☀️ GOOD MORNING, HOLLYWOOD!
Good morning, Hollywood. The USMNT’s World Cup run ended last night, Belgium won 4-1, but what a ride it was. We’ve also got a national shout-out for our own Broadwalk, a new boutique tower breaking ground just south of us, a midweek beach-and-heat check, and some cool-indoor culture downtown. Grab your coffee and let’s get into it.

📰 IN TODAY’S BLEND
⚽ Thank you, USMNT - a run to remember
🏖️ Our Broadwalk makes a national “best” list
🏗️ A boutique tower breaks ground near Gulfstream
🌡️ Your midweek beach-and-heat check
⭐ Beat the heat with art downtown
🏞️ Spotlight - It’s Parks & Recreation Month

📅 WHAT’S HAPPENING - July 7-10

Tuesday, July 7 - Today!
⚽ World Cup Round of 16, final day: Argentina vs Egypt 12 PM ET | Switzerland vs Colombia 4 PM ET
🎵 Tunes on Tuesday at The Village at Gulfstream Park (Hallandale) - free live music, from 6 PM
🎬 $1 Summer Movies at Regal Dania Pointe, from 11 AM
🎨 Summer exhibitions at the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood (open Tue-Sun)

Wednesday, July 8
⭐ Hollywood Beach Theatre: Stella Fusion (Latin dance party), 7-9 PM, free
🎵 Music in the Park at The Village at Gulfstream Park (Hallandale) - free live band, 6:30-9:30 PM
🧘 Wellness Wednesday at Dania Pointe: free yoga 6 PM + Zumba 7 PM, on the Lawn
🎬 $1 Summer Movies at Regal Dania Pointe, from 11 AM

Thursday, July 9
⭐ Hollywood Beach Theatre: Mark Telesca (blues/rock), 7-9 PM, free
💃 Latin Nights at The Village at Gulfstream Park (Hallandale) - free salsa lesson 6 PM, dancing to 9 PM
🎤 Freestyle Legends (TKA, George Lamond, Judy Torres) at The Casino @ Dania Beach - Stage 954, tickets
🎬 $1 Summer Movies at Regal Dania Pointe, from 11 AM

Friday, July 10
⭐ Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias at Hard Rock Live, 8 PM
🎶 Hollywood Beach Theatre: Forge The Way (80s/90s), 7-9 PM, free
🛍️ Night Market Friday at Dania Pointe - artisan vendors + bites, from 6 PM
🎪 Kids Night Out at The Village at Gulfstream Park (Hallandale) - free family fun, 6-9 PM

COMING UP
⚽ World Cup Quarterfinal at Hard Rock Stadium (Norway vs England) - this weekend, 5 PM
🍽️ Mystic Social Club opens in Dania Beach - around July 16
⚽ World Cup Bronze Final at Hard Rock - Sat July 18
⚽ World Cup Final downtown watch party - Sun July 19

🌡️ High: ~91° | Feels like 103-106° | Afternoon storms possible
Hot and humid again, with feels-like temps well into the 100s by midday. A 30% chance of showers and storms after 1 p.m. should take the edge off and, for now, keep heat advisories at bay. Same drill: hydrate, find shade midday, and hit the beach early.

Source: National Weather Service / CBS Miami

⚽ Thank You, USMNT - A World Cup Run to Remember

The ride is over. Belgium proved too strong on Monday night, running out 4-1 winners to end the US men’s World Cup run, though Malik Tillman’s first-half strike gave the home crowd one last roar. It wasn’t the night we hoped for, but reaching the knockout round of a home World Cup with a team this young says plenty about where US soccer is headed.

There’s still plenty of soccer in our own backyard. The tournament rolls on and Miami stays center stage: Hard Rock Stadium hosts a quarterfinal this weekend and the third-place match on July 18, with downtown Hollywood planning a big Final watch party on July 19.

To the USMNT: heads high. And to the fans who packed downtown Hollywood, Gulfstream, and Mickey Byrne’s all tournament, that energy isn’t going anywhere. On to the next one.

Source: FIFA

🏖️ Our Broadwalk Just Made a National "Best Boardwalks" List

A little hometown pride to start the week: the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk has been named one of America's best beach boardwalks by Travel + Leisure. Not bad for our 2.5-mile brick promenade along the Atlantic.

If you've walked it, you know why. The Broadwalk packs pretty much everything that makes Hollywood Beach special into one stretch: the free Beach Theatre concerts, Charnow Park's kids' water playground, public art, and a run of beachfront cafes and bars where you can grab a Cuban coffee or an early breakfast with your toes near the sand. It draws millions of pedestrians, joggers, cyclists, and skaters a year.

So next time you're dodging a rollerblader at sunrise, know you're strolling a nationally ranked boardwalk. Enjoy it early, before the midday heat sets in.

Source: City of Hollywood / Travel + Leisure

🏗️ A Boutique Luxury Tower Just Broke Ground Near Gulfstream

The building boom just south of us keeps going, with a twist. Developer Growin Group has broken ground on LEV, a 10-story boutique condo in Aventura, minutes from Gulfstream Park and the Aventura Brightline station at 2520 NE 191st Street.

The pitch is small on purpose. LEV will hold just 32 residences - one- and two-bedroom layouts plus two two-story penthouses, some with private plunge pools on the terraces - a deliberate counter to the big towers dominating the skyline. "Thirty-two residences means your neighbors know your name," co-founder Jorge Saivay said. Prices on the remaining units start at $570,000, with flexible ownership that even allows monthly rentals.

It's a small project, but a telling one: as buyers keep pouring into the area, developers are betting on smaller, design-driven buildings near the Brightline, the mall, and the track.

Source: PROFILEmiami

🌡️ Your Midweek Beach-and-Heat Check

Planning a beach day? A quick read on conditions. The heat is the headline: feels-like temperatures are pushing 103 to 106 this week, so this is early-morning-or-after-5 territory, with plenty of water and shade in between.

On the sand, the sargassum seaweed that made it a record year has eased from its early-summer peak but still rolls in on east winds, so expect patches and the occasional pungent pile. City crews rake the main stretches, and it's harmless if smelly - just watch your step. Rip currents and the strong summer sun round out the checklist: swim near a lifeguard, reapply that sunscreen, and hydrate.

Bottom line: the beach is very much open. Just go early, go prepared, and keep the little ones close.

Source: Broward County / National Weather Service

⭐ Beat the Heat With Art in Downtown Hollywood

When the midday heat index hits triple digits, here's a cool, air-conditioned way to spend an afternoon. The Art and Culture Center of Hollywood, the downtown contemporary-arts hub on Harrison Street since 1975, has two summer exhibitions up right now: "Sunshine & Ink: Florida Printmakers" and Aurora Molina's "A Drowned Horizon."

It's an easy, low-cost outing: admission runs $7 for adults and $4 for students, seniors, and kids, with members and little ones (3 and under) free, and the whole gallery is free on the third Sunday of the month. Beyond the galleries, the Center runs live performances and arts classes for all ages year-round.

Culture and central A/C in one stop - your afternoon plan, sorted.

Source: Art and Culture Center of Hollywood

🏞️ It's Parks & Recreation Month - Get Out and Play

July is National Parks & Recreation Month, and our cities are celebrating. Hallandale Beach's Parks, Recreation & Open Spaces Department is running a daily "The Power of Play" series, spotlighting a park or activity each day - Day 6's pick was a game of racquetball at Peter Bluesten Park ("Movement is medicine!").

It's a good nudge to rediscover what's in our own backyard: Hallandale's Peter Bluesten Park (racquetball, tennis, aquatics), Hollywood's 10-acre ArtsPark at Young Circle (splash pad, playground, food trucks), and Dania Beach's Frost Park with its new pickleball courts - all a short drive away and mostly free. This month, pick a park you've never tried and go play.

Source: Hallandale Beach Parks, Recreation & Open Spaces