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Okay, in terms of history Miami is not exactly New England. No Pilgrims landed on any famous rocks here in the 1600s. No people burned each other at the stake. Aside from Indians whom outsiders almost eliminated, youthful Miami lacks droves of natives. Most residents have moved here from somewhere else or washed up on our shores on assorted flotation devices. But that certainly doesn’t mean Miami has any less history than our neighbors to the north.
“We are young architecturally,” notes Becky Roper Matkov, executive director of Dade Heritage Trust, “but on the other hand we have a very respectable history, and it’s really old when you start getting into things like archaeology, so we can come up with some things here.” The “things” Matkov refers to: Dade Heritage Days, an annual celebration of this county’s architecture, environment, and, yes, history, beginning Friday, March 16, and lasting through Sunday, May 13. Created by the 29-year-old nonprofit preservation organization in 1983 as a one-day commemoration of National Preservation Day, the happening has grown to an exhaustive eight weeks this year. A sample of the dizzying array of events: home tours in neighborhoods such as Morningside, Bayside, and Aqua Vista; an extravaganza at the bottom of the Venetian Pool in honor of Coral Gables’ 75th anniversary; treks through Little Haiti and historic Overtown; luncheons, teas, and concerts; outdoorsy things like bird walks, a sailboat ride, a nighttime tour of Vizcaya, the Miami Circle, and the Miami City Cemetery; Miami RiverDay; and something menacingly called a “tidal pool slog.”
“It’s the way to see Miami up close and personal,” observes Matkov, distinguishing DHT’s affair from popular local festivals which she considers “a lot of hoopla.” This year’s theme is Building Bridges Across Cultural Barriers. Festivities kick off with a reception at Books & Books that will launch Dade Heritage Trust’s new Heritage Tours program, providing custom-designed excursions to curious groups of locals or visitors. Reiterating her introduction to an impending DHT book about Miami’s historic neighborhoods, Matkov remarks that it applies to Dade Heritage Days as well: “Our big goal is to make us all feel less like strangers and more like friends.”
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