Tuesday, February 13th - 2024 - Peek into Fort Lauderdale's best: 🎥 Valentine's cinema deals, baby's first love, immersive theatre & more. Stay updated & join the adventure with #FFFTL. Your city, your highlights!👇

Stuff You Won't Want To Miss:

1. Looking for Valentine's Day dinner ideas? You know all the restaurants will be hopping. Maybe try a movie instead. Savor and Cinema Paradiso have a special offer with 2 movie tickets, dark chocolate, popcorn, and a bottle of wine for $38. Bob Marley ONE LOVE is playing in Hollywood; The Taste of Things is playing at Savor. (Tickets)
2. Or maybe you have a wee-little one and you just want to shower them with love on Wednesday, so take them to Baby's First Valentine at MODS. Babies are born scientists, constantly discovering the world around them. In this special event, they’ll immerse early learners and caregivers in playful learning and exploration. Get ready for themed stories, experiments and hands-on STEM activities that will create cherished memories. (Free with Admission)
3. ​Noon Tunes is also back in the downtown on Wednesday at Stranahan Park (right beside the Main Library) with the Andrew Morris Band playing this week. (Free)
4. Wednesday through the 25th - catch you some immersive theatre at the Broward Center with Tony n' Tina's Wedding. The original immersive experience and New York's longest running Off-Broadway comedy! Tony and Tina have walked down the aisle more than 3,300 times, in front of more than 500,000 guests and continue to make every wedding a one-of-a-kind event. (Tickets)
5. Thursday night at the City Hall Grange, 2024 Neighbor Support Night. The event provides an opportunity for neighbors to join together with their City to strengthen community ties, elevate public spirit, and build civic awareness in a fun, casual, exciting block party-type of atmosphere. (Free)
6. Also Thursday night, it is the after-dark artisan market at Equality Park in Wilton Manors. (Free)
7. Believe it or not... not everything in Fort Lauderdale revolves around adult beverages. But Saturday afternoon at Esplanade, the Beer and Wine Fest does. Guests will enjoy beer, wine and spirit samples for the session paired with live entertainment, food and interactive games. (Free)
8. Saturday and Sunday the Miami Ballet will be at the Broward Center for their Winter Mix. Alive with color, excitement, and spectacular effects, Firebird is a fantastical and thrilling fairy tale about magic, love, danger and liberation. (Tickets)
9. Got your running kicks laced up for the weekend? Saturday is the CELSIUS 5K and Sunday is the Publix A1A Marathon/Half-Marathon/6K and Kid's Race. One of if not the biggest running event of the year here in Fort Lauderdale. You can expect a lot of traffic control along Fort Lauderdale Beach. (Register)

Hey - quick question. What did we miss? Each week we do our research but you might know of an event, an organization, or a local business that deserves some love here in our weekly basket of goodies. Just hit reply to this email and let us know!

FEATURED Fort Lauderdale

Learning to swim in South Florida not only unlocks a ton of fun, but it is also a survival skill when we are surrounded by bodies of water both natural and man-made. But Superhero Swim Academy is here to help!

This week we did a feature podcast with the Founders Reed and Jacob to talk about how their small classes (only 3 in a class!) and flexible schedule allow them to build swimmers the way families used to teach their children to swim.

With multiple locations to pick from in South Florida (including Plantation!) and more coming online soon, this is an opportunity to get involved as a swimmer, and instructor, and maybe even as an owner!

If nothing else, check out Superhero Swim Academy's robust social media content with tons of tips you can pass along to your little ones to make them comfortable in the water.

Do you have a favorite event, place, business, or organization you would like to see featured on the podcast? HIT REPLY and let us know!

So... You Think You Know South Florida?

You probably know... that this newsletter is a learner-media project from our school Acton Academy Fort Lauderdale.

But what you might not know is... that as our enrollment continues to grow, word is getting out about the WHAT and the WHY that makes Acton so different from other learning environments. Our friends from VELA.org made a recent visit and created this video about why "Heroes do hard things" at Acton.

When I rewatch the video, one thing that strikes me (in a good way) is seeing our Guides (the adults in the room) hanging back, not teaching, but creating the space for the learners to really lean into their learning.

You might even recognize this guy... talking about the movement of Acton schools worldwide:

Classifieds

• The Fort Lauderdale event is slated for May 11th at MODS. Applications are OPEN NOW. We expect we will have a waitlist, so don't delay your application.
• ​The Best of Fort Lauderdale voting is underway! Nobody knows Fort Lauderdale better than the people who live and play here. What are your favorite spots? Your favorite people? The things to do that make the Lauderdale lifestyle so unbeatable?
• ​The Florida Renaissance Festival is open! It’s a celebration of play, wonder, and pure joy. From thrilling rides to interactive exhibits, and tasty treats to live entertainment, this event is a treasure trove of delight for all ages.
• Got a Florida Adventure Wish List? Check out this scratch-off bucket list from Reach International Outfitters. Plan ahead by picking a city you are visiting soon, or be spontaneous and grab a card once you've arrived in the area!
  

Quote Of The Week

Not your usual thought about happiness. But let's dig it into a bit more. Here's what he means: "I'm free of the obsession with the idea of happiness that keeps us depressed because we never really have it." ~ Source

Flotsam & Jetsam

Two things for you this week. A fun resource AND a feel-good story:

#1 - Are you a wizard who loves to play with the nuances of words? You will love Unstranslatable.

Untranslatable is an online dictionary of idioms and expressions contributed by native speakers all over the world. All entries are verified and insights are offered into the usage, context or significance. It’s fascinating to explore the entries and different cultural nuances.

#2 - Welcome home mom and baby manatee!

Reckless and Churro, a mother and calf manatee duo, were returned to the warm waters of Port Everglades last month by SeaWorld Orlando.

The duo was rescued by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and SeaWorld in Florida in May 2022 after Reckless suffered a catastrophic boat strike. She underwent 12 lifesaving procedures and more than 17,000 hours of specialized care over the course of 20 months with her newborn calf by her side at the SeaWorld Rescue Center. Under the largest manatee rescue operation in the country, both mom and calf received the necessary critical care and were returned to the waters where the momma manatee had wintered before.

Tell Us How We Are Doing

Every week we are working to improve #FFFTL every week, both for your reading experience and to provide a cutting-edge media apprenticeship opportunity for our learners.

We want to hear from you. What do you love? What could we do better FOR YOU?