The best things to do in Miami this week

After sell-out runs in Paris, Rome, and Milan, From the Heart to the Hands: Dolce&Gabbana arrives in Miami, opening February 6 at ICA Miami and running through June 14, 2026. The exhibition offers a rare look inside the creative universe of designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, tracing how their ideas move from inspiration to execution—all by hand. Curated by Florence Müller and produced by MARI, the show brings together more than 300 Alta Moda pieces, set within immersive installations and shown alongside works by contemporary artists, celebrating the artisanry, excess, and exuberance of Italian aesthetics. 

Now in its 74th year, the Youth Fair (formally known as The Miami-Dade County Fair & Exposition) is as much a rite of passage as it is an event — Florida's largest carnival, drawing over half a million visitors across its three-plus weeks at the fairgrounds near Westchester. The formula is timeless: 80 rides, 150-plus food stands, carnival games, livestock shows, and tens of thousands of student exhibits showcasing academic and agricultural achievement. This year's theme is "Wild About the Fair," and new additions include a safari encounter. Live entertainment runs every weekend with free tribute acts — Queen, Earth Wind & Fire, Aerosmith and the Rat Pack among them — and the Foodie Awards bring a panel of local judges together to crown the best new fair foods of the season. Admission is $15; kids five and under and seniors 65 and older get in free every day, and parking is always free.

Gilded and crimson-draped Faena Theater is the ideal venue to experience OBSESSION, a new original production presented by Faena Live in collaboration with the Quixotic performance art collective. Nestled in Mid-Beach, the cabaret-style show blends live vocals, choreography and cinematic storytelling to take guests on a seductive 1.5-hour journey complete with lasers, projected visuals and plenty of theatrical haze. Helmed by emcee Sophia Bollman—whose credits include a stint on NBC's The Voice as part of Team Miley Cyrus and backup singing in Beyoncé's iconic Coachella performances—Faena Theater's 2026 headlining production also features the energetic stylings of Principal Violin and Musical Lead Kostia Lucky. Tickets start at $100 per person and include show admission only (food and beverages sold separately). Guests must be 18 or older, with a valid ID required upon arrival.

Diehard Survivor fans and their obliging friends and family will be flocking to Jungle Island this season for a limited-time immersive pop-up celebrating 50 seasons of the pioneering CBS reality series. Launching January 31, the SURVIVOR Ultimate Fan Cafe brings the show to life through hands-on challenges, photo moments, themed food and drinks, exclusive merchandise and more. Following a successful run in Boston, the immersive experience pays proper homage to the Survivor legacy with a mix of fan-favorite physical and mental challenges (all adapted for safe indoor play) and faithful recreations of iconic sets, like the Tribal Council fire pit, a voting confessional booth and a signature Winner’s Wall. Plus, join live watch parties every Wednesday starting February 25. (Rumor has it you might spot an alumnus or two while you're there.) Tickets are available via Bucketlisters and include a food and beverage credit for use during each 90-minute reservation.

Now in its 15th year, the O, Miami Poetry Festival takes over the entire month of April with a deceptively simple mission: for every person in Miami-Dade County to encounter a poem. The result is one of the most inventive and genuinely Miami things the city does all year, a monthlong program that turns parking lots, railroad museums, ventanitas, hurricane simulation labs and planetariums into stages for poetry, with events built largely through an open community submission process. The 2026 edition is celebrating its quinceañera, and the programming reflects a festival that has grown into a true city institution. It opens with a full moon party at Andaz Miami Beach (Apr 2), where guests gather under the rising pink moon for a lunar-themed launch. La Versicleta — artist Julian Pardo's ice-powered custom bike that prints immigrant community poems directly onto the concrete as the ice melts — rolls through multiple Miami locations throughout the month. Poetry in Pajamas, the beloved kids' open mic at Pinecrest Gardens, is back (Apr 4), as is the All-Aboard-leggers collaboration with Bookleggers Library at the Gold Coast Railroad Museum (Apr 4). A karaoke night built around heartbreak songs and poetry (Apr 8), a communal dinner and reading centered on food and storytelling (Apr 10), and a quinceañera-inspired gathering at a historic restaurant (Apr 12) round out a calendar that covers every conceivable corner of the city and the human experience. The festival closes April 30...

Fairchild doesn't normally allow dogs on its grounds, which makes Dog Dates all the more worth knowing about. On Sunday mornings, leashed dogs and their humans get two hours to roam all 83 acres—past the waterfalls, through the rainforest, around the lakes, in view of iguanas—before stopping at the Glasshouse Café for snacks and drinks for both species. Sessions have occassionally been themed, with past editions including doga, pet portraits and glow nights, however plainclothed pets and their parents are welcome just the same.

Every Wednesday night, Wynwood's PASTA opens its kitchen for a hands-on pasta-making class led by head chef Luis Jose. The restaurant — brought to life by acclaimed Peruvian chefs Juan Manuel Umbert and Janice Buraschi — blends traditional Italian technique with Peruvian influence, and the class reflects exactly that: you'll mix, knead and shape your own pasta before sitting down to eat what you made. A welcome cocktail, appetizer and dessert round out the evening.

Fairchild's beloved Easter tradition returns on April 5, turning the garden's grounds into a full morning of egg hunts, train rides and bubble-filled chaos for little ones. The Eggsplore Galore egg hunt — the main draw — runs in age-grouped time slots across the Garden House Lawn and requires an All Access ticket. General Admission gets you Mr. Bunny meet-and-greets, the Cottontail Express trackless train and the Bubble Bunny Hop. Picnic baskets, mimosa flights and cocktail add-ons are available for the adults keeping up with it all. Book early, as this event tends to sell out.

Dog moms and dog dads, this one's for you. On Saturday, April 4, the InterContinental Miami's Picante Terrace transforms into an al fresco pet marketplace for the fifth annual Paws Patio Food Fest — a tail-wagging afternoon of puppy playdates, treat tastings, vendor discoveries and Biscayne Bay views. This year's festivities are "hosted" by doggie influencers Pretzel and Gummy Bear, two Shih Tzus who take their executive chef duties very seriously. Each ticket comes with a Fur-ever Passport of Treats, your guide to sampling from a lineup of local vendors including Lulu & Bellas Bakeshop, Jaffee's Bone Broth and Yum Pup, plus tastings from Chewy's new Get Real food line. Local rescue nonprofit Rescue Paws FL will also be on hand hosting raffles, so you may just leave with more than you bargained for. Admission is free for humans; pup tickets are $18 in advance and $25 at the door.

The great Montreal contemporary-circus troupe brings its Luzia production to South Florida, performing cutting-edge acrobatics and tightly choreographed dance numbers amid lavish costumes and set pieces. This show, written and directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca, is inspired by the culture of Mexico. Running February 19 through April 25 at Gulfstream Park, Luzia takes audiences through a series of surrealistic scenes, from an old movie set to a smoky dance hall, an arid desert, and even a cenote. It's a dream-like, sensory exploration of Mexico's past and present, packed with awe-inspiring moments—including rain incorporated into acrobatic and artistic scenes (a first for a Cirque du Soleil touring production).