Stormwater, sandbags, and high diving
Fortify Lauderdale has a new pump online, sandbags are available this weekend, and high diving returns to Seabreeze.
The $67.8 million pump is on; sandbags are next
Hurricane season opens June 1, and Fort Lauderdale has one major stormwater asset online before the first weekend sandbag distribution.
Fort Lauderdale is 17 days from hurricane season, and the city has one big Fortify Lauderdale asset online: a stormwater pump station for Durrs and Dorsey Riverbend built to move nearly 11,000 gallons per minute out of two neighborhoods that flooded badly in April 2023. The city's Phase 1 page lists Edgewood, River Oaks, and Durrs as complete; Progresso Village construction is still moving, with the city's update saying more than 14,500 feet of new pipe and 78 drainage structures had been installed there over the prior six months.
The practical item this weekend is sandbags. The city calendar lists Free Sandbags for Residents on Saturday, May 16, and Sunday, May 17, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. A full June-to-November staffed schedule was not posted in the city calendar source, so check the city calendar before assuming future dates.
Weekend pick: high diving returns to Seabreeze
World Aquatics lists Fort Lauderdale as the opening stop of the 2026 High Diving World Cup, with junior championships alongside it.
The World Aquatics High Diving World Cup opens in Fort Lauderdale this weekend, with the Fort Lauderdale stop running May 15-17 and the Junior High Diving Championships alongside it. The venue is the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center on Seabreeze Boulevard, which makes this more than a regional sports listing: it is a city facility showing off one of the few permanent high-diving towers in the country.
For this weekend, it is the cleanest local pick: time-sensitive, city-specific, and tied to a facility Fort Lauderdale has spent heavily to bring back onto the international aquatics calendar.
Carter Park Jamz is tonight
The city’s free lawn-chair concert series lists Kedash Untouchable Band for May 15, 7-10 p.m.
Carter Park Jamz is on the city Parks calendar tonight, Friday, May 15, from 7 to 10 p.m., with Kedash Untouchable Band listed for R&B and soul. It is a free outdoor concert, so check the city page if storms are in the forecast.
It is the resident-scale event in the issue: easy to understand, free, and not dependent on the Convention Center or beach traffic.
SRAC community meeting is Thursday, May 21
The city calendar confirms the South Regional Activity Center meeting from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., but the fetched listing did not include a venue.
The city calendar lists a South Regional Activity Center Community Meeting for Thursday, May 21, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. The venue was not present in the calendar text captured for this issue, so check the city listing before attending.
The land-use reason to care is real. City agenda materials tie the corridor to North Broward Hospital District/Broward Health Medical Center items that would move property into the South Regional Activity Center framework and increase permitted community-facility use from 1,000,000 square feet to 3,221,560 square feet. The district number is left out here because the source materials did not line up cleanly.
IPW starts Sunday at the Convention Center
The U.S. travel industry event runs May 17-21 at the Broward County Convention Center, with likely traffic and hotel impact around 17th Street.
Visit Lauderdale says IPW 2026 runs May 17-21 at the Broward County Convention Center, with Greater Fort Lauderdale hosting the U.S. Travel Association event for the first time. For residents, the value is not the trade-show language; it is the traffic and hotel pressure around the Convention Center, 17th Street, Port Everglades, and beach/downtown shuttle routes.
Expect a busier convention-center corridor and more visitor movement through the beach and downtown hotel zones while the show is in town.
Looking ahead: Great American Beach Party is May 23
The city has now posted the useful logistics: 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m., $25 event parking, and Las Olas/Poinsettia closures.
The Great American Beach Party is confirmed for Saturday, May 23, from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Las Olas Oceanside Park. The city's Parks page lists a $25 event parking rate at Las Olas Garage, Fort Lauderdale Beach Park, the North Beach Parking Lot, and on-street parking from Vistamar Street to SE 5th Street.
The traffic advisory is specific: Las Olas Boulevard between A1A and Seabreeze Boulevard closes 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, May 23. Poinsettia Street between A1A and Almond Avenue closes from 5:30 a.m. Saturday, May 23, until 9 p.m. Monday, May 25.