The King Mango Strut began in 1982 after parade founders Glenn Terry and Bill Dobson were denied…read moreentry with their makeshift instruments into the King Orange Bowl Jamboree Parade. Instead they created their own irreverent, satirical parade in Coconut Grove. It has grown to become a beloved Grove tradition lampooning current events and politics with homemade costumes, signs, and floats. The parade embodies Coconut Grove's bohemian spirit with a wacky and humorous take on the year's news. This was my first year attending the parade and if I could give any advice it would be to come early. Parking in Coconut Grove is difficult on the best of days, never mind when thousands of people come to attend an event in the congested streets. After experiencing frustration trying to get through blocked roads, Lady Luck finally shined on me and I was able to find a metered space a few blocks from the parade. This was the 42nd year of the parade and the theme was This is Fine from the meme of a smiling cartoon dog sitting at a table, coffee mug in hand, as the room goes up in flames. Things are not really fine at all. Some of the hot topics I saw tackled during the parade included Trump, ICE, Alligator Alcatraz, sidewalk delivery robots taking over, pythons invading the Everglades, RFK's anti-vaccine stance, the Epstein files, MAGA lip injections, the kiss cam, Ron DeSantis removing rainbow crosswalks, Miami Labubu's, and the capture of Nicolas Maduro. I actually saw three Maduro's captured and dragged down the street. I ended up watching the parade in front of CocoWalk which was a great spot. The parade goes past The Barnacle and then turns the corner at CocoWalk. The parade typically starts near Commodore Plaza and Main Highway, where it loops through Grand Avenue. The King Strut Mango was longer than I expected but I was entertained throughout. After the parade was over I was easily able to find food and a beverage at one of the many dining spots in the area. An after parade party takes place in the alley next to Chug's and it was packed.

Another year, another Stut. One of my favorite events in…read moreMiami, er Coconut Grove. If you never have, get there next year, get wierd...

My parents were both turning 80 years old and they had always wanted mariachi's to come to the…read morehouse so my sister and I went on the prowl for the best van we could find. We found them! If you're looking for mariachis for a wedding, birthday, Anniversary or any event for that matter I highly recommend you higher no other group than the Hermanos Mora Arriaga. They made reserving a breeze and were exceptionally good at communicating. They all have exceptional talents and really know how to bring the party to life, great interaction and simply a great performance. I have already recommended them to a close friend and without a doubt will recommend them to anyone else who is in search of entertainment for any type of event. Thank you Hermanos Mora Arriaga for making this birthday so memorable!!!!!

This family of Mariachi entertainers is simply out of this world. It has always been a dream for my…read moremother to have Mariachis and we hired them for a surprise birthday celebration and they delivered ! The surprise was for her but it was such a joy and surprise for all of us. They far exceeded our expectations, even making sure the kids were involved and made it fun for everyone. Courteous, professional, joyous, and it felt like we were amongst family. They were awesome and gave us a wonderful experience. My only regret is not hiring for a longer set but will be doing that soon! I would recommend them anytime - thank you Mora Arriaga family

What a GREAT EVENT! This was my first year attending it and I really enjoyed it to the fullest. I…read morerecommend to get the VIP band to have full access of all the food and drinks then REPEAT AGAIN, lol! It's burger world with beer as well as Jack Daniel Whiskey. The festival has entertainment through the night from band/DJ that's setup on stage in the front of all the vendors. Last night, I got to have Pincho Factory, Clutch Burger, Miller Ale House, Pisco y Nazca, Night Owl Cookies, Samuel Adams, Jack Daniels, Bulla, Doctors Hospital Sunrise Cafe, Shula's just to name a few. The lines aren't too long and move quickly. I enjoyed playing connect 4 while listening to the live music and drinking Rosé. I'll definitely come back next year.

Wow, yummy!!! It was a super fun and well-organized event…read more I parked two blocks away and as I walking to the event I saw the smoke of the BBQ where they were cooking the burgers. It looked so nice and smelled spectacular. The registration part was phenomenal. With many people kindly attending all the guests. How nice!!! Everything I ate and drank was exquisite. Thank you and see you next year. Uyyyyyy que rico!!! Fue un evento super divertido y muy bien organizado. Me estacione dos calles mas arriba y minetras caminaba al evento note el humo de los chefs que cocinaban las hamburguesas en ese momento. Se veia tan lindo y olia espectacular. La parte de registracion estuvo fenomenal. Con muchas personas atendiiendo amablemente a todos los invitados. Que bonito!!! Todo lo que comi y tome estuvo esquisito. Gracias y hasta la proxima!!

So for my 100th review I will review this wonderful event I was able to attend free of charge…read morethanks to this awesome website i love so much (Thank you yelp). I am going to make sure to attend every Grovetoberfest from here on out. As a beer lover I must say this event was great. The line to get in looked super long but it actually moved very quickly. I liked that all the vendors (for the most part) filled up the little sample cups all the way. There was a huge variety of beers and some free goodies too. The only things that would have made the experience a little better in my opinion would be toilet paper in the portapotties & a hand washing station or two ( luckily I came prepared with wipes and hand-sanitizer) and a few fans in some of the tents.. because even though its mid October its still hot as hell. Other than that everything was perfect, see you next year!

Fall means back-to-back festivals, Pumpkin-flavored everything and the end of sweltering summer…read moreheat. Ideally you'd want to pack your bags for Oktoberfest but Miami's homespun version, Grovetoberfest, has 300 reasons to make you stay...and they're all beer. To get through them all you'll have to sample a 3 oz. pour a minute! Afterwards uphold your civic duty as a member of the boozy bureaucracy by casting your vote for best American Craft, Import and Wild Card Brew. This year the Grovetoberfest team has incorporated more activities than ever before including Bougainvillea's live music stage, a Homebrew Competition and Kitchen Lab featuring cooking demonstrations by celebrity chefs. The celebration begins six weeks prior to the actual event with complimentary beer tastings at local bars and restaurants. On the 18th of October at Peacock Park in Coconut Grove the fun starts as early as 2:30pm and ends at 7pm contingent on which of the three ticket packages you procure.

What to add to Jac's and Michelle's detailed and complete reviews? I'll just punctuate a few…read morepoints: - Table Company = 5 stars - Wine = 4 stars - Auction items = 5 stars (of which I won one) - Food = 2 stars Avg. rating = 4 stars Thank you, Maria, for giving us a wonderful evening of Yelp love! My out of town guest (a San Francisco Yelper) was over the moon (or drunk off her ass...hard to tell as they do look the same sometimes.) My only regret (even more than the duck) was not having enough time to enjoy Miss Maria's company. I'll hope for another time.

Oh geez... Please…read moredon't let it be true. I think that maybe...just maybe.... I've grown up. Like, I've sorta become an adult or something. How, one might ask, have I arrived at this realization? The other day, while at a party in the park, I turned my nose up at a Malbec Rose because it was served to me in a PLASTIC RED SOLO CUP, a la the college parties of my early 20s. This is shocking. Me? Turn down booze? Who CARES what it's served in? Back in the day I would've taken that puppy down from the jock strap of a baseball player if the occasion called for it. Alas, this is no longer true. I like my Champagne frosty, my Rose chilled and if it's lovingly held within the confines of a Riedel glass, I'm a happy lil' oenophile. And so, my "mature" realization was perfectly timed for United Way's Cellarbration at the Intercontinental Hotel in Downtown Miami. Housed on the second floor of the IC Hotel, the hubs and I were greeted with a ginormous table chock full o' glasses of Nicholas Feuillatte Champagne, 8 silent auction tables and passed gazpacho shots and grilled pork. While the presentation was a bubble-head's dream, the perfectly chilled glasses soon turned warm and by the end of the cocktail reception were too flat to enjoy. Just a note for next year guys...refill & replenish. But that was the only downside to this ultra fab event! The auction items were amazing (trips, spa days, vintage bottles, JEWELRY!!, sports memorabilia, dinners, fashion...phew!), but the dinner stole the show. Paired with an amazingly drool-worthy selection of Italian wines from La Spinetta (be still my beating heart....Barbaresco! My favorite!), my fab fellow Yelpers and I enjoyed some tender duck, succulent salmon and a dish aptly named "Chocolate Sabotage" - because it clearly gives the big, fat finger to any diet you might've even been contemplating sticking to. Panna cotta, chocolate bars, mousse...all divinely drenched in decadent, chocolate-y lovin'. The boys enjoyed the indoor bocce ball game and in true Yelp form, several peeps from our table hammed it up for the green screen photobooth (it's safe to say that I probably shouldn't contemplate running for any kind of political office). The DJ *rocked* the afterparty....! Great tunes, but sadly, most guests hightailed it after the auction and dessert course. Total bummer 'cause I was ready to rip up some MJ throwbacks with my dead-on "running man" and "Roger Rabbit." The hubs and I enjoyed this event so much, we're thinking about making it a regular stop on our party circuit for years to come....and if you've peeped the prices of the tickets, you know that's saying a HELLUVA lot. Note: Thanks to our rock star Community Manager Maria A. for helping to pull together this amazing endeavor and for giving us the opportunity to attend this shindig under the guise of Yelp. You're uhhhmaze-ing!

Kinda meh this year again. Not a good location next to the…read moreArena. Not as many boats, smattering of vendors. Not even the Latts & Atts sailors party this year (if ya' ve been, ya know) Poo poo. There are so many good locations to really have a premier sailboat show in the sailing city. Key Biscayne at the Marine stadium gets the vote for the best location. Even Bayside was better! Come on, let's get it together !!!

Disclaimer: More to come later, I promise!…read more Pros: Great beer event, huge variety of beers, friendly pourer (lots of actual brewers onsite!) & checkin/registration staff that clearly *knows* what they're doing and knows how to set up/organize/move a line (my #1 pet event peeve!) Extra points for breweries who offered to rinse cups (I wish I could remember who offered me the chance to "Rinse and hydrate?" LOL) Cons: Sun. Heat. Too small plastic cups, with no place to dump/rinse between breweries. Water is available, but there should be more - instead of a tent, water dispensers and/or pitchers could (should?) be everywhere - or almost anyway. Early overall suggestion? Go VIP. Best. Extra. $$$. Ever.

I was lucky enough to attend this event by winning VIP tickets. What a great time I had! The VIP…read moretickets go for $95 which includes the unlimited tastings of beers, a shaded and air conditioned area, food bites and some souvenirs. I must say, on a very hot Miami day, I don't think I could've survived without the shelter provided for VIPs. Because of the heat, I believe this event could be so much better if it was taking place in the evening and into the night. There was definitely a lot of beer vendors, in which you can try unlimited tastings of their beers. There was also plenty of delicious food trucks! And the festival did have some live wrestling matches which aren't really my thing, i think they could make better use of the entertainment. Overall, this is a great event for all beer lovers in the heart of Wynwood.

I went to the festival yesterday and had a great time!!! The beginning was a little shaky because…read morethe line to get in was huge, but all in all it went by fast and once inside the festival everything went terrific! They had great food and drink options, not only wine and there was a large selection. All the food we tried was tasty as well. The crowd was pleasurable and everyone was having a good time. The vibe was great with fun music. I was really impressed by the festival and will definitely be back next year! I loved it.

I was so thrilled to be able to be part of the first year of this Festival, thanks so much to Yelp…read moreFort Lauderdale! I got there around 12:45, the event opened at 1 for general admission, and there was already a small line forming but nothing too bad. As we entered, they gave us a tote bag with a wine glass and voting chip inside. For those who've never been to this type of festival, you use the voting chip to vote on your favorite "bite" of the day and at the end of the day a winner is chosen. There were so many wonderful restaurants offering samples, I don't know where to start! Among my favorites were a melt in your mouth steak and mashed potatoes with a balsamic reduction from Capital Grille, a waffle cone filled with tender smoked pork and coleslaw from Hickory Sticks BBQ, and a wonderfully tender braised chicken taco from TacoCraft. These are the three favorites I haven't been able to think about but there was so much other delicious food there! Several restaurants had ceviche and there was also meatballs, croquettes, beef and cilantro stew, short ribs, brat sandwiches and many other goodies. I sampled Mimi's amazingly delicious cannolis, and a creamy, silky chocolate mousse cup and a pastry filled with buffalo ricotta cheese from Casa D' Angelo for dessert. They were heavenly! There was an ample supply of wine and alcohol, and I learned some great facts about the process that goes into making different wines and liquors. Some of my favorites were One With Life organic tequila, Cenote tequila, delicious Ballotin Bourbon with their unique flavors of bourbon, (chocolate mint was one of the crowd favorites)Mango Passion-Fruit Sorbet from Buzz Pop Cocktails, Heavens Door Whiskey and Belle Isle's Honey Habanero Moonshine. In addition to the alcohol they had plenty of metal coolers set up with bottles of water as well as Fuji water handing out bottles of their water. There was a nice amount of shaded area in the park where you could enjoy your food, as well as several different areas where you could sit and relax. You could also play cornhole by Funky Buddha if you wanted to! All in all, it was the perfect way to spend a day in sunny South Florida and I look forward to going again next year! My favorite part about this day was getting to sample different foods and wine that I might not have had a chance to try before, and I look forward to visiting some of the restaurants that were here today! Thanks again to Blue, Sara and the rest of the Yelp gang!