TUESDAY
What: Opening night of the Capitol Steps
Where: Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach
When: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $45
Contact: 561/832-7469, kravis.org
The Capitol Steps are as consistent as Tax Day and the annual Woody Allen movie: This group of humorists, founded in 1981 by Capitol Hill staffers with funny bones, has existed for 35 years and released exactly 35 albums. That’s because the Steps have an endless and constantly renewing wellspring of material with which to slice, dice and skewer: American politics. You could argue that the comedy of this year’s election season writes itself, but that only puts more pressure on the Capitol Steps to provide inventive yuks not found on “The Daily Show” or Colbert. Relying heavily on song parodies and spoonerisms, the group is supporting its latest album “Mock the Vote,” a tour that includes rock anthems by Republican presidential hopefuls and a classical ballet from President Obama. See them through March 27.
What: Screening of “Mountains May Depart”
Where: Movies of Lake Worth, 7380 Lake Worth Road, Lake Worth
When: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $12, includes popcorn and beverage
Contact: 561/968-4545, moviesoflakeworth.com
This tri-structured Chinese epic directed by Jia Zhangke doesn’t have a full South Florida release date yet, so that’s ever more reason not to skip this special sneak peak. A competitor for the Palm d’Or at last year’s Cannes Festival—and fresh off screenings at this month’s Miami International Film Festival—“Mountains May Depart” chronicles a Chinese family over three periods of time, each of them separated by more than a decade: 1999, 2014 and 2025, with the final period set in Australia. If Jia’s previous body of work is any indication (he directed “Unknown Pleasures,” “The World” and “A Touch of Sin,” among other international successes), the film will be as much a meditation on an increasingly modernized and globalized China as it is the characters living, and loving, inside of it.
THURSDAY
What: Rancid
Where: Revolution Live, 100 S.W. Third Ave., Fort Lauderdale
When: 7 p.m.
Cost: $28-$30
Contact: jointherevolution.net
When guitarist Tim Armstrong and bassist Matt Freeman formed the California trio Rancid in 1991, the formula was fairly simple: Take the ska-punk rhythms of their pioneering first band Operation Ivy and throw in the political consciousness and driving guitars of The Clash. The band emerged at just the right time, earning its place in an American punk revival that also included Green Day and the Offspring. Best known for the hits “Ruby Soho” and “Time Bomb” from its platinum 1995 album “…And Out Come the Wolves,” Rancid has remained a consistently rewarding and drama-free band for more than 20 years, with eight studio albums to its credit and a new EP due later this year. But this tour is all about “… And Out Come the Wolves,” which celebrated its 20th anniversary with a vinyl reissue in 2015. The group has been playing all 19 tracks of the album straight through, along with an encore of favorites from its other albums.
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
What: Bacon & Bourbon Fest
Where: Downtown Delray Beach
When: Noon to 11 p.m.
Cost: $20 per day
Contact: 561/279-0907, delraybaconandbourbonfest.com
Downtown parties come and go in this jam-packed events season, but it looks like this one’s a keeper. Combining a primal love for pig meat with an equally powerful preference for barrel-aged whiskey, the Bacon & Bourbon Fest debuted last year and went on to receive no fewer than 10 awards. Comfort-food concoctions like the Forever Roasted Bourbon BBQ Pork & Bacon Sandwich will be served alongside such palate-confusing desserts as a Bacon Ice Cream Sundae with Bourbon sauce, over a menu that spans from grandmother’s homemade delicacies to the latest farm-to-table innovations. Because poker goes so well with the titular offerings, this year’s fest will see the debut of a Texas Hold‘em Tournament, with winners taking home specialty bourbon and proceeds benefiting area nonprofits. There also will be a limited number of specialty vendors; a backyard games center with cornhole, bocce ball, Jenga, checkers and more; live blues bands; and a series of seminars design to enhance your appreciation of bourbons, ryes and whiskeys.
FRIDAY TO SUNDAY
What: Boca Symphonia Weekend
Where: Boca Country Club (17751 Boca Club Blvd., Boca Raton) and Roberts Theater at Saint Andrew’s School (3900 Jog Road, Boca Raton)
When: 11:30 a.m. Friday, 10:30 a.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday
Cost: Varies per event
Contact: 561/376-3848, thesymphonia.org
As usual, the Boca Symphonia is extending its spring “Connoisseur Concert” this Sunday afternoon into a weekend-long festival of events for music lovers of all ages. Festivities begin Friday morning with an exclusive 11:30 a.m. orchestra rehearsal and benefit luncheon at Boca Country Club, and continue with a “Meet the Orchestra” session complete with the popular “instrument petting zoo” for kids on Saturday morning. At Sunday’s concert at the Roberts Theater, expect to hear famed conductor Gerard Schwarz lead piano soloist Misha Dichter (pictured) through selections from Beethoven, Ives and Mendelssohn. If you can’t catch the performance Sunday, the Symphonia will perform an encore show March 22 at Eissey Campus Theatre in Palm Beach Gardens.
What: “Ariadne Auf Naxos”
Where: Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday
Cost: $25–$195
Contact: 561/833-7888, pbopera.org
Greek mythology and slapstick comedy share an unexpected connection in this pioneering opera by German composer Richard Strauss. Having already established himself as one of the 20th century’s great composers on the strength of “Salome” and “Elektra,” Strauss upended operatic tradition with “Ariadne Auf Naxos,” arguably the first work of its kind to be structured as a self-reflexive “opera within an opera.” The first act is set backstage in the home of a Viennese aristocrat, where a burlesque troupe and an opera company is each preparing for a performance in front of gathered dignitaries. Arguments over which group will perform first are halted over the revelation that both must perform simultaneously in the interest of time. Act II is the madcap result, in which burlesque clowns cavort around gods, nymphs and sorceresses, challenging conventions by merging “high” and “low” art forms. “Ariadne” can be jarringly funny and light on its feet, impressive traits for an opera that climaxes with a plunge into the “realm of death.”
SUNDAY
What: Delray Granfondo Garneau
Where: Veterans Park, 802 N.E. First St., Delray Beach
When: 7 a.m.
Cost: $100-$115
Contact: 561/289-9052, delraygranfondo.com
Competitive riders and casual cyclists alike have helped turn this annual race into a spring tradition. Beginning and ending at Veterans Park, bicyclists will pedal the 62.5-mile course at their own pace, enjoying picturesque views of the Atlantic Ocean from State Road A1A. They’ll have plenty of help along the way, from mechanical support and police escorts to complementary food and refreshments offered before, during and after the Granfondo (which is Italian, by the way, for “big ride”). Participants also receive a custom Granfondo jersey, free massages, goodie bags, event medals, and beer and wine. The event’s organizers have added a new option this year: Noncompetitive participants with a poker face can join the “Gambler Ride.” Instead of a timing chip, they’ll receive one playing card at the start, three more during the route and one at the finish line, with the best hands earning prizes. If your cards stink, you can always stick ‘em in your spokes; either way, you’ll enjoy the atmosphere and camaraderie at what has been called a “big rolling party.”
What: Opening today of “Chuck Close Photographs”
Where: NSU Art Museum, 1 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale
When: Noon to 5 p.m.
Cost: $5-$12
Contact: 954/525-5500, nsuartmuseum.org
Preeminent portrait photographer Chuck Close has been paralyzed from a spinal artery collapse since 1988, but it hasn’t prevented him from producing innovative work over what is now a 40-year career. The NSU Art Museum’s survey will showcase nearly 90 images from this recent appointee to President Obama’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, from his hyperrealistic “portrait paintings” of the human face to his intimate daguerreotypes and monumental tapestries based on Polaroids. Amazingly, this is the very first comprehensive museum survey of Close’s grand-scale yet intimate art, and it runs through Oct. 2.
MONDAY, MARCH 21
What: Savor the Avenue
Where: Downtown Delray Beach
When: 5:30 to 9 p.m.
Cost: Varies per restaurant
Contact: 561/243-1077, downtowndelraybeach.com
Last year, the sky didn’t fall when omens of turbulent weather prompted Savor the Avenue to postpone everyone’s favorite foodie event from its traditional Thursday night slot to the following Monday. In fact, people seemed to like it—enough for event organizers to schedule this year’s eighth-annual incarnation on a Monday night for the very first time. As always, however, 16 of Delray’s finest restaurants will serve specially curated four- or five-course meals atop Florida’s longest dining table in the middle of Atlantic Avenue. Many of the limited number of tickets are already sold out—if you wanted Salt7, 32 East, Caffe Luna Rosa and a few others, you’re out of luck—but tickets remain for Rack’s Fish House & Fat Rooster, Vic & Angelo’s, Solita, 50 Ocean, Max’s Harvest/Social House and more. Check the menus here. $3 from each ticket purchase benefits the Delray Beach Historical Society.
