The best Miami events in May 2026 to look forward to

Bayskate is back, taking over the Historic Pan Am Hangar at Regatta Harbour in Coconut Grove for six weeks of roller skating, live DJs, cocktails, and outdoor lounges. You'll be gliding and grapevining around a 20,000-square-foot rink, with a gargantuan disco ball lighting up a place where some of America's first international flights began. This is, of course, a Miami-fied skating experience, with a cocktail program by Bayshore Club, with a rotating nighly soundtrack taht includes Latin tropibass, disco and, of course, Miami bass. The rink is open Thursdays through Sundays through June 14th, with daytime family sessions on weekends at lower admission prices. Groups can book rinkside table reservations, and season passes are available for unlimited access through the run. Skate rentals are available onsite, though you can bring your own Moxis or Impalas for extra style.

Sunset Harbour's a'Riva has made a habit of flying in some of the most interesting restaurant concepts in the world for limited-run collaborations, and its latest is Chinese Tuxedo, the NYC restaurant housed in a former opera house on Doyers Street in the heart of Manhattan's Chinatown. Named after Chinatown's first fine dining establishment, Chinese Tuxedo has built a reputation for reimagining traditional Chinese banquet dishes in a dramatic and welcoming setting, with executive chef Paul Donnelly behind the menu. Dishes like the Dan Dan noodles with soy-cured yolk, roast pork belly with hot and sour sauce, and stir-fried Snake River beef sirloin with Kampot black pepper give you a sense of the kitchen's approach: classical foundations, precise technique, and global ingredients. The team flies down to Miami for the occasion from May 12–16. Reservations required.

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. 

Every Tuesday, Miami Ironside turns into a game night and hobby destination. The evening starts at 6pm with a two-hour beginner Mahjong class led by Mahjong Club Miami. At 7pm, Board Game Night takes over Ironside Café for a relaxed stretch of strategy and company that runs until 11, with a guided chess class running alongside it for anyone looking to pick up or sharpen the game. Also on the Tuesday rotation: a Capoeira experience blending movement, rhythm, and Brazilian cultural tradition, and ArtSIDE Night, an art and wine evening for the more creatively inclined. Pick one or wander between them.

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.

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.

Stitch Lab, the Miami-born pop-up that champions independent Latin American designers, makes its Broward debut at W Fort Lauderdale for three days of resortwear, accessories, and lifestyle brands curated for the season ahead. The lineup highlights South American designers, with standout labels including Agua Bendita and Azulu from Colombia, Pitusa from Miami, and Charo Ruiz from Spain, alongside Venezuelan handbag designer Camila Canabal, who sold out her entire run at the last edition. More than anything, it's a great space to discover new, ermerging brands and stock up on unique items that'll have everyone asking, "where did you get that?!" Each day brings its own interactive moment: on-site embroidery customization Thursday by Palm Beach Embroidery Club, bag personalization Friday by Pop Ups Bags, and a charm bar Saturday by Cara O Sello, plus a wellness activation on the W Terrace with SQLPT Pilates. 

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.

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.

After sell-out runs in Paris, Rome, and Milan, From the Heart to the Hands: Dolce&Gabbana arrives in Miami, opening February 6 at ICA Miami and running through June 14, 2026. The exhibition offers a rare look inside the creative universe of designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, tracing how their ideas move from inspiration to execution—all by hand. Curated by Florence Müller and produced by MARI, the show brings together more than 300 Alta Moda pieces, set within immersive installations and shown alongside works by contemporary artists, celebrating the artisanry, excess, and exuberance of Italian aesthetics.