Florida Old Time Music Shampionship is a definite must. It is my personal favorite weekend of the year. They even have a beginning banjo contest(this year, sadly, there were no contestants.) As far as banjo in the Miami area, Val Caracapa, lives down south and is a fine, fine player and performer. I dont know if she teaches or not. There is a web page for the folk club of South Florida I don't know how to put up the blue clicky things but the url is http://members.aol.com/souflafolk/index.html HOpe this helps and hope to see you next year at the FOTMC, we'll be the people staying up way too late playing all night long. Kristi