SWIMSUIT TRENDS

OK, we are not sure who swimsuit trends are for. Maybe 20-yearolds who are size 0 who are already getting Botox as a preventative measure. (I have heard them say this, for real.) For the rest of us, the trending swimsuit is one we can actually fit into without feeling like we’ve entered an iron lung, and that forgives us as much as a polyester/spandex combo can. If you are one of the lucky women who voluntarily ventures into a dressing room to try on swimsuits every summer, this is what is trending this year. Knock yourself out.

ROSETTE SWIMSUITS

We have no idea where this came from, but it appears to echo the frilly thing popping up this year; rosettes are blooming on everything from handbags to clothing—and now bikinis.

RUCHED SWIMSUITS

Ruched swimsuits are a longtime classic look, but 2023 is showcasing more colors this summer. Ruche never looked so good, and high-cut legs and plunging necklines go the extra mile for sexy and sleek.

• The smell of ozone, right before it rains

CHAINEMBELLISHED SWIMSUITS

Think of it as swimsuit jewelry—sparkle at the beach—as chain link, pearls and o-rings adorn swimsuits this summer, as well as beach bags and more.

SPLICED CUT-OUT SWIMSUITS

The cut-out trend is not going anywhere. In fact, it is even showing up at the beach this summer, livening one-pieces from all kinds of interesting angles.

CROCHET

A little ‘60s, a little boho—but soft and natural crochets and knits are making a comeback in 2023.

RUFFLES

Ruffles are yet another sign—like rosettes—that girly-girl is trending this summer, a refreshing pivot from the graphic with-athong-in-your-heart look we’ve seen for so long. Ruffles are everywhere, from dresses to bags to bikinis.

—Fashionista.com

• Skinny dipping somewhere, at night. Yes, people still do this, and more of us should.

• A day so hot you watch back-to-back “Jaws” movies (even the bad ones) all day on a Saturday.

• Counting the turtle tracks in the morning.

WHEN: July 5-16

WHERE: New City Players, 2304 N. Dixie Highway, Wilton Manors

COST: $20-$35

CONTACT: 954/376-6114, newcityplayers.org

New City Players’ summer production has a quintessentially 21st century origin story: It started as a podcast. Seeking a way to produce distanced entertainment during the 2020 quarantine, New City Players Artistic

Director Timothy Mark Davis worked with playwright

Stephen Brown to develop a scripted podcast series called “Little Montgomery.”

The six-episode narrative followed a pair of felonious teenage girls who decide to steal the expensive guitar of a pill-popping country music singer—which turns into an act of kidnapping, with the captors and their quarry being pursued by inept cops. A comedy with heart, “Little Montgomery” is still available as a free podcast, but if you don’t enjoy spoilers, just attend the story’s premiere as a fully produced play and bask in its many surprises.

WHEN: July 11, 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: FLA Live Arena, 1 Panther Parkway, Sunrise

COST: $85 and up

CONTACT: 954/835-7000, flalivearena.com

During the early 2000s heyday of MTV’s “Total Request Live,” Blink-182 was virtually the only rock act seriously competing against hip-hop, boy bands and Britney Spears for the ears of the youth of America. Adapting the three-chord formula of ‘90s punkrock forbears like Green Day and Rancid with a slicker sheen and a proudly puerile sense of humor, the variously pierced and tattooed trio inspired a generation of fans and bands, establishing pop-punk as a commercially viable genre through hits like “All the Small Things” and “What’s My Age Again?” In 2022, founding guitarist Tom DeLonge returned to Blink-182 for the first time since 2015. This year’s tour marks the reunited band’s first jaunt since the pandemic, and they’re bringing along the innovative, genre-mixing rockers Turnstile—one of the hottest young acts on the planet—whose latest release Glow On was widely received as one of the best albums of 2021.

WHEN: July 30, 5 p.m.

WHERE: Adrienne Arsht Center, 1300 Biscyane Blvd., Miami

COST: $99 and up

CONTACT: 305/949-6722, arshtcenter.org

WHEN : Aug. 2, 8 p.m.

WHERE: Hard Rock Live, 1 Seminole Way, Hollywood

COST: $355 and up

CONTACT: 866/502-7529, seminolehardrockhollywood.com

Even the best music critics can be wrong.“He’s so unassuming I’m afraid he’s destined to remain a minor pleasure,” said Robert Christgau, dean of American rock critics, about George Strait’s 1981 debut. Strait, unassuming though he may be, is third only to Elvis Presley and the Beatles with the most gold and platinum singles in music history, and he has accrued a staggering 60 No. 1 hits on the Billboard charts. Moreover, he’s no legacy act—he continues to record inspiring new music, releasing his 30th album Honky Tonk Time Machine in 2019. It’s a fitting title for an artist who has consistently trumpeted the virtues of traditionalist country music even when his peers were embracing crossover pop. Remaining doggedly consistent after more than 40 years in the genre, Strait continues to exemplify country’s best attributes: uncluttered arrangements and a tenderness of tone and spirit that cuts right to the heart.

Broward County’s Billy Carson is an entrepreneur in the wide tent of all things woo-woo. A contributor to Rolling Stone who has been featured in Forbes and Entrepreneur magazines, Carson is an expert on ancient civilizations, alternative space technology and other arcane areas, and he created 4Bidden Knowledge TV to spread his insights. But his inaugural event at the Arsht Center isn’t so much to celebrate Carson’s own work as to honor fellow change-makers in the conscious-life space. Twelve honorees, from categories such as “health and wellness,”“space anomaly hunter” and “field researchers/archaeologists,” will receive awards, with Jimmy Church, host of the nation’s preeminent UFO radio show, Fade to Black, presenting the awards in a red-carpet, black-tie fete. The evening also features live music from Havoc, from rap duo Mobb Deep, and others.

*name changed