The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show is here this weekend, an energizing presence in local lounges and restaurants, and a good time for those whose ship has come in (if a bit more adrift from the day-to-day reality of life in a nation that has, seemingly overnight, gone broke). Elsewhere, we’ll have the distraction of Halloween parties from Coral Springs to Clematis Street (masks for good), nationally acclaimed Day of the Dead festivities in downtown Fort Lauderdale and a Nov. 1 appearance by Santa Claus (perhaps we are desperate to welcome the holiday spirit this year).
THURSDAY
Dress-up affair: The Coral Springs Museum of Art is encouraging costumes during its Art@Night happy hour on Thursday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The free gathering will include viewing of works from the SOBRA Collective, complimentary light bites, and a selection of coffees, soft drinks and adult beverages for purchase. Another highlight: a DJ set from City Commissioner (and museum board chair) Joshua Simmons. Who knew? RSVP (encouraged) at CoralSpringsMuseum.org.
Florida feardom: The horror freaks at Popcorn Frights will get you in the mood at Paradigm Cinemas: Gateway Fort Lauderdale with two free screenings of films sure to make you lose your popcorn: “The Thing With Feathers” (starring Benedict Cumberbatch) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and “Big Baby” (screening publicly for only the second time, according to Popcorn Frights) at 9:45 p.m. Friday. The Halloween-night event will include a costume contest with prizes. RSVP for free admission at PopcornFrights.com.
Something completely different: Canadian performer Lucy Darling — equal parts comedian, magician, fire eater and cocktail drinker — will bring her zany variety show to The Parker in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, joined by co-host Mark Ettinger, former longtime musical director (and juggler) with the legendary Flying Karamazov Brothers. Tickets for the 8 p.m. show start at $53.10 at ParkerPlayhouse.com.
Thursday night live: Screamo favorites Pierce the Veil (is there a better moment for a chorus of “King for a Day”?) bring the I Can’t Hear You World Tour to iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, accompanied by HEALTH, Ecca Vandal and Like Roses. Get tickets, starting at $25 for general-admission lawn, at Ticketmaster.com. … Neil Fallon and cult-faves Clutch take over the Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday with special guests Hollow Leg. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. General-admission tickets cost $62.30. Visit CultureRoom.net. … Israeli pop star Eden Ben Zaken will play The Fillmore Miami Beach on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. Tickets start at $113.50 at Ticketmaster.com. … Florida-based acoustic trio Boyce Avenue will perform in the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday at 8 p.m. Some tickets remain, starting at $41.30. Visit BrowardCenter.org.
Toby Keith remembered: The multitalented Hollywood Yates — singer, actor, rodeo clown, bullfighter — will bring his nationally touring tribute to the late Toby Keith to the Miramar Cultural Center at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, performing sing-along favorites such as “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” “I Love This Bar” and “How Do You Like Me Now?!” Tickets start at $37.24 at MiramarCulturalCenter.org.
Upside Down party: The Wharf in downtown Fort Lauderdale will transform into the supernatural town of Hawkins for a “Stranger Things”-inspired party on Thursday and Friday, with creature encounters, shareable visuals and themed cocktails (two-for-one martinis on Thursday). Visit WharfFTL.com.
Ticket window: Song-and-dance man (and “Wolverine” star) Hugh Jackman is coming to Hard Rock Live in Hollywood on March 6. Presale tickets are available via Hard Rock’s Facebook and other social media pages ahead of the general on-sale beginning at 10 a.m. Friday at MyHRL.com.
FRIDAY
Family dinner: Spooky musical comedy “The Addams Family” sets up at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach this weekend for performances at 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday. The show, appropriate for guests age 8 and older, revolves around a dinner party the oddball family plans to host for Wednesday’s “normal” boyfriend and his parents. Tickets start at $39.10 at Kravis.org.
Clematis crawl: South Florida’s signature Halloween-night party, Moonfest returns to the 500 block of Clematis in downtown West Palm Beach on Friday from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m., with a bar crawl (O’Shea’s, Respectable Street, Hullabaloo, Lost Weekend, Shanghai’d and Subculture Coffee); live music (continuing until 4 a.m. at Respectable Street with We’re Wolves, The Haunt, Chez and World’s First Cinema); DJs and a costume contest with $500 to the winner. Admission packages are available, starting at $42.39. All proceeds benefit Hospitality Helping Hands dog rescue. Visit Facebook.com/respectablestreet/events.
Metal of honor: The best item of Halloween 2025 swag will be found at Mathews Brewing Co. in Lake Worth Beach on Friday: A souvenir glass honoring the late Black Sabbath icon Ozzy Osbourne with your first purchase of a Mathews craft beer (while supplies last). A centerpiece of the brewery’s eighth annual Halloween party, the glass giveaway begins at 6 p.m. The night will include live music (young metal band Maximum Friction, Tool tribute 46 & Tool and Jane’s Addiction tribute Jane’s Affliction); a dog costume contest (7 p.m.) and human costume contest (8:30 p.m.), with cash prizes for the winners. Admission is free. Visit Facebook.com/mathewsbrewing.
Ozzy overload: Speaking of Ozzy, Galuppi’s in Pompano Beach and radio station BIG 105.9 will host The Skullapalooza Party on Friday from 3 to 10:30 p.m., with live music led by Randy Rhoads/Ozzy Osbourne tribute band The Railz on the main stage from 9 to 10:30 p.m. Longtime local favorites the Original Studio 54 Band will perform disco hits throughout the night. BIG 105.9’s costume contest will begin at 7 p.m., with a chance to win $1,800 in cash prizes (determined by audience applause). Admission is free; the $75 Skullapalooza VIP Pass includes a premium open bar and buffet, VIP-only areas and prime main stage views. Visit Galuppis.com.
Garden party: Art After Dark at the Norton Museum in West Palm Beach will conjure a haunted mansion theme on Friday from 5 to 10 p.m., with visitors encouraged to come in their spookiest and/or most glamorous Victorian outfits. Prizes will be awarded to the top three winners at 7:15 p.m., followed by a moonlight dance party in the garden with DJ Nia Nova. Docents will lead tours of the museum’s Rembrandt exhibit at 5:30 and 7 p.m. (limited to 20 guests each). Art After Dark tickets cost $10, or $5 for students, and can be purchased at the reception desk or in advance at Norton.org. Note: Costumes must not cover the face, should be family friendly, and props are limited to 12-by-12 inches.
Just can’t get enough: For pure sexy glam on Halloween night, it will be hard to top the concert by Los Angeles-based Depeche Mode tribute band Strangelove and Miami’s Ordinary Boys, the spot-on tribute to The Smiths and Morrissey. The double bill will be found at The Parker in Fort Lauderdale on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available, starting at $43.37, at ParkerPlayhouse.com.
Friday night live: Psych-rock veterans The Mars Volta bring their energetic live show to The Fillmore Miami Beach on Friday at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $68.50 at Ticketmaster.com.
Warped sense of humor: The Miniaci Performing Arts Center at Nova Southeastern University in Davie will host a Halloween-night shadowcast performance of cult classic film “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” on Friday with all the trashy features you love. So, yes, wear the fishnets, dance in the aisles, shout at the screen. Bagged props will be sold in the lobby (no outside props allowed). Tickets for the 18+ event cost $29.50 (just a couple of dozen seats remain). Visit Ticketmaster.com.
SATURDAY
Calling all Dead heads: The popular Downtown Fort Lauderdale Day of the Dead celebration will return on Saturday, a showcase of family friendly fun and spooky fashion statements that has been listed among the best Día de Los Muertos events in the country by the Travel Channel, USA Today and other publications. Festivities will begin at Esplanade Park at 3 p.m., with music, dance and folklorico performances, face painting, mask making, Latin food and artist booths. The iconic Skeleton Processional costume parade will begin at 6 p.m., with colorful Catrinas, flower-flinging Frida Kahlos, swaggering luchadores and masked mariachis winding through the Himmarshee District. The parade will end a couple of blocks away at a street party in front of Revolution Live and Backyard, where food and drink, music and photo opportunities will run until 11 p.m. All events are free, and the processional is open to anyone. Visit GoRiverwalk.com/dotd or BackyardFTL.com.
Steps lively: At the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale, Miami City Ballet continues its 40th-season opener with Peck: Miami in Motion, a stylish program created by Tony Award-winning choreographer Justin Peck that is fluent in the visual language of South Florida. It includes the kaleidoscopic “Year of the Rabbit,” the joyous “Chutes and Ladders” and “Heatscape,” an ode to Wynwood. Performances this weekend will be at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $45. Visit MiamiCityBallet.org.
Saturday laughs: Actor, producer and comedian Jessica Kirson brings the brutally honest observations of her recent Hulu special, “I’m the Man,” to the Coral Springs Center for the Arts on Saturday at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $51.50 at TheCenterCS.com.
Saturday night live: Guitarist slingers Richie Kotzen (once of Poison and The Winery Dogs) and John 5 (now of Mötley Crüe, formerly of Marilyn Manson) bring their tour to the Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, joined by special guests Vern Daysel & The Burning Breeze. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. General-admission tickets cost $56.05. … Theatrical alt-pop singer-songwriter Sofia Isella, soon to be seen as an opener on Florence + The Machine’s 2026 tour, will perform at Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday at 8 p.m. joined by Ayleen Valentine. Tickets for the all-ages show cost $38. Visit JoinTheRevolution.net. … Longtime Spanish-Italian pop heartthrob and actor Miguel Bose brings his world tour to the Kaseya Center in Miami at 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets start at $43.70 at Ticketmaster.com.
Black is back: If you have been curious about what mercurial rap star Kodak Black has been up to (and who hasn’t?), the Pompano Beach native will host the Bill Kill Halloween Concert on Saturday at 8 p.m. at the War Memorial Auditorium in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Also on the bill are Sexyy Red, Rob49, YTB Fatt, YK Niece, 1900Rugrat and BLP Kosher. Tickets start at $63 at Seatgeek.com.
Local sounds: Hosted by Amplify Arts, a new Broward Center initiative to elevate local artists and emerging arts organizations, Sons of Mystro and Alexander Star & The Golden People will perform in the Amaturo Theater at Fort Lauderdale‘s Broward Center on Saturday at 8 p.m. Sons of Mystro includes brothers Malcolm and Umoja, who learned to play violin in the public school system and attended Dillard High School for the Performing Arts, now using the violin to interpret reggae classics, American pop songs and their own music accompanied by a DJ and a drummer. South Florida-based Alexander Star is an Emmy-nominated songwriter and performer who, with five-piece band The Golden People, has opened for Earth, Wind & Fire, Black Violin, Koffee and others. Tickets start at $41.30 at BrowardCenter.org.
Free movie: Part of the city of Hollywood’s celebration of its 100th Anniversary, the Hollywood Historical Society will host a free Cinema Paradiso screening of “Canvas.” The film was shot in the city by Hollywood native and Hollywood Hills High School graduate Joseph Greco. Screening at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, the film stars veteran actor Joe Pantoliano as a father who finds strength in his young son after his wife, played by Marcia Gay Harden, is diagnosed with schizophrenia. Tickets are free at CinemaHollywood.org.
’Zat you, Santa Claus? With Halloween and Day of the Dead (barely) in the rearview, The Christmas Palace will host a Santa meet-up at holiday events on Saturday at the Hialeah Gardens shop and on Sunday at the Fort Lauderdale location. Festivities will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Visitors are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy for patients at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, with each toy donor receiving a $10 store coupon to use that day. Visit TheChristmasPalace.com.
SUNDAY
Do you feel? We’re nearly two months short of the 50th anniversary of the album “Frampton Comes Alive,” which is crazy math. (Quick, what’s your favorite song on the album? Mine: “Do You Feel Like We Do?”) Sunny rock star Peter Frampton will offer fresh reminders of what made the album so popular when he brings his Let’s Do it Again! Tour to Hard Rock Live in Hollywood on Sunday at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $71.10 at MyHRL.com.
Trip to the Keys: Funky keyboardist and charismatic showman Brian Culbertson brings the tour supporting new album “Day Trip” to The Parker in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday at 7 p.m. Tickets are available, starting at $58.41, at ParkerPlayhouse.com.
Sing America: Grammy-winning choral ensemble Tonality will perform a program titled, “America Will Be,” making the case for an inclusive nation, in the Rinker Playhouse at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach at 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets to the concert, part of the Kravis Center’s ambitious Peak Series, cost $46. Visit Kravis.org.
Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com. Follow on IG: @BenCrandell.