Miami Dade College’s Koubek Center, su casa de cultura, launches its new bilingual family series, Playtime: Días de las Familias, on Saturday, Oct. 22, from noon to 4 p.m., with a “Día de Los Muertos” celebration. The event is open free to the public.
The series fills an important niche in Miami, as it provides parents an engaging — and free — way for their children to learn and practice Spanish. The fun and interactive family days will highlight the diverse arts, crafts, literary histories, music and dance of the city’s many Hispanic cultures. Children will be invited to sing, dance, create and speak together en español.
Playtime begins with a festive bang — a Dia de los Muertos celebration. With help from The Puppet Network, Ameyal Cultural Center, and the Mexican Cultural Institute in Miami, activities will include a puppet parade; thematic face painting and craft making (skull masks and papel picado: paper decorated with cut-outs); live Mexican folkloric music and dance performances, and storytelling; an ofrenda (Day of the Dead altar) exhibit; a musical instrument petting zoo and more. Mexican food will be available for purchase.
The Playtime series continues on Nov. 12 with Aventuras de Don Quixote (Adventures of Don Quixote).
The 2016-17 season marks a new chapter in Koubek Center’s history — one in which the venue realizes its own programming. In addition to Playtime: Dias Familiares; Koubek Center’s signature series include Little Havana Social Club; concert/dance parties in the gardens, and En Residencia, an artist-in-residency initiative aligning art with activism, artist with community.
The Koubek Center, located at 2705 SW Third St., is an intellectual, cultural, and community hub in the heart of Little Havana. A historic landmark in South Florida, the revitalized mansion remains true to its pioneering heritage — celebrating its multicultural community with workshops, art exhibitions, theater performances, literary readings, concerts and more. In addition to the mansion, the iconic space includes glorious gardens, the Koubek theater, the ArtSpace gallery, classrooms, and mini performance spaces.
For more information, visit koubekcenter.org.
