Flavorpill: A City Guide to Offbeat and Emerging Arts Scenes

Having thumbed through endless TimeOut Guides in cities around the world, I am familiar with how long it takes to pore over the fine print in entertainment and community event listings. And the promotional space is dominated by advertisers who can afford the most page space.

Instead of following the lead of advertisers, Flavorpill believes in the art it features on its pages. It chooses events and artists that its staff and writers think is cool. Simple as that. This sparely designed guide is a welcome relief from information overload. Having just moved to Miami, I subscribed to receive a weekly newsletter, to get a feel for what's available in this city. As I opened up this week's message in my inbox, the sub-heading read:

A city guide for those with little time, Flavorpill MIAMI features a hand-picked selection of cultural happenings, across art, music, film, theatre, dance, literature, and DJ events.

Portraits of predictable hipsters may come to mind, and those of us who don't care to put in the work required to stay on the inside edge of cool might roll our eyes at the uber-indie aesthetic of Flavorpill. Conformist nonconformists are easy targets, after all. However, I appreciate these suggestions, from the local music scene, in a slowly reviving downtown, in up-and-coming neighborhoods like the Design District. I look forward to the weekly magazine; it tells me as much about Miami, my new home, as it does about specific events that I'd like to attend. This is a city whose thriving arts scene recreates Latin American influences in its own image, blending and shaping a culture in a downtown just recovering from neglect.

The newsletter does have a quirky edge; each week the front page features graphic design and a color scheme that reflects the aesthetic of that particular city. And through Flavorpill's events filter, Miami feels more alive than the predictable tourist attractions and major events featured in newspapers. In other words, it is highly unlikely that this guide will feature the upcoming Jennifer Lopez/Marc Anthony concert - or any concert, for that matter - at the American Airlines Arena.