Weekend things to do: Your favorite ‘Diner,’ Elvis Costello, discount tickets at South Florida Fair

The fifth annual Visit Lauderdale Food & Wine Festival is in full bloom this weekend (though mostly sold out), an eclectic appreciation of local restaurants and chefs of regional and national celebrity. 

But as an expression of the place and purpose of a favorite restaurant in life, its essential role in creating community and the traditions that define your town, it would be hard to top Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson’s “Diner,” screening on Sunday afternoon at Coral Gables Art Cinema. 

A bittersweet ode to friendship and the beloved late-night island of steel and glass and neon, “Diner” follows a group of friends in 1959 Baltimore who gather amid a clattering symphony of forks and knives and the settling of life’s essential questions about manhood and girls and sports and music. 

(Note: The film’s memorable debate over best makeout music, Sinatra vs. Mathis, likely will continue in the audience on Saturday at the Kravis Center, where Johnny Mathis will perform.)

Released in 1982, “Diner” marked the big-screen debut for Levinson (“The Natural” “Rain Man,” “Wag the Dog,”  “Good Morning, Vietnam”), and his little-known cast of future stars — Steve Guttenberg, Daniel Stern, Mickey Rourke, Kevin Bacon, Timothy Daly, Paul Reiser and Ellen Barkin. Levinson’s brilliant script was nominated for an Academy Award. 

South Florida, of course, is a rich repository of diners and diner-ish restaurants with a passionate local following. Plan to reconnect with your favorite this weekend.

THURSDAY

The party never ends: So, yes, the Visit Lauderdale Food & Wine Festival collaboration dinner being hosted on Thursday at Progresso wine bar Sidewalk Bottle Shop with no less hip Miami cocktail bar-restaurant Jaguar Sun is definitely sold out. BUT, the Sidewalk boys will be open at all at 11 p.m. for an after-party of freshly shucked oysters, fried chicken and thoughtful wines by the glass. Visit Instagram.com/sidewalk.bottleshop.

Fair warning: The South Florida Fair opens this weekend for a run through Jan. 28 at the South Florida Fairgrounds in West Palm Beach. Yes, rides and live music and midway games, but also the kind of food that may catch the eye of the Cooking Channel’s “Carnival Eats.” Such as the Banana Cream Pie Nachos, a new offering from Rosie’s Nachos, a vendor profiled on the TV show last year. The fair officially opens on Friday, but Thursday is the last day to purchase advance admission tickets at the discounted price of $10 (guests age 10 and younger get in free) and discounted unlimited ride vouchers for $25. Beginning Friday, tickets will cost $15 for admission Monday through Friday (except on select Tuesdays), $20 for Saturdays and Sundays. Ride vouchers will cost $30 Monday through Friday, $45 Saturdays and Sundays. Thursday also brings the fair’s popular preview night, when a $20 ticket includes admission and unlimited rides from 5 to 10 p.m. Visit SouthFloridaFair.com/coupons. 

Crazy in love: The touring production of the haunting and hopeful Broadway hit “Hadestown” continues its run through Jan. 21 at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale. Catch performances at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $45+ at BrowardCenter.org. 

SunFest headliners: The annual downtown West Palm Beach hootenanny known as SunFest this week revealed the top of the bill for the 2024 festival set for May 3-5. R&B star Nelly will be the headliner on Friday, May 3, followed by country good-timer Cole Swindell on Saturday and rockers Third Eye Blind on Sunday. Tickets are on sale starting at $60+ for a one-day pass and $120+ for a three-day pass, with VIP options also available. Visit SunFest.com.

Israeli defense: Actor and playwright David Rosenberg’s “Wicked Child” will have its world premiere at Miami’s Arsht Center from Thursday through Jan. 28, presented by Zoetic Stage. The play got its first reading nearly five years ago but reverberates with headlines of today as it follows a New York lawyer who quits to join the Israeli Defense Force, prompting his secular Jewish family to reexamine their positions toward the state of Israel and their Jewish identity. Rosenberg describes it as “a play about whether political belief can destroy familial bonds, how Jewish families educate their children about Israel, and how much we owe to our people.” Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday,  2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $55+ at ArshtCenter.org. 

FRIDAY

What’s so funny: A singular songwriting talent whose wit and frustrations slip into you like a frozen dagger, Elvis Costello and his band, The Imposters, bring their 7-0-7 Tour to The Fillmore Miami Beach at 8 p.m. Friday. Tickets start at $64+ at LiveNation.com.

Snowy forecast: Funky Buddha Brewery in Oakland Park on Friday will begin offering six-packs of Last Snow, a creamy porter laced with freshly roasted coffee and coconut, one of its most popular annual releases. The beer is set to hit retail stores across South Florida next week. Visit FunkyBuddha.com.

More mandolin: If you’re looking for a pick-me-up this weekend, the euphoric and eclectic charms of Greensky Bluegrass (they do a mean cover of Pink Floyd’s “Time/Breathe”) may be just what you need. The quintet performs at 8 p.m. Friday at the lovely Miami Beach Bandshell. Doors open at 7 p.m. for the all-ages show. Tickets cost $53.56 at MiamiBeachBandshell.com.

Pop-up dinner: Here’s where to find a favorite local pop-up kitchen and beer on Friday night: Kaminari Ramen will be at Fort Lauderdale brewery LauderAle from 5 to 11 p.m.; Jay Rok’s popular Eat BMC smash burgers will set up at Civil Society Brewing in West Palm Beach from 5 to 9 p.m.; and the Burmese food of Ahmay’s Cuisine can be found at NOBO Brewing in Boynton Beach from 5 to 9 p.m. (also at 6 p.m. Saturday at Sidewalk Bottle Shop in Fort Lauderdale).

Tennessee titan: Country singer Mitchell Tenpenny brings his polished Nashville sound (“Bigger Mistakes,” “Truth About You,” “Drunk Me”) to Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood at 8 p.m. Friday. Tickets start at $40+ at MyHRL.com.

Different strokes: Strokes Art Bar, on Fort Lauderdale‘s eclectic Northeast 13th Street, will host one of those paint-and-sip parties set to a Taylor Swift soundtrack, with trivia and prizes, on Friday from 7:45 to 9:45 p.m. Cost: $45+. Then on Saturday at 7:30 p.m., the vibe will be very different for the Fifty Shades of Paint party, with painting, sipping and “sexy male entertainment.” Cost: $55+. Visit Facebook.com/strokesartbar.

Local sounds: The Moonshiners, an outlaw-country spinoff of popular, local ska-rock party band Spred the Dub, performs at Steel Tie Spirits in West Palm Beach on Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. (Facebook.com/TheMoonshinersMusic) … Singer-songwriter Sierra Lane has a solo show at Mathews Brewing Co. in Lake Worth Beach at 8 p.m. Friday (Facebook.com/sierralanemusic) … Eagles tribute band The Long Run is at Galuppi’s in Pompano Beach on Friday at 7:30 p.m. (Facebook.com/LONGRUNFLORIDA).

SATURDAY

Weekend laughs: The Miami Comedy Festival sets up at Hard Rock Live this weekend with performances at 8 p.m. Saturday (Sommore, Bruce Bruce, Bill Bellamy, Tony Roberts and Joe Torry) and 7 p.m. Sunday (Lavell Crawford, Gary Owen, Earthquake, Tommy Davidson and Special K). Tickets start at $65+ at MyHRL.com.

Songs of future past: New-wave icons A Flock of Seagulls will bring synth-y hits “I Ran,” “Space Age Love Song” and “Telecommunication” to The Parker in Fort Lauderdale at 8 p.m. Saturday. Internationally touring Depeche Mode tribute band Strangelove opens. Tickets start at $45+ at BrowardCenter.org.

Weekend DJs: John Summit, a former CPA who offers hope to accounting majors everywhere, is one of the most popular DJs out there right now. He has two shows at DAER this weekend — advance tickets for Saturday’s performance at DAER dayclub (doors open at noon) are sold out, but Sunday’s concert at DAER nightclub (doors open at 10 p.m.) still has advance tickets, for now, starting at $100+. A unique combo ticket for both shows also is sold out. Visit HardRockNightlife.com. … Meanwhile, DJ star (and South Florida native) Steve Aoki is at LIV nightclub in Miami Beach’s Fontainebleau on Saturday (doors open at 11 p.m.). Tickets cost $100+ for women, $125+ for guys. Visit LIVNightclub.com.

Puttin’ on the ritz: The local cineastes at Popcorn Frights will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the classic Mel Brooks comedy “Young Frankenstein,” featuring indelible performances by Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Teri Garr and Cloris Leachman, at 10 p.m. Saturday at the Gateway Theatre in Fort Lauderdale. Tickets cost $10+ at PopcornFrights.com.

A many-splendored thing: As mentioned, crooner Johnny Mathis is going strong at 88 and will perform at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach on Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $39+ at Kravis.org.

Weekend cookies: La Gringuita, my favorite local cookie maker (lots of research involved), has four new flavors of her stuffed, quarter-pound cookies that she’ll be baking fresh at the West Palm Beach GreenMarket, open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. They are French Toast (cinnamon-sugar cookie with a maple cream filling), Tiramisu (coffee cookie laced with roasted Chik Monk coffee, rolled in cocoa and stuffed with mascarpone), Cookie Butter (Biscoff cookie-butter cookie filled with cookie butter) and Chocotorta (chocolate cookie stuffed with dulce de leche cheesecake). Gringuita Cookies cost $5 at the market, $15 for a to-go bag of four frozen cookie balls. Visit Facebook.com/gringuita.cookies, Instagram.com/wpbgreenmarket.

SUNDAY

‘Diner’ is served: Presented in partnership with the Miami Jewish Film Festival, Coral Gables Art Cinema will screen Barry Levinson’s “Diner” at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, elevated with an appearance by Emmy-winning writer-director Richard Shepard (look for his touching documentary “I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale”), who will participate in a 1 p.m. reception and a post-film Q&A session. Tickets cost $13 at GablesCinema.com.

Gospel Sunday: Gospel singer, songwriter and actor Tamela Mann, a Grammy winner for the single “God Provides” and currently seen in “The Color Purple,” will perform at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach. Tickets start at $15+ at Kravis.org.

After Chicago: Keith Howland, guitarist for classic-rock icons Chicago for more than a quarter-century, and Jeff Coffey, who also had a stretch as a singer and bass player for the band, will perform at The Funky Biscuit in Boca Raton at 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $35+ at FunkyBiscuit.com. 

Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Instagram @BenCrandell and Twitter @BenCrandell.