Weekend things to do: Skating at Florida Panthers’ new home, FAU Owls watch parties, rock en Español tribute band

The Florida Panthers will open their long-awaited new downtown Fort Lauderdale practice facility on Thursday, bringing family skating, club hockey and other activities on NHL-quality ice to the renovated and expanded War Memorial Auditorium complex in Holiday Park.

A limited schedule of opening-weekend events at Baptist Health IcePlex includes the debut of public skating on Thursday, with two-hour sessions at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. There also will be skating on Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m., 3:15 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Tickets will cost $17 ($14 for military). Skate rental is $5, and it’s $10 per hour for a skating aid (sort of a walker on ice). Before taking the ice at the venue, participants must register and sign a waiver at FTLWarMemorial.com.

An abbreviated selection of food and beverages will be available on opening weekend. The team shop will be open.    

Going forward, the venue will be open for public skating daily, along with freestyle figure skating sessions, learn-to-skate classes, free hockey tutorials, youth hockey camps and more. Registration also is open for adult hockey leagues, which begin in April. 

Baptist Health IcePlex is the first space to open after a $60 million renovation of the War Memorial complex, which also will include a new music hall and a second-floor restaurant, The Federal. 

The venue has two ice rinks, one public and one for Panthers practices that also can be used by the public when the team is away. Practices are open to the public, and admission to the bleacher seats around the team rink is free. 

For more information, visit FTLWarMemorial.com.

THURSDAY

Boogie night: The other kind of skating happens on Thursday with a free night of roller disco at the Miami Beach Bandshell as part of the North Beach Social series. Beginning at 6:30 p.m., dance tunes will be provided by Charlie  Soul Clap with an opening set by Max Baum, against a backdrop of immersive visuals by artist Natasha Tomchin. Skate rental is $10 (free for Miami Beach residents), or you can bring your own. Food and beverages will be available for purchase, and the rear deck will be open to those not skating. Admission is free with an RSVP (required). Visit MiamiBeachBandshell.com.

Wait for it: The nationally touring production of “Hamilton” ends its run at the Arsht Center in Miami this weekend with performances at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, and 1 and 7 p.m. Sunday. Starting at $49+, tickets are available for all performances, though some availability is limited. Visit ArshtCenter.org. The musical will be at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach from April 10 to 21. Visit Kravis.org.

Yacht party: The Palm Beach International Boat Show returns Thursday through Sunday with more than 50,000 visitors expected in downtown West Palm Beach to ogle in excess of $1 billion in boats and accessories. Visit PBBoatShow.com. Of course, the influence of PBIBS will be felt all over town. For instance at Spruzzo, the rooftop bar at downtown boutique hotel The Ben, DJ Kristian Caro and Veuve Clicquot will kick off the weekend with a yacht-rock party on Thursday at 7 p.m. Your hosts would like to see you in ’70s attire. As if you needed encouragement. Visit Facebook.com/thebenwestpalm.

Weekend laughs: Comedian, actor and late-night talk show staple Nick Swardson is at the Dania Improv in Dania Beach this weekend with shows at 8 p.m. Thursday, 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets cost $35+, VIP reserved seats $45+. Visit DaniaImprov.com.

Ladies night: Another nostalgic soundtrack will be the attraction at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale when yesteryear pop queens Taylor Dayne, Tiffany and Sheena Easton team up for the “ultimate ladies night” on Thursday beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $40+ at BrowardCenter.org. 

FRIDAY

FAU watch parties: The Owls of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton are again part of March Madness college basketball brackets around the world this week. Coach Dusty May’s squad begins what they hope is a second consecutive run to the Final Four with a game at 12:15 p.m. Friday against Northwestern. If they win, they’ll play on Sunday, time and opponent TBD.  If you want to get on the bandwagon now, the FAU Alumni organization has official Owls watch parties planned on Friday at Biergarten Boca Raton and Duffy’s Sports Grill locations in Coconut Creek and North Palm Beach. Other spots that have hosted FAU watch parties include The Irishmen and American Social in Boca Raton. Visit FAUAlumni.org.

Purple prose: Small Wine Shop in downtown Fort Lauderdale’s Flagler Village on Friday will host The Prince Experience with Professor Dink, a casual night of wine tasting set to a Prince soundtrack orchestrated by local storyteller and wine explorer Dinkinish O’Connor. The gathering is from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tickets cost $49 at SmallWineShop.com.

SATURDAY

Still Blurry: Rap stylist Drake brings his long-running It’s All A Blur Tour — Big As The What?, featuring Lil Wayne, back to South Florida for two shows at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise at 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets start at $105+ at SeatGeek.com. 

Dip me in the water: Julian and Lisa Siegel will celebrate the sixth anniversary of Tarpon River Brewing in downtown Fort Lauderdale with another edition of the Take Me to the River Music Festival on Saturday from 2 to 11 p.m. The day will include music, food, vendors and beer from favorite local breweries, among them Orchestrated Minds, Invasive Species, Brewlihan, Gulf Stream, LauderAle, Yeasty Brews, Savage Lyfe, 3 Sons Brewing and many more. There will be music from, among others, Tand, Smerks and the Nightmares, Davie, Blackwater Sound, The Honest Liars and Dylan Zangwill. General-admission tickets cost $15, which includes a free beer ticket (guests younger than 21 pay $10, with ticket for soda, tea, lemonade). An individual beer ticket costs $8 (10 for $70), and an individual food ticket is $25. A VIP ticket costs $75 and comes with a food ticket, three beer tickets, a commemorative poster, an anniversary bottle and a crowler bag. Tickets are available on-site and at the Eventbrite.com. Visit TarponRiverBrewing.com.

Weekend opera: Opera star Nadine Sierra, a Fort Lauderdale native who attended Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, can be seen in more than 20 movie theaters across South Florida on Saturday afternoon in a live transmission of the Metropolitan Opera production of Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette,” joined by tenor Benjamin Bernheim. The screenings, which begin at 12:55 p.m., are part of the Met Opera’s long-running Live in HD series. For a list of theaters, visit MetOpera.org.

‘Prom’ dates: Slow Burn Theatre Co. opens its new production of “The Prom” at the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday for a run through April 7. The critically praised 2018 Broadway musical tells the story of an Indiana high school student who is barred from bringing her girlfriend to the prom, which attracts a quartet of well-intentioned New York theater folks who come to town to “help.” Critic Jesse Green at The New York Times called the show “such a joyful hoot. … With its kinetic dancing, broad mugging and belty anthems, it makes you believe in musical comedy again.” Performances this weekend are at 1 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $54+ at BrowardCenter.org. 

Rooftop tribute: Celebrating its fifth anniversary, nationally touring Miami-based rock en Español tribute band SurDeluxe will perform on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. at Skye Rooftop Bar, on the 11th floor of Hilton’s Serena Hotel Aventura. Expect to hear covers of iconic 1980s-2000s bands including Mana, Café Tacvba, Caifanes, Soda Stereo and Hombres G surrounded by a euphoric crowd that knows all the words. Tickets cost $25. Visit Facebook.com/SurDeluxeBand.

Ultra music at DAER: Ultra Music Festival is this weekend in downtown Miami. Of course, it’s sold out. But you can still catch UMF-level DJ talent on Saturday at DAER at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood. At noon, Kaskade will do the music at the dayclub (tickets $100+), while producer Galantis (he co-wrote Britney Spears’ Grammy-winning “Toxic”) will perform at the nightclub at 10 p.m. ($40+). Visit HardRockNightlife.com. (Looking ahead, the waitlist is open for the 25th anniversary edition of Ultra Music Festival, set for March 28-30, 2025. Three-day, general-admission passes cost $349.95 at UltraMusicFestival.com).

Guitar gods: Joe Satriani and Steve Vai will bring their co-headlining Satch-Vai U.S. Tour to the Pompano Beach Amphitheater at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are available, starting at $49.50+, at PompanoBeachArts.org/amp.

Driven men: Three creators and stars of truTV’s “Impractical Jokers” — Brian Quinn (Q), James Murray (Murr) and Sal Vulcano — bring The Drive Drive Drive Drive Drive Tour to Hard Rock Live in Hollywood on Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets to the show, which includes never-before-seen videos and storytelling stand-up, start at $55+ at MyHRL.com.

Take the kids: The fourth edition of The World’s Greatest Kite Festival returns to Miramar Regional Park on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The free event includes kite giveaways, build-your-own demonstrations, food trucks and live music. Visit MiramarKiteFestival2024.eventbrite.com.

Comics and food trucks: Beloved Lauderhill hangout Tate’s Comics will throw a party befitting its 31st anniversary on Saturday and Sunday, with a massive tent sale filled with comic books (thousands of titles for $1 each), graphic novels, toys and general good vibes. You’ll also find top-notch food trucks: Kaminari Ramen, Carlos & Pepe’s and Fresh Coconut on Saturday, and Kaminari Ramen, Garden Diva and Mr. Meatball on Sunday. Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Visit Facebook.com/tatescomics.

SUNDAY

Current event: Rhythm by the River is a free community festival that celebrates Black voices on Sunday from 2 to 6 p.m. in Esplanade Park in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The afternoon will include music, dance, workshops, vendors, games and food from J&J Soul Food, Tropical Soul Food, Wontons on Wheels, Reggae Beets and Sweet Sensations by Charlene. Headlining performers include the Lauderhill Steel Ensemble (2 p.m.), jazz saxophonist Randy Corinthian (2:55 p.m.), roots-reggae band Jah Steve & the Counteract Crew (4 p.m.) and Emmy-nominated singer-songwriter Alexander Star (5:20 p.m.). The event is part of the Broward Center’s Arts for Action: Black Voices initiative, co-presented by Baptist Health and JM Family Enterprises. Visit BrowardCenter.org.

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