The best things to do in Miami this week

Ain’t no party like a Dante’s HiFi party. Five years ago, the velvet-smooth vinyl lounge opened its doors and upped the ante on Wynwood nightlife. This week, on September 24, Dante’s is marking the occasion with an anniversary party headlined by founders and local favorites. Walshy Fire, Alan Drummond, Rude Boy Sven, Rich Medina, and Dvize are all in the courtyard while Arturo, YNOT, and others hold it down inside. Expect a crowd that’s ready to dance; hip-hop, Afrobeat, and dancehall are spinning all night long ‘til 3am. 

Ahead of its season kick-off in October, the New World Symphony is hosting a “pay-what-you-wish” performance on Saturday, September 26, featuring guest conductor Nicholas Herch and New World Symphony Fellows. With impressive range, the chamber program draws from masterworks of the 20th and 21st centuries, including Dmitri Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony and Steve Reich’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Double Sextet. In other words, there's a little something for everybody. Get there early to admire the marvelous architecture of Frank Gehry’s New World Center, where the performance takes place.

‘Tis the season for jump scares and gut-wrenching screams. In other words, House of Horror is back. The annual South Florida scare-fest returns for its 25th year, September 24 through November 1, at an all-new location: Tropical Park. Included with general admission, five haunted houses and unlimited carnival rides await, if you dare. Outdoor scare zones, live entertainment, and food and drink vendors keep things light between the action. Or, brave souls can test their nerves on Howie’s Blind Terror, a pitch-dark rollercoaster run by psychopathic clowns. Fun! Keep an eye out for weekday deals and special theme nights (October 13 is Country Night). 

Foodies, rejoice! Miami Spice has extended through October 31, offering special-priced three-course menus at over 300 local restaurants. Prix-fixe menus start at $40 for brunch and lunch, and range $50-$65 for dinner, excluding tax and gratuity. A new “Reserve” tier ups the elegance with $95 signature experiences. Check out a Michelin-starred darling in the Grove, savor Peruvian ceviche in Kendall, or see what’s newly opened in Doral. Or why not do it all? Explore the full list of Miami Spice 2026 participating restaurants.

A sunset soiree with water views and world-class art. Need we say more? On Thursday, September 24, the Pérez Art Museum welcomes the community with free admission after 5pm, and an evening performance by Miami-based artist and electronic music producer Suzi Analogue. Check out the PAMM’s latest exhibitions like John Baldessari: The End of the Line, and make a night of it with happy hour drinks at Verde, the museum’s on-site restaurant, offered 5-8pm on Thursdays.

Get wet, get wild at Daytime Service, a rooftop pool party at the Arlo Wynwood hotel presented by Midnight Service, a local LGBTQ+ nightlife collective. From 2pm to 9pm, boogie on down to disco and house sets by local DJs Crownel, Miguel Clark and others. Private cabanas, a playful energy, and poolside dining will lure you to stay well past sundown. Tickets from $20, ages 21+. 

Picture this: flickering candlelight, a string quartet, Bad Bunny covers, and a giant pineapple. Such is the scene at Ball & Chain on Thursday, September 24, when Candlelight Concerts takes over the famously fruity stage. Music lovers have their pick of two 60-minute tribute concerts—José José at 7pm, and Bad Bunny at 9:15pm— performed by the Listeso String Quartet. Separate tickets are required for each concert, available from $43 online. Open to ages 8 and up.

Climate change is no laughing matter – well, maybe a little in Bryan Watkin’s Weather Girl. Running September 25 to October 18 at The Wolfson Family Theater, presented by GableStage, the one-woman show sees Ella Olesen star as a California weather girl whose picture-perfect world spirals into madness as she struggles to report on a growing climate crisis. See why this “blistering dark comedy” was named one of The New York Times’ best theater moments of 2025.

Fall has officially arrived. That means shorter days and darker nights ahead—a perfect backdrop for The Gothic Cosplay Cabaret on Saturday, September 26. The sultry production by Black Moon Theatre leans into gothic cosplay, promising fire, drag performers, cirque, burlesque, live music, and more. Embrace your inner bat and dress to impress for a cash-prize costume contest. It’s all happening at The Boombox, 8pm to 2am. 

The ICA Miami is devoting its third floor to the first U.S. museum survey of Harmony Korine, the filmmaker behind Spring Breakers and Kids who has spent three decades confounding and captivating audiences in equal measure. Perfect Nonsense brings together over 50 works spanning film, painting, photography, collage and drawing, tracing a career that has always resisted easy categorization, from his early Southern gothic explorations to recent films shot through gaming engines and iPhone footage. Korine has lived in Miami since 2015, and the city is woven into his recent work in ways the exhibition makes tangible. Beyond the films most people know, the paintings are the revelation here — particularly the "Twitchy" series, which combines iPhone-captured images with painterly techniques into something genuinely strange and new. The exhibition will be on view through October 4.