It’s holiday gift-shopping season and, at the risk of offending once-and-future South Floridian Jeff Bezos … Amazon? It’s a last resort, a refuge for the desperate and dull-minded (yes, been there!). Don’t do that. To help, we present the fourth annual South Florida Locals-Only Gift Guide, a list of gift ideas and pre-holiday shopping experiences for items created by your neighbors. At the very least, you can grab a drink while rehabilitating your rep for perfunctory gift-giving.
Mini Indie Craft Bazaar: Long-running local makers market Indie Craft Bazaar will take over the upstairs at Backyard in downtown Fort Lauderdale for an emo-themed Mini Indie shopping event on Friday, Nov. 24, from 9 p.m. to midnight. You’ll find a few of ICB’s favorite vendors, DJ Lindersmash and, if you’re feeling it, emo karaoke. Backyard is at 100 SW Third Ave. Visit Facebook.com/indiecraftbazaar.
Small Business Saturday Market:Brought to you by the Oakland Park CRA and the sophisticated tastemakers at The Wander Shop (whimsical fashion) and Rehaus (retro furniture), the market will host more than 40 vendors outside the neighboring shops on Northeast 12th Avenue on Saturday, Nov. 25, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will include food and drink vendors, family activities and more. The Wander Shop is at 3548 NE 12th Ave. Visit WanderHaus.party.
Small Business Saturday:Joseph C. Carter Park in Fort Lauderdale will host more than 30 local small businesses on Nov. 25 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the annual Small Business Saturday holiday market sponsored by the Delta Education and Life Development Foundation and the Broward County alumni of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. The park is at 1450 W. Sunrise Blvd. Visit BCACDST.org/events.
Small Business Babes:This union of local female business owners will host a vendor market on Saturday, Nov. 25, from 5 to 9 p.m. at Coastal Karma Brewing in Lake Park. The brewery is at 796 10th St., No. 798. Visit SmallBusinessBabes.org/events.
The Flamingo House: The co-working space in downtown Boca Raton will join forces with The Flamingo Flea for a Small Business Saturday gathering on Nov. 25 from noon to 4 p.m. The afternoon will include local vendors, live music (Christopher Luv), food and drinks (BC Tacos, Ahmay’s Cuisine, Ilegal Mezcal, Owl’s Brew) and kids activities (Inner Light School). The Flamingo House is at 33 SE Fourth St., Suite 100. Visit Facebook.com/theflamingohousecoworking.
The Bar-zaar Holiday Pop-Up:The Carousel Club at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach will have an afternoon of fashion, lifestyle and beauty shopping, along with cocktails (half-price mojito pitchers 1-4 p.m.) and trackside entertainment on Saturday, Nov. 25, from 1 to 7 p.m. Gulfstream Park is at 901 S. Federal Highway. Visit Facebook.com/carouselclb.
Holiday Pop-Up Shop:The city of Boynton Beach will gather local business and vendors at the Holiday Pop-Up Shop in the Business Incubator space at City Hall on Friday, Dec. 1, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The shop will continue each Friday in December. City Hall is at 100 E. Ocean Blvd. Visit Boynton-Beach.org.
Pine & Palm Holiday Market: The third annual holiday shopping event at the Coral Springs Museum of Art is a two-day affair on Dec. 1-2, with pieces by local artists and makers. Opening night on Dec. 1, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., is a ticketed event ($10 advance, $15 at the door) offering first dibs on shopping, music, complimentary light bites and a cash bar. Admission is free to the market on Dec. 2, from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with more music, free bites and a cash bar ($5 mimosas). The museum is at 2855 Coral Springs Drive. Visit Facebook.com/coralspringsmuseumofart.
The Flamingo Flea:The Fort Lauderdale-based curator of cool stuff brings the Biz Networker and Toy Drive edition of its Sip and Shop Series to the Funky Buddha Brewery in Oakland Park on Dec. 6 from 6 to 9 p.m. The evening will include 15 local vendors and artists and the Funky’s every-Wednesday Burger & Beer special: Buy a burger and get a free beer. Guests are asked to bring a new, unwrapped toy for the Jack and Jill Foundation. Registered guests get a free drink ticket. The Funky Buddha Brewery is at 1201 NE 38th St. Visit FlamingoFlea.com.
Small Business Babes:The aforementioned gals will be at Garden District Taproom in West Palm Beach on Dec. 9 from 5 to 9 p.m. for an evening of shopping and gabbing (note: GDT is a self-pour bar). Garden District Taproom is at 410 Evernia St., suite 119. Visit SmallBusinessBabes.org/events.
Jingle Mingle Jamboree Market: At the Margate Sports Complex on Dec. 9, Flynn’s Arcade & More will bring together vendors offering handmade items, toys, retro games and more, along with food, live music, a costume contest and a cookie-making station. The event is from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and is free with advance registration, or $5 at the gate. The Margate Sports Complex is at 1695 Banks Road. Visit JingleMingleJamboree1209.eventbrite.com.
Sunny Side Up Market: The bubbly ladies of Sunny Side celebrate the fourth anniversary of their community-building, shoppy-noshing extravaganzas on Sunday, Dec. 10, from noon to 4 p.m. with a holiday-themed farmers-artisans market in the MASS District in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The event is located at 844 NE Fourth Ave. Visit Facebook.com/sunnysideupmarketBGN.
The Flamingo Flea: The merry band of marketeers and vendors will return to Crazy Uncle Mike’s in Boca Raton for an afternoon of gift grazing, brunch, craft beer and live music on Saturday, Dec. 16, from noon to 4 p.m. Crazy Uncle Mike’s is at 6450 N. Federal Highway. Visit FlamingoFlea.com.
Merry Christmas Market:Hosted by Sunny Side Up Market, the gathering takes place on Saturday, Dec. 16, from noon to 4 p.m. on the terrace at Society Las Olas in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Vendors will be set up from noon to 4 p.m., with yoga and prosecco from noon to 1 p.m. (BYO mat) and live music 1-3 p.m. Bring an unwrapped toy for families at Broward Partnership. Society Las Olas is at 301 SW First Ave. Visit Facebook.com/sunnysideupmarketBGN/events.
SunFest tickets:The SunFest Black Friday sale offers early-bird prices as low as $100 for a three-day pass to the music festival celebrating its 40th year in downtown West Palm Beach May 3-5. No word yet on artists, but the 2023 edition featured, among many others, The Killers, The Chainsmokers, Jack Johnson, Ziggy Marley and Flo Rida. The sale runs through Nov. 28. Visit SunFest.com.
Riptide Music Festival: The organizers of the weekend rock and pop concerts at Fort Lauderdale Beach Park Dec. 2-3 will have a Black Friday sale on tickets with the passcode: BLACKFRIDAY. The while-supplies-last offers include $40 off two-day passes (full price $109+) and $20 off single-day passes (full price $49+), excluding Sunday general-admission tickets. The lineup at Riptide 2023 will feature The Black Keys, recent Grammy nominee Jelly Roll, Bleachers, Silversun Pickups, Young the Giant, Dirty Heads, Sublime with Rome, AWOLNATION and others. Visit RiptideMusicFestival.com.
Surf District Surf Shop:I like to rep the region when I’m out of town by wearing a local name, usually something picked up at a South Florida brewery. A similar look can be found at this surf and paddleboard shop housed in the restored 1895 train depot in downtown Delray Beach. The shop’s hats, shirts and other apparel boast the kind of clean, thoughtful typography that is pleasing to my eye. You’ll find a variety of discounts for Black Friday and Small Business Saturday — if you want to get crazy with your gift, Surf District also offers surf lessons. Visit Surf-District.com.
Seaglass:One of the merriest annual events held on Fort Lauderdale beach, the gathering formally known as Seaglass: A Fort Lauderdale Rosé Experience is an all-inclusive three-day binge of top-shelf pink wines, entertainment and wearing o’ the pink (even by people who would never). Seaglass 2024 takes place Jan. 26-28. Tickets just went on sale for $150 per day, $200 per day for VIP. Visit SeaglassExperience.com.
Inter Miami gear:Speaking of pink, you can get the Lionel Messi look without spending millions with a stop at the Inter Miami team store at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. The shop is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Visit InterMiamiCF.com.
Museum gifts: It’s easy to forget that the museums in your area typically have gift shops with all kinds of interesting possibilities for the hard-to-buy-for. The shop just inside NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale has an Andy Warhol Poppies Tote Bag ($26.99) and a bold pink clutch purse from The Guerrilla Girls that is an art piece itself titled “The Advantages of Being a Woman Artist” ($29.95). Under those words they list 13 benefits, including “Knowing Your Career Might Pick Up After You’re 80” and “Being Reassured That Whatever Kind of Art You Make It Will Be Labeled Feminist.” Visit NSUArtMuseum.org.
Munyon’s Paw-Paw: This aperitif is pure South Florida, made with local ingredients including grapefruit, papaya and orange blossom, and cloaked in a colorful, 100-year-old origin story as a cure-all tonic that attracted the hopeful from all over the East Coast to Dr. James Munyon’s island off the coast of North Palm Beach and his “fountain of youth.” Paul Massey, co-owner of the recently launched Munyon Island Spirits Co., describes Munyon’s Paw-Paw as “extremely versatile. It can be enjoyed neat, in an Old Fashioned, margarita, or to enhance your favorite cocktail.” A 750-ml bottle costs $34.99. Visit MunyonsPawPaw.com.
Black Friday Record Store Day: As always, record shops across South Florida will take part in the nationwide celebration of vinyl and rare music during the Black Friday edition of Record Store Day. I’ve been in a Gram Parsons mood lately and am looking forward to the new archival release “The Last Roundup: Live From the Bijou Café in Philadelphia March 16th 1973.” The lost-and-found recording of Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels, featuring then-unknown singer Emmylou Harris, captured one of the Florida-born singer’s last club dates. Six months later he was dead. The Los Angeles Times recently had an excellent interview with Polly Parsons, his only child. “There’s a much larger discussion to be had about Gram Parsons than the one that we’ve been having for the last 40 years,” she says. For a list of South Florida stores participating in RSD, visit RecordStoreDay.com/Stores.
South Florida punks: If you came up going to shows here in the 1980s or want to fact-check people who tell you about the glorious local live music scene back in the day, consider “Punk Under the Sun: ‘80s Punk and New Wave in South Florida” (Hozac Books, $35.99). The authors are Joey Seeman and Chris Potash, writers once based in South Florida who covered the scene from the inside out in the ‘80s and early 1990s. Guitarist Russell Mofsky, once of iconic local band Quit, recommends the “beautifully designed coffee table book that … is artfully laid out and extremely well researched.” You can order the book at HozacRecords.com.
Tortuga Music Festival:Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 1, for the 2024 edition of the wildly popular country-music event returning to the beach in Fort Lauderdale April 5-7. The lineup includes Lainey Wilson, Hardy, Jason Aldean, Old Dominion, Bailey Zimmerman, Ashley McBryde, Koe Wetzel, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Bret Michaels, Boys II Men, TLC and many more. Prices start at $335+ for a three-day general-admission pass, $510+ for a three-day GA+ pass and $1,549+ for VIP. If you’ve been before, an alumni presale begins at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 28. Visit TortugaMusicFestival.com.
Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Instagram @BenCrandell and Twitter @BenCrandell.
