The best Miami events in April 2026

Diehard Survivor fans and their obliging friends and family will be flocking to Jungle Island this season for a limited-time immersive pop-up celebrating 50 seasons of the pioneering CBS reality series. Launching January 31, the SURVIVOR Ultimate Fan Cafe brings the show to life through hands-on challenges, photo moments, themed food and drinks, exclusive merchandise and more. Following a successful run in Boston, the immersive experience pays proper homage to the Survivor legacy with a mix of fan-favorite physical and mental challenges (all adapted for safe indoor play) and faithful recreations of iconic sets, like the Tribal Council fire pit, a voting confessional booth and a signature Winner’s Wall. Plus, join live watch parties every Wednesday starting February 25. (Rumor has it you might spot an alumnus or two while you're there.) Tickets are available via Bucketlisters and include a food and beverage credit for use during each 90-minute reservation.

Model Volleyball is exactly what it sounds like. Now in its 16th year, this beachside tournament pits over 250 models from ten of the top agencies against each other in a daylong competition on the sand at 9th and Ocean Front. This year, Club Space takes over the music, bringing CamelPhat and Prospa to headline across both days. Doors open at noon, with agencies like Wilhelmina, Next, Elite, and Ford battling it out for the championship title. At 6PM the courts come down and Club Space opens the dancefloor, with DJs carrying the night through until 11. VIP tables sit right between the courts and the stage if you want to do it properly. Over the years it has drawn Travis Scott, Vince Vaughn, Joe Jonas, and Jamie Foxx, so you never know who you'll be rubbing shoulders with. Tickets start at $20 at modelvolleyball.com.

Wellness gets a serious upgrade at the Miami Design District's Jungle Plaza on April 18 and 19, when WellNXT Fest brings two days of fitness, mindset, recovery and community to one of the city's most vibrant outdoor settings. The festival serves as the marquee event of Wellist Week — a citywide wellness gathering running April 13 through 19 across Miami Beach, Wynwood and beyond — and spans 50-plus programs, workshops and activations across eight curated time blocks each day, covering everything from outdoor workouts and cold plunge recovery to expert speaker panels, live podcasts and nutrition demos. General admission is free, while VIP passes ($95) unlock exclusive lounges, priority seating and a curated gift bag. 

This bustling vintage market enters its 35th year in 2026 on South Beach's famed Lincoln Road. Approximately every other Sunday (check their calendar for exact dates), 125 vendors convene along the promenade to showcase their wares and barter with discerning shoppers. Find everything from mid-century furniture to Art Deco decor and more. The long-running weekend social presents a solid mix of 19th and 20th-century memorabilia and unique collectibles. While you're there, stock up on locally grown produce, fresh flowers and artisanal goods from the Lincoln Road Farmer's market, which occurs every Sunday from 9am to 6pm.

If you grew up in a Cuban household in Miami, Álvarez Guedes was probably playing in the background. The comedian who became the Godfather of Latin Comedy through 30-plus albums of distinctly Cuban storytelling is getting the immersive treatment this spring. Debuting April 30 inside a custom-built venue at Tropical Park, Muerto de Risa is a three-hour cabaret-style production that moves guests through themed spaces — El Bar, El Cabaret, El Patio — as stand-up, live music and theatrical storytelling unfold around them. Less traditional theater, more like stepping into a night out at a classic Havana club. Learn more here. 

Art meets science at "Leonardo da Vinci – 500 Years of Genius," a sweeping exhibition presented by Frost Science and produced by Grande Experiences in collaboration with Rome's Museo Leonardo da Vinci. On view through April 5th, 2026, the show explores da Vinci's multidisciplinary legacy with interactive displays, rare artifacts and life-size replicas of his machines, alongside immersive projections of iconic works like The Last Supper and Mona Lisa. Explore 16 themed sections, from anatomy and flight to engineering and optics, plus hands-on installations like the Vitruvian Man interactive station and the Mona Lisa Revealed exhibit, featuring the world’s only exact 360-degree replica of the painting.

Art, sexuality and cultural taboos converge at the Museum of Sex with the debut of its latest exhibition, Hard Art: Unruly Selections from the Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection. Explore decades of boundary-pushing works spanning the 1930s to today, pulled from the private collection of one of the world’s most dynamic collectors. From playful to profound and, at times, deemed too provocative for public display, the featured works include a wide range of media that challenges convention and invites conversation. Curated with the goal of amplifying underrepresented voices and celebrating uncensored expression, artists on view include Marco Brambilla, Jimmy DeSana, Bunny Yeager, John Kayser and others.

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.

The great Montreal contemporary-circus troupe brings its Luzia production to South Florida, performing cutting-edge acrobatics and tightly choreographed dance numbers amid lavish costumes and set pieces. This show, written and directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca, is inspired by the culture of Mexico. Running February 19 through April 25 at Gulfstream Park, Luzia takes audiences through a series of surrealistic scenes, from an old movie set to a smoky dance hall, an arid desert, and even a cenote. It's a dream-like, sensory exploration of Mexico's past and present, packed with awe-inspiring moments—including rain incorporated into acrobatic and artistic scenes (a first for a Cirque du Soleil touring production).

Now in its 43rd edition, Miami Film Festival runs April 9–19 across more than ten venues spanning Little Havana, Wynwood, Coconut Grove, Miami Beach and beyond — spreading 160-plus films from 45 countries across 11 days. The program opens with Tuner, the narrative debut of Oscar-winning documentarian Daniel Roher (Navalny), and closes with Power Ballad, Irish filmmaker John Carney's music-laced comedy starring Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas. Steven Soderbergh's The Christophers and Maude Apatow's directorial debut Poetic License are the centrepiece selections. The star appearances are worth knowing about: Severance's Adam Scott receives the Vanguard Award and sits for a career conversation at Wolfson's Chapman Center; Bob Odenkirk does a Q&A following a screening of his new film Normal; and John Waters shows up for his own 80th birthday celebration at the Arsht Center. Special screenings include Whiplash in Concert, the film accompanied live by an 18-piece jazz band conducted by composer Justin Hurwitz, and a 25th anniversary screening of The Princess Diaries at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. The Made in Miami program is strong this year, too, with local titles spanning a Cuban-American dark comedy, a multilingual art-heist thriller, a documentary on Traz Powell Stadium and films tied directly to South Florida communities. The festival also returns to the historic Tower Theater in Little Havana, which is celebrating its centennial — the first Miami theater to add Spanish subtitles...