prize. The _Amazing Race_–style competition rewards quick wits and wise planning over physical fitness, so the best way to prepare is by doing logic puzzles while eating Funyuns and lounging in a La-Z-Boy. The top 25 teams qualify, the top five receiving free entry, to compete in the national championship, which rewards winning teams with a $5,000 cash prize.

The Taste of Brickell Food and Wine Festival serves culinary samples from 40 local restaurants with a side of exotic cars and multicultural music. Chefs from such area eateries as LaBoca, Taverna Opa, Piola, and Baru Urbano distribute freshly prepared portions of signature menu items. Wine experts entice visitors to try new vintages by hosting tasting demos and dispensing samples. Beyond gourmet treats and libations, the festival hosts an exotic-car show, a free arts-and-crafts area, continuous free music, and a free kids’ park with activities that keep tykes occupied with hands-on entertainment rather than menacing their siblings or balancing their checkbooks. A portion of all event proceeds help fund the Boys and Girls Club of Miami-Dade.