The best August events in Miami

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. 

Gilded and crimson-draped Faena Theater is the ideal venue to experience OBSESSION, a new original production presented by Faena Live in collaboration with the Quixotic performance art collective. Nestled in Mid-Beach, the cabaret-style show blends live vocals, choreography and cinematic storytelling to take guests on a seductive 1.5-hour journey complete with lasers, projected visuals and plenty of theatrical haze. Helmed by emcee Sophia Bollman—whose credits include a stint on NBC's The Voice as part of Team Miley Cyrus and backup singing in Beyoncé's iconic Coachella performances—Faena Theater's 2026 headlining production also features the energetic stylings of Principal Violin and Musical Lead Kostia Lucky. Tickets start at $100 per person and include show admission only (food and beverages sold separately). Guests must be 18 or older, with a valid ID required upon arrival.

In the mood for a mid-week dance? Do Not Sit On The Furniture offers free admission to local residents every Wednesday and Thursday, from 10pm to 11:30pm. Partygoers must show valid ID with a local address at the door. The promotion runs all through August and September, exclusive to residents of Miami and Miami Beach.

Break out the stretchy pants. Miami Spice returns August 1-September 30 with special-priced three-course menus available 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 ante 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.

How about a detox to retox? Club Space has teamed up with House of Transformation, a luxe fitness studio in Edgewater, to host a “run club” on Saturday morning. Meet your fellow runners at the studio, 7am, then head out for a two-mile jaunt downtown. Your $30-$50 ticket includes club admission, Raccoon coffee, a grilled cheese sandwich, and a mini post-run massage. Ages 21+ welcome.

Downtown’s contemporary art museum offers free admission for all ages every Thursday after 5pm. Pair your art-filled outing with happy hour at Verde, the museum’s waterfront restaurant, featuring special prices on food and drinks, 5pm to 8pm. Heads up: active military, first responders, Florida educators, and veterans receive free admission all year long with valid ID. 

If your Netflix algorithm includes Wild Wild Country and Wayward, the Museum of Sex Miami's new exhibition was made for you. Utopia: Three Centuries of Sexuality in American Cults and Communes, curated by filmmaker and publisher Jodi Wille, traces how over 20 American intentional communities — from the Shakers to the Rajneesh movement to the Source Family — used sexuality, spirituality, and art to build alternative visions of society across 300 years. More than 300 artworks, photographs, films, garments, and rare artifacts make up the two-story show, nationally recognized by Artforum and the Brooklyn Rail. On view through November.

The largest presentation of Jean-Michel Basquiat's work ever mounted in Florida opens at PAMM on June 25. Basquiat: Figures, Signs, Symbols brings together ten works from the collection of Kenneth C. Griffin, including Untitled (1982), the painting that sold for $110.5 million at Sotheby's and reportedly changed hands again for $200 million in 2024. But the exhibition is less interested in the market mythology around Basquiat than in the work itself, concentrating on his portraiture, his use of text and coded language, and the layered visual vocabulary he built from world history, Renaissance anatomy, hip-hop, and the street culture of 1980s New York. As the son of a Puerto Rican mother and Haitian father, Basquiat's relationship to migration and cultural hybridity lands with particular resonance in Miami. Curated by PAMM director Franklin Sirmans, who has been central to the posthumous study of Basquiat's work for over two decades. On view through June 2027.

This long-running, weekly farmers’ market is well stocked and well attended, featuring a bounty of produce from nearby farms in the Redlands and Homestead, live music and a free yoga class at 8:30am. Vendors set up in the beautiful tree-lined parking lot of Pinecrest Gardens, which makes a weekly shopping trip pretty idyllic. Don’t miss the selection of local honey, tropical blooms and other specialty items, including cheese from independent dairy farmers and homemade guacamole. While the market takes place year-round, some growers opt to only participate during the fall and winter seasons, so consider this the best time to go. 11000 South Red Rd, Pinecrest

What do women really want? Mid-week martinis and pasta. Harbour Club’s swanky Italian restaurant, A’Riva, offers just that with Pastatini Nights, featuring $10 martinis and $15 pasta dishes every Wednesday evening. Rotating specials include A’Riva signatures like the Sweet Corn Agnolotti and Spaghetti Alla Nerano, served alongside classic martinis like watermelon and espresso. Pro tip: pair your outing with weekday happy hour, available on Wednesdays from 5 to 7pm.