"ROOTEDNESS": The inaugural 2024 Africana Arts & Humanities Festival celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Broward County Library and “50 Years of Black Literature and Culture” with events March 21 – 23 at multiple locations, African American Research Library and Cultural Center (AARLCC), Destination Sistrunk, and Urban League of Broward County. Visit Africanafestival.Broward.org.

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RECAPTURING MEMORIES OF THE BLACK ARK: Join us for a weekend of performances and music, March 21, 23 and 24, celebrating artist Gary Simmons’s sculptural installation, Recapturing Memories of the Black Ark, at Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), 1103 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. The installation consists of a stage and speakers that, when activated, serve as a venue for live performances. The speakers are encased with wood salvaged from the streets of New Orleans’s Tremé neighborhood in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The objects bear the spray-painted traces of that history, just as they hold the memory of past performance activations.

DJs Walshy Fire and Jason Panton have teamed up to present an evening that brings the Jamaican sound system experience to PAMM. Jason of City Heat Sound and DJ KM of Prodigy Sound will take the stage for some friendly competition sure to start your Miami Music Week off right.

Enjoy an afternoon of music by Backing Black Belonging, a multidisciplinary concert series featuring song, spoken word, live music, and community. The series serves as a vehicle to embed Black music and Black artists within and across the community for all audiences to foster belonging, empathy, and joy. The performance will feature a powerful cross-section of local artists from across South Florida, including King Friday, Leo Williams, Arsimmer McCoy, and Chauncy Riley.

Suzi Analogue, professor at UNC Music, will detail her techniques of using deliberate sounds like bass, delay, sampling, and synth as voice in ways that amplify her existence, and reinforce her culture and experiences in recording primarily in marginalized communities. She will detail how her deliberate sonic actions are employed to connect further to a larger human framework. Her electronic techniques are a departure from her family’s pre-existing cultural traditions of gospel, jazz, and R&B and are her own way of connecting sonically into the future.

Visit pamm.org.

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“SOUNDS OF THE WORLD”: Miami Museum of Contemporary Art of the African Diaspora MoCAAD will unveil new work of artist Marielle Plaisir and present its second virtual reality art exhibition and accompanying documentary, at the Black Archives Historic Lyric Theater on March 21, at 7 p.m. Flowing from narratives of Overtown and Coral Gables, the documentary titled, “The Day I Heard the Sounds of the World: ARt Connecting Communities-Overtown and Coral Gables, sheds light on the divergent yet intersecting paths these communities traversed, particularly amidst the backdrop of the Jim Crow era in the urban South. Attendees will be provided an augmented reality (AR) experience of Plaisir’s immersive artworks through a virtual reality portal. Free and open to the public, registration required, tax-deductible donations are appreciated. Visit miamimocaad.eventbrite.com.

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BLACK ELECTED OFFICIALS LUNCHEON: The Palm Beach County organization hosts keynote speaker Sandy Woods at their annual scholarship fundraising event, Saturday, March 23, 11 a.m., at the West Palm Beach Marriott, 1101 Okeechobee Blvd. Tickets $75, RSVP pbcbeoevent@gmail.com.

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WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT CONFERENCE: Scholarship Luncheon hosted by Jamaican Women of Florida, Saturday, March 23, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Marriott Beach Harbor, 3030 Holiday Dr., Fort Lauderdale. Tickets $200 – $2,000, visit Eventbrite.com.

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BORN BEAUTIFUL SHOW: Evelyn Metellus, who lost her hair in a house fire at the age of 8, and vows to help those suffering from hair loss to feel confident and beautiful, has been customizing medical-grade wigs for patients suffering from hair loss for more than 20 years. Her Born Beautiful Hair Loss Foundation and Dillard’s will present a Dinner and Fashion Show on March 24 from 6 – 9 p.m. at The Mall at Wellington Green, 10300 Forest Hill Blvd., Wellington. WPTV news anchor Tania Rogers will emcee the annual fundraising celebration, which will feature live entertainment, dinner and cocktails, silent auction, and Dillard’s Spring fashion show. Tickets $250 for VIP admission, $150 general admission. Call 561227-6900 or visit bornbeautifulhairlossfoundation.com/webinar-registration.

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“BLUE WHALES: RETURN OF THE GIANTS”: The first giant-screen film on the subject continues at the AutoNation IMAX Theater at the Museum of Discovery and Science, 401 SW 2nd St. in Fort Lauderdale, included in the MODS Discovery Pass, an all-in-one ticket that includes museum exhibitions, live science demonstrations and one IMAX documentary film. Visit mods.org/tickets or mods.org/showtimes.

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RHYTHM BY THE RIVER: 3rd annual festival hosted by the Broward Center, on Sunday, March 24 from 2 to 6 pm at Esplanade Park in downtown Fort Lauderdale. This event is free and open to the public. In addition to the lineup of topnotch live musical performances, Rhythm by the River also features free dance and drumming workshops for all, plus several interactive events ideal for the entire family. visit BrowardCenter.org.

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WEST PALM BEACH GREENMARKET: Back for its 29th season, Saturdays, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Flagler Drive along the downtown West Palm Beach waterfront. Visit events@wpb.org or call 561-822-1515.

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VOYAGE TO THE DEEP – UNDERWATER ADVENTURES: Based on Jules Verne’s 1870 classic, “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” this traveling exhibit brings to life the adventures of Captain Nemo, his fantastical Nautilus submarine and the mythical world he inhabited, at the Museum of Discovery & Science, 401 SW Second St., Fort Lauderdale. Visit mods.org or call 954.467.MODS (6637).

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TIKIMARKET: At the Riviera Beach Marina Village, Sundays 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., with Island Eats, Exotic Treats, Calypso Beats. Visit TikimarketRB@gmail.com.

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MY TEACHER MY HERO AWARDS GALA: Peter Parros from the television series “The Haves and the Have Nots” is keynote speaker for the 17th annual edition of South Florida’s premier end-of-school year scholarship fundraising event, Saturday, May 18 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, 650 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach. Sponsors reception 5:30 p.m., doors open 6 p.m., tickets $250. Get your ticket now, call Ms. Georgia at 561-881.

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