Memorial Day weekend opened with large crowds in Miami Beach and a revitalized nightlife on Friday night as the resort town prepares for the kind of huge turnout that sparked disruption and over-police charges two months ago.
After a spring break framed by chaotic crowds, emergency response measures, and allegations of racism from aggressive policing, Memorial Day Miami Beach offers a first glimpse of a great weekend in an increasingly COVID tourism-marked landscape. While Miami stood out as a vacation destination in March that was largely open to eating and drinking, the holiday weekend comes as much of the United States passes mask requirements and restaurant and bar capacity restrictions.
Beachgoers make their way through Lummus Park in Miami Beach, Florida at the start of Memorial Day Weekend on Friday, May 28, 2021. MATIAS J. OCNER [email protected]
“Carnival has been held every weekend since mid-February,” said Robert Finvarb, whose Finvarb Group owns three hotels in South Beach. “We are promoting rates that we haven’t seen in a long time.”
While the city commission accepted an earlier final call for bars on Ocean Drive, Miami Beach chose not to impose the 8 p.m. curfew that governed the area during the height of the spring break in March – rules that keep police out of the predominantly black crowd ordered the room to be vacated from an area that is one of the major tourist attractions in Miami-Dade County.
Dan Gelber, the city’s mayor, said Memorial Day had the potential for another wild weekend.
“While we remain concerned about the virus, given the unprecedented number of people facing us, we are most concerned about a potential disruption,” he said on Friday.
There was a lot going on Friday night on Ocean Drive as people strolled the famous beach boulevard and dined in sidewalk cafes. There were reminders of Miami Beach’s official big attraction for the weekend: the Hyundai Air & Sea Show, which was due to begin on Saturday after a year-long hiatus during the pandemic. American flags lined Lummus Park and a fighter jet parked in the sand while a US Army band played for guests on Española Way.
Visitors to South Beach will head down Ocean Drive in Miami Beach, Florida at the start of Memorial Day Weekend on Friday, May 28, 2021. MATIAS J. OCNER [email protected]
Governor Ron DeSantis attended a Salute to America’s Heroes event at Miami Beach’s Fontainebleau Friday night and posed with city police officers as Miami Beach stepped up law enforcement efforts with units from across Miami-Dade.
After a trip to Miami Beach for the spring break, New Yorker Jnaya Williams was back on Friday. She said the crowds on Ocean Drive seemed smaller than in March, but the vibe remained appealing.
“I like people,” she said. “You are really kind.”
A call for more events for tourists
Night clubs were preparing for big money spending and big crowds. At Story, a club on the 100 block of Collins Avenue, a dance floor table for 10 for a Friday night concert by Future and Jeezy sold for $ 14,000 (note: buyers must “arrive by midnight,” according to the event’s website) .)).
Mussaddiq Muhammad, of Headliner Market Group, who was hosting the concert, said sales were strong at Story, but he wanted Miami Beach to have far more events for the weekend’s visitors. He and others have urged Miami Beach to schedule concerts aimed at the 20- and 30-year-old black tourists who draw in Spring Break and Memorial Day.
Visitors to South Beach will head down Ocean Drive in Miami Beach, Florida at the start of Memorial Day Weekend on Friday, May 28, 2021. MATIAS J. OCNER [email protected]
“They are a bunch of kids with nowhere to go,” said Mohammed. “You’re not going to stop people from coming to Miami Beach. … Every day someone turns 21 years old. Why not accept it? “
Luther Campbell, the activist and youth coach best known nationwide as a retired member of rap group 2 Live Crew, said he supported Gelber’s success in resetting the alcohol sales ban in the Ocean Drive entertainment district to 2 a.m. But he wants Miami Beach to create events for Memorial Day and the Spring Break people instead of trying to scare them off with enforcement actions.
“You’re creating a police state,” said Campbell. “If you haven’t organized anything, you have a disorganized mess.”
South Beach visitors make their way down Ocean Drive near Clevelander in Miami Beach, Florida at the start of Memorial Day weekend on Friday, May 28, 2021. MATIAS J. OCNER [email protected]
The Memorial Day crowds could give a clue as to the type of tourist season Miami-Dade awaits as hotels ready for their first summer since 2019 without local COVID restrictions.
While business has increased year over year around this time, hotels will need a significant spike in the summer to allow for a slow start into 2021. As of March, South Beach hotel taxes were down 36% compared to the same period in 2019, zip code data from the county tax office. That’s still better than downtown Miami, as hotel taxes are down 50% from two years ago.
COVID-19 remained a concern to Freddie Dewitt, 27, as he thought about his trip to Miami to graduate with a friend. He is vaccinated but still hesitated to travel across the country. But after doing COVID tests for him and his friends, Dewitt decided he was ready for Miami weather, a change from his home in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
“We don’t get enough sun,” he said.
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