October 2014

Thursday, October 2
5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
HRC Documentary: Before God We Are All Family
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is pleased to announce the premiere of the documentary Before God We Are All Family in the Miami Beach Botanical Garden as part of the Celebrate Orgullo festival. The film tells the story of five religious Latino families who have lived with the sting of repressive church teachings about sexual orientation and gender identity. It further explores the experiences of those who have been asked to choose between those they love, and the religion they trust. This screening is free and open to the public. Reception at 5:30. Show starts at 6:30, followed by a panel discussion with family members. 







Saturday, October 4
10 a.m. to noon
Free Saturday Seminar: Edible Foraging
Learn how to be a wild food hunter in South Florida. Track down edible weeds and find tropical fruit growing where you least expect it at this free Saturday Seminar presented by Tiffany Noe, author of the popular new book FORAGER (2014, Jai-Alai Books). Noe was featured in Edible South Florida and has presented at the Kampong. She will be sharing her guide to Miami's edible plants that you can discover growing in your back yard. Come to this presentation to enter for a chance to win tickets to our herbal cocktail workshop on October 9th!







Sunday, October 5
6 to 7:30 p.m.
Fair Fauna: Revolt of the Feminist Flowers
How many works of art exist in which women are compared with flowers? Here in Fair Fauna, artists turn the idea on its head. The actresses explore the ideas of femininity through flora and fauna and the extended metaphor of the garden. The stage joins the natural world to the plastic; the beauty of a botanical garden to a synthetic balloon sculpture garden. Women performing as flowers, costumed themselves as floral balloon sculptures, perform with creativity and passion as they revolt! $20 tickets can be purchased by calling the Garden at 305.673.7256. Click here to purchase tickets at a discounted price!



Thursday, October 9
6 to 8 p.m.
Garden to Glass Herbal Cocktail Workshop
We can't help you with your hangover, but we can help you step up your cocktail creations. Learn and practice innovative recipes, prep and presentation tips, and methods for making three fun cocktails using ingredients plucked straight from our edible garden. 

Bettina Barnoczki of Blackbird Ordinary will introduce recipes and mixologist secrets for your next cocktail party incorporating classic drinks, fresh new herbal twists, and herb syrups and punches. Registration required. $25 for Garden Members / $30 Non-Members. Click here to register.





Wednesday, October 15
7:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Cinema Green in the Garden
The Garden teams up a second time with local environmental groups ECOMB and Surfrider to bring you a free screening of Home (2009). This  is the first film that has been made using aerial-only footage from over 50 stunning countries from a view most of us have never seen. The director shares with us his sense of awe about our planet and his concern for its health. Last month's movie and discussion panel played to a full house, so RSVP early by calling the Garden at 305.673.7256 or emailing membership@mbgarden.org. For more information on this and other screenings visit the Cinema Green Facebook page.








Thursday, October 16
7 to 9:30 p.m.
Surfrider Community & Member Meeting
On the third Thursday of each month, Surfrider Foundation Miami Chapter hosts the Community & Member Meeting at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden in the Banyan Room. The public and all concerned with the protection of our oceans and beaches are welcome. We will introduce new leaders and volunteers, update the community on environmental protection initiatives, and pass out information on upcoming events and fundraisers. Brief movies may be screened. Afterwards get a chance to network and talk surf stories.



Friday, October 17
12 to 1:30 p.m.
Prepare to be Moved by Ability Explosion
Ability Explosion, the week-long mega event happening this October to bring awareness to the disabled community, will be holding a disability simulation where public figures in the community will experience what it is like to have a disability. Afterwards, join students from North Beach Elementary School, who did the same exercise, to share their experiences. Ability Explosion runs October 19 to 24 in South Beach, with events ranging from a tech convention, a regatta, a Crunch 5K run, and an evening of dining in the dark. For more info visit www.abilityexplosion.org.




Tuesday, October 21
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Everglades: America's Wetland with Mac Stone
From Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay, from inside the bone-crushing jaws of an alligator to the storms that race across the blackwater backcountry, award-winning conservation photographer Mac Stone takes us on a visual journey through the wetlands of the Everglades. Stone traveled to remote areas of the Everglades as a biologist for the National Audubon Society, capturing everything from snail kites to sharks using underwater, aerial and intimate close-up photography to create windows into the essence of this beautiful and endangered ecosystem and her inhabitants. Stone will share his work, which has been recently published into a book, and the story behind the pictures in a special presentation followed by a Q & A session and book signing. 

Aperitifs and light bites at 6:30. Presentation begins at 7 p.m. To RSVP for this free event, email membership@mbgarden.org or call the Garden at 305.673.7256. Click here for a video previewing how he shot the book cover pictured here.



Friday, October 24
6 to 9:30 p.m.
Book Launch and Exhibit with Ben Batchelder
Local author Ben Batchelder launches his new book, Borderlands USA: or, How to Protect the Country by Car, with three readings and a photo exhibit, an art intervention on view for one night only! As a returning expatriate, Batchelder dry-circumnavigates the Lower 48 and produces a work on what it means to be American post-9/11. This free art opening and exhibit will be in the Butterfly Room at the Garden with readings scheduled at 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30. Come join us for this unique literary and artistic event. For more about the author, visit www.benbatchelder.com



Saturday, October 25
11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Halloween Family Day
Families can explore the spooky side of the Garden at this free annual Halloween party. Make your own healthy Halloween snacks, carve a pumpkin, touch a pickled brain, and let your imagination run wild inside the haunted Banyan Room. Costume contest for the kids at 1 p.m. with live DJ monster mash music! Be there if you dare...









Sunday, October 26
6 to 9 p.m.
Picante with the South Beach Chamber Ensemble
The South Beach Chamber Ensemble returns to the Garden as part of the continuing concert series, Music in Beautiful Spaces. This  concert, titled Picante, features music from Cuba and Argentina. The show will begin with a piece by Julian Orbon (1925-1991) who was a Cuban composer who lived and composed in Spain, Cuba, Mexico and the United States. He died in Miami in 1991. Aaron Copland referred to Orbon as "Cuba's most gifted composer of the new generation." Then be swept into String Quartet #1 (1948) by Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983). An argentine composer, Ginastera is considered one of the most important 20th-century classical composers of the Americas. Purchase tickets online or at the door. $25/general admission, $15/students and seniors.




Friday, October 31
8 p.m. to midnight
Ghosts in the Garden
Discover an enchanted garden, where the ghosts of medieval crusaders wander, and mystical sprites and goblin creatures haunt a court of dancing souls. Ghosts in the Garden is a "knight" of fantasy, where Halloween is celebrated with bottomless grog, gruesome grub, a haunted forest and costume contest with great prizes from The Clevelander! Featuring live music by Mr. Nice Guy, Dylan's Candy Bar, BuzzBar ice cream and more. Official afterparty at Oolite. Tickets cost $75 and include food, drinks, and entertainment.

Purchase tickets online here, or call the Garden at 305.673.7256.




Every Tuesday
10 to 11 a.m.
Free Meditation Hour
Meditation practitioner for over 20 years and clinical hypnosis therapist Henry Brown leads students through a one-hour journey inward every Tuesday in the Butterfly room. Meditation is a natural state of mind that brings balance to the bodily systems. There are techniques which have been used for millennium which allow us to achieve this wonderful state in a short time. Those who attend meditation sessions regularly will quickly learn to practice these techniques and reach a meditative state to reduce stress, increase memory, improve physical health and mental awareness. These group meditations include individual instruction to assist attendees to meditate and reach a comfortable personal level of relaxation. These sessions are free for everyone to attend. Donations from non-Garden members are encouraged.





Every Wednesday
12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
Rejuvenating Hatha Yoga
These lunchtime yoga sessions encompass a blend of strengthening, stretching and relaxation outdoors on the terrace. Instructor Terra-Nova (RYT) brings a different theme to class each week that prepares you mentally for the rest of your day, and the rest of your life. Terra-Nova trained at the South Beach Green Monkey yoga studio where she studied a wide variety of yoga forms and philosophies from Ashtanga and Vinyasa, to Iyengar and Kundalini. Students of all experiences and levels are invited to pursue a higher state of consciousness and refresh the mind and body. Mats are available on a first-come first serve basis. Suggested donation of $5 for Garden members, $10 non-members.




Mondays
6:30 to 7:45 p.m.
Garden Yoga
This spin-off of our Wednesday yoga classes incorporates themes of ecology and the natural world into the poses and breath work of a hatha-based yoga class in a beautiful outdoor setting. Get a workout and a botany lesson at the same time. Did you know that Buddha became enlightened sitting under a ficus tree? Meditate under our Ficus benjamina and discover your own purpose for being. This class is accessible to all skill levels, and is taught by Terra-Nova (RYT).  All donations given at this class support the Garden. Suggested donation $5 for Garden members, $10 non-members.




Mondays
7:30 to 9 p.m.
Tai Chi with Master Arthur Rosenfeld
All levels are welcome to learn the ancient Chinese art of tai chi from the only westerner recognized by the Chinese government as an ordained Taoist Monk. Master Arthur Rosenfeld also hosts the national public television show, Longevity Tai Chi and writes for the Huffington Post. This authentic, traditional and original class will reduce stress, increase flexibility, strengthen your core, tone your body, quiet the mind and much more. $25/class. Visit Arthur's website here for more info.


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