Dragons and Drums - Hollywood ArtsPark

One of the great things about making so many friends in entertainment business this past year is I never need to check the newspapers for events. They just pop up in my Facebook. Way too many for my limited free time these days. There has been one group I have been wanting to see for over a year. The Ronin Taiko Drummers. I have either been too busy or they have been performing too far away. When I got the word they were performing 10 minutes from my house, I rearranged my entire schedule to attend.

You would think now that I am a nearly noticed blogger, I could score a few free tickets to events. Yeah - not quite. But no need. The Ronin Taiko Drummers were the opening and closing act of Dragons and Drums at the Hollywood ArtsPark celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. The performance included Chinese Lion Dancers and Samoan Fire Dancers. Ronin Taiko was joined by the students of the Wadaiko Academy. And everyone scored free tickets. That's right, Hollywood put this high energy event on free of charge.

My photos are not all that great but the show was fantastic and easily the best attended event I have seen yet at the ArtsPark. The huge stage was filled wall to wall all night, lighting and sound were perfect, and the show started right on time. Just after the drumming began, there was not a patch of grass to be found in the amphitheater. Some folks brought chairs but many just had blankets or sat right on the grass.

Besides one of the best shows I've seen in a while, one thing really caught my attention. The amount of children in the audience. At one point, the Chinese Lion Dancers took the stage and children came streaming down from the hillside to get a closer look. When was the last time you saw that in Florida and not been in Disney. Then they headed back to their parents and grand parents. This was truly a family show for all ages. The type of event I would go to, way back when I was a kid, with my family and seeming lost to time in this modern, grownups only world. Congratulations to Hollywood for bringing back true family entertainment and making it cool enough for all ages to enjoy.

This was the first year for Dragons and Drums. After an hour and a half, the audience called out for one more dance, and no one left till they turned off the stage lights. Looks like Hollywood may have hit upon yet another signature, annual event.

Full Moon Drum Circle - Hollywood

I have often made the comment that Hollywood needs more regularly scheduled events to revitalize downtown. In true Hollywood style they now have one but it's scheduled randomly each month on the night of the full moon. The Full Moon Drum Circle has been a steadily growing event since it's start about a year ago. This is my first time participating mostly because I think about it usually after I notice the full moon. This month I planned a little better. It didn't hurt that I had a constant reminder of the "Blue Moon" during the week, it was a Friday night, and the weather was perfect after our near miss with Hurricane Issac. 

I work near downtown and live out West so the first stop - Mickey Byrne's Irish Pub to fuel up and meet some friends. I actually didn't plan to meet anyone. They just happened to be there. That happens more often than not and that's why I like to start my evening there. 

The Drum Circle started around 7:30 and there were about 50 or so participants. Ages ranged from baby to advanced years and every age in between. Same with the instruments. Hand drums, snare, box, shakers, bells, spoons, buckets, and even two Australian Didgeridoos. I didn't think to bring a drum but not to be left out, someone loaned me one. That someone happened to be one of the Taiko Drum performers who did a show the week before at the Morikami for the Bon Festival. Pretty exciting considering I missed that event because of bad weather. After the moon popped up I thought the show was about done so I returned my borrowed instrument and headed over to the Arts Park stage for some cool jazz.

I spoke with one of the city staffers and learned they are hosting a wide variety of music now. Jazz, Rock, Reggae, whatever. Just check the  events page to see what's showing. After an hour of Jazz I was ready to head out only to find the drum circle was in full swing and even more drummers had arrived.

I spoke with one of the promoters from Resurrection Drums and he told me there are other full moon drum circles in South Florida but they are loosely organized and don't have a dedicated location. This is the only one sponsored by a city. The city even provides chairs for the participants. All they need is to get the word out to really grow the event. I know some of my regular readers are fellow bloggers so maybe that will happen. 

I realize some of you out there like your regularly scheduled events on a regular schedule. Well Hollywood has a few of those also in and around the Arts Park Downtown. The Miami Food Truck Invasion every Monday from 5:30 to 9:00 and Funtastic Fridays - an activity event for the little ones every Friday 5:00 to 9:00 just to name two. These events are a great excuse to visit Hollywood for the first time or to keep you coming back. Once you walk around downtown a bit, you will no doubt find something else that will bring you back for some random future visit of your own.
 

Full Moon Drum Circle - Hollywood