As renaissance festivals have risen in popularity, they have long since given up any pretension at historical accuracy — if they ever did strive for such. Ren fests have instead become an amalgam of historical periods, fantasy genres, and cultural subsets all coalescing in a mead-drenched bacchanalia of revelry and…

One might think in today’s less structured and morally rigid society, dating would have gotten easier. One would be wrong. Sure, the old constructs of traditional courtship were stifling and restrictive, but without the letterman sweaters, fraternity pins, and promise rings, we don’t know who is doing what to whom…

If you’re sick to death of Valentine’s Day by now, that’s OK. Us too. But don’t hate on the day. Don’t rant, “It was invented by the greeting card companies.” Wow, did you come up with that all by yourself? Shut up. Look, you either actually don’t care or you’re…

If there were ever a holiday designed to make otherwise self-sufficient, independent, unattached women feel bad about themselves, it’s Valentine’s Day. But we say, single women, love yourself this Valentine’s Day. Get a massage, buy yourself a nice bottle of wine, and order takeaway from your favorite restaurant to be…

What’s a modern-day, young feminist to do? With stalwart originators of the modern women’s movement beginning to gradually exit stage left and an almost undying stereotype of feminists as bitter and/or ugly and/or lesbian and/or asexual man-haters, how can young women today move forward the cause of women? Perhaps by…

If you’re pushing through those 20s or maybe into your early 30s, obviously you’re not looking to join a knitting circle or a shuffleboard league yet. But, yeah, it’s time to put away some childish things and walk among the adults. You’re calling yourself a professional now. You should meet…

The holidays are over, but you just can’t seem to let them go: The frenetic activity, the constant parties and holiday jingles, the unnecessarily cheerful people all conspired to fill you with the warm glow of the season, and you just want to hold on to that feeling. Maybe it’s…

New year’s resolutions are one of those ridiculous concepts invented by women’s self-help/flagellation magazines designed to give us yet another reason to feel that we have failed to achieve some goal. Not that we’re bitter or anything. But let’s start this year out right: Your NYE vow was to live…

Dave Barry and Alan Zweibel will be stopping in at the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale (1 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale) at 6 p.m. Saturday to stump for their new, collaborative novel, Lunatics. Mired in the middle of a political free-for-all, we are well aware that stump speeches…

Fairy tales have been fertile grounds for creative inspiration of late. Films and television series loosely based in the myths of yesteryear abound. And now, the fairies are taking to the stage in Snow White Trash. In this reimagining of the tale of the ill-fated pasty princess, Snow finds herself…

Come celebrate another pagan festival co-opted by Christianity. The Boars Head and Yule Log Festival at the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea (141 S. Country Road, Palm Beach) is Sunday. To be fair, this individual church did not actually co-opt the festival. That happened a few centuries ago. But you can…

Roads and streets are for driving on, but avenues and boulevards were meant to be strolled leisurely. But this is America, and we simply cannot do one thing at a time. We are multitaskers. So if we are going to be strolling in the beautiful Florida winter weather, we better…

Not only is picking out a festive New Year’s Eve ensemble a torturous nightmare, but who has time to squeeze in more shopping this time of year? First World problems are the worst! In order to avoid this most onerous of self-serving tasks, consider getting back to the wild by…

Want to stay off the roads and be with drag queens? Wilton Manors is the sort of close-knit community that offers both. Park once for the night and spend the rest of the year on foot. Start the evening at Rosie’s Bar and Grill (2249 Wilton Drive, 954-567-1320, rosiesbarandgrill.com) for…

South Florida is one of the hippest, most cutting-edge party places in the world, and, if you don’t consider yourself cool, it can also be one of the loneliest. But all is not lost. The upside of living in a party “town” three counties big is that there’s something for…

If Pollyanna is so saccharine it makes you sick but Oliver Twist is too much of a bummer, consider the orphan antics of Annie. The spunky little ginger embodies the optimism of Pollyanna amidst the dark neglect of Oliver’s world and finds a happy medium. Annie sings her way from…

The kids are out of school for the holiday break and you might as well admit it — the little monsters are absolutely torturing you. So before you start returning their gifts and looking into boarding schools, try engaging your precious progeny in an evening of holiday activities that might…

Even if you never dreamed of being a dentist, you can still appreciate the story of Hermey the Elf, DDS, his struggle to break with elvish tradition and become a dentist, and his journey to the Island of the Misfit Toys. Perhaps you have long dreamed of becoming an artist…

Santa Claus and Elvis have a lot in common. They’re both larger-than-life figures with jolly round bellies and deep baritone voices; every once in a while, someone claims to have spotted one of them under suspect circumstances; and people of all ages, sexes, and races get a kick out of…

‘Tis the season of perpetual hope. And giving. And retailers trying desperately to part you from your hard-earned money. It starts Black Friday — which now seems to span multiple days — to Cyber Monday — the entire month of December has become a frantic consumer sprint to the holiday…

With our first official cold front under our belts, the South Florida holiday season is truly under way. Unfortunately, those belts have also been tightened quite a bit due to our frosty economy. So this year perhaps more than any in recent history, it is important to fill the season…