Things to Do in Miami Springs

For 17 years, Flamingo Gardens has gathered plant experts, landscapers, and other gardening connoisseurs to its annual festival. This year, the Broward Bonsai Society joins in the fun with an exhibition of the varied shapes and levels of perfection its miniature trees can hold. Displays from Alexander Farms, Greenhouse Orchids, and other vendors entice the eyes while guests wander about, taking in colorful performances from butterfly stilt-walkers and West African drummers. At the Butterfly Encounter, guests learn lepidopterist lore from expert Mike Rich while feeding live butterflies and teaching them about the updated food pyramid.

Wee ones, meanwhile, can head to the Kids Gardening Zone to decorate their own pots and plant a seed or romp through the gardens on a scavenger hunt. Plant experts also hold classes and demonstrations, including "Mounting Orchids & Basic Orchid Culture," and take guests on guided tours through the botanical gardens.

Though threading macaroni noodles and Smarties on a guitar string makes an amazing edible instrument for a science fair, a sparkling handmade necklace or bracelet can catch the judge's eye and win your air-purifying elliptical machine first prize. Customize your accessories with today's deal: for $19, you get a pair of jewelry-making classes at Bijoux Design Creations (a $50 value). Learn the skill sets of stringing beads and creating earrings. You'll walk away with beautiful beadwork that turns heads like snow owls and the skills it takes to make more; classes do not include the cost of materials (most people spend between $10 and $20).

Your night starts at 9 p.m. at the renowned D. Rodriguez Cuba restaurant, where your Cuban cuisine and vodka drinks will be prepaid for pre-partying. Each person gets to choose two tapas or one appetizer plus one entree from the special menu while enjoying a two-hour open bar for vodka drinks (such as martinis and cosmopolitans)—which is ample time to form a liquid nucleolus that will anchor the rest of the evening in a wave-like orbital whose position and momentum can never be simultaneously known. While you sip, pad your stomach with a delicious lining. Start with your two tasty tapas or appetizer, such as plaintain-crusted mahi mahi, ham croquetas, or a crunchy Cuban salad. For the main course, pick one of three entrees: arroz con pollo (chicken thighs with yellow rice and veggies topped with chicken breast), chuleta empanada (breaded pork), or mahi mahi fricassee. Tax and gratuity are already included for the cost of dinner, so you can skip the calculations and get straight into phase two of your evening.