It’s holiday gift-shopping season and, at the risk of offending once-and-future South Floridian Jeff Bezos … Amazon? It’s a last resort, a refuge for the desperate and dull-minded (yes, been there!). Don’t do that. To help, we present the fourth annual South Florida Locals-Only Gift Guide, a list of gift ideas and pre-holiday shopping experiences for items created by your neighbors. At the very least, you can grab a drink while rehabilitating your rep for perfunctory gift-giving.
WHERE TO SHOP
Holiday Pop-Up Shop: The city of Boynton Beach will gather local business and vendors at the Holiday Pop-Up Shop in the Business Incubator space at City Hall on Friday, Dec. 1, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The shop will continue each Friday in December. City Hall is at 100 E. Ocean Blvd. Visit .
Pine & Palm Holiday Market: The third annual holiday shopping event at the Coral Springs Museum of Art is a two-day affair on Dec. 1-2, with pieces by local artists and makers. Opening night on Dec. 1, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., is a ticketed event ($10 advance, $15 at the door) offering first dibs on shopping, music, complimentary light bites and a cash bar. Admission is free to the market on Dec. 2, from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with more music, free bites and a cash bar ($5 mimosas). The museum is at 2855 Coral Springs Drive. Visit .
The Flamingo Flea: The Fort Lauderdale-based curator of cool stuff brings the Biz Networker and Toy Drive edition of its Sip and Shop Series to the Funky Buddha Brewery in ֱ Park on Dec. 6 from 6 to 9 p.m. The evening will include 15 local vendors and artists and the Funky’s every-Wednesday Burger & Beer special: Buy a burger and get a free beer. Guests are asked to bring a new, unwrapped toy for the . get a free drink ticket. The Funky Buddha Brewery is at 1201 NE 38th St. Visit .
Small Business Babes: The aforementioned gals will be at Garden District Taproom in West Palm Beach on Dec. 9 from 5 to 9 p.m. for an evening of shopping and gabbing (note: GDT is a self-pour bar). Garden District Taproom is at 410 Evernia St., suite 119. Visit .
Jingle Mingle Jamboree Market: At the Margate ֱ Complex on Dec. 9, Flynn’s Arcade & More will bring together vendors offering handmade items, toys, retro games and more, along with food, live music, a costume contest and a cookie-making station. The event is from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and is free with advance registration, or $5 at the gate. The Margate ֱ Complex is at 1695 Banks Road. Visit .
Sunny Side Up Market: The bubbly ladies of Sunny Side celebrate the fourth anniversary of their community-building, shoppy-noshing extravaganzas on Sunday, Dec. 10, from noon to 4 p.m. with a holiday-themed farmers-artisans market in the MASS District in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The event is located at 844 NE Fourth Ave. Visit .
The Flamingo Flea: The merry band of marketeers and vendors will return to Crazy Uncle Mike’s in Boca Raton for an afternoon of gift grazing, brunch, craft beer and live music on Saturday, Dec. 16, from noon to 4 p.m. Crazy Uncle Mike’s is at 6450 N. Federal Highway. Visit .
Merry Christmas Market: Hosted by Sunny Side Up Market, the gathering takes place on Saturday, Dec. 16, from noon to 4 p.m. on the terrace at Society Las Olas in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Vendors will be set up from noon to 4 p.m., with yoga and prosecco from noon to 1 p.m. (BYO mat) and live music 1-3 p.m. Bring an unwrapped toy for families at . Society Las Olas is at 301 SW First Ave. Visit .
GIFT IDEAS
SunFest tickets: The SunFest Black Friday sale offers early-bird prices as low as $100 for a three-day pass to the music festival celebrating its 40th year in downtown West Palm Beach May 3-5. No word yet on artists, but the 2023 edition featured, among many others, The Killers, The Chainsmokers, Jack Johnson, Ziggy Marley and Flo Rida. The sale runs through Nov. 28. Visit .
Riptide Music Festival: The organizers of the weekend rock and pop concerts at Fort Lauderdale Beach Park Dec. 2-3 will have a Black Friday sale on tickets with the passcode: BLACKFRIDAY. The while-supplies-last offers include $40 off two-day passes (full price $109+) and $20 off single-day passes (full price $49+), excluding Sunday general-admission tickets. The lineup at Riptide 2023 will feature The Black Keys, recent Grammy nominee Jelly Roll, Bleachers, Silversun Pickups, Young the Giant, Dirty Heads, Sublime with Rome, AWOLNATION and others. Visit .
Surf District Surf Shop: I like to rep the region when I’m out of town by wearing a local name, usually something picked up at a South Florida brewery. A similar look can be found at this surf and paddleboard shop housed in the restored 1895 train depot in downtown Delray Beach. The shop’s hats, shirts and other apparel boast the kind of clean, thoughtful typography that is pleasing to my eye. You’ll find a variety of discounts for Black Friday and Small Business Saturday — if you want to get crazy with your gift, Surf District also offers surf lessons. Visit .
Seaglass: One of the merriest annual events held on Fort Lauderdale beach, the gathering formally known as Seaglass: A Fort Lauderdale Rosé Experience is an all-inclusive three-day binge of top-shelf pink wines, entertainment and wearing o’ the pink (even by people who would never). Seaglass 2024 takes place Jan. 26-28. Tickets just went on sale for $150 per day, $200 per day for VIP. Visit .
Inter Miami gear: Speaking of pink, you can get the Lionel Messi look without spending millions with a stop at the Inter Miami team store at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. The shop is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Visit .
Museum gifts: It’s easy to forget that the museums in your area typically have gift shops with all kinds of interesting possibilities for the hard-to-buy-for. The shop just inside NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale has an Andy Warhol Poppies Tote Bag ($26.99) and a bold pink clutch purse from The Guerrilla Girls that is an art piece itself titled “The Advantages of Being a Woman Artist” ($29.95). Under those words they list 13 benefits, including “Knowing Your Career Might Pick Up After You’re 80” and “Being Reassured That Whatever Kind of Art You Make It Will Be Labeled Feminist.” Visit .
Munyon’s Paw-Paw: This aperitif is pure South Florida, made with local ingredients including grapefruit, papaya and orange blossom, and cloaked in a colorful, 100-year-old origin story as a cure-all tonic that attracted the hopeful from all over the East Coast to Dr. James Munyon’s island off the coast of North Palm Beach and his “fountain of youth.” Paul Massey, co-owner of the recently launched Munyon Island Spirits Co., describes Munyon’s Paw-Paw as “extremely versatile. It can be enjoyed neat, in an Old Fashioned, margarita, or to enhance your favorite cocktail.” A 750-ml bottle costs $34.99. Visit .
Black Friday Record Store Day: As always, record shops across South Florida will take part in the nationwide celebration of vinyl and rare music during the Black Friday edition of Record Store Day. I’ve been in a Gram Parsons mood lately and am looking forward to the new archival release “.” The lost-and-found recording of Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels, featuring then-unknown singer Emmylou Harris, captured one of the Florida-born singer’s last club dates. Six months later he was dead. The recently had an excellent interview with Polly Parsons, his only child. “There’s a much larger discussion to be had about Gram Parsons than the one that we’ve been having for the last 40 years,” she says. For a list of South Florida stores participating in RSD, visit .
South Florida punks: If you came up going to shows here in the 1980s or want to fact-check people who tell you about the glorious local live music scene back in the day, consider “Punk Under the Sun: ‘80s Punk and New Wave in South Florida” (Hozac Books, $35.99). The authors are Joey Seeman and Chris Potash, writers once based in South Florida who covered the scene from the inside out in the ‘80s and early 1990s. Guitarist Russell Mofsky, once of iconic local band Quit, recommends the “beautifully designed coffee table book that … is artfully laid out and extremely well researched.” You can order the book at .
Tortuga Music Festival: Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 1, for the 2024 edition of the wildly popular country-music event returning to the beach in Fort Lauderdale April 5-7. The lineup includes Lainey Wilson, Hardy, Jason Aldean, Old Dominion, Bailey Zimmerman, Ashley McBryde, Koe Wetzel, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Bret Michaels, Boys II Men, TLC and many more. Prices start at $335+ for a three-day general-admission pass, $510+ for a three-day GA+ pass and $1,549+ for VIP. If you’ve been before, an alumni presale begins at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 28. Visit .
Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com. Follow on and.
