Venue Review – Your Big Picture Café
4900 South University Drive, Davie, FL
Okay, so it’s around 7:00 p.m. on a Saturday and I’m sitting here enjoying the last of a caprese sandwich and organic lemon ginger tea listening to Len and Lance Perry open South Florida’s best weekly open mic at Your Big Picture Café (www.YourBigPictureCafe.com). Now keep in mind, this isn’t a music store, bar or pizzeria. YBPC is a health supplement café replete with food, drinks and some of the best organic teas, coffees, beers and wines around. Opened two years ago by Charlene Vairy, a ten year veteran of Whole Foods’ supplement department, this dream-become-café does more than just sell herbs and vitamins. Charlene wanted it to be somewhere you could learn about the big picture behind your health and life. So, YBPC was born. But from these humble aspirations and beginnings, it has become so much more. If you don’t believe me, just take a look at my schedule book.
For example, other than attending the weekly open mics every Saturday, on the first and third Wednesdays of each month I’m here for Robert Ray’s seminar on Ho’Oponopono. Imagine being able to wipe your mind’s “hard drive” clean, starting over without the fears, preconceived notions, and limiting thoughts that hold you back and create suffering in your life. I have, and with Robert’s help I’ve learned an easy and effective way of enjoying life rather than, in the words of the Grateful Dead, going down the road feeling bad.
Now the nights Roberts not here Ho’Oponopono’ing it up, you can find Jennifer Grace sharing her Creative Insight Journey. I did and what a creative journey it was. We sailed twenty years down the river of time where my future self lives in a conical, bark covered hut amongst the riverside trees. S/he greeted me and welcomed me into her/his home where I received the gift of an inverted geode and was bestowed the name Kaluna (I have no idea what it means, even after googling it). This was only a two hour class, so that’s all I got, but you can bet when Jennifer comes back on August 22nd, I’ll be waiting there to sail that river again.
(authors note: oh, excuse me while I pause for moment to listen to Willy Coleman play his latest original song: Shine of Your Light…. for those of you who recall, Willy and Carrie Lynn Kaplan started the open mic at Luna Star Café (www.LunaStarCafe.com) oh so many years ago… they were fantastic then and they’re both still going strong now).
Flipping further through my calendar, you’ll find that on the third Friday of each month I’m at YBPC for the Grace Within Book Club with Carolina Meza. This month’s upcoming meeting on August 17th will be discussing The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Talk about a metaphor tucked in a parable that’s grown inside each and every one of us. Carolina leads this fun, fast and insightful group that gets together each month to share the wisdom and inspirations of some of the best authors past and present.
Now keep in mind, I get up for work at 3:30 in the morning on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays, so I don’t go out on Tuesdays or Thursdays. But there are lots of great things here at YBPC those nights, too. For example, on Tuesdays during the month, Mercy Martinez reads Akashic Records, Sherinata Pollock does psychic readings, there’s meditation hour with Ron North, and Wendi Blum will teach you how to get out of your own way. Then each month on Thursday’s there’s a reiki circle, a full moon drum circle with Diane North, and Seven Shades of Self Healing Trauma through Yoga, Myth and Metaphor with Jeanette Roy. And as if that weren’t enough, there’s Yoga Monday’s and Friday’s with Jessica Cobb and so much more than will fit into this review.
So yes, Your Big Picture Café is an incredible health supplement store, and home to the greatest weekly open mic in South Florida. But did I forget to mention it’s also home to our own Broward Folk Club’s first Friday of the month open mic and featured performer event (www.BrowardFolkClub.com). And it just goes on and on from there. The only thing missing here right now is you. So check ‘em out online and come on down to enjoy the big picture about music, life, and healthy living. After all, it’s not just your life, it’s your big picture.
Dr. Bob
PS – the open mic at YBPC is approaching it’s second year anniversary later this month… stay tuned for more info.