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Art Deco Weekend

Art Deco Weekend will never be the festival to attract an audience that will need the bar hours extended in South Beach to 7a.m. Still, it’s a part of Miami Beach history that’s truly worth preserving.  

A.C. Weinstein
Columnist 

Bashing Art Deco Weekend is the in thing to do in Miami Beach these days. Critics of the weekend festivities have been saying for the past few years that Miami Beach doesn’t need this boost in activity on Ocean Drive during the height of the tourist season anymore. And besides, they say, it’s evolved into nothing but a flea market with corn dogs at rip-off prices.

Let’s say the critics are just a little bit right on both accounts and the festival should think about moving itself to the shoulder season along with some fresh new ideas. Before we dismiss Art Deco Weekend as just a tired old relic of the past, let’s remember the past. 

When the Art Deco Weekend began more than a quarter of a century ago, it not only helped to establish and preserve one of the more impressive architectural districts in the country, it was one of the few events that kept Miami Beach from falling completely into the dumpster. The city was in a crumbling mode back then. How quickly we forget.

When the first rumblings of bashing began a few years ago, this column suggested breaking Art Deco Weekend into two smaller events. It would keep the films, seminars, panel discussions, etc. inside the Tenth Street Auditorium and supportive Art Deco hotels on Ocean Drive, while moving the vendors and entertainers to Ocean Terrace in North Beach.

But like any long running festival, particularly one that finds its sponsoring organizations often entangled in the controversial politics of historic preservation and development, Art Deco Weekend offers a convenient target for bashing. While some critics may argue that Miami Beach in its most recent incarnation has outgrown the festival, it just might be the other way around.

There are good reasons, though, for breaking up the festival into two smaller events. The more academic component of the festival belongs on Ocean Drive, while the more crowd gathering vendors would attract large numbers of people to North Beach’s Ocean Terrace, which has its own share of Art Deco architecture to celebrate.

Whether or not the festival is shared with North Beach, Art Deco Weekend is a part of Miami Beach history that should be encouraged to continue on. Its theme and image may not be the inspiration to push alcohol or loud music in order to generate the big dollars, but not everything in Miami Beach should be. There are enough events and venues in South Beach doing that now. Some may even argue, too many.

The financially strapped Miami Design Preservation league, long the steward and guiding light for Art Deco Weekend, will need to re-think the promotional and economic value of the festival to elevate its interest for residents and visitors. Short of opening a concession on Ocean Drive to peddle the popular alcoholic beverages of the twenties and thirties being served by scantily clad flappers, the League should consider new ways to generate support from the private sector.

Classic Art Deco era movie posters and barbecue turkey legs may not be as titillating as the promotional material pumping Memorial Day Weekend. And it will never attract the audience to call for extending the South Beach bar hours to 7 a.m. But Art Deco Weekend is still a festival worth saving. It’s both a whimsical and educational part of Miami Beach history that should be celebrated and preserved.