🎃 Happy Halloweekend!

🌧️ Today's weather: Chance of rain showers, with a high of 85 and a low of 78.

👻 Sounds like: "Monster Mash" by Bobby "Boris" Pickett

🚨 Situational awareness: Early voting ends on Sunday. Here'e s our quick voter guide in case you missed it.

Today’s newsletter is 863 words — a 3.5-minute read.

Miami's most creative and adventurous minds will take flight this Halloween as they launch off a 30-foot platform into Biscayne Bay.

Why it matters: Red Bull Flugtag challenges local teams to build and launch human-powered flying contraptions in pursuit of aerial glory — and videos that will live forever on the internet.

Driving the news: Twenty-five teams are competing, including local businesses including Skatebird Miami, engineering students at Florida International University — and one team that's dressing in bald caps and launching a Pitbull-themed craft into the bay. (Dale!)

Zoom in: In true Miami fashion, there will even be a flying Cuban sandwich-inspired aircraft built by the restaurant chain Sanguich and the podcast "A Day in Miami." (Sanguich co-founder Daniel Figueredo is a trained engineer, per the team.)

• Meanwhile, the Abuela Avengers have built a chancleta voladora (flying sandal) and will dress up like grandmas to pay homage to the disciplinary tool that's feared in the Latino community.

Stunning stat: The record for the longest flight is 258 feet, set in 2013 in Long Beach, California, by The Chicken Whisperers.

How it works: Teams will be evaluated based on flight distance, creativity and showmanship by a panel of judges including Heat player Tim Hardaway Jr.

Flashback: Flugtag, which means "flying day" in German, was first held in 1991 in Austria and last visited Miami in 2013.

If you go: The free event is at 10am Saturday at Bayfront Park. Viewing areas are open on a first come, first served basis.

• Opening ceremonies start at 11am and the final flight will take off about 3pm, followed by an awards ceremony.
• Red Bull will have free water refill stations and encourages fans to bring reusable water bottles. No plastic is allowed.

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The best Miami Halloween costume is Pitbull, according to an unscientific sample of readers who voted this week.

Driving the news: Mr. 305 (aka Mr. Worldwide) defeated the Cafecito pot (aka la cafetera) in the final round of our Halloween bracket.

Catch up quick: On his championship run, Pitbull beat Heat star Giannis Antetokounmpo, a traffic jam on 95 and the Miami Vice detectives.

• Dressing up like Armando Pérez requires a bald cap and either a Miami or Cuban flag tank top or a fancy suit depending on the era.

The catch: As promised, Martin will dress up as Pitbull this weekend and share a photo with you all.

Thanks everyone for voting!

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🌳 Florida has lost 658,000 acres of forest in recent decades to development and farmland, fourth most in the U.S. over a 28-year-period analyzed by a Clark University study.(Miami Herald)

🤤 Fish Cheeks, the popular New York Thai seafood restaurant, is expanding to Wynwood, with a late February 2027 expected open date. (Miami New Times)

🎮 Miami-Dade County announced a $3.9 million Grand Theft Auto marketing package that will light up areas at Miami International Airport and Port Miami in blue and pink lights. (County press release)

• The promotional material is more subtle than the "Welcome to Vice City" sign atop the Kaseya Center, which is part of the overall deal.

👏 The Dan Marino Foundation is integrating the organization into the Community Foundation of Broward, transitioning the charitable operations into a permanent endowment to fund autism services across South Florida. (South Florida Business Journal)

✈️ From Flávio Bolsonaro to Juan Guaidó, Miami has become a destination for exiled Latin American political leaders due to daily nonstop flights and our large Latino communities. (New York Times)

While those Halloween costumes can be stressful for most dogs, our readers assured us their pups were A-OK in their fits.

• Thanks to readers Daisy C. and Jess P. for sending in these cute pictures from previous Halloweens!

The intrigue: Jess noted that her 2-year-old Romeo hated his costume until she came up with a hack: Pinning it to the outside of his dog bag, creating the illusion that he's wearing it.

• Daisy says Mia tolerates the costume in exchange for treats!
  
  

Broward trick-or-treaters will see the sun set at approximately 6:40pm, according to an Axios analysis.

Why it matters: Whether your goblins prefer daylight or darkness, local sunset times can help you find the sweet spot for Oct. 31 trick-or-treating.

Yes, but: Sunset doesn't mean immediate darkness. Twilight typically provides another 20-40 minutes of natural light.

What's next: Get ready to turn the clock back.

• Nov. 1 marks the end of daylight saving time and the start of much earlier sunsets all around.

🍬 Martin's thought bubble: I miss living in Lakeview on Miami Beach and seeing how crazy adults and kids go for Halloween.

💙 Martin is planting a special mango tree in his garden.

🤩 Sommer loves Fish Cheeks! And is OK with this NYC addition.

Gracias to Jeff Weiner for editing!