Ponce Circle Park is about to change. Construction on a redesign, complete with an outdoor performance stage and a 17-foot Frank Stella sculpture, is set to begin in January. Before it does, a Coral Gables tradition is back on the lawn.
Art in the Park, which brought live music, visual art and food to the park from 2007 through 2012, returns Friday, Nov. 13, for its second night this fall. The free event runs from 7 to 11 p.m. at Ponce Circle Park, 2810 Ponce de Leon Blvd. It follows an Oct. 9 edition that marked the series’ revival after more than a decade away.
Three bands, one evening
The music runs in three sets. People You Know opens at 7 p.m., Marti follows at 8:15, and Tremora closes the night at 9:30.
Tremora is the most familiar name on the bill to Miami’s live-music crowd. The band grew out of Carlos & the Experience, a soul group led by singer, guitarist and songwriter Carlos Escanilla, and it plays a mix of funk, soul and jazz driven by a full horn section, with touches of Latin music. Its lineup shifts with the room, from a trio to a horn-heavy group of seven or more, and it has played venues around the region, including Lagniappe and Bougainvillea’s. One local profile called it Miami’s “brass hurricane,” which fits a park stage on a November night.
Visual art and food round out the evening. Organizers describe the series as a blend of music, art and community meant to turn a public space into a gathering place.
A tradition with roots in the Gables
The original Art in the Park ran for six years, presented by MasTec, the Coral Gables-based infrastructure company. Organizers say it drew hundreds of people while keeping the feel of a neighborhood party. MasTec is presenting the revival as well.
The event is listed through Carnaval Miami, the festival organization of the Kiwanis Club of Little Havana, whose Carnaval on the Mile already brings large crowds to Miracle Mile each spring. Art in the Park works on a smaller scale. It’s a single evening, a single lawn and a free gate.
A park on the verge of a makeover
The setting gives this season’s events extra weight. Fred B. Hartnett Ponce Circle Park sits at the heart of the Ponce de Leon corridor, ringed by offices, apartments and The Plaza Coral Gables. In October, the Allen Morris Company announced plans for a redesign. The plan includes a covered outdoor stage called the Odeon, a central event lawn, shaded arcades, new paths and plantings coordinated with Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.
The centerpiece will be “Puffed and Inverted Star II,” an aluminum sculpture by Frank Stella more than 17 feet tall, set in a reflecting pool at the park’s northern end. The city approved buying the work from the artist’s estate in May 2025 for up to $2.04 million from its Art in Public Places fund.
The project’s financing package, approved by the City Commission in July, carries an estimated cost of $11.2 million, with $8.2 million from the city and $3 million from the developer, as the Gazette reported. Construction is targeted to start in January and finish in early 2028.
That makes Friday’s event something of a bridge. The new park is being built with gatherings like this in mind, and Art in the Park offers a preview of the kind of evening its planners hope to host once the Odeon is built. It’s also a chance to see the park one more time before the work begins.
If you go…
Art in the Park runs from 7 to 11 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, at Ponce Circle Park, 2810 Ponce de Leon Blvd. Admission is free. People You Know plays at 7 p.m., Marti at 8:15 and Tremora at 9:30.
Bring a blanket or a folding chair for the lawn. Street parking is limited along Ponce de Leon, and several city garages are within walking distance.
Author: Coral Gables Gazette News Staff
Originally established in 1996 and relaunched as a digital publication in February 2025, the Coral Gables Gazette is an independent local news organization dedicated to factual, objective and accountable community journalism. Our newsroom reports on the people, policies, institutions and events shaping Coral Gables, Florida, providing residents with timely, informative coverage of the issues affecting their community. Our reporting includes City Hall, local government, municipal elections, public spending, real estate development, business, education, arts and culture, and neighborhood affairs throughout the City Beautiful. We follow City Commission decisions, examine public records and report on the businesses, organizations and individuals contributing to Coral Gables. We believe informed residents are essential to a healthy, engaged community. Stories published under the Coral Gables Gazette News Staff byline are prepared or compiled by the publication's editorial team. We strive for accuracy, fairness, transparency and clear distinctions between news reporting, opinion and advertising. Readers are encouraged to submit news tips, corrections, editorial inquiries and story suggestions through our Contact page and learn more about our standards through our Editorial Policy.
