One of Miami Beach’s most popular events is back. Art Deco Weekend is taking place through Sunday on the City’s iconic Ocean Drive. This year’s theme, Deco Dreams: Past, Present, Future, celebrates the 40-year anniversary of the Art Deco District being added to the National Register of Historic Places and its present as one of the areas included in Lonely Planet’s 2019 top U.S. destination of Miami and Miami Beach.
The challenges of the future will also be examined. “We have to continue planning for protecting our city in the age of climate change, hurricanes, sea level rise,” according to Daniel Ciraldo, Executive Director of the Miami Design Preservation League which hosts the weekend.
There are 85 different events including guided walking tours, a lecture series, the classic car show and retro fashion show. (Yours truly will moderate the Preservation: Past panel on Saturday morning at 11 am.)
New this year, two days of fitness programs on Muscle Beach and a culinary tent where local chefs will whip up their favorite dishes.
Original Miami Beach Antique Show, which is returning to the Miami Beach Convention Center now that construction is complete, is one of the weekend’s major sponsors. Ciraldo said they are sponsoring the Antique and Design Promenade adjacent to Casa Casuarina at 11th Street and the Jazz Age/VIP Stage in Lummus Park. “Prominent Antique Dealers including Haig’s of Rochester and Todd & Company will be coming in for the event,” he said.
Despite a legal battle earlier this year for control of the organization that put things on hold, Ciraldo said, “Our sponsorships and programming are all ahead of last year.”
“We are thankful to the community for their support and helping us put together this show with a few months left to plan,” he told RE:MiamiBeach in an email.
Ciraldo said the event attracts approximately 150,000 attendees each year. While visitors come for many reasons, including the nice weather when other areas of the country are freezing (we’re looking at you, Northeast), the weekend does provide an economic stimulus.
“Several hotels are sold out including the National Hotel,” Ciraldo said. “It’s always a great time for people to visit and stay in our hotels, plus eat at great restaurants and cafés and visit the many cultural anchors of Miami Beach.”
A traffic note: Ocean Drive is now closed from 5th to 14th Streets for the weekend. The street will reopen Monday, January 21
Art Deco Weekend Returns:
Celebrating the Miami Beach Art Deco District’s Past, Present and Future
Major undertaking included restoring three buildings, adding a fourth