Leisure

Tux to Be You

A Strategy Guide to Gala Season

And now we come to that portion of the calendar commonly known as gala season. Or uncommonly known as “put on a tux, get all fancy and drink a bunch of mojitos for a good cause” season. Below, this year’s five finest soirees. Because giving is, well, you know...

LITE-BRITE

The Wolfsonian Visionaries Gala

You want: Dancing, music, crazy lights. So, like a club... but no.
You’ll get: LED light installations from local artists transforming the Moore Building into a huge optical playground, a rum bar and a pop-up museum shop. With LED lights.

MYSTERIOUS WAYS

MOCA Mystery Dates

You want: A nice, quaint dinner at home. Just... not your home.
You’ll get: A cocktail party with live music at the museum. Followed by a dinner at an undisclosed mystery location. Okay, we can’t keep a secret—it’s at some prominent art collector’s estate. Say hi to Bruce Weber for us.

SHOT THROUGH THE ART

Miami Art Museum Ball

You want: A night in a museum. Minus Ben Stiller.
You’ll get: Dinner in MAM’s upper-level gallery prepared by Hedy Goldsmith, face time with the museum’s soon-to-be namesake Jorge Pérez and an outdoor, DJ-fueled dance party with a dessert bar. Whoopie pies with sparklers. Maybe.

STRING THEORY

New World Symphony’s 25th Anniversary

You want: To be serenaded by a full-blown 80-piece orchestra.
You’ll get: A joint concert from the New World Symphony and a bunch of Broadway performers. That’s followed by dinner at the New World Center. Which is followed by some live big band. And you doing the Charleston.

ANIMAL HOUSE

Zoo Miami’s Feast with the Beasts

You want: To cut loose with a bunch of animals.
You’ll get: Eight open bars, pass-arounds from 40 local restaurants and one-on-one time with some of the zoo’s wilder inhabitants. Like the elusive sequined cougar.