Mother’s Day Weekend things to do: New Fort Lauderdale brunch, Boca Raton pizza party and Laser Taylor Swift

It’s Mother’s Day Weekend and, gentlemen, you cannot win. Best just to try to limit the damage, show that you did, in fact, remember and made a conscious effort to find something to do that have her interests in mind. Play your cards right here and maybe you sneak in some pizza, beer and baseball. Because no matter what, you cannot win.

THURSDAY

New in Old Town: South Bar & Kitchen, a new spot from Fort Lauderdale restaurateur Mike Linder‘s SFL Food Group (Canyon, Rio’s Tequila Bar, YOT Bar & Kitchen, Jet Runway Café), will have its formal opening in Pompano Beach’s historic Old Town on Thursday. Distinguished by Executive Chef Kelly O’Hara’s fresh spin on the cuisine of the American South (boudin balls, anyone?), beautifully designed indoor-outdoor spaces (with shipping container bar), and the sophisticated touch Linder has shown in his other properties, South Bar & Kitchen feels like a game-changer for Old Town. The restaurant is located at 165 NE First Ave. (north of Atlantic, east of Dixie). Hours for now are 4-10 p.m. Thursday, 4-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 4-10 p.m. Sunday (closed Monday). Visit SouthPMP.com.

Sting her: Given his career arc, from the Police to new-age crooner of often exotic sounds and inspiration, there aren’t too many females who wouldn’t welcome tickets to Sting as a gift this weekend. And, what luck, he just added a second performance on his My Songs tour stop at Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood. Tickets for the new show, set for Sept. 13, went on sale Wednesday. They start at $105+ at MyHRL.com.

What’s old, pussycat? Not sure what kind of mom you have in your house, but if you’re looking for a pre-night out, Elvis Duran’s Spring Break, featuring OneRepublic, Bebe Rexha and others ($55+), takes place at 8 p.m. Thursday at Hard Rock Live. And at 8 p.m. Friday, iconic heartthrob Tom Jones plays the same room ($85+). I will let you guess which concert is nearly sold out and which has a couple of hundred seats remaining. Visit MyHRL.com.

Rock docs:The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival on Thursday brings down the curtain on its mini festival of music films with screenings of the documentaries “What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears” at 4:30 p.m. and “Jimmie & Stevie Ray Vaughan: Brothers in Blues” at 7 p.m., both at Cinema Paradiso in Hollywood. Tickets start at $12. Visit FLIFF.com.

FRIDAY

This old house:If you need to play an ace on Mother’s Day Weekend, one of the most inviting new drinks-dining destinations in downtown Fort Lauderdale is opening on Friday. No matter how bad you’ve made things, a stop at the House on the River should fix it. Located in two beautifully restored historic homes on the banks of the New River, the restaurant-bar offers dining in the homes’ former living room and bedrooms (classy, cozy, unique) as well as out under the trees on the broad, old-brick patio (one of the prettiest in town). The House on the River will make a soft debut on Friday with service from 4 to 11 p.m. On Saturday and Sunday, brunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with dinner from 4 to 11 p.m. The restaurant will use its separate event areas to accommodate extra crowds for Mother’s Day Brunch ($59+, plus drinks), so tables on Sunday can still be reserved. For information and to make a reservation, visit TheHouseOnTheRiver.com.

Pizza party:Ambitious Boca Raton pizza spot How Ya Dough’n — shout-out to the pistachio pie (yeah, you heard me) — will throw another one of its lively eating-drinking-shopping lawn parties from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, co-hosted by Eufloria Market (vintage homewares, floral accessories, CBD goods). The family-friendly evening also will include vintage clothes, craft beer (Prosperity Brewers), music (DJ KA5) and a specialty pie with edible flowers from Red Splendor Farm. How Ya Dough’n is at 4251 N. Federal Highway. Visit Instagram.com/howyadoughn.

For puppets, a helping hand: For more than a dozen years, Fort Lauderdale’s nationally acclaimed Florida Day of the Dead celebration has been a labor of love for the Puppet Network’s charismatic puppetmaster Jim Hammond and his merry band of artists and volunteers. Last month’s history-making floods in Fort Lauderdale destroyed virtually all of the puppets and decorations they have created over the years, which not only threatens the survival of this year’s event but feels particularly unfair for a bunch of good people who have created a lot of good times (all free) for all of us. So it’s time for a little community payback: On Friday, from 5 to 9 p.m., Damn Good Hospitality will host a fundraiser for Florida Day of the Dead at Backyard in downtown Fort Lauderdale’s HImmarshee District. The family- and pet-friendly event will include food and drinks, raffles, music and other entertainment. Admission is free, but donations will be collected at the door. Visit BackyardFTL.com.

Backyard Balanchine:Perhaps because Black Sabbath does not happen to be in town at the moment, my wife has let it be known that she would like to see Miami City Ballet. It so happens that the company’s “Entradas” program — intertwining two works each by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins — includes Balanchine’s original choreography for “Square Dance,” reimagined South Florida-style as a spicy backyard party with a bilingual caller. Intriguing. Weekend performances are 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach. Tickets start at $30+. There also are performances at Miami’s Arsht Center at 7:30 p.m. May 19-20 and 2 p.m. May 21. Tickets start at $79+. Visit MiamiCityBallet.org.

Swifties in the house: Laser Taylor Swift at the Cox Science Center and Aquarium in West Palm Beach is a new 45-minute show that turns her biggest hits to a kaleidoscope of light at 8 p.m. Friday. The evening also includes another show dedicated to a variety of pop hits (Lady Gaga, Daft Punk, Black Eyed Peas, Katy Perry) at 6 p.m.; and a new Bruno Mars show at 7 p.m. Tickets for each show cost $13 (members pay $11) at CoxScienceCenter.org.

She’s a mother:Evocative singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge (whose partner had one of the most-discussed pregnancies in rock history) performs at 8 p.m. Friday at the Pompano Beach Amphitheater. Tickets start at $49.50+. … The venue also is offering a Mother’s Day BOGO sale through 10 p.m. Sunday to see light-rock stars Air Supply on Friday, May 19. Tickets start at $49.50+. Visit PompanoBeachArts.org/amp.

Hip to be square:The eighth annual “6 x 6 Exhibition,” taking place from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday in the Andre Design District and sponsored by Old School Square Center for the Arts, is a juried show of 6-inch square works by local painters, students and others. Each piece is priced at $35 (hint-hint). The Andre Design District, which also hosts its Art Walk on Saturday, is among the warehouses at 1880 Dr. Andres Way, just west of Interstate 95 and south of Atlantic. Visit Facebook.com/OldSchoolSquare.

Classic rocking: If you’re looking for a free evening out (kids or no kids), the Friday Night Sound Waves series at Las Olas Oceanside Park on Fort Lauderdale beach will have Heart tribute band Pure Heart and popular retro-rock cover band Mr. Nice Guy, featuring guest vocalist Maria De Cresano (KC & the Sunshine Band). The free concert is from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., with an accompanying market featuring food and drink vendors, and lawn games, set up from 5 to 10 p.m. Visit TheLOOPFLB.com.

SATURDAY

Weekend laughs:Tickets to Tiffany Haddish’s five shows at the Palm Beach Improv this weekend are gone. Gone-gone. As a fallback, consider comedian Anne Marie Scheffler’s “MILF Life Crisis” at the Studio at Mizner Park in Boca Raton on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. In her description of the performance, she “discovers amazing life after divorce and that the best is yet to come!” That exclamation point feel like a trap. Tickets start at $35+ at TheStudioAtMiznerPark.com.

Air apparent:The Wharf Fort Lauderdale will throw another one of its daylong Blowfish parties beginning at noon Saturday and featuring more than 1,000 inflatables of all sizes, chilling CO2 cannons and drink specials. The $12 Blowfish Punch will not help you find your way through the blow-up toys. Visit WharfFTL.com.

Think pink: Miami vs. New England comes with longstanding animosity, no matter the sport, but Inter Miami CF having an opportunity to take down the first-place New England Revolution makes it even better. Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. faceoff at Fort Lauderdale’s DRV PNK Stadium comes with a Mother’s Day Weekend drink special: 50% off Espolòn margaritas during the match. Tickets start at $27+ at InterMiamiCF.com.

SUNDAY

Dog day:If sometimes (all the time) it seems like she prefers the company of your best friend, bring the dog with you for the Miami Marlins’ Mother’s Day edition of Bark at the Park against the Cincinnati Reds at 1:40 p.m. Sunday at loanDepot Park. The promotion is one of several special events this weekend: The Marlins’ heralded 20-year-old phenom Eury Pérez is scheduled to make his Major League debut at 6:40 p.m. Friday; Cuban Heritage Celebration is part of Saturday’s 1:10 p.m. game (there’s a jersey giveaway); and Saturday’s game also will be preceded by Beer Fest, beginning at 11 a.m. (11 a.m.!). For details on these events and others upcoming, visit Marlins.com.

Motown Boca:You know who you’re dealing with — is she a Smokey-Supremes kind of gal? Tribute group The Motowners are at the Boca Black Box Center for the Arts in Boca Raton from 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $47+ at BocaBlackBox.com.

Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Instagram @BenCrandell and Twitter @BenCrandell.