“In theory: love the idea, love the concept. Garden center turned cool bar/live music venue. In practice, the spot is still scrappy and needs work. Neighborhood is on the “edge.” Your car *could* be broken into, maybe… $5 parking in a front lot resolves that anxiety. Hipster alternative kids probably love this spot. Entrance through the side of a house that’s in need of major love. Think rusted out wooden boards, oxidized metal furniture & a trailer, non-functional chandelier, rusted out iron garden chairs… etc. Paid $ to watch a string quartet and sat on a plastic chair that was sopping wet that hadn’t been wiped down. Mold growing on the back of lawn chairs from the ‘s. Cool chairs – just not cool to get up with stains on white linen shorts. Musicians were good, performing under a canopy with cracked/peeling paint. Had excellent mamey smoothie from a nice dude selling fruits in a makeshift “farm stand” that the wood looked to be on its last legs. Space needs maintenance & dedication for me to go back or recommend. I “get it” – just don’t get why Miami can’t have a space that’s clean & well maintained that offers the same casual chic tropical Miami vibes without feeling…. dirty.”
“This is a wonderful little hidden away artist cooperative. A biweekly expose of local artists creators and chefs. You can find the schedule at #littleriverfleamarket”
The business is listed under garden center category. It has received 70 reviews with an average rating of 4.6 stars. Their services include In-store shopping .
“My favorite place to spend a free afternoon or evening. They have great events and performances, my only hope is that the center never changes, never change man!!”
“We went to the Center For Subtropical Affairs for their Jazz In The Garden Evening Event. It was pretty magical. As an artist cooperative, the venue not only serves as a performance venue but during certain days, they sell plants and other items. It’s a great place to relax and walk around and they seem to put on the coolest events.” We just wrote an article about Churchill’s planning to re-open, but not as a live music venue. If you are counting, currently, in one of the most popular cities on the planet, we have maybe 3 venues where local bands can play. Has written about Miami culture for almost twenty years, first with The Miami Herald, then Miami New Times and Huffington Post. He’s the publisher of The Jitney and a full-time professor.And alas, it appears the bitch-slapping hand that is Miami real estate has struck again. Sources tell The Jitney that the venue is basically under new ownership. And the new ownership, for whatever reason, doesn’t want The Center for Subtropical Affairs there.In yet another deathblow to Miami’s local scene, the Center for Subtropical Affairs closed, apparently forever. The Little River gem closed abruptly and without notice, on Tuesday.The Center for Subtropical Affairs was one of those only-in-Miami hidden treasures. On one hand a lush nursery, on the other, an event space and food garden. This place was good vibes. They hosted hundreds of community based events during their 6 year-run, events that ran the gamut of our unique brand of Miami hip culture. From string symphony’s, to flea markets, to dance and yoga classes, to storytelling events, to music, music, music — this was definitely the coolest event space for locals.
There was a dance event planned for Tuesday, of which people showed up to find the venue closed. Oh, snap. Just like that it went down. The news of the closing was first reported on Instagram on Tuesday night.
In other words, the venue and garden will still be there. We just don’t know who will run it, or, how it will look. Knowing Miami, it’ll probably resemble something closer to The Decentralized Hubbub for Gentrified Affairs.
It’s a hard time for Miami, but we will resettle, as always. We know Casey Zap (founder of the CFSA) for many years. He’s one of the cool kids. He’ll re-brand, rebound and rebuild somewhere else. It’ll be fine. We’ll be fine. This sucks, but we’ll be fine, as always.
The Center for Subtropical Affairs is an ecological learning center in Little River that provides jobs and career training in sustainable development to the community. We work with students of all ages to advance environmental education, resource conservation, andoverall environmental health. CSTA pairs environmental education with cultural arts programming to make science accessible and engaging for all. Civic ecology is the integrated web of energy, nutrients, resources, and cultural interactions that are created by citizens acting for the common good within a community. We focus on the functions and behaviors of biological systems to inform how human beings and other organisms interact with the environment. By linking diverse interdisciplinary sources such as anthropology, horticulture, art, and mycology we promote integration, rather than alienation.Read More
The Center for Subtropical Affairs is an ecological learning center in Little River that provides jobs and career training in sustainable development to the community. We work with students of all ages to advance environmental education, resource conservation, and overall environmental health. CSTA pairs environmental education with cultural arts p… rogramming to make science accessible and engaging for all. Civic ecology is the integrated web of energy, nutrients, resources, and cultural interactions that are created by citizens acting for the common good within a community. We focus on the functions and behaviors of biological systems to inform how human beings and other organisms interact with the environment. By linking diverse interdisciplinary sources such as anthropology, horticulture, art, and mycology we promote integration, rather than alienation.Read MoreTags: Cultist, Things To Do, Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Spanish Marie Brewery, iThink Financial Amphitheatre, FTX Arena, Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre, Domicile, Virginia Key Outdoor Center, Zoo Miami, The Ground Miami, The Standard Spa, Miami Beach, Beat Culture Brewery & Kitchen, Center for Subtropical Affairs, Eden Roc Miami Beach, FPL Solar Amphitheater at Bayfront Park, Tierra Santa Healing HouseTags: Cultist, Things To Do, Thesis Hotel Miami, FTX Arena, Little Haiti Cultural Complex, Bâoli Miami, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Center for Subtropical Affairs, Hard Rock Live, The Anderson, The Kimpton Goodland Hotel, Hard Rock Stadium, FPL Solar Amphitheater at Bayfront Park, Cauley Square Historic Village, Miami Beach BandshellTags: Cultist, Things To Do, Center for Subtropical Affairs, Downtown Media Center, Books & Books, Eden Roc Miami Beach, Tower Theater, Dania Improv, The Knoxon, Deering Estate, SoundScape Park, South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, FTX Arena, Hard Rock Live, Domicile, Hard Rock Stadium, Tea & Poets, Culture Room
She came, she saw, she paraded around South Beach for 30 years, she conquered. Now, she has retired. Shelley Novak, the alter ego of Massachusetts-born Tommy Strangie, has been a staple in the drag community of Miami Beach since 1992, helping to pave the way for performers who blur the lines of femininity by pairing heels and gowns with body hair and five o’clock shadows. She gave us the Shelley Novak Awards, which has hung around since 1993 to recognize well-known and up-and-coming names in South Florida’s drag scene. And as she leaves Miami for what she says will be last time (there have been several false alarms), she takes a piece of drag history with her. In Shelley’s wake are a growing number of avant-garde artists who proudly carry on her legacy of neither shaving nor caring about what people believe drag should look like.
Many Miamians will remember feeling rage following the 2013 tragedy of artist Israel “Reefa” Hernandez, an 18-year-old Colombian immigrant who was tasered to death by a Miami Beach police officer who caught the artist spray-painting a shuttered McDonald’s. Reefa tells the heartbreaking real-life story of the young artist’s life in Miami, his time with friends and family, and his art aspirations, all leading up to the death that sprouted protests and rage from the community devastated by another instance of police brutality. Sticking to the story’s roots, the film was shot in locations throughout Miami, including Buena Vista, Key Biscayne, Wynwood, and Miami Beach. After some pandemic-induced delays, Jessica Kavana Dornbusch’s film premiered early this year at the Miami Film Festival.Directed by Miami’s own Billy Corben, 537 Votes tells the wild — and entirely factual — story of how the entire 2000 presidential election came down to a mere 537 votes cast in Miami-Dade County. The 109-minute documentary features interviews with political analyst Fernand Amandi and political consultant/presidentially pardoned felon Roger Stone, among other talking heads. With a heaping helping of archival footage, it tells a chilling story of what happens when national politics meets Miami politics. The hanging chads, the recount, the protests outside of the Stephen P. Clark Center in downtown — 537 Votes has it all. The film, available for streaming on HBO, was co-produced by Alfred Spellman, Corben’s longtime collaborator and cofounder of their production company, Rakontur Films. Don’t be surprised if Rakontur snags this honor next year: The production company’s latest documentary, a six-part miniseries titled Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami, premiered in August 2021 on Netflix — and it’s a hoot from start to finish.
