Best of the fests: Duck Fest Derby, Jazz in the Gardens this weekend

Rubber duckies, clad in their finest sunglasses, will turn Fort Lauderdale’s New River into a bobbing sea of yellow during this weekend’s KID Duck Fest Derby.

The Kids in Distress fundraiser, always a family-friendly crowd-pleaser, will compete with another star-studded spectacle in Miami-Dade County: Jazz in the Gardens at Hard Rock Stadium, headlined this year by throwback R&B and soul names including Lionel Richie and Brandy, Bobby Brown and the O’Jays.

Here are three reasons to give a quack about this weekend’s festivals.

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Miami-Dade

Jazz in the Gardens

7 p.m. March 8, 4 p.m. Saturday, March 9, and Sunday, March 10, at Hard Rock Stadium, 347 Don Shula Drive, Miami Gardens; $35 for opening-night concert, $72 for Saturday/Sunday day pass, $99 for festival pass via Ticketmaster.com; 561-681-5645 or JazzintheGardens.com

R&B legend and “American Idol” judge Lionel Richie leads a muscular two-day bill of music, including 1970s soul-stirrers the O’Jays (“Backstabbers”), ‘90s R&B trio En Vogue and controversial singer Bobby Brown. Jazz in the Gardens, hosted by TV comic and personality Rickey Smiley, will kick off with an opening-night concert by old-school rappers the Sugarhill Gang at 7 p.m. Friday. The rest of the weekend’s lineup will include Blackstreet, Brandy, Jagged Edge, Bigg D and Da Band and Fort Lauderdale duo Black Violin. Food and drink vendors will be scattered throughout the stadium.

The Jazz in the Gardens Music Festival will return March 9-10 to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. (AJ Shorter Photography / Courtesy)

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