Everglades National Park
The Everglades ecosystem once stretched across a mosaic of wetlands and subtropical wilderness from Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay. Unfortunately, by the mid-1900s nearly half of the slow-moving “river of grass” had been drained to make way for farms and urban development. The park was established in 1947, after decades of activism, to preserve a treasured 1.5 million acres of the ecosystem.
The Everglades is a complex mix of salt and freshwater wetlands, hardwood hammocks, and pine rocklands that support a wide variety of flora and fauna. The ecosystem functions as a giant water purifier, filtering and cleaning water that drains from farms and impervious surfaces before reaching Florida Bay and the Ten Thousand Islands. The Everglades also contributes to South Florida’s climate resilience, naturally absorbing the impacts of hurricanes and minimizing coastal erosion and flooding.
Thursday, December 24
Christmas Eve: A time for family, feasting and a drag show. Palace, Ocean Drive s iconic gay bar, restaurant, and drag performance venue, hosts its
Christmas Eve Drag Show on Thursday. Resident DJ Cesar Hernandez will be in charge of the ones and twos, with local drag queen Poison Ivy Lords acting as the emcee, performing alongside Shanaya Bright, Yesia Jovovich, and Olga Dantelly, all of whom will be serving the Christmas-themed realness. Admission is free, but reservations are strongly encouraged.
7:30 to 11:30 p.m. Thursday, at Palace, 1052 Ocean Dr., Miami Beach; 305-531-7234; palacesouthbeach.com.
Olivia McAuley
Santa s timekeeping abilities will be put to the test on Christmas Eve, as the man, the myth, the legend takes time out of his busiest day of the year to support his favorite mobile library, Bookleggers. The nonprofit knows you can never be old for Storytime nor too old for Santa. The big man himself will guest read some Christmas classic