Arts & Entertainment Self-Guided Art Tours If you’re curious to learn more about the art in your hotel, ask for a brochure. The Sonesta Coconut Grove o ers a pamphlet to guide guests around its abstract collection. Many of the pieces—by Jan Dibbets, Carl Palazzolo, Frank Stella and others—were commissioned for the hotel. There’s also a FAM (Fashion, Art, Music) night every month, with artists appearing in the lobby. At the Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour, Miami, self-guided tours are also encouraged. The permanent collection includes 28 pieces by artists such as Olga de Amaral, Richard Deutsch, Ed Moses and Joe Walters. You won’t just fi nd it on the walls, either. In addition to paintings and photography, there are sculptures in bronze, limestone, wood, stone and ceramics. ð Left to right: Sonesta Coconut Grove, Miami; Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour, Miami Major Spectator Sports: Your Front-Row Lineup By Sarah Walch Search { Sports } at VISITFLORIDA.com Put your feet up and let your inner spectator loose for this round-up of the state’s major sporting events. Training’s Grapefruit League welcomes 15 teams each March. You can catch teams including the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles at stadiums around the state for off-season practice games. PHOTOS: THE SONESTA; DON RIDDLE IMAGES FOR RITZ CARLTON, BAL HARBOUR; VISIT JACKSONVILLE Professional Teams Florida boasts 10 professional sports teams among the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLS and MLB. Those craving a courtside thrill can catch the Miami Heat or Orlando Magic. Pro football’s three teams are the Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. For hockey, Florida is home to the Miami area’s Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning, and for soccer, the Orlando City Soccer Club. Baseball not only includes the state’s two professional teams, the Miami Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays, but Major League Baseball Spring Auto Racing Daytona Beach is known for its great surf, wide beaches and NASCAR. Each February, all three of NASCAR’s major series – Sprint Cup, XFINITY and Camping World Truck – begin at the DAYTONA International Speedway (catch the series’ closeout at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in November). The world-famous track features the DAYTONA 500, the endurance race Rolex 24 at DAYTONA, and the Coke Zero 400. Jacksonville Jaguars’ Everbank Field College Football Florida teems with college football fans throughout the season leading up to the rivalry between the University of Florida Gators in Gainesville and Tallahassee’s Florida State Seminoles – among one of the greatest games to watch. It doesn’t stop there though. The University of Miami Hurricanes, Tampa’s University of South Florida Bulls and the University of Central Florida Knights in Orlando also round out top teams. Whether you’re showing your support from a university stadium or catching a game at a favorite sports bar, you’ll see and hear fans in full force rooting for their alta mater. ð OFFICIAL VISITOR’S GUIDE 4 59
Visit Florida Visit Florida 2017: Page 59
