Mexican-American singer Lila Downs is the product of two distinct cultures. Born in Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca, she is the daughter of Anita Sánchez, an Indigenous cabaret singer of Mixtec heritage, and Allen Downs, a Scottish-American professor of art and cinematography from Minnesota.

With six Latin Grammys and a Grammy to her credit, Downs is widely regarded as one of the first major artists to bring the music of the Mixtec, a prominent Indigenous group in Mexico, to a global stage. Her versatile repertoire blends folk, jazz, blues, ranchera and hip-hop, reflecting her broad musical range.

From Oaxaca to the Oscars stage

Raised between the Sierra Madre mountains of Oaxaca and the Midwest of the United States, Downs grew up with one foot in each world.

“I was fortunate to grow up in two different places, both socially organized and responsive,” she said during a recent interview from Mexico City.

Today, she divides her time between Oaxaca and Mexico City. This year, Downs, who sings in both English and Spanish, will perform across Mexico, the U.S., Canada and Spain, continuing her mission to amplify Indigenous voices worldwide.

Throughout her career, Downs has used her platform to serve as a global ambassador for Mexican Indigenous culture, advocating for social justice and the preservation of native languages and traditions.

In 1994, she released her first album, “Ofrenda,” a collection of traditional songs from Oaxaca and Mexico, as well as original compositions in Spanish, Mixtec and Zapotec, Indigenous languages of Oaxaca.

By 1999, Downs had signed with Narada Productions, achieving commercial success and international recognition with her album “La Sandunga.” Since then, she has released at least 15 studio albums, though she confesses, “I’ve lost count.”

One of the defining moments of her career came in 2003, when she performed the Oscar-nominated song “Burn It Blue” from the film “Frida” at the 75th Academy Awards, bringing her voice to a global audience.

Her latest album, “Cambias mi Mundo (You Change My World),” marks a return to original material, focusing on her growing interest in the poetic side of music.

“Music has taught me to be more spiritual,” she said. “We can find relief through the soulfulness of music.”

Songs of belonging — and dissent

Given her bicultural roots, Downs is closely attuned to the political climate, particularly the ongoing immigration debate in the United States. She has been vocal in her support of the widespread public protests that have followed immigration crackdowns across the country.

“That makes me very proud,” Downs said about the protests. “But I am very sad as well. We are separating people – it’s something I’ve been singing about for a long time. We’re going back, in a way; I guess it’s something in us as human beings. We are what we know.”

Downs’ activism is also evident in her music. In 2016, she released “The Demagogue,” a bilingual protest song aimed at Donald Trump during his presidential campaign.

“When I take political stances, they heat up on Facebook,” she said.

Her song “Dark Eyes” (2021) comments on race and the invisibility of Indigenous laborers in Mexico, offering a poignant reflection on the experiences of marginalized communities.

“We are all children of immigrants, really,” she added. “No matter how people try to erase it, that’s the truth.”

Mitch’s Downtown Bagel Cafe, 3334 N. University Drive, Suite 8, Coral Springs. Knishes, babka, pastrami and corned beef handhelds, black-and-white-cookies and scratch-made bagels of every stripe (even rainbow) are offered at this New York-style deli, the fourth in co-owner Adam Shidlofsky’s mini-bagel chain. It will open at Cornerstone Plaza on the corner of University Drive and Sample Road, joining Tacocraft. OPENING: March 23, per Shidlofsky. MitchsDowntown.com

Hula Kai Tiki Bar, 1075 SE 17th St., Fort Lauderdale. A two-story ode to Polynesian tiki culture, this sprawling 5,000-square-foot port-of-call will open on the 17th Street Causeway, no relation to the Mai-Kai Restaurant in Oakland Park. This lounge from owner James Flanigan (whose Old School Hospitality owns four Quarterdeck Restaurants) will feature tropical cocktails and modern pan-Asian cuisine including crispy duck, spring rolls, crab rangoon, bang bang shrimp and spare ribs. OPENING: Late April, per Flanigan. HulaKaiTikiBar.com

Beignets & Brew, 5050 Champion Blvd., Suite D-8, Boca Raton. New Orleans-style beignets are heading to Boca Raton’s Polo Shoppes in early April — and they’re dusted in powdered sugar, dressed up in ice cream-covered sundaes, drizzled in cinnamon-roll icing and dipped in buttercream. The new 25-seater, the first franchise in South Florida, will also feature drip coffee, lattes, smoothies and — crucially — café au lait. OPENING: April 1, per franchisee Joe Wasch. BeignetsandBrew.com

MINŌ Omakase & Sake Bar, 114 NE Second St., Boca Raton; 561-399-2234. The hospitality outfit that owns Kapow Noodle Bar is behind this 30-seater with a constantly revolving menu, which evolves “with Japan’s 72 micro-seasons and the day’s freshest catch,” executive chef J.M. Canlas says. Monkey pod, walnut and bamboo frame a 10-seat omakase counter, which then transforms into a sake and listening bar later in the evening. OPENING: Late March, per owners. MinoOmakase.com

The Ave FTL, 1231 S. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale. Rusty Shumway — co-owner of the former Internationally World Famous Treasure Trove — now has plans to open The Ave with business partners Jake Zeiders and L. Dee Haynes-Shumway. “We will be offering a build-your-own charcuterie board option as well as a full menu with classic items such as grilled swordfish, New York strip steak, burgers and house salads,” says Haynes-Shumway. “With regards to drinks this will be a wine-centric locale also offering batch and hand-crafted cocktails.” OPENING: March, per Haynes-Shumway. theaveftl.com

Field of Greens, 5320 Donald Ross Road (Alton Town Center) and 12485 Northlake Blvd. (Avenir’s Town Center), both in Palm Beach Gardens. This health-focused boutique-brand of cafes is known for salads, smoothies, cold-pressed juices, plant-forward meals and locally sourced seasonal specials created by chef Thomas Op’t Holt. OPENING: March 13 at Alton Town Center and April 3 at Avenir’s Town Center, per ownership/public relations firm. ilovefog.com

Signor Sassi, 1006 E. Hallandale Beach Blvd., Hallandale Beach. This Italian restaurant, already popular in London (Foo Fighters, Rihanna, The Rolling Stones and Mary J. Blige are foodie fans) and Dubai, is now coming to Oasis Hallandale here in SoFlo. Signature dishes include Spaghettini with Lobster, Veal Milanese with Potato Julienne and Avocado Bernardo, an avocado base topped with lobster and baby shrimp and served with cocktail sauce. OPENING: March 14, per ownership/public relations firm. sancarlo.co.uk/restaurants

Del Mar West Palm Beach, 1015 N. Railroad Ave., West Palm Beach. As the name suggests, Del Mar’s menu features Mediterranean coastal cuisine with dishes “from a variety of southern European countries,” according to the website. OPENING: April 7, per owners/public relations firm. delmarmediterranean.com

Mister O1 Extraordinary Pizza

Mister O1 Extraordinary Pizza, 1807 Pointe Blvd., Dania Beach. Chef Renato Viola’s pizzeria, famous for its artisanal star-shaped pizzas made with slow-fermented dough, is excited to open at Dania Pointe, an open-air dining, retail and entertainment destination. “From the moment we visited Dania Pointe, we were drawn to its energy, beautiful outdoor spaces and the mix of people that make it a place you want to linger,” he says. OPENING: March 10, per ownership/public relations firm. mistero1.com

West Palm Cowboy Club, 200 Clematis St., West Palm Beach. This two-level restaurant and music venue will have tunes and entertainment curated by none other than Diplo. “I grew up and cut my teeth in South Florida, and it inspired so much of who I am,” says Diplo, whose real name is Thomas Wesley Pentz. “I’m really proud to bring this energy home and show some love to the SoFlo cowboy. West Palm Cowboy Club is where beer, barbecue and basslines collide, South Florida-style.” The menu will be under the auspices of chef Adrian Ricouz, owner of Miami’s Slab Daddy BBQ. Expect smoked brisket, ribs and pulled pork, as well as signature dishes such as Cornbread & Caviar and BBQ-inspired hearth-fired pizzas. OPENING: March 19, per ownership/public relations firm. westpalmcowboyclub.com

Nick Petrie’s finely calibrated novels about Peter Ash continue to explore how this former Marine deals with the aftermath of war, channeling his post-traumatic stress disorder into helping others and saving lives. The fast-paced, intelligently plotted “The Dark Time” illustrates how Petrie has evolved the character of Peter, who continues to grapple with lingering memories of war and claustrophobia.

In “The Dark Time,” Petrie’s ninth installment, Peter is now a soldier of a different kind, whose battlefield of helping others as a civilian continues to be a major focus.

“The Dark Time” finds Peter out of his comfort zone of Milwaukee and in the Pacific Northwest helping a friend when he receives an urgent call from longtime girlfriend June Cassidy, an investigative reporter. June’s friend, Katelyn Thorsen, also an investigative reporter in Seattle, has been receiving threats related to a story she’s pursuing. But Katelyn, who goes by K.T., has no idea which story it is, nor who has targeted her and her 13-year-old daughter.

Peter doesn’t hesitate to show up, but things quickly go bad. Soon, Peter is on the run with his charges, whom he is trying to protect. He traces the threat to an underground group that wants to wreak havoc on the country. Peter calls on several of his friends as reinforcements, the only people he knows he can trust.

Petrie again melds high-octane action with deep character studies in “The Dark Time.” Peter’s complicated, compassionate personality continues to drive the series. His eight years as a Marine had “rewired him, turned him into a man with war inside him like a sleeping dragon, waiting for a chance to wake up.”

An ongoing theme of Petrie’s novels is examining the lives of veterans — both their time on battlefields and adjustment to civilian life. The series fits well with this ongoing trend.

“The Dark Time” delivers a gripping plot that is both timely and timeless.

Meet the author

As part of the Writers LIVE! program, Nick Petrie will discuss “The Dark Time” in conversation with Oline H. Cogdill  at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 19, at the Wellington Branch Library, 1951 Royal Fern Drive; 561-790-6070. The event is free, but registration is required. Visit pbclibrary.org/writers-live for more details and to register.

Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride!” is a big, brash swing at a new “The Bride of Frankenstein” that struggles to cohere its many parts. But I’ll say this for it: It’s alive.

Just months after Guillermo del Toro presented his lavish “Frankenstein,” Gyllenhaal, in her follow-up to her excellent 2021 directorial debut, “The Lost Daughter,” has set her sights on reimagining 1935’s “The Bride of Frankenstein.” The sequel starred Boris Karloff and, in the dual role of the Bride and Mary Shelley, Elsa Lanchester.

But in “The Bride of Frankenstein,” the shock-haired Bride is only on screen for a handful of minutes at the end of the film. Gyllenhaal, who also wrote her film, has corrected the imbalance, refashioning the story from the Bride’s perspective and concocting a protagonist of unfiltered feminist fury. As played by Jessie Buckley, she is both a victim of male control and a reanimated avenging angel.

Buckley is also, like Lanchester was, Shelley. In the movie’s opening moments, Shelley speaks from the beyond directly to us. She has a story, she says, that’s been stuck inside her, like a dream or a tumor. “What I wanted to say, I couldn’t,” she says. “I couldn’t even think it.”

So Gyllenhaal has placed her story not in the early 19th century, when “Frankenstein” was written, or in the present day, but in the 1930s, around when “The Bride of Frankenstein” came out. When Frankenstein’s monster, here simply “Frank” (Christian Bale), stumbles along, he’s been lonely for not just a few years but a century.

But first we meet Ida, a Chicago party girl who, out one night with a table full of gangsters, experiences a sudden eruption of raw honesty — the words spurt out of her uncontrollably — that quickly gets her killed.

When Frank turns up at the office of Dr. Euphronios (Annette Bening), his request of a companion is at first poorly received. “Give me a break, Frank,” she retorts. “Everyone’s lonely.” But Dr. Euphronios, too tempted to push scientific (and ethical) boundaries, decides to do it, and quickly enough they’ve dug up a corpse (Ida’s) and electrified her back to life. Easy peasy.

But as soon as she comes to, it’s clear Ida — with platinum blond hair and an ink-blot stain on her cheek from the IV drip — isn’t so keen on the plan. Informed that she’s to be his bride, she spits up blood and laughs. Get married? “Frankly, no,” she says.

In her new life, Ida is reinvigorated as much by Shelley’s spirit as Dr. Euphronios’ lab. She speaks full of puns and quips and literary references. Coming off her award-winning performance in “Hamnet,” Buckley clearly relishes the role, turning Ida into an unruly and raw vessel of female emancipation.

But while “The Bride!” very definitely has gender politics on its mind, Gyllenhaal is as set on having fun as much as she is prodding dated notions. This is a movie with an exclamation point in its title, after all. And Gyllenhaal delights in sending Ida and Frank on a fantastical adventure that pays as much homage to “Bonnie and Clyde” as it does “Frankenstein.”

As much as they get off on the wrong foot, Ida and Frank are drawn together out of outcast necessity. And, after a night at a dance club that turns darkly sinister, Ida realizes that sexual assault is more of a threat from other men than it is from her presumptive groom. Frank, played with endearing earnestness by Bale, is more of a big softie than a monster. His favorite things in the world are musicals.

Frank and Ida frequently stop in at movie theaters on their journey, which takes them to New York. (A lightbulb-festooned Times Square is vividly rendered in Karen Murphy’s lush production design.) The movie star Frank is most fond of, Ronnie Reed, is played by Maggie’s brother Jake Gyllenhaal, whose frequent on-screen appearances add another dose of levity to “The Bride!”

So do the detectives on the pair’s trail (Peter Sarsgaard, Penélope Cruz), whose dynamic is another, more real-world commentary on gender roles. The whole group comes together around the time Frank leads a song-and-dance routine to “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” a nod to Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein” (1974).

Led by a careening, foot-stomping Bale, the scene could well be about when the feeling takes hold of “The Bride!” being just a little too much. The tonal extremes and multilayered theatricality of Maggie Gyllenhaal’s movie-mad movie are, by any measure, a lot. But I would argue such ambitious gambits are exactly the kind that a filmmaker in their sophomore outing ought to be taking. “The Bride!” feels constantly like an act of plate-spinning that’s about to collapse. That it doesn’t is a fever-dream feat, one that makes me eager to see what Gyllenhaal does next.

“The Bride!,” a Warner Bros. release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for strong/bloody violent content, sexual content/nudity and language. Running time: 127 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

Friday

Art to heart: The 20th annual Festival of the Arts Boca comes to a close at Mizner Park Amphitheater with classical pianist Conrad Tao offering a program featuring Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” at 7:30 p.m. Friday; followed by Grammy-winning classical instrumental trio Time for Three at 7:30 p.m. Saturday; and Broadway star Patti Lupone, revisiting her acclaimed cabaret show “Matters of the Heart,” at 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets and information: FestivalBoca.org.

Stage stars: Song-and-dance man and Wolverine Hugh Jackman will bring his dreamboat-y charisma to Hard Rock Live in Hollywood on Friday at 8 p.m. Tickets: MyHRL.com. … Tony Award winner Donna McKechnie (the original Cassie Ferguson in “A Chorus Line”) brings her tribute “Take Me To The World: The Songs of Stephen Sondheim” to the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center on Friday at 8 p.m. Tickets: AventuraCenter.org.

Local listening: Cassadee Pope, who got her pop-punk start here with Hey Monday before winning “The Voice” and becoming a star in Nashville, has returned to her rock roots and is bringing her Spring Acoustic Tour to Respectable Street in West Palm Beach on Friday at 7 p.m. Tickets: Facebook.com/respectablestreet. … South Florida guitarist and composer Russell Mofsky’s Gold Dust Lounge — makers of a cinematic sound that mashes the moods of Ennio Morricone, Quentin Tarantino, David Lynch, Dick Dale and Bela Lugosi into something vividly their own — will play the Thomson Plaza for the Arts at Miami’s Arsht Center at 7:30 p.m. Friday.  Tickets: ArshtCenter.org.

Fun in store: This is closing weekend for “Kim’s Convenience” at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, a theatrical production that was also a hit Netflix series about a Korean family and what they discover about themselves and the world around them — in moments both hysterical and heartfelt — while running a convenience store in Toronto. Weekend performances will be at 7 p.m. Friday, 1:30 and 7 p.m. Saturday, and 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: Kravis.org.

Friday night live: Two staples of your ’90s sing-along soundtrack, Lisa Loeb and Joan Osborne, will perform at the Arsht Center in Miami on Friday at 8 p.m., on a co-headlining tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of Loeb’s “Tails” and Osborne’s “Relish.” Tickets: ArshtCenter.org. … Charismatic Poison icon Bret Michaels will bring all the hair-borne hits to the Pompano Beach Amphitheater on Friday at 7:30 p.m. on a tour with Tesla. Tickets: PompanoBeachArts.org.

Friday laughs: J.B. Smoove, forever to be best known for his role as Leon Black on “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” will be at the Miami Improv for performances at 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday, and 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets: MiamiImprov.com. … Canadian comedian Mae Martin, one-third of the “Handsome” podcast (with Fortune Feimster and Tig Notaro) and creator-star of the 2025 Netflix special “Wayward,” will perform at The Parker in Fort Lauderdale on Friday at 7 p.m. Tickets: ParkerPlayhouse.com. … Ariel Elias, who has done Kimmel and Colbert but achieved priceless viral fame a few years ago when she chugged a beer thrown at her by a heckler, will be at The Studio at Mizner Park in Boca Raton at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Tickets: TheStudioAtMiznerPark.org.

Saturday

Gardens party: Jazz in the Gardens Music Fest will return to the grounds at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Saturday and Sunday with a long and strong lineup of performers. Saturday’s headliners include Jhené Aiko, GloRilla, Ella Mai, Mýa, Joe and a set by DJ D-Nice featuring appearances from SWV, Robin Thicke, Sunshine Anderson and others. On Sunday, the highlight will be a 25th anniversary set by Ludacris, as well as performances by Nelly and Ashanti, The Isley Brothers, Boney James and more. The festival begins at 4 p.m. each day. Tickets, information: JazzInTheGardens.com.

Big show: At Miami’s Arsht Center, Florida Grand Opera will close its season with a bold exclamation point — a massive production of Puccini’s 100-year-old masterpiece “Turandot” (best known for “Nessun Dorma”), featuring more than 150 people onstage while pairing the creative storytelling of director (you may remember the visual magic of his “Magic Flute” last season) and inventive video artist Erin Teachman. The cast includes Roberto Alagna, Aleksandra Kurzak, Jennifer Rowley and Dominick Chenes, under the baton of Jonathan Brandani, born in Lucca like Puccini. Performances will be at 7 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday and 8 p.m. Tuesday. The production will move to the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale for performances at 7:30 p.m. March 26 and March 28. Tickets: FGO.org.

Nice ride: Muscle on the Beach will bring vintage muscle cars, trucks and hot rods to Old School Square in Delray Beach on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Hosted by Mike Brewer, British host of the Discovery Channel’s “Wheeler Dealers,” the event will send all net proceeds to local nonprofit Sandoway Discovery Center. Admission is free. Information: MuscleOnTheBeach.com.

Downtown dance: Miami City Ballet will make its debut at The Parker in downtown Fort Lauderdale this weekend with “Across the River of Light,” a program curated exclusively for the more intimate space and highlighted by MCB choreographer Durante Verzola’s Latin-flavored “Sentimiento.” Three other works on the program include Christopher Wheeldon’s “This Bitter Earth,” George Balanchine’s “Tarantella,” and “Nous Sommes” by Jimmy Gamonet de los Heros. Performances will be at 7:30 p.m Saturday and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: MiamiCityBallet.org.

Winging it: The man, the myth Joey Chestnut will be among the Major League Eating stars who will compete in the annual Wings for Wishes Professional Wing Eating Championship, a fundraiser for Make-A-Wish Southern Florida, at Sports Grill South Miami on Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Beginning at 2:15 p.m., Chestnut will begin chowing down in a field of competitors that includes James Webb, who outpaced Chestnut in this wing-eating event last year, 224 to 192. Tickets: WingsForWishesMiami.org.

Beyond George: “Seinfeld” star Jason Alexander will share stories from his work on stage, television, film and other pursuits during an installment of The Rosenthal Speaker Series at Congregation B’nai Israel of Boca Raton on Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets: CBIBoca.org.

Saturday night live: Darius Rucker will play an annual fundraising concert for the Broward Center’s many education efforts on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. Benefit packages that include a cocktail reception and dinner are available, but you can also get tickets for the concert only at BrowardCenter.org. … Indie band Interpol brings its tour with Austin rockers The Black Angels to the James L. Knight Center in downtown Miami on Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets: JLKC.com. … ’80s idiosyncrasy Gary Numan is a sellout at the Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, but check for updates at Ticketmaster.com.

What you really, really want: Local cineastes The Film Junkies will host a screening of “Spice World,” the glittery, girl-powery romp starring The Spice Girls — Posh, Scary, Baby, Sporty and Ginger — on Saturday at 10 p.m. at Paradigm Cinemas: Gateway Fort Lauderdale. Tickets: TheFilmJunkies.com.

Irish aye: St. Nick gets a whole season, why not St. Patrick? The inaugural Village of Wellington Irish Festival will take place on Saturday, a full 10 days before St. Patrick’s Day — and we’re not complaining. Running from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., the event will include food, drink, kids’ activities and live entertainment (Black Thorne Pipe Band, Clar Killoran, Rogue Theory, Tir Na Greine Irish Dancers and more). Franny from 98.7 FM The Gator will host a Split the G Guinness-drinking contest. Admission and parking are free. Information: WellingtonFL.gov.

Sunday

Sunday laughs: If you struck out trying to see Ari Matti (Rogan guy, “Kill Tony” podcaster) at his four sold-out shows at the Fort Lauderdale Improv, know that he’s also scheduled at the Miami Improv for two shows on Sunday. Last we checked they still had tickets for the 9:30 p.m. performance. Visit: MiamiImprov.com.

Billy’s boys: The Lords of 52nd Street, including musicians who backed Billy Joel in the late 1970s, beginning with the “Turnstiles” album, will perform at the Miniaci Performing Arts Center at Nova Southeastern University in Davie on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets: MiniaciPAC.com.

Mozart matinee: The Vienna Philharmonic, led by Grammy-winning conductor Andris Nelsons (music director of Boston Symphony Orchestra), will play a matinee program (Mozart’s Symphony No. 36 and Dvořák’s Sixth Symphony) at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach. Visit: Kravis.org. Note: The orchestra’s Kravis Center concert with revered pianist Lang Lang at 7:30 p.m. Monday is sold out. Check updates at Kravis.org.

Looking ahead

Food stuff: Michelin-blessed Mister O1 Extraordinary Pizza is opening its newest South Florida location at Dania Pointe on Tuesday (Mister01.com) … Fuku, chef David Chang’s New York-based cult-fave fried chicken spot, will open its first South Florida brick-and-mortar on Miracle Mile in Coral Gables on Wednesday. Chang expects to open a shop in downtown West Palm Beach this summer (EatFuku.com).

Beatles all over: The beloved Beatles on the Beach festival will bring myriad concerts, lectures, vendors and activities to Boca Raton from March 12-15. Highlights include a performance by Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience (yes, that Morgan Freeman) on March 14 at Mizner Park Amphitheater and the Boca Raton Museum exhibition “The Art of Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon & George Harrison.” Tickets, information: BeatlesOnTheBeach.com.

More music: Alicia Keys opens her jukebox musical “Hell’s Kitchen” at the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday for a run through March 22. Tickets: BrowardCenter.org. … You can still get tickets to see country singer-songwriter Miranda Lambert at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood on March 12. Tickets: MyHRL.com. … The 10th edition of GroundUP Music Festival is returning to Miami Beach Bandshell on March 13-15, with a lineup featuring Snarky Puppy, Flying Lotus, Arooj Aftab, Rickie Lee Jones, Julian Lage, Patrice Rushen, Bilal and more. Tickets: GroundupMusicFestival.com.

Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com. Follow on IG: @BenCrandell.

Chestnut will be among the Major League Eating stars competing in the annual Wings for Wishes championship in Miami, the centerpiece of a street festival at Sports Grill South Miami on Saturday, March 7. The event is a fundraiser for Make-A-Wish Southern Florida, hosted by board members Gal Bensaadon and Brian R. Exelbert.

Along with Wings for Wishes being “a great event run by great guys for a great cause,” Chestnut is looking forward to a reunion with a nemesis, Australia’s James Webb, who won last year’s event while tying his own record of 224 wings in 10 minutes. Chestnut took second with 192 wings.

The 42-year-old Indiana resident says winning this year will be a challenge — “James is just super efficient. He’s really fast.” But the key to success is not being hypnotized by South Florida.

“No excuses, but it’s wintertime in Indiana, and every time I go to Miami, I’m just happy to be there. It’s warm and perfect. So I need to be more serious,” he says, laughing.

Checking in at 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds, Chestnut loves wings, and he’ll eat 25-30 while watching a game at Buffalo Wild Wings, which is nothing compared with the 200 he planned to order for a weekend practice for Wings for Wishes.

Speaking by phone from his home outside Indianapolis where he lives with his fiancee, Chestnut spoke about his favorite things to eat, the thing he struggles not to eat, how he trains for competitions, and how many hot dogs he typically crushes at a Cincinnati Reds game. The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Q. Of course, you are best known for the Nathan’s hot dog contest. How do you train for that? Are you in shape now? 

A. No, I’m a little bit heavy, but I’m in the process of losing weight. I’ll start doing practices probably mid-May, and almost once a week I’m doing a practice. Before we practice, there’s a cleanse, where I’m, like, eating almost no solid food and drinking liquids. And then I go in for a practice, a simulated contest, with a timer, line up the dogs like we do for the contest. Then there’s a recovery period afterward, trying to get back to my normal weight. [He says he gains about 24 pounds during the 10-minute Nathan’s competition.] Once I get back to my normal weight, I have one normal day eating, then go back to my cleanse.

I have to be able to run, do a little bit of jogging, to control my breathing. When I’m getting heavier, I’m more likely to get winded. If I have to breathe through my mouth at all [during the competition], I’m not eating. I have to be able to sneak in all my breaths through my nose.

Q. How many contests do you do in a year? 

A. This year only about 10 or 11. But I do a lot of little exhibitions and appearances. Like, I’ll do an appearance at a minor league baseball game, and they’ll give me 90 seconds or two minutes during the seventh-inning stretch.

Q. What is your favorite thing to eat that your fiancee makes?

A. Yeah, she puts up with me and all my crazy eating. All of her pastas, all her sauces, are great. That’s a cheat day for me. I don’t do carbs unless it’s a big reward. If there’s any kind of bread in my house, it’s gone. … I love it. I literally almost become addicted to it. It’s just better to eliminate it from my diet.

Q. What’s your everyday meal plan? What are you having today?

A. Let’s see, what am I doing today? Breakfast, just coffee. I’ll have a protein supplement in a little bit, then a light dinner tonight. I have to go to some corporate dinner, so I don’t know what they’re serving. I’ll try to do salad and whatever protein they have. I plan on doing a pretty good practice [two days later] with chicken wings. I want to eat at least 200, but I’ll see.

Q. Did your mom ever tell you to finish your plate?

A. My mom, I wouldn’t say she got mad at me, but she would yell at me to slow down and not eat all the leftovers, because my dad wasn’t home yet. Early in my life, I knew that I was a fast eater and I could eat more than everybody. So I was always holding back.

Q. Did she have to tie your hands at Thanksgiving?

A. Thanksgiving is kind of a love-hate relationship. We grew up with six kids in the family, and all the kids on our birthday, would get their own meal. “Mom cook this, Mom cook that.” My birthday was close to Thanksgiving [it’s Nov. 25], so I didn’t even celebrate on my birthday. It was on Thanksgiving most years. So I had to have turkey on my birthday. I hated turkey growing up. But as an adult, I love it. I love the stuffing, the gravy. It’s definitely a carb-heavy day for me.

Q. As a competitor, do you have a favorite thing to eat?

A. I do love hot dogs a lot, and that makes it easier to do the contest that I put so much work in. Even though I hate eating the wet bun. It’s terrible. I tried to do it without it [dipped in water], but it’s a little bit faster to do the wet bun — and it’s competitive eating, it’s not pretty eating. I had to learn how to do the wet bun and build my tolerance for that. But I love hot dogs.

Q. When you go to a ballgame, how many hot dogs do you eat?

A. It depends how good they are. Some ballparks are exclusively steamed dogs. At the Mets’ stadium, they’ll do grilled dogs, same at Cincinnati, and oh, my god … I’ll do a 9-9-9, nine hot dogs and nine beers in nine innings, most games. [Laughs] I love a little bit of raw onions and mustard. I can put anything on hot dogs. Like the Seattle Dog with the cream cheese and the caramelized onion. That hits pretty hard, That’s a good, good dog.

Q. Is there a food that does not have its own competition, but you wish it did?

A. Oh, my god, I think potatoes au gratin would be amazing. I’m craving starches right now, I don’t know why. I’ve done salt potatoes in Syracuse, New York. They’re these, like, little golden Yukon potatoes. They were just covered in butter and salt, and they were delicious. But what else? I think king crab would be awesome.

Q. Do you have a favorite restaurant?

A. I was just in San Francisco not too long ago, and I love House of Prime Rib. That’s probably my all-time [favorite]. I love good steak and prime rib. If I’m cheating, I’m having mashed potatoes and creamed spinach. I even love their salads.

Q. Do restaurant owners get excited when you walk in?

A: The world is crazy. [Laughs] It’s so not fair. The guy that can eat the most gets the most food, just brought to him. Like, if I don’t order the thing that the chef or the owner is most proud of, they’ll just bring it out. I’m super spoiled.

The 12th annual Wings for Wishes Professional Wing Eating Championship will be from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. (contest at 2:15 p.m.) Saturday, March 7, at Sports Grill South Miami, 1559 Sunset Drive. Cost: $50; $10 for kids age 5-12. Visit WingsForWishesMiami.org

Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com. Follow on IG: @BenCrandell.

The Resource Depot, the nonprofit creative reuse center in West Palm Beach, will pivot from selling donated office supplies, classroom materials, textiles and other materials to make room for its annual REfashion Weekend. From Friday through Saturday, then again on Monday, frugal fashionistas can enjoy the thrill of the hunt while perusing racks full of gently used women’s clothing, shoes and accessories.

“REfashion Weekend started as a natural extension of our mission at Resource Depot,” executive director Jennifer O’Brien said. “For 26 years, we’ve been keeping usable materials out of the waste stream and putting them back into the hands of our community …

“A few years ago, we realized our clothing closets are just another area where we often have so much excess. So we launched REfashion as a pop-up women’s boutique that celebrates reuse in a fresh, stylish way. …

“Not everyone needs a bin of art supplies — but everyone wears clothes.”

REfashion Weekend celebrates fashion as one of the most accessible ways people can practice reuse, O’Brien said.

“Secondhand shopping reduces textile waste, saves resources like water and energy, and keeps clothing in circulation longer. It’s also budget-friendly and encourages personal style over fast fashion trends. You get something unique — and the planet gets a break,” she added.

Inventory includes items recently donated by the community at Resource Depot’s headquarters.

“We collected several thousand pounds of pre-loved women’s items over almost three months, everything from everyday staples to designer pieces,” O’Brien said. “Our community really showed up and cleaned out their closets with purpose. We have collected a wide range of sizes and styles so everyone is sure to find something new-to-them that fits — and fits their style.”

The sale takes over the Resource Depot’s GalleRE on the first floor and cREate Space on the second, with both areas organized by the same categories, according to O’Brien, “so whether you’re looking for dresses, denim, tops or statement pieces, you’ll find them clearly sorted in each space.”

“Downstairs in the GalleRE, it’s a true boutique experience. Pieces are individually priced and feature our higher-end labels, standout designer items and unique vintage finds,” she said. “Upstairs, you’ll find just as much style and value — but it’s our Fill-A-Bag experience. Your first bag is included with your ticket, and you can pack it with whatever treasures you discover.”

Fashion First Friday

There’s a VIP Shopping Night set for 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., in which attendees get early access to items while partaking of music, light bites and sparkling wine. Cost is $75, which includes one bag to shop from the Fill-A-Bag area (additional bags are $20). They also get to participate in the Friday-only raffle for a chance to win designer handbags, plus they get first dibs in the designer boutique with items priced separately.

Last year, designer boutique prices started as low as $6, O’Brien said, with some as high as $250 and the majority between $8 and $40.

“We’ve received standout pieces from brands like Gucci, Prada, Tory Burch, Louis Vuitton, St. John and Lilly Pulitzer — mixed in with contemporary favorites and one-of-a-kind vintage gems,” she said. “It’s the perfect blend of designer and everyday style, and the thrill is in the find.”

Saturday Morning Style Rush

From 9 a.m. to noon, attendees can search for fashionable finds for $50, including a bag to stuff in the Fill-A-Bag section on the second floor. There will also be a DJ and surprise deals.

Then, from 2 to 5 p.m., get into the sale for $35 (one Fill-A-Bag included).

During both sessions, shoppers can purchase pieces separately in the designer boutique. Additional Fill-A-Bags during both sessions are available for $20 each, O’Brien said.

Fashion by the Pound Monday

New this year, shoppers have a final chance for deals, from 9 a.m. to noon Monday, in which they can fill a bag (or bring one) with clothing for $2 a pound.

“REfashion Weekend is about more than shopping — it’s about shifting mindset. When we see clothing as a resource instead of disposable, we change the system,” O’Brien said. “Plus, it’s a really fun weekend with a great crowd and serious style. Sustainable can absolutely be chic.”

A shopper’s perspective

Lake Worth resident Lindsay Leventhal enjoyed her first REfashion Weekend last year at a friend’s invitation.

“She’d attended the year before, and every time I complimented her outfits, she’d reply, ‘I got it at REfashion Weekend,'” she said. “I’m so glad I joined her — it turned out to be one of the most fun fundraisers I’ve been to — more like a stylish girls’ day out, with great snacks, that just happens to support a great cause.”

Leventhal said she scored athletic-leisure items, pants and a jacket that “looked like it had never been worn.”

“My entire Fill-A-Bag felt like a total win,” she said.

“What I love most is knowing my purchase supports Resource Depot’s mission and programs and keeps clothing in circulation,” she added. “It feels good to shop and do something positive at the same time.”

Resource Depot is at 2508 Florida Ave., West Palm Beach. Visit resourcedepot.org/refashion-weekend for tickets and information.

Everyone has a beloved neighborhood spot to pop in and pick up these satisfying staples and more — fresh bagels, black-and-white cookies, smoked fish, blintzes and potato pancakes.

But beyond filling our stomachs, delis keep traditions alive and give us a taste of hometown nostalgia. Now it’s time to celebrate the ones that are doing it the best in South Florida.

Tell us: Which deli in Palm Beach, Broward or Miami-Dade counties deserves the spotlight?

Readers, it’s all up to you! Nominate your favorite sit-down-style delis (sorry, no counters or takeout spots this time) for our 2026 Best of South Florida Dining series.

Let us know your go-to deli and gush over what makes it special: Thick sandwiches? Impressive dinner specials? Hot, savory knishes? We will highlight some of your comments in future stories.

The top five places that cut the mustard (aka those most-mentioned by you) will move on to the voting round.

Send us your nominations through Tuesday, March 17, by using the form below (if you can’t see it, click here).

Don’t miss previous Best of South Florida Dining series winners!

Top Chinese takeout

Top subs

Top matzo ball soup

Top waterfront restaurant

Top food truck

Top brunch

Top sushi

Top craft beer

Top steak

Top Cuban sandwich

Top ice cream

Top pizza

Top burger 

Top donut

Top BBQ

Top bagel

Top fried chicken

LOS ANGELES — Some of this year’s Oscar-nominated documentary shorts hit so hard, viewers may be grateful to come across one that simply follows donkeys visiting an observatory in the desert — even if it bumps up against the very boundaries of the genre.

‘All the Empty Rooms’

Director Joshua Seftel hadn’t spoken with his former colleague, longtime CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman, in 25 years. Then Hartman, famed for stories of human kindness and compassion, reached out: He and photojournalist Lou Bopp had been documenting bedrooms left behind by children killed in American school shootings.

“I said to him, ‘This could be a great film,’” says Seftel, though Hartman asked not to be in it. “I said, ‘You are the “Good News Guy” and people trust you. If the Good News Guy is telling you he’s got some bad news, people are going to listen.’ ”

The rooms provide silent testament to those who once lived there. One is festooned in SpongeBob memorabilia; another contains the rack on which a girl would arrange her outfits for the week.

“You meet these families and hear the stories and there’s a heaviness” in the rooms, says Seftel. He says he could see them weigh on Bopp and Hartman. A filmmaker friend, on seeing the film, told Seftel, “Steve Hartman is a haunted man.”

‘Armed Only With a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud’

Brent Renaud and his brother, Craig, made documentaries in Haiti, Egypt, Iraq and other hot spots, and won awards for their portrait of a troubled Chicago school. Then, while covering the war in Ukraine, Brent was killed by Russian soldiers.

“For Brent, it was always a focus on people caught in the middle of conflicts,” says Craig Renaud. “Going back to the front lines over and over again, we often had to be on the ground for months at a time in these war zones.”

Included in the clips of Brent Renaud’s work: a weeping Iraqi woman clutching the bloody jeans of her slain son; Renaud interviewing a Honduran boy embarking on the hazardous trek to the U.S. on his own; and a Somali man telling Renaud, “The way you hold the camera, you’re doing it from your heart.”

It also includes casual mention of his diagnosis as neurodivergent.

“He’s calm as a monk in a firefight,” Craig Renaud says, “but a cocktail party in Brooklyn is absolutely terrifying.”

‘Children No More: Were and Are Gone’

In Tel Aviv, a group of Israeli protesters stands silently, holding posters emblazoned with the faces of Palestinian children who have been killed in Gaza by the Israeli military.

“They didn’t choose to be part of this war,” says Israeli filmmaker Hilla Medalia. “They were killed not because they brought it on themselves, but because someone decided they needed to die.”

Medalia’s film follows activists whose silent vigils draw both support and condemnation. So far, despite sometimes having to abandon their protests when situations become potentially threatening, they remain undaunted.

“Their focus is to stop the war and this war crime and other things that are happening in our name, and to force the general public to confront those images and to look at the kids and to feel for them,” Medalia says. “It’s amazing to me how humanity and compassion become an act of resistance.”

‘The Devil Is Busy’

At a women’s health clinic in Atlanta, a typical day includes religious protesters on megaphones (“All men,” points out co-director Geeta Gandbhir) and women seeking help only to discover their pregnancies are just past the six-week mark, making terminating them illegal in Georgia.

“We decided to focus on the providers,” says Gandbhir. “They’re putting themselves at risk to provide care. What you see are the hurdles they face.”

Co-director Christalyn Hampton says the burdens on these independent clinics have drastically increased as about 50 Planned Parenthood sites closed last year. She points out the spectrum of healthcare provided and the complexity of situations for both patients, many of whom must travel considerable distances, and providers.

“When the technician is giving the young lady a sonogram, the [patient] goes through several emotions: She’s happy, she’s crying, she’s nervous. That speaks to the vulnerability these women feel when they have to make certain decisions. That emotional moment [reminds us] of that human aspect.”

‘Perfectly a Strangeness’

A trio of donkeys traverses a desert to an observatory. Captured with creative camera angles and accompanied by an imaginative score, Alison McAlpine’s film pushes the boundaries of what documentaries are.

While shooting her previous feature in Chile, McAlpine noticed donkeys hanging out around an observatory. “We hired three gentle donkeys [for the film]. It was a combination of trying to direct the donkeys up from the valley to the observatory, and sometimes we just followed the donkeys.”

McAlpine acknowledges that her film has been difficult to categorize. “Sometimes it’s at IDFA, which is an international documentary festival. Sometimes it’s just competing with fiction, where it’s been lucky to win awards sometimes. But what is a documentary? As soon as you put on a lens and a frame, it’s a personal document, not something objective.

“I’ve been moved because people have been touched; they seem to be transported elsewhere, which is what one wants as a filmmaker.”

©2026 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

LOS ANGELES — To get to the “Sinners” exhibit on the Warner Bros. Studio Tour, you have to navigate past the backlot’s iconic water tower, cross through the New York Street and then skirt city hall and the fountain from the opening credits of “Friends.” Eventually, you wind up at Stage 48, home of the Central Perk Cafe, a gift shop selling all manner of “Friends” bric-a-brac and offering a smattering of knockoff furniture from Monica’s palatial apartment to enjoy.

Comparatively, the newly installed “Sinners” showcase, featuring costumes and a couple of props, is, to use a real estate agent’s euphemism, “cozy,” certainly smaller than Rachel’s closet. On the night of its opening, “Sinners” production designer Hannah Beachler and cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw are inside sitting on a sofa — not the sofa, but close enough. A few hours ago, they were celebrating with their fellow Oscar nominees at the academy’s annual luncheon.

“She’s a regular,” Arkapaw says, her arm around Beachler, who won an Oscar in 2019 for her work on “Black Panther.”

The two women and the rest of the “Sinners” team have been hobnobbing with Oscar and guild voters for months now and talking about their work on the film, which was released in April, for even longer. At the time of this “Sinners” event on the Warner Bros. lot, which included yet another screening of the movie for guild members, the Oscars were still more than a month away.

“I can believe it,” Beachler says. Adds Arkapaw: “Me too. I’m stressing about the stuff they’re having us doing. But I think Teyana Taylor said it best: ‘Don’t be complaining about answered prayers.’”

“Sinners” had a lot of prayers answered when Oscar nominations were announced last month — 16, to be precise.

Now the question is whether that record-breaking haul might be enough to catapult Ryan Coogler’s genre-defying American horror story to a best picture Oscar victory.

When it opened in September, Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” immediately took the pole position in the best picture race, and it remains the front-runner. But all those “Sinners” Oscar nominations do complicate things. Put it this way: When you submit your movie in 16 different categories and hit in each and every one of them, you have a film boasting broad support across a dozen voting branches. That’s significant.

And if you’re a voter and you weren’t necessarily a fan of the film — or had put off watching it because the horror genre gives you pause — the nominations total does something else. It prompts you to take stock. What is everyone else seeing? Maybe you watch “Sinners” again. Maybe you finally clear the deck and press play for the first time. Perhaps you see that it’s just as much a movie of the moment as “One Battle,” what with the unapologetic, overt racism coming from the White House.

So if you’re on the fence and you do reconsider “Sinners,” maybe it’s not a complete reversal. But it might be enough for you to put the movie higher on your ranked ballot when you vote for best picture.

As you may know, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences uses a preferential ballot for the best picture category and only the best picture category. When the academy’s 10,136 voting members mark their ballots this year, they cast a single vote in 23 of the 24 Oscar categories. The nominee with the most votes wins.

For best picture, though, members are instructed to rank the 10 nominated movies. The system, in place since the academy expanded the best picture field from five to 10 nominees in 2009, is designed to reflect the wishes of the greatest number of voters. This means that the winner is sometimes not the movie that is most passionately loved but the picture that is most generally liked — or, if you’re a glass-half-empty kind of person, the picture that is least disliked.

The process works like this: Once voting ends, PricewaterhouseCoopers accountants sort the best picture ballots and place them in stacks based on members’ No. 1 votes. They then eliminate the movie with the fewest first-place votes, giving those votes to each ballot’s second-ranked film. The process continues — smallest stacks eliminated, votes redistributed to the next choice down — until one movie has more than 50% of the vote.

The math to “Sinners” winning best picture necessitates it being the No. 1, 2 or 3 choice on more ballots than “One Battle After Another.” And that plays into what a couple of awards consultants told me about the psychological effect the movie’s record-breaking 16 nominations might have on voters when they rank the nominated movies.

“Maybe it’s not your favorite, but you still rank it high because of that overwhelming level of respect,” says one rival campaigner. “Who knows if the math adds up. But at this point in the season, you’re looking for any advantage you can find.”

A test of that math will come Saturday at the Producers Guild Awards, a ceremony that uses the same preferential ballot system to determine its best picture. The PGA winner more often than not repeats at the Oscars, though in the last decade there have been two notable exceptions — “Moonlight” besting PGA winner “La La Land” in 2017 and, three years later, “Parasite” taking the Oscar over “1917.”

Should “Sinners” prevail at the PGA and then the next night go on to win the cast prize at the Actor Awards (formerly known as the Screen Actors Guild Awards), then the race will be dramatically recast. Both ceremonies take place in the middle of the window of final voting for the Oscars, which runs Feb. 26 through March 5.

“It’s a miracle that we were all nominated,” Beachler says. “That’s rare for everyone to get that recognition.”

For a film with a hero named Preacher Boy, one last miracle certainly isn’t out of the question. And if the last few months have taught us anything, it’s that you underestimate “Sinners” at your peril.

©2026 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.