Weekend things to do: Three date nights, a new happy hour and a place to KISS your spouse

With one kid gone to college and a high schooler who is more social than her homework should allow, my wife and I are trying to get out more to do couple-y things. Like the olden days. There’s usually a meal involved, but the best times have at least one more stop for drinks or live music. On a crazy night, maybe both. Here are some things to do this weekend, including three date-night ideas. Each has two stops. Baby steps.

Drawing comparisons to Sly and the Family Stone, Funkadelic and Prince, former Cuban medical student and rising Latin funk star Cimafunk returns to the North Beach Bandshell on Miami Beach Saturday night with music from what critics are calling a career-changing new album, “El Alimento” (The Nourishment).

The setting is key: The palm-fringed, oceanfront bandshell (7275 Collins Ave.) is one of the most beautiful spots for an outdoor show in South Florida (a canopy, both artful and practical, was added just before the pandemic), but also the scene of an extraordinary concert recorded for the 2020 EP “Nu Deco Ensemble + Cimafunk: Live in Miami.”

For a peek of what Saturday’s show may feel like, the exuberant pairing of NDE, South Florida’s resident musical daredevils, and Cimafunk can be seen on the orchestra’s YouTube channel. Life in South Florida is many things, and this scene — stylish, sweaty, serendipitous and joyful — illustrates an essential part of it.

Tickets to see the performer that Nu Deco Ensemble co-founder and artistic director Jacomo Bairos calls “a once in a generation artist” cost $35 at NorthBeachBandshell.com. (Note that on Friday, members of Nu Deco Ensemble will do a show of Daft Punk music at the bandshell.)

To make a date out of it, try Sazón Cuban Cuisine, 7305 Collins Ave., basically across the street from the bandshell and recommended by trusted second-handers (great “Cuban sliders,” one said, if that’s a thing). Visit SazonCubanCuisine.com.

Because it’s Miami, Cimafunk will perform a late-night DJ set with his band after the show on Saturday at Veza Sur Brewing Co. in Wynwood (55 NW 25th St.). Admission is free. Visit Facebook.com/VezaSur.

The hospitable Small Wine Shop in Fort Lauderdale’s Flagler Village on Thursday continues its weekly BYOV series (bring your own vinyl), when you can bring your favorite records for them to play or pick one from their collection. Regardless, bottles are 10% off from 6 to 9 p.m. Visit SmallWineShop.com.

Rose’s Daughter, which has one of the lovelier patios in downtown Delray Beach (169 NE Second Ave.) has launched a new late-night happy hour during the last two hours of business. It closes at 10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 9 p.m. Sunday. Deals include $9 pizzas and other discounted bites, $8 house wine, $5 beer and an $8 cocktail of the day. This is in addition to the daily 4-6 p.m. happy hour. Visit RosesDaughterDelray.com.

Crazy what revelations a few drinks will inspire in people you’ve known for years, including a buddy who said his list of Top 5 bands of all time includes Toad the Wet Sprocket. Again, there were drinks. What’s more, he says he’s got tickets to see Toad at the Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale on Friday night. Later, you’re minding your own business in the car and “Walk on the Ocean” comes on. You mention your buddy’s delusion to your wife, who says something like, “O! M! G!” And now you’re all seeing Toad at the Culture Room. Tickets cost $44.50 at CultureRoom.net.

Beforehand, we’ll duck into Noodle Station a couple of doors down (3045 Federal Highway), where the “bowls, bao and beer” menu was celebrated last month on the Cooking Channel’s “Food Paradise” series. The show is scheduled to air again noon Nov. 27. At Noodle Station, I’m more bao than bowl, both the pork and chicken, in their pillowy beds. Visit EatNoodleStation.com.

The documentary “The Velvet Underground,” by Todd Haynes (“Velvet Goldmine,” “Far From Heaven,” “Carol” and the Bob Dylan experiment “I’m Not There”), opens this weekend at the Gateway Theatre in Fort Lauderdale (FLIFF.com/gateway) and O Cinema South Beach (O-Cinema.org), arriving on a wave of critical praise. Writing on the Roger Ebert site, review Matt Zoller Seitz said: “This is a dazzling film — not just one of Haynes’ best, but possibly the one that his whole career, with its self-aware generic and formal and historical experiments, has been building toward. I’m jealous of anyone who got to see it projected on a big screen, with booming sound, because that’s how it should be seen.”

Reminder, tickets go on sale 10 a.m. Friday for the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Aug. 30 tour stop at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, with openers the Strokes and Thundercat. Prices start at $44 at Ticketmaster.com. The global tour is memorable for its reunion of the Chili Peppers and long-estranged guitarist John Frusciante, once of Broward County. For more information, visit RedHotChiliPeppers.com.

Music-minded Dogfish Head Miami and their ongoing collaboration with Sweat Records have yielded a curated selection of vinyl records in the brewery’s on-site retail shop. Beginning Friday and through the holidays, a “Don’t Sweat It” gift package pairs a six-pack of Starpucker with your choice of a record from the collection. Cost: $35. Visit Dogfish.com.

In the early 21st century era filled with angsty, heavy rock anthems, 3 Doors Down did it about as well as it could be done. The band is touring for the 20th anniversary of platinum-selling debut album “The Better Life,” with a stop at Mizner Park Amphitheater in Boca Raton 8 p.m. Sunday. They’ll perform the album in its entirety, including hits “Kryptonite,” “Duck and Run,” “Be Like That” and “Loser,” along with acoustic and electric versions of fan favorites such as “Here Without You,” “It’s Not My Time” and “When I’m Gone.” Seether (“Remedy”) opens. Tickets for the LiveNation show, originally scheduled for iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, cost $44.50 and $64.50 (pit) at Ticketmaster.com. For more information, visit MiznerAmp.com.

You can begin the evening up the street at Calaveras Cantina (409 Plaza Real), which brought a new atmosphere to Mizner Park in August, with a rock-friendly, red-black motif and soundtrack (unless there’s a DJ on the patio, which is a crapshoot). The tacos are tasty, as is the creamy guac. It may be less essential on a Sunday night, but I’d recommend a reservation to avoid the wait. Visit CalaverasCantina.com.

This might be a date night, depending on who you’re married to. The popular musical homage known as KISS Alive the Tribute returns to Galuppi’s restaurant in Pompano Beach 7:30-11 p.m. Saturday. My wife is a KISS fan from way back, and it passed her test, from Gene’s blood-letting to “Beth.” South Florida is, of course, a hotbed of tribute bands, and KISS Alive packs ‘em in. So table reservations highly recommended. Visit Facebook.com/Galuppis.

I’m sure someone will explain this to me, but there’s a Harry Potter vibe going on. The Wharf Fort Lauderdale is calling itself HogWharf this weekend with costumed characters, Hogwarts-themed decorations and “magical” drinks Friday-Sunday. RSVP for a chance to get a free Hogwarts scarf. Visit WharfFTL.com.

Meanwhile, the downtown Delray Beach food hall Delray Beach Market will host a Harry Potter Takeover noon-11 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 24, with movie screenings, the Horcrox Scavenger Hunt (sign up with the concierge), free drinks for adult participants and free goodie bags for children. Visit Facebook.com/DelrayBeachMarket.

In case you were wondering, word came this week confirming the return of Fort Lauderdale’s toes-in-the-sand rosé party known as Seaglass, a three-day gathering on the beach in front of the W Fort Lauderdale Jan. 21-23. Featuring more than 30 rosé varietals from around the world, along with other wine, spirits, craft beer and food, proceeds from the event benefit AutoNation’s DRV PNK cancer research and treatment initiatives. Tickets start at $99 at SeaglassExperience.com.

Nonprofit Riverwalk Fort Lauderdale hosts the spirits and beer tasting fundraiser called Craftoberfest 2-6 p.m. Saturday at Esplanade Park, with samples from dozens of bottle-fillers, including local favorites such as Tarpon River Brewing, LauderAle, Paradise Prosecco Co. and The Deck on 13th. Sampling packages are available (unlimited for $65, five-drink sampling for $35) at Tinyurl.com/RWCraftoberfest or you can buy a la carte drink tickets. Visit GoRiverwalk.com.

The long-running Las Olas Art Fair, a fixture in Fort Lauderdale for more than three decades, will bring hundreds of exhibitors from across South Florida and the country to downtown’s touristy thoroughfare 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. With the street blocked to traffic, some locals think it’s the best time to stroll Las Olas. Visit ArtFestival.com.