Join the University of Miami Frost Opera Theater for the second annual Wall to Wall Opera for All Festival. The festival kicks off on Friday, November 20 with a preview concert of Mozart Here and Now, featuring excerpts from Mozart operas and selections from The Mozart Songbook, as well as works from Saturday’s performances. Saturday’s events begin at 11 a.m. and will include short operas based on Aesop’s Fables, a reprise of Six Operas in Sixty Minutes !!!!!!, The Mozart Songbook (performed outdoors), Arias on the Hour, live readings of Mozart’s letters, and video screenings of Mozart operas. The day concludes with an 8 p.m. performance of six staged opera excerpts from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni, Abduction from the Seraglio, Idomeneo, and La Finta Giardiniera.

Performances begin on Friday, November 20 at 8 p.m. and continue throughout the day on Saturday, November 21 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. All events on Saturday, November 21 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. are free. Tickets for Friday and Saturday night at 8 p.m. are $20 general admission, $10 seniors, and $5 for UM faculty, staff, and students.

Performances will take place in multiple venues at the Frost School of Music on the Coral Gables campus.

For a complete listing of events, ticket reservations, and information, call 305-284-4886 or visit www.music.miami.edu.

The Launch Pad, the University of Miami’s interdisciplinary entrepreneurship resource center, marks Global Entrepreneurship Week with several events, from Monday through Friday, November 16-20, that are geared toward encouraging students and alumni to further their goals.

Opening day will feature Dana White, entrepreneur and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. This student-athlete event will be the kickoff for a new program being introduced by The Launch Pad in partnership with the University of Miami’s Athletics Department. Teaching Entrepreneurship to Athletes through Mentoring (TEAM) is the first of its kind, preparing student-athletes for life after sports with an entrepreneurial mindset.

“The statistics are staggering, with almost 80 percent of NFL players and 60 percent of NBA players either bankrupt or in financial distress only a few years after retirement. Dana White is a perfect example of an athlete who turned his passion into incredible success in business,” says Susan Amat, executive director of The Launch Pad. “We are thrilled to have him inspire our athletes to dream—and execute—big.”

Through this innovative program, The Launch Pad will provide student-athletes with access to needed business resources, along with the skills necessary to prepare them for properly planning for their financial futures. Student-athletes who “go pro” will be paired with a mentor, a current or ex-pro, to help with the transition. The Launch Pad will work with these students by encouraging them to make the right choices early on in order to cement the foundation needed to continue their success after they have left the field, court, or track.

During Global Entrepreneurship Week, millions of people will join a growing movement of innovative thinkers to promote entrepreneurial activities around the world. Administered globally by the Public Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., the mission of Global Entrepreneurship Week is to inspire young people to embrace innovation, imagination, and creativity.

At the Launch Pad, which opened at the beginning of the fall 2008 semester, participants learn that entrepreneurship is a career choice, and one that can be started right away. The center offers guidance in learning business basics, developing ideas, networking with industry experts and investors, and strategizing to take ventures to the next level.

All of the events during Global Entrepreneurship Week are open to the public. The events surrounding this week are sponsored by The Miami Herald. A complete list can be found online at www.thelaunchpad.org/news-events.

The 8th Annual Miami Short Film Festival, presented by the University of Miami School of Communication, will run from Friday, November 13 through Sunday, November 22 with the opening night Green Carpet Gala on Saturday, November 14. The festival’s home and central venue will be the Bill Cosford Cinema, with screenings also held at the Miami Beach Cinematheque on Española Way and Miami Children’s Museum on Watson Island. UM students, faculty, and staff will receive a 50 percent discount for all Cosford screenings. For more information, visit www.miamishortfilmfestival.com.

The University of Miami’s Families First Network, sponsored by The Children’s Trust, is offering a free seminar for parents of children from birth through 5 years of age. Parents will discuss ways to encourage positive behaviors, manage temper tantrums and other problem behaviors, and use positive discipline strategies effectively. Parenting specialist Melina Meguerian, L.M.H.C., will facilitate the seminar in Spanish. Join us on the 12th floor of the Clinical Research Building, Conference Room 1270, from 12 to 1 p.m. on Friday, November 20. Lunch will be served! For more information or to register, call 305-243-8425 or e-mail [email protected].

Attend the second annual Wall to Wall Opera For All festival that kicks off on Friday, November 20 with a preview concert of Mozart Here and Now, featuring excerpts from Mozart operas and selections from The Mozart Songbook as well as works from Saturday’s performances. Saturday’s events begin at 11 a.m. and include short operas based on Aesop’s Fables, a reprise of Six Operas in Sixty Minutes!, The Mozart Songbook (performed outdoors), Arias on the Hour, live readings of Mozart’s letters, and video screenings of Mozart operas. The day concludes with an 8 p.m. performance of six staged excerpts from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni, Abduction from the Seraglio, Idomeneo, and La Finta Giardiniera.

Performances begin on Friday, November 20 at 8 p.m. and continue throughout the day on Saturday, November 21 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. All events on Saturday, November 21 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. are free.  Tickets for Friday and Saturday night at 8 p.m. are $20 (general admission), $10 (seniors), and $5 (UM students/faculty/staff) at the Frost School of Music. Performances are schedule in multiple spaces. For ticket reservations and additional information, call 305-284-4886.