It was a busy weekend in Coconut Grove

This past weekend, the Grove seemed to have many more people than usual, which was a nice site to see. It probably was a combination of Goombay weekend, the Gallery Walk and of course the opening of the new Paragon Grove 13 movie theater. This photo was taken right after the heavy rains on Saturday night and it appears as if there were plenty of people around even then.

Back at the former Cielo club space at the Mayfair complex, they held a Goombay-related party on Friday and Saturday night, which drew hundreds of paying guests each night. On Friday and Saturday nights, The Improv had a line from their box office down the Promenade almost ending at Grand Avenue.

The Antique Market and Galleries were full in spite of the rain on Saturday night, but also all day on Saturday and Sunday. The best part of the weekend for us was of course the walking tour with Dr. Paul George, and the Goombay Festival on Sunday was a close second. We even enjoyed the rainy Gallery Walk on Saturday night. It had a different type feel to it.

It's a shame that all the vendors run off every time there is a bit of rain, on Saturday, they set up their booths at 7 pm and ran off at 8 pm because of rain. The rain cleared up at 8:30 pm and then there was an empty Promenade the rest of the night. They should either not do the Gallery Walk during the rainy season or suck it up and wait out the rain next time. They lost a lot of business because there were plenty of people around after the rain stopped.