Don’t miss this rare opportunity to watch some of the best and latest food-related documentaries, which will be screened locally as part of the Earth Month film series Let’s Re-take our Plates, organized by Whole Foods.

I’m particularly excited about No Impact Man, the documentary based on the Brooklyn family that decided to reduce their waste to the minimum for a whole year (I couldn’t drop the book). Other films include Fast Food Nation, Food. Inc, What’s on Your Plate? and The Garden, all very politically-charged films making strong arguments against the state of the food industry.

Here is the schedule:

Fast Food Nation
4:45 p.m, April 17
Cinema Paradiso
503 SE 6th Street, Ft. Lauderdale
$7

King Corn/ Big River
2:30 p.m. April 17
Cinema Paradiso
503 SE 6th Street, Ft. Lauderdale
$7

Food Inc.
2 p.m., April 18
Cinema Paradiso
503 SE 6th Street, Ft. Lauderdale
$7

The Garden
12 p.m., April 18
Cinema Paradiso
503 SE 6th Street, Ft. Lauderdale
$7

Food Inc.
5 p.m., April 19
Cobb Theater
11701 Lake Victoria Gardens Avenue, Palm Beach Gardens
$5

No Impact Man
7 p.m., April 19
Coral Gables Congregational Church
3010 De Soto Blvd., Coral Gables
$5

What’s on Your Plate?
5 p.m. April 20
Cobb Theater
11701 Lake Victoria Gardens Avenue, Palm Beach Gardens
$5

Fast Food Nation
5 p.m., April 21
Cobb Theater
11701 Lake Victoria Gardens Avenue, Palm Beach Gardens
$5

The Garden
8 p.m., April 21
Miami Beach Cinematheque
512 Espanola Way, Miami Beach
$10

End of the Line
5 p.m. April 22,
Cobb Theater
11701 Lake Victoria Gardens Avenue, Palm Beach Gardens
$5

Food Inc.
7:30 p.m., April 23
Temple Bet Shira
7500 SW 120th Street, Miami
$5

Visit the Let’s Re-take our Plates site for more information

Not that us Floridians pay much attention to the seasons, but you can’t ignore that Labor Day brings the summer to an end. Before you know it, time light savings will make days shorter, nights longer, and in few weeks you’ll find yourself undusting your jackets and making plans for the winter holidays.

The end of the summer also means something else: cooler days make many of the state parks more endurable, specially the ones with no river or beach to dip in. And just around this time many state parks re-open their free tours and bird watching programs, which are not to be missed.

So it’s no surprise that in September, the State Parks Service celebrates Literacy Month, the time of the year when the state’s 160 parks proudly open their doors with all kinds of educational programs, guest appearances, lectures, workshops, book exchanges and more to bring two joys together: reading and being outdoors

This weekend, the Florida Park Service is offering free entrance to any of the 160 state parks for visitors who bring a library card, library book, or who donate a new or gently used family book.

If you go:
WHAT: State Park Literacy Month
WHEN: Sept. 11-13
MORE INFO: Visit www.floridastateparks.org

Photo by stig nygaard