The best July events in Miami

Summer in Miami is for melting away any stress, and self-care is never more accessible than during Miami Spa Months. Whether your skin is feeling a little parched from the heat, all those Pilates classes have you pining for a massage, or you’ve been meaning to try out that cute new medspa down the street, July and August are prime time to get out and explore all of the top Miami spas participating in the annual summertime promotion.  Some of the best hotel spas in Miami Beach, Brickell and Sunny Isles have signed on this year, along with boutique medspas and facial spas from down south in Coral Gables up north to Aventura. They’re curating special treatment menus for the occasion, with luxurious experiences priced at $109, $159 or $199. Beyond all the amazing massages, facials and body scrubs, most of these spas sweeten the deal even further with access to amenities like steam rooms, saunas, resort pools and beaches, plus complimentary parking, welcome drinks and more.  Availability varies, but a majority of the Miami Spa Months deals are offered daily. Just be sure to book in advance, as the best time slots tend to get snapped up quickly. For a full day of discounted indulgence, get acquainted with the Miami Spice Restaurant Months, which overlap with Spa Months in August. 

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.

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. 

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. 

Now in its 31st season, the International Ballet Festival of Miami is the only festival of its kind in Florida, bringing over 100 principal dancers from 17 companies across 11 countries to stages throughout South Florida. Under the artistic direction of Eriberto Jiménez, the festival spans Miami, Miami Beach, South Miami, and Fort Lauderdale, with performances taking place at venues including the Miami Hispanic Cultural Arts Center, Lincoln Road, the Fillmore Miami Beach, and Broward Center for the Performing Arts. This year's notable debuts include the National Ballet Theatre of Košice from Slovakia and Marez Contemporary Dance, alongside the Cincinnati Ballet under new artistic director Cervilio Amador and local companies Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida and Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami. The program moves through three phases: Young Medalist Performances, Contemporary Performances, and the Classical Ballet Galas to close. Beyond the stage, the festival also encompasses art exhibits, film screenings, master classes, and workshops. Specific dates, venues, and tickets for each performance are available at internationalballetfestival.org.

Fooq's and Lion's Den have launched a Sunday series on their Little River patio, running weekly through the summer. Each edition brings in a different DJ along with food and beverage pop-ups. Come for brunch, linger past sunset. Free, 4–10pm.  

Break out the stretchy pants. Miami Spice returns this Saturday, August 1, 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.

Two simultaneous exhibitions at the Lowe Art Museum on the University of Miami campus make up the most comprehensive presentation of Afro-Cuban art ever mounted. El Pasado Mio/My Own Past, organized by Harvard's Afro-Latin American Research Institute and expanded for its Miami run, brings together more than 81 works by 44 Cuban artists of African descent spanning two centuries, including nine paintings by Wifredo Lam and works by eleven female artists being exhibited together for the first time. The show restores artists who were deliberately erased from the Cuban art historical record, placing obscured figures like Pastor Argudin, Maria Ariza, and Tony Ximenez alongside better-known names like Agustin Cardenas and Maria Magdalena Campos Pons. The companion exhibition, Afrocubanismo: Highlights from the Ramón and Nercys Cernuda Collection, traces the cultural movement that emerged in the 1930s, when a generation of Cuban artists began centering the country's African roots at a moment when most of Cuban society had actively suppressed them. The tension in that moment is part of what makes the show complex: some of these artists are seen as co-opting a history that wasn't theirs; others as genuinely trying to re-imagine Cuba through its African roots and Afro-religious forms. On view through September 12. General admission is free.

Little Havana's street party and gallery walk, Viernes Culturales, happens every last Friday of the month along Calle Ocho from 8th to 27th Avenue. Running strong since 2000, it celebrates Latin culture with an old-school pachanga, featuring art exhibits from over 30 local artists, an artisan market at Domino Plaza, live music, and dancing in one of Miami's most famous cultural hubs. Dr. Paul George's free Little Havana Walking Tour begins at 7pm from the Historic Tower Theater for anyone who wants the deeper history alongside the party.

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.