Free and cheap events in Miami this weekend

It’s “40 Years of Fabulous,” dahling. Don on your Roaring ’20s outfit (or just wear whatever you like) and head to Miami Beach this weekend from Jan. 13-15 for Art Deco Weekend, an annual community festival that celebrates the Great Gatsby Era. Admission to the festival is free and there are numerous free events including a dog show, antiques show, classic car show, kids club, fashion show, art and street fair, and more. It’s all on Ocean Drive with the beautiful Art Deco architectural hotels serving as a backdrop.

Little Havana erupts in music, dance and drag queens for the Gay8 (GayOcho) festival, a celebration of the Latino LGBT community, on Jan. 15. Southwest 8^th Street (Calle Ocho to us locals) will be closed for this festival from 14^th to 17^th avenues. The lineup of live bands is red-hot: Locos por Juana, Spam Allstars, Lucy Grau, Sonlokos, and Electric Piquete. Miami-Dade College’s Tower Theatre will be showing gay films and there’s always delicious food to be had in a local restaurant.

“All that glisters is not gold.” (Yes, I had to look it up: its glisters not glitters.) Shakespeare Miami presents The Merchant of Venice for free this weekend Jan. 13-15 at the Barnacle Historical State Park in Coconut Grove. Next week, the free play will be shown at Pinecrest Gardens. (Both parks suggest a $2 donation.)

Brazilian jazz group Trio Da Paz will take part in a South Motors Gen-Next Jazz concert on Jan. 15 in Pinecrest with students from the New World School of the Arts. For a $5 park entrance fee, you can watch and listen to the beautiful music as they mentor and perform with the students. Thanks to the generosity of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and South Motors, the public can enjoy these top-notch bands for a fraction of the price and closer to their neighborhood.