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Can't sleep? Let's pull an all-nighter on the beach

lank@aol.com

Sleepless nights don't always have to be an unwelcome side effect of anxiety. On Saturday, you can put the z's aside in favor of Sleepless Night. Starting at 6 p.m. you can stimulate your senses with an assortment of arts and entertainment diversions from Ocean Drive to Normandy Fountain until 7 a.m. Sunday. The event will feature everything from virtual reality live animation performances and flash mob dances to pajama runs and -- in the wake of that whole balloon boy fiasco -- a show by helium balloon acrobats. There's also a pre-dawn showing of classic cartoons and live music as well as a yoga class for those who insist on doing the downward dog before trying the hair of the dog. The Catalina Hotel and Beach Club will offer options for sleep as well as an assortment of pop art installations and unplugged live music all night long. Best of all, the entire all nighter is free. For a schedule, locations and more, go to www.sleeplessnight.org.

Another Saturday possibility: Segafredo Zanetti Bal Harbor's Bossa Nova, which, from 5-9 p.m. features a live Brazilian Bossa Nova band as well as 'Fredo's financial-friendly two-for-one happy hour.

Prada and Gucci may be impervious to recession-friendly fares, but it's OK, because you won't be able to fit into those threads anyway after indulging in Talula's fabulous new Wednesday night pasta extravaganza, Buon Appetito. For $29 per person, you get a bottomless bowl of rigatoni with the chef's special, secret Sunday Sauce, homemade meatballs, salad, garlic rolls and espresso panna cotta. Wines by the glass and bottle will also be available.

Not your average barfly's watering hole, Bar 721 at 721 N. Lincoln Lane, in the former Laundry Bar space, will join Bardot in filling a much needed void of homey, hipster hangouts with campy interiors. Like Bardot, this one also features '70s decor. Another nifty feature are the tableside kegs available for order. Take that, bottle service! Bar 721 opens soon, allegedly.

If you prefer actual living rooms, consider MoCA's Mystery Dates event Saturday, in which patrons and fans of the arts will open their fabulous Miami homes to entertain the cultured set. The night begins with a party at Museo Vault, a fabulous storage facility at 346 NW 29th St. in Wynwood where guests will sip on Grey Goose, snack on hors d'oeuvres and learn the location of their dinner -- hence the mystery -- which can be anywhere from an industrial loft in Wynwood or a MiMo home in Morningside to a glass house in the Grove. Guests will have dinner and receive tours of the hosts' private art collections as well as gifts from Cole Haan. Night ends with a late party at the W South Beach. Tickets are $175 or $125 for members of the MOCA Shakers. For an additional $100 per ticket, you can select your dinner location. But half the fun is not knowing. And the culture of course! 305-893- 6211 or www.mocanomi.org/mystery-dates.

Speaking of culture, praise Prelude by Barton G. at the Adrienne Arsht Center for sparing us the ungainly sight of people standing up and shoveling food in their mouths before, during or in the intermission of a show. The whole pre- and post-theater experience is part of the romantic notion of a night out. Also jumping on the theatrical chuckwagon is Urbanite Bistro, which offers a three-course, pre-theater dinner for $37 a person.

In the same 'hood, DRB Miami (the Democratic Republic of Beer), 255 NE 14th St., which is already a favorite among beer-swilling scenesters who appreciate a $2 Pabst Blue Ribbon as much as they do a $40 Deus from Belgium.

Show tunes are emanating from the Mayfair Corridor in Coconut Grove, where from 7:30-10:30 p.m. every Friday, vocalist John Reubens and pianist Niki Blacker play standards from Gershwin, Porter, Berlin and Broadway. Wine, cheese and fruit will be served.

And finally, for those who experience sleepless mornings, especially on Saturdays, consider the Saturday Four Leaf Clover Cocktail Club at Clarke's (say that a few times fast after a few adult beverages), which kicks off this Saturday from 11:30 a.m. until midnight with four specialty cocktails at $5 a pop. Cocktail specials change weekly but always include Clarke's zingy bloody Mary. Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be cooking at the appropriate times of the day. But when it comes to cocktailing, any time is appropriate.

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