The best June events in Miami

Fairchild Garden transforms into a prehistoric playground this summer. Explore the lush grounds where life-size dinosaurs hold court amid a collection of cycads, ferns, conifers and all sorts of flowering plants that date back to primitive times. Kiddos can get hands-on during the ancient artifact digs, egg hunts and more while learning all about what the world was like 65 million years ago. Be sure to check the Fairchild Garden website for up-to-date information on upcoming dino events.

"The Messi Experience: A Dream Come True" launches its world tour in Miami this spring, just as the city's fever for the famed footballer kicks into high gear. The sprawling, immersive multimedia exhibit traces Leo Messi's childhood and powerhouse soccer career to now, taking visitors of all ages through approximately 75 minutes of projection-mapped installations and interactive games at The Hangar Coconut Grove.

Hyde Beach at the SLS South Beach is basically a nightclub—but it’s during the day, everyone's in a bathing suit and the dance floor is a pool. If it’s a Vegas-style bash with bottle service and champagne showers you seek, the SLS Pool party is open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 7pm, while the Haus of Hyde nightclub rages on from 10pm to 3am. Though weekends are the busiest, hit up the SLS pool any day of the week for a guaranteed fist-pumping good time—especially during Spring Break and Miami Music Week, when the party programming doesn't stop.  

The Coconut Grove Farmers Market is probably Miami’s most well-known. Every Saturday, Homestead's Glaser Organic Farms transforms an unoccupied corner of Coconut Grove into a full-fledged produce market with dozens of fruit and vegetable stands, a raw bar featuring prepared foods and salads and coolers filled with cold-pressed juices and nut mylks. There’s even velvety vegan ice cream for sale and several rows of picnic tables where you can sit and enjoy your bounty. Along its periphery, you’ll find other local vendors selling honey, homemade soaps, handmade jewelry and other artisanal items. And the setup and breakdown are so fascinating to watch! Much like the circus leaving town, everyone quickly dismantles their tents and packs up just after sunset, leaving no trace of the bustling day on the empty gravel lot.

Legion Park is the place to be on a beautiful Saturday morning, as tents pop up from Biscayne Boulevard all the way to Biscayne Bay. Run by Urban Oasis Project, which oversees some of Miami’s most important farmers markets, you’ll find produce from local favorites like Little River Cooperative and French Farms, artisan-made goods like fresh bread, hummus and empanadas (the Chilean ones are excellent), and even dog treats. (Don’t worry, Fido always gets a free sample.) In the morning, a hundred or so yogis gather under the Spanish oak-draped banyan trees for a donation-based yoga class and then stock up on goods from some of the new-age vendors onsite.

For a long time, Miami had politely excused itself from partaking in annual World Pride Month celebrations. By June, the Miami sun is already hot enough to melt off even the most seasoned drag queen’s full face—and who wants to plan a parade in the midst of hurricane season Besides, New York pretty much has the East Coast covered when it comes to Pride festivities, and April’s Miami Beach Pride is a fun way to kick everything off. At least, this had been the thinking from 1995 until around five years ago, when Wynwood Pride was born. The annual Pride celebration on the mainland stands defiantly in the face of heat waves, tropical storms and gay flight to Fire Island, boldly asserting: We’re here, we’re queer and Miami’s LGBTQ+ community deserves the world—including a proper World Pride celebration alongside everyone else. The concept was to create a more music and performance-driven atmosphere in the heart of Miami’s booming arts district that appealed to different ages and underserved groups. “The core belief was to be a Pride for everyone,” says Liza Santana, Wynwood Pride’s founding spokesperson. When is Wynwood Pride 2024? Rather than a weekend-long festival as in previous years, Wynwood Pride 2024 spans World Pride Month with panels, parties and performances going down primarily over the weekends this June. So far, events include a kick-off party at the Arlo Wynwood (June 1) and a drag festival (June 8). Watch this space as more information is released.

Argentinian restaurant and market Graziano’s has partnered with local music aficionados Tigre Sounds and Estrella Damm on a new, laidback social gathering at the Lifetime location in Coral Gables. Every first Friday of the month, enjoy Graziano’s classics like steak sandwiches, choripanes and charcuterie boards paired with two-for-one draft beer specials and live tunes curated from Miami’s thriving indie-Latino scene.

Last season, Paraiso Swim Week bumped up its dates for the first time in almost two decades in a decisive move to separate itself from Miami Swim Week. The shift was a massive success, with highlights including an epic closing show from New York Fashion Week’s staple The Blonds (Teletubbies walked the runway alongside models wearing bold, bejeweled looks). Rub shoulders with industry professionals, fashion editors, buyers and social media influencers inside the luxurious tent at Collins Park, right on the sand. You can also expect pop-up events around town at hotspots like Soho Beach House, Queen Miami Beach, The Miami Design District and more.

It’s been five years since JT has embarked on a tour. That streak ends as the “Forget Tomorrow World Tour” takes him across the world starting in late April through December. The name of the tour pays homage to his sixth studio album, slated to drop on March 15.

Premiering almost concurrently with the Supreme Court’s landmark 2015 ruling on marriage equality, this high-water mark for South Florida playwright Michael McKeever explores the issue through the microcosm of a gay couple, one of whom rejects the heteronormative traditions of marriage and the other who vehemently wants to wed “because we can now.” When a tragedy bisects the play, it shifts the skeptic’s perspective. The Foundry, 2306 N. Dixie Highway, Wilton Manors (954-826-8790, ronnielarsen.com). May 23–June 16; various show times; $37.50