Biltmore Hotel Fourth of July
Photograph: Courtesy Biltmore Hotel | Biltmore Hotel Fourth of July
Photograph: Courtesy Biltmore Hotel

The best things to do in Miami this week

Get up and out the door with our hand-picked guide to the best events in Miami this week.

Ashley Brozic
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The Fourth of July has always been a big deal in Miami, but this year it's something else entirely. America turns 250, and the city is marking the semiquincentennial with celebrations spread across every neighborhood from Key Biscayne to Homestead — all while the World Cup Semi-Finals are playing out on the big screen at the FIFA Fan Festival's final day at Bayfront Park. The yearly standards are back and bigger: the Biltmore Hotel hosts its annual fireworks extravaganza on the golf course grounds in Coral Gables, this year adding a drone show with choreographed imagery featuring the Biltmore, Venetian Pool, and City Hall, with the Greater Miami Symphonic Band performing at 7pm before the sky lights up at 9. Downtown, Bayfront Park throws its biggest Fourth yet with 250 United, a free all-day concert featuring Ashanti, Ja Rule, 112, The Fray, Shaggy, Willy Chirino, and Orlando Mendez, all wrapped up with a drone show and fireworks over Biscayne Bay.

Tropical Park hosts Miami-Dade County's official America 250 finale with live music and fireworks from 3 to 9pm, and Race to the Fourth fills Homestead-Miami Speedway with food trucks, a kids zone, a World Cup fan zone, and fireworks at 9. Miami Beach lights up on both ends, with a symphony and oceanfront fireworks at South Beach and a roller disco and drone show at North Beach. It's also the last weekend to catch the Freedom Plane National Tour at Museum of Miami, where original founding-era documents from the National Archives are on view through July 5. Pick a neighborhood and you're guaranteed to find a celebration worth attending.

Curated below is our guide to all the special events and happenings worth checking out over the next seven days, but should you prefer to plan your weeks in advance, here's our curated guide to everything happening in June in Miami. If you're looking specifically for what to do this weekend, we've got a guide for that, too.

RECOMMENDED: Full list of the best things to do in Miami

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What to do in Miami this week

  • Things to do
  • Wynwood
A new storefront in Wynwood looks like a retro convenience store, fully stocked with Cheez-Its, Cheetos, Pringles, Pop-Tarts, and Liquid Death, except every single item on the shelves is actually a sock. ODDMART, created by the licensed accessories brand Odd Sox, turns more than 100 recognizable consumer brands into wearable collectibles housed inside their own authentic packaging. The space goes well beyond shopping with larger-than-life installations, live DJ sets, and rotating surprise activations throughout the run. The exterior carries a custom mural by Miami artist Golden 305, tying the pop-up directly into Wynwood's street art identity. Miami is the second stop after a debut in Tampa, with Las Vegas, New York, and Tokyo still to come.  
  • Things to do
  • Downtown
Downtown's favorite neighborhood bar is rolling out the turf for the World Cup, turning Flagler Street into a blockwide viewing party with giant LED screens, stadium-quality sound, and a pitch out front for pickup games between matches. Located just blocks away from the FIFA Fan Fest, The Lost Boy Clubhouse opens with Portugal vs. Colombia, which is sure to be one of Miami's rowdiest games, and will showcase every match throughout the duration of the tournament. Seating and tables are first come, first served, and there will be plenty of food and specialty drink offerings available, plus other fun fan surprises.   
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  • Things to do
  • Wynwood
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.
  • Things to do
  • Sport events
  • Downtown
You don't need a ticket to Hard Rock Stadium to feel like you're at the World Cup this summer. The FIFA Fan Festival takes over Bayfront Park for 23 days, turning 436,000 square feet of downtown waterfront into the city's main public gathering point for the tournament. All seven Miami matches screen live on giant LED displays, with a 10,000-capacity amphitheater hosting concerts and cultural programming in between fixtures. Expect food and drink activations, interactive installations, and a daily attendance of up to 30,000 people from every corner of the world. The festival runs June 13 through July 5 and is free to attend.
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  • Things to do
  • Sport events
  • Miami Gardens
The FIFA World Cup is coming to Miami this summer, and Hard Rock Stadium will host seven matches between June 15 and July 18, including four group stage games featuring Brazil, Portugal, Colombia, and Uruguay, a Round of 32, a quarterfinal, and the third-place playoff. It is the biggest sporting event the city has ever hosted, and the energy will extend well beyond the stadium. Matches at Hard Rock Stadium:   June 15: Saudi Arabia vs. Uruguay, 6pm ET June 21: Uruguay vs. Cape Verde, 6pm ET June 24: Brazil vs. Scotland, 6pm ET June 27: Colombia vs. Portugal, 7:30pm ET July 3: Round of 32 July 11: Quarterfinal July 18: Third-place playoff   Fan events: FIFA Fan Festival at Bayfront Park (June 13–July 5, free): The 436,000-square-foot waterfront takeover is the city's main public gathering point for the tournament, with live match screenings on giant LED screens, a 10,000-capacity amphitheater hosting concerts and cultural programming, interactive installations, food and drink activations, and — only in Miami — water-powered jet pack demonstrations over Biscayne Bay. Free community watch parties across Miami-Dade at Little Haiti Park, Amelia Earhart Park, Tropical Park, North Beach Sand Bowl, and Palmetto Golf Course, with specific matches assigned to each location. Branded fan events will be popping up all around the city, which we'll be including in our guide to the best events in Miami, updated weekly.     
  • Things to do
  • Concerts
  • North Beach
Dayglo Presents and GMP Live bring us a World Cup concert and watch party series at Miami Beach Bandshell from June 20 through July 17, timed around match days throughout the tournament. The concert lineup brings Thievery Corporation on June 26, Chromeo on July 17, Poolside on July 10, and Scottish outfit High Fade on June 23 — the night before Scotland faces Brazil. The series opens June 20 with The Rock and Roll Playhouse Presents: The Music of Bad Bunny, a family-friendly show, and also includes four watch parties at the Bandshell, covering both World Cup Semi-Finals. 
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  • Things to do
  • Exhibitions
  • Downtown
Miami is one of eight cities nationwide selected to host the Freedom Plane National Tour, a traveling exhibition of original Founding-era documents from the National Archives, on view at Museum of Miami (formerly Miami History Museum) from June 20 through July 5. The collection includes the William Stone engraving of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Association, oaths of allegiance signed by George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, the Treaty of Paris, and early draft printings of the Constitution—documents that rarely leave Washington, D.C. The exhibition is part of the national commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the United States, modeled after the Bicentennial-era Freedom Train. Alongside the documents, the museum will feature a digital mural where visitors can share their desires for the future of America both onsite and from home and a public celebration on the plaza July 4th. Access to the exhibit is included with museum admission. 
  • Things to do
  • Concerts
  • South Beach
The Betsy has hosted live jazz ten times a week on Ocean Drive for years, and this summer's programming leans into Miami's multicultural identity in a real way. The anchor is the Overtown Jazz Legacy Series, which honors Miami's golden-age jazz era. On July 10, resident vocalist and Miami's "first lady of jazz" Carole Ann Taylor performs with the Angel Perez Trio, featuring Juilliard graduates Renée Cruz on bass and Brandon Lee Lewis on drums. The following night, July 11, the Bruno Tzinas Quartet takes over — led by Miami-born Manhattan School of Music trombonist Bruno Tzinas and joined by pianist and Miami Dade College educator Jim Gasior and Juilliard-bound bassist Sofia Longa, in a program curated by Nicole Yarling in partnership with WDNA Radio. Every Tuesday through the summer, Grammy-winning pianist Tal Cohen performs at the Piano Bar as part of the Piano Masters & New Voices mentorship series alongside pianist Martin Bejerano, connecting rising Frost School of Music students with established performers. The free outdoor Promenade Concert Series continues in Lummus Park on August 2 with vocalist Amy Arlo and Jaui Schneider, and August 9 with the Assel Jean-Pierre Trio. All events are free and open to the public. For a full rundown of daily programming, check out The Betsey's cultural calendar. 
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  • Things to do
  • Exhibitions
  • Wynwood
The Balloon Museum's globe-trotting "Pop Air" exhibition has landed at Mana Wynwood, turning one of the neighborhood's most cavernous spaces into an entire immersive environment dedicated to inflatable art. The show has already toured Rome, Paris, New York, and LA, and the Wynwood footprint gives these installations more room than they've had anywhere. You're meant to wander, touch, and interact—through a geometric inflatable labyrinth, a suspended sphere installation that responds to movement, a room where balloons swirl in controlled tornadoes, and a massive LED-lit butterfly you can power yourself by pedaling. The standout is Hyperstudio's luminous projection-filled ecosystem of swings and shooting stars. Budget more time than you think you'll need; you'll want to stop and appreciate the scale of everything after filling your camera roll with selfies. 
  • Things to do
  • Festivals
  • Wynwood
The World Cup is happening in Miami, and Wynwood is fielding its own culinary teams. The Wynwood International Food Festival runs June and July alongside the tournament, turning the neighborhood into a two-month global food trail with 20-plus restaurants each representing a different nation. The entry point is a physical passport — $25, available online or at partner locations — that gets stamped at each stop, with exclusive tasting items priced at $10 or $15 per restaurant. If you upgrade to a shot glass package, you get a welcome shot everywhere you go. The lineup spans Cuba, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, France, India, Italy, Mexico, and the United States, with familiar Wynwood spots like Cerveceria la Tropical, Ghee, Lira Beirut, and Fra Diavolo among the participants. Collect every stamp and you unlock exclusive prizes, not to mention bragging rights for saying you've basically eaten your way through Wynwood. 
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