Pandemic or not, family outings are very much part of this month’s agenda.
The Miami City Ballet’s The Nutcracker features an outdoor production this year
Take It Outside
The Miami City Ballet wasn’t about to let a global pandemic get in the way of holiday tradition—not on what was to be its 35th anniversary season, no less. With indoor performances canceled all across the city, the company has decided to stage its annual production of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker alfresco at Downtown Doral Park, thereby establishing a new tradition in the process. Now a full-on multimedia show, the invigorated program incorporates animation, projection, video and live sequences in a pivot that’s en pointe. “We have adapted this incredible story for an outdoor setting, while working to meet the health and safety needs of our audience, dancers and everyone involved in the production,” says Artistic Director Lourdes Lopez. “It has been a profound and powerful journey.” Instead of orchestra or mezzanine seating, attendees now choose from socially distanced chair or blanket pods on the lawn of the park, making for a more communal (albeit safe) and less stuffy theater experience. Performances take place Dec. 19 to 31 with a special free showing for first responders and essential workers on Dec. 18. 8395 NW 53rd St., Doral, 305.929.7010
the Aerial Game Trek is Jungle Island’s newest attraction
Adventure Zone
Closed since July 2 in case you were wondering, Jungle Island is back with an adventurous new spirit. The park reopens this month, and new among its attractions is the Aerial Game Trek, a challenge course high among the treetops with more than 100 obstacles of varying difficulty levels. After a tutorial, participants (ages 5 and up) are strapped with a helmet and a full-body harness and released to make their way from one tree to the next through wooden platforms that wiggle and swing. Needless to say, an afternoon of fun for broods with daring souls. Coming next to the venue? The Flying Squirrel, an indoor amusement center complete with trampolines, basketball hoops, a dodgeball court, foam pits and a cafe. 1111 Parrot Jungle Trail, Miami, 305.400.7000
Photography by: photos courtesy of the venues
