Give $3, Save 30% at Miami Seaquarium, All Proceeds from Offer Benefit South Florida Animals

In a continuing effort to help local animal charities, Miami Seaquarium introduces the Give $3, Save 30% offer, which gives guests the opportunity to donate to one of their favorite charities and receive a 30 percent savings on admission to Miami Seaquarium. Following the success of the last two years’ similar promotions which raised more than $46,000 in donations for wildlife related charities, this year’s promotion will benefit south Florida-based charities including Humane Society of Greater Miami Adopt-a-Pet, Humane Society of Broward County and South Florida SPCA Horse Rescue.


The offer starts on July 30 and runs until September 30. To participate visit www.miamiseaquarium.com for a donation form.

“Miami Seaquarium has a long history of reaching out to and assisting charities of all types,” said Andrew Hertz, General Manager. “We are happy this year to focus the fruits of these promotions on three very worthy charities that help dogs, cats and horses.”

Guests may choose from one of the following charities:


Humane Society of Greater Miami
The Humane Society of Greater Miami Adopt-A-Pet is a limited admit, adoption guarantee facility dedicated to placing every dog and cat in our care into a loving home, and to promoting responsible pet ownership and spay/neuter programs. Adoption guarantee simply means that every animal under our care is safe from the threat of euthanasia for as long as it takes to find them a forever family.

Humane Society of Broward County
The Humane Society of Broward County provides shelter, aid and responsible adoptions to animals entrusted to our care, and educates the community about respect and kindness to all animals.


South Florida SPCA Horse Rescue
The South Florida SPCA, founded in 1992, is dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and adoption of abused, neglected and abandoned horses and other large animals. We also educate the community about responsible animal care, animal ownership and promote the welfare of animals through local and national advocacy.


Miami Seaquarium, South Florida's most popular tourist attraction, is a family-oriented marine-life park open to the public 365 days a year. The park provides visitors with a greater understanding and appreciation for marine life through shows, presentations and marine-life exhibits. General admission to Miami Seaquarium is $39.95 and $29.95 for children (ages 3-9). More information on Miami Seaquarium is available at www.miamiseaquarium.com; also "Like" Miami Seaquarium on Facebook.


Miami Seaquarium is an accredited member of the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums, an international organization committed to the care and conservation of marine mammals. Accreditation by the Alliance means this facility meets or exceeds all the standards of excellence for marine mammal care, husbandry, conservation and education.

Lights, Camera, Action!

The beauty of Miami's tropical environment and beaches have been the setting for many television shows, movies and commercials since moving pictures were invented; the earliest film made in Miami was a short silent comedy called The Taming of Mary - in 1912!  The film and television production industries are an important part of Miami's economy.  According to FilMiami, a Miami-Dade County agency that keeps track of on-going projects, as well as issuing permits for work, in February, 2010, alone, productions added more than $16.5 million to the Miami economy and employed more than 1700 local people.  More than 200 production permits have been issued in just the first two months of 2010. On an annual basis, according to Filmiami, "The Film & Entertainment Industry employs approximately 10,000 full and part time workers and has an annual impact of $2 billion dollars to the local economy with permitted productions contributing more than $150 million." 


There are shows set in Miami which were never filmed here; The Golden Girls is one of the best known, as is the classic 1950s movie Some Like It Hot, starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. Even CSI: Miami only tapes in Miami when there are shots that can't be done elsewhere, such as skyline or Everglades scenes. The rest of the time, the show films in Los Angeles. Before re-locating to Los Angeles, FX's top drama Nip/Tuck was also set in Miami but didn't film here.  There are also productions which are taped or filmed in South Florida that are NOT supposed to be set here, but that's far less common because Miami is far too distinctive-looking to stand in for any other city! 


Of course, the largest category of productions made in South Florida are those which are both set in and made here. The beaches, sun, sparkling water, tropical foliage and wildlife are almost always included in those projects. While the most famous TV show ever made here, Miami Vice, put Miami and Miami Beach back in the public eye and is credited with rejuvenating and reviving Miami, current hot series set here include USA Network's Burn Notice, the #1 rated original show on cable, and Showtime's critical darling Dexter. Even classic series Flipper and Gentle Ben were made in South Florida, although their settings couldn't be more different; Flipper was made at the beach while Gentle Ben was set in the Florida Everglades. 

Movie-making in Miami has produced some of the most exciting and sexy movies ever, including Scarface, Body Heat, Wild Things, Bad Boys, Out of Sight (from the novel by Miami author Elmore Leonard), Any Given Sunday, Goldfinger, Thunderball, The Transporter 2 and 2 Fast 2 Furious. Comedies made in and about Miami include The BidAce Ventura: Pet Detective, There's Something About Mary, Marley and Me, Meet the Fockers, Police Academy 5 & Revenge of the Nerds 2, and the classic coming-of-age movie Porky's, partially filmed in what is now Oleta River State Park in North Miami Beach. 


Even the reality TV craze has left its mark on Miami. The 1996 season of MTV's The Real World was made here and has been followed by a season of Top Chef, a Key West version of The Real World, occasional episodes of Hogan Knows Best and Brooke Knows Best, as well as A&E's popular Miami Ink, about a South Beach tattoo parlor. The 1960s incarnation of The Jackie Gleason Show also broadcast from Miami Beach, and is commemorated by the Fillmore Miami Beach Jackie Gleason Theater on the beach. 


With Univision, Telemundo and TeleFutura based in Miami, there's always a lot going on in the Spanish-language TV world. Telenovelas, Spanish-language soap operas, are huge hits for these networks. They are also recognized for their excellent local programming and news coverage of the Spanish-speaking world. During the recent earthquake in Chile, MSNBC regularly cut to the Hialeah headquarters of Telemundo for updates because Telemundo already had reporters in Chile.