Pinecrest, Florida, has a peculiar problem: peacocks. The New York Times reported on Aug. 9 that the city has been overrun with the large, loud, destructive birds, which peck at roofs and cars and relieve themselves all over driveways. The solution? Peacock vasectomies. Dr. Don J. Harris, the veterinarian who will snip the feisty birds, said they’re “bona fide polygamists. We’re going to catch one peacock and probably stop seven females from reproducing. It’s going to have an exponential benefit.” County commissioners approved the plan, and city officials designated $7,500 a month to cover trapping and surgery. [NY Times, 8/9/2023]
Nature Gone Wild
Peggy Jones, 64, of Silsbee, Texas, got a little too close to nature for comfort on July 25 as she and her husband did yard work on their property. The New York Times reported that out of the blue, a snake fell from the sky, wrapped itself around Jones’ forearm and started to squeeze. “I immediately screamed and started swinging my arm to shake the snake off,” she said. “I was screaming, ‘Jesus, help me, please, Jesus, help me!’” But the snake hissed and struck at her face, sometimes hitting her glasses. Then, as Jones struggled, a hawk swooped down and tried to grab the snake, which it had dropped from on high, from her arm. As it wrestled with the snake, its talons slashed into Jones’ arm. Finally, the hawk got hold of the snake and flew off. She said the whole incident probably took only 15 or 20 seconds, but afterward, “I looked down at my arm and it was totally covered in blood.” Jones’ husband, Wendell, saw his wife screaming and running in a zigzag pattern: “By the time I got to her, she was pretty hysterical,” he said. Doctors said most of her wounds were caused by the hawk rather than the snake. Jones says that she is healing physically but is still having nightmares about the incident. [NY Times, 8/9/2023]
Irony
An instructor at a driving school in Lakewood, Colorado, won’t be getting a passing grade after crashing a car into the school’s front window on Aug. 8 — just under a sign that says “Learn To Drive.” KDFW-TV reported that the driver, who was trying to park a Hyundai Tucson in front of the Community Driving School, was cited for a traffic violation. Police said there was only one minor injury. [KDFW, 8/9/2023]
Field Report
Divers Ken Fleming and Doug Bishop were searching for clues in missing persons cold cases on Aug. 6 in Doral, Florida, when they stumbled upon an investigatory treasure chest, WSVN-TV reported. “We realized we had 32 cars underwater,” Fleming said. The divers work as volunteers and have a huge database of missing persons. “We have 40 that we’re targeting right now of folks that disappeared, anywhere from two or three months ago to 30, 40 years ago,” he said. Statewide, Fleming said they have found 60 submerged cars that may be linked to crimes. They’ll work with the county to get the vehicles removed and collect and deliver any pertinent information from them. [WSVN, 8/6/2023]
But, Why?
A mysterious man is taking pacifiers out of the mouths of babes in Harlow, England, Sky News reported. The incidents started in February, with the most recent one taking place on Aug. 7. One of the children was also assaulted. The suspect is a young, slim white man with brown eyes and yellow teeth, police said; they are soliciting information from anyone who has any knowledge of the cagey Dummy Bandit (our moniker, not theirs). “As a parent myself, I understand the level of concern,” said chief inspector Paul Austin. [Sky News, 8/9/2023]
Americans Abroad
Sigh. Security guards at the Eiffel Tower in Paris discovered two American tourists sleeping near the top of the structure on Aug. 14 as they prepared to open to visitors, Yahoo! News reported. Paris prosecutors said the two dodged security the night before and “appear to have got stuck because of how drunk they were.” Firefighters were dispatched to collect the men, who were questioned by police; Eiffel Tower management company Sete said it would file a criminal complaint, although the pair didn’t “pose any apparent threat.” [Yahoo! News, 8/15/2023]
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov says war is “more like a game of poker than chess. On a chess board, the pieces are face up, but poker is essentially a game of incomplete information, a game where you have to guess and act on those guesses.” I suspect that’s helpful information for you these days, Aries. You may not be ensconced in an out-and-out conflict, but the complex situation you’re managing has resemblances to a game of poker. For best results, practice maintaining a poker face. Try to reduce your tells to near zero. Here’s the definition of “tell” as I am using the term: Reflexive or unconscious behavior that reveals information you would rather withhold.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Raised in poverty, Taurus-born Eva Perón became a charismatic politician and actor who served as first lady of Argentina for six years. The Argentine Congress ultimately gave her the title of “Spiritual Leader of the Nation.” How did she accomplish such a meteoric ascent? “Without fanaticism,” she testified, “one cannot accomplish anything.” But I don’t think her strategy has to be yours in the coming months, Taurus. It will make sense for you to be highly devoted, intensely focused, and strongly motivated — even a bit obsessed in a healthy way. But you won’t need to be fanatical.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Gemini author Ben H. Winters has useful counsel. “Every choice forecloses on other choices,” he says. “Each step forward leaves a thousand dead possible universes behind you.” I don’t think there are a thousand dead universes after each choice; the number’s more like two or three. But the point is, you must be fully committed to leaving the past behind. Making decisions requires resolve. Second-guessing your brave actions rarely yields constructive results. So are you ready to have fun being firm and determined, Gemini? The cosmic rhythms will be on your side if you do.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Journalist Alexandra Robbins was addressing young people when she gave the following advice, but you will benefit from it regardless of your age: “There is nothing wrong with you just because you haven’t yet met people who share your interests or outlook on life. Know that you will eventually meet people who will appreciate you for being you.” I offer this to you now, Cancerian, because the coming months will bring you into connection with an abundance of like-minded people who are working to create the same kind of world you are. Are you ready to enjoy the richest social life ever?
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Author Kevin Kelly is a maverick visionary who has thought a lot about how to create the best possible future. He advocates that we give up hoping for the unrealistic concept of utopia. Instead, he suggests we empower our practical efforts with the term “protopia.” In this model, we “crawl toward betterment,” trying to improve the world by 1 percent each year. You would be wise to apply a variation on this approach to your personal life in the coming months, Leo. A mere 1-percent enhancement is too modest a goal, though. By your birthday in 2024, a 6-percent upgrade is realistic, and you could reach as high as 10 percent.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In honor of the Virgo birthday season, I invite you to be exceptionally distinctive and singular in the coming weeks, even idiosyncratic and downright incomparable. That’s not always a comfortable state for you Virgos to inhabit, but right now it’s healthy to experiment with. Here’s counsel from writer Christopher Morley: “Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to continually be part of unanimity.” Here’s a bonus quote from Virgo poet Edith Sitwell: “I am not eccentric! It’s just that I am more alive than most people.”
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Do you sometimes wish your life was different from what it actually is? Do you criticize yourself for not being a perfect manifestation of your ideal self? Most of us indulge in these fruitless energy drains. One of the chief causes of unhappiness is the fantasy that we are not who we are supposed to be. In accordance with cosmic rhythms, I authorize you to be totally free of these feelings for the next four weeks. As an experiment, I invite you to treasure yourself exactly as you are right now. Congratulate yourself for all the heroic work you have done to be pretty damn good. Use your ingenuity to figure out how to give yourself big doses of sweet and festive love.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio novelist Kurt Vonnegut testified, “I want to stay as close on the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge, you see all kinds of things you can’t see from the center. Big, undreamed-of-things — the people on the edge see them first.” I’m not definitively telling you that you should live like Vonnegut, dear Scorpio. To do so, you would have to summon extra courage and alertness. But if you are inclined to explore such a state, the coming weeks will offer you a chance to live on the edge with as much safety, reward, and enjoyment as possible.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “Where there is great love, there are always miracles,” wrote Sagittarian novelist Willa Cather (1873–1947). In accordance with upcoming astrological aspects, I encourage you to prepare the way for such miracles. If you don’t have as much love as you would like, be imaginative as you offer more of the best love you have to give. If there is good but not great love in your life, figure out how you can make it even better. If you are blessed with great love, see if you can transform it into being even more extraordinary. For you Sagittarians, it is the season of generating miracles through the intimate power of marvelous love.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Capricorn author Alexander Woollcott (1187–1943) could be rude and vulgar. He sometimes greeted cohorts by saying, “Hello, Repulsive.” After he read the refined novelist Marcel Proust, he described the experience as “like lying in someone else’s dirty bath water.” But according to Woollcott’s many close and enduring friends, he was often warm, generous, and humble. I bring this to your attention in the hope that you will address any discrepancies between your public persona and your authentic soul. Now is a good time to get your outer and inner selves into greater harmony.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In 1963, Aquarian author Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique, a groundbreaking book that became a bestseller crucial in launching the feminist movement. She brought to wide cultural awareness “the problem that has no name”: millions of women’s sense of invisibility, powerlessness, and depression. In a later book, Friedan reported on those early days of the awakening: “We couldn’t possibly know where it would lead, but we knew it had to be done.” I encourage you to identify an equivalent quest in your personal life, Aquarius: a project that feels necessary to your future, even if you don’t yet know what that future will turn out to be.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can: All of them make me laugh.” Piscean poet W. H. Auden said that. After analyzing the astrological omens, I conclude that laughing with those you love is an experience you should especially seek right now. It will be the medicine for anything that’s bothering you. It will loosen obstructions that might be interfering with the arrival of your next valuable teachings. Use your imagination to dream up ways you can place yourself in situations where this magic will unfold.
It’s happening again: That pesky Mercury simply will not stop going retrograde. (Photo: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
August was a time of adjusting to new cycles. If you are a teacher, parent of a student, or a student, last month focused on getting prepared for the new school year. For those of us who do not have anyone in our household going back to school, we readjusted and are still readjusting to the new traffic and social patterns of our communities. All in all, it can be a difficult time without any added astrological phenomena. However, this year we have to balance our busy lives against the fact that the planet Mercury has gone retrograde. Again.
Mercury retrograde happens three to four times every year, and usually lasts for four weeks. It is an astronomical phenomenon that makes the planet look like it is moving backwards in its orbit around the sun. It’s an optical illusion that occurs because it takes Mercury only 88 days to orbit the sun, compared to the 365 days it takes the Earth to do the same.
The planet Mercury is named for the Roman god Mercury, the messenger of the gods, delivering news and goods but also acting as a translator or interpreter. Mercury rules over wealth, communication, commerce, and good fortune. When Mercury appears to move backwards in its orbit, these qualities may struggle to move forward or have more glitches than usual.
Generally, retrograde is a period of frustration, with delays, miscommunication, and technological mishaps. It is commonly advised that people should not travel, sign contracts, or make any major life decisions during a Mercury retrograde. Instead, try to be flexible as plans may end up changing often, be patient and understanding, back up your work and important documents, and leave some wiggle room for any major projects.
Mercury retrograde gets blamed for many things, and it can be a frustrating period, but it can bring us some much-needed perspective. It’s advised to not start any endeavors during the retrograde, but it is a great time to finish things up. If you have any lingering chores or projects, use the energy to get them finished and off your plate. You can also use the time to reflect and slow down, to review where you are putting your time and energy.
We are already in the throes of the third Mercury retrograde for the year, and it’s going to last until September 15th. Every Mercury retrograde this year will fall in an earth sign with our current retrograde hitting us in Virgo. The astrological sign of Virgo is ruled by the planet Mercury, which might help soften this retrograde’s effects. Virgo’s attention to detail could be enhanced by this retrograde, meaning we are more likely to pay attention to the fine print and specifics, which is what usually trips us up during a Mercury retrograde. If we can be meticulous and set clear intentions for the next few weeks, we should be able to navigate this and come out of the other side relatively unscathed.
Virgo, symbolizing purity and perfection, directs our attention toward refining our lives. This retrograde sheds light on areas where we’ve cluttered our days with conversations or activities that don’t add value or support. Look at your calendar and see who or what you’ve been spending time and energy on. Are these people or activities really serving you?
On August 30th, the Pisces super blue moon occurred, almost opposite Mercury. This alignment shone a light on what we need to let go of and what we should ease the pressure on, allowing a smoother daily rhythm to emerge. Virgo energy is all about the practical aspects of life, while Pisces energy, where the moon is situated, delves into the spiritual and ethereal. This cosmic dance prompts us to reflect on the balance between material and spiritual focus and to shed what’s unnecessary.
Astrologists claim that this retrograde will be easier than others, but with Mercury and six other planets in retrograde, the rest of this year will be interesting no matter what. Read the fine print, think carefully, and pay attention, as this too shall pass. Eventually.
Emily Guenther is a co-owner of The Broom Closet metaphysical shop. She is a Memphis native, professional tarot reader, ordained Pagan clergy, and dog mom.
Preparing for retirement takes deliberate, consistent planning and attention to detail. One important detail is timing, or the age at which you plan to retire. Having an anticipated retirement date allows you to align your savings and investing goals with the year you’ll need to begin withdrawing money. However, many workers discover they must retire earlier than expected. In fact, according to a retirement confidence survey from the Employee Benefit Research Institute, the median American’s retirement age is 62 years old, while workers’ median expected retirement age is 65.
Whether you’re forced to retire early due to health concerns, a job loss, caregiving responsibilities, or just the desire to leave the workforce, leaving your career sooner than expected can significantly impact your retirement plan. Below are seven tips to help you navigate an early retirement.
1. Understand your financial situation.
The first step in retiring earlier than expected is to check in on your financial situation. Evaluate your current savings, investments, and assets. Assess your monthly expenses and budget to gain a clear understanding of your current financial obligations. Determine how much you can reasonably spend each month while still preserving your retirement savings. Your wealth manager can help you assess and understand your current financial situation and any potential challenges you should be aware of.
2. Set clear retirement goals.
The next step is to define your retirement goals. What do you hope your retirement will look like? How will you spend your time? Whom do you wish to support? What will bring you fulfillment? Having a clear vision of your desired retirement lifestyle can help guide your decision-making process and allow you to prioritize your spending. Return to these goals often as you navigate the various aspects of your finances.
3. Develop a savings strategy.
Because you’re retiring early, your savings will need to stretch over a longer period of time. If you’re still in the workforce, maximize your savings potential by cutting unnecessary expenses and increasing your contributions to your employer-sponsored retirement account. Depending on your modified adjusted gross income for the year, you may also consider contributing to IRAs or Roth IRAs. Make a goal to save as aggressively as possible during your final years in the workforce. Your wealth manager can help you identify the best account vehicles for your additional savings.
4. Plan for healthcare expenses.
Healthcare costs are often one of the biggest expenses faced by retirees. If you need to retire earlier than expected, it’s important to have a plan in place for paying for healthcare. Explore your options for health insurance coverage, including COBRA, Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans, or private insurance.
5. Evaluate alternative income sources.
Retiring early doesn’t necessarily mean you need to give up all sources of income. Explore opportunities to generate income in retirement, such as freelancing, consulting, part-time work, or starting a side business. Also consider more passive income sources, such as investing in real estate, if the circumstances are right.
6. Adjust your retirement lifestyle.
Retiring earlier than expected may require you to make some adjustments to your lifestyle and spending habits. Carefully review your expenses to identify areas where you can cut back without compromising your mental and physical well-being. Consider downsizing your home or reducing your travel and entertainment expenses.
Before making any major changes, revisit your retirement priorities (see #2 above) to ensure your decisions align with your goals. By making conscious choices, you may be able to better stretch your savings without significantly impacting your long-term goals.
7. Continuously monitor and adjust accordingly.
Once you retire, it’s important to remain financially vigilant. Regularly review your overall financial situation, including your investments, budget, and progress toward your goals. Make adjustments as necessary based on market conditions and your ever-evolving financial life. Stay informed and engaged with your finances to help ensure your continued financial security.
Gene Gard, CFA, CFP, CFT-I, is a Partner and Private Wealth Manager with Creative Planning. Creative Planning is one of the nation’s largest Registered Investment Advisory firms providing comprehensive wealth management services to ensure all elements of a client’s financial life are working together, including investments, taxes, estate planning, and risk management. For more information, visit CreativePlanning.com.
Untitled, c. 2014. Salvaged iron from Ellis Auditorium.
In 1989, Richard Carr took his first metalsmithing class at the Metal Museum. He’d always been interested in working with metals, he says, ever since he was a kid visiting his grandfather’s metal fabrication shop. At the time, though, he was working as a pipefitter and welder, traveling around the country building processing and fossil fuel plants, and he had come to Memphis to work on a project for the Navy.
“The Metal Museum was the first place I came across that actually provided a place where I could learn blacksmithing,” Carr says. Blacksmithing, he found, allowed him to be creative with the same materials he used during work hours. Soon, he was taking class after class, making pieces “only a mother could love,” he says. After a while, he began volunteering at the museum, his first project being to fabricate steel for the back of the Smithy, now the Metal Museum’s Repair Lab.
“By volunteering, I learned the trade, and then I was able to get into the public utility company as an industrial blacksmith,” Carr says. Still, he kept up his creative endeavors, looking to natural motifs and art nouveau and art deco architecture for inspiration. He forged organic shapes, a relief from the linear industrial monotony of his job. And his pieces got better and better — to the point where he could comfortably call them art, not something “only a mother could love.”
Carr also began to incorporate materials salvaged from sites throughout Memphis, such as steel from the old Ellis Auditorium, iron from Baptist Memorial Hospital, a bolt from the railroad that once ran the Green Line, and parts from the Zippin Pippin. “It sort of gives a piece a soul,” Carr says of the salvaged material’s history that brings the old in conversation with the new.
This summer, Carr is celebrating his first solo show at the Metal Museum, and he’s titled it “To See With New Eyes,” a nod to his love of repurposing materials. “The Japanese have a word for it,” he says. “Mitate. It means to repurpose or to see with new eyes.”
For the first time, Carr is also able to see the works spanning his career, side by side, most of them on loan from the pieces’ current owners. “There’s a lot of pieces that have gotten lost because they were sold,” he says. “I’d never kept track of them.” Over the years, Carr has gifted his art to the Metal Museum, MIFA, Hope House, The Child Advocacy Center, Playhouse on the Square, and Memphis Heritage, among others.
“It’s my way of giving back,” he says. “I’ve got a job that pays the bills. There’s a lot of people out there that are struggling to get customers. And when you’re working for a customer, you’re worried about what their likes are — I’ve never taken direction. I like to make what I want to make, and I guess that’s the fun part about what I do.”
“To See With New Eyes,” Metal Museum, On display through September 24.
Ysaac Ramirez will be the featured chef at the upcoming Etowah dinner, which will be held September 16th at The Commonwealth.
Etowah, hosted by Josh Conley and Cole Jeanes, features dinners four times a year and brings top chefs from around the country.
A former Memphian, Ramirez, 43, now lives in Palm Springs, California, where he is corporate chef for Drift Hotels.
His Etowah dinner will include five courses. “This menu I created is going to be blending a lot of Latin flavors and Southern cuisine,” Ramirez says.
Coloradito, one of the main entrees, is “a dish my mom used to make when we were kids.”
But Ramirez, who describes his ongoing kitchen style as being “in the kitchen of Mexican and Latin cuisine,” likes to add a Southern touch. He’s incorporating grits in the pork, tomato, and chili sauce dish. “You get this creamy tortilla-like flavor.”
Born in Colorado, Ramirez spent most of his childhood in California before moving to Memphis at 13.
Ramirez, whose dad is Mexican, says his mother learned to cook Mexican food from his grandmother. “My parents got married at a young age. [My dad] was drafted to Vietnam. And my mom lived with my grandmother for two years while he was in Vietnam. She’s learning how to cook everything Mexican. Everything that my grandmother used to do.”
Ramirez and his family ate “fresh flour homemade tortillas” every day. “My mom, every Christmas, would make tamales. A process that takes forever.”
Ramirez didn’t initially want to be a chef. “I did spend some time in the kitchen with my mom, but it wasn’t really an aspiration of mine at that young of an age. I’d help my mom. More just so we can eat faster, I guess. Also, I didn’t find it a chore or anything. I did find it interesting, but I didn’t think at that age it would be my career.”
Ramirez expressed his creativity through art. “It was painting. Surrealism. A lot of abstract painting. Landscapes as well. I mixed in mostly surreal and abstract.”
His plan was to go to Memphis College of Art. “I thought about it and I was like, ‘I don’t want to be a starving artist the rest of my life.’ Pretty ironic. Then I was a struggling cook for a long time.”
Before he got into cooking at age 26, Ramirez was a property accountant at Trammell Crow Co., which later was bought by CB Richard Ellis. But after being an accountant for six years, Ramirez thought, “I do not want to do this the rest of my life.”
He decided to trade his “slacks and button downs” for a chef’s jacket.
Ramirez began working at Interim while he was studying at L’Ecole Culinaire. “I left a pretty good job for making $8 an hour making salads. That’s a hard pill to swallow. But it was something that I really wanted to do at that time. Everything was piquing my interest in culinary.”
His restaurant jobs included working at Hog & Hominy, the old Gray Canary, and other restaurants owned by Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman.
But everywhere he worked was a place Ramirez knew would further his career. “Everything had to make sense and serve a purpose for me growing and excelling as a chef. I think it speaks volumes to where I am right now. A lot of kids now are thinking, ‘Who’s going to get paid the highest,’ but not looking toward the future and seeing how that job will benefit them. I toughed it out for a long time. The choices I was going to make were going to pay off down the road.”
After moving to various restaurants around the country and even opening his own “barbecue Latin-infused concept” pop-up called “porc” out of his house, Ramirez began working as executive chef at Maleza at a Drift Hotel in Palm Springs. “I recently moved into a corporate chef role overseeing different operations for projects for Drift Hotels.”
He agreed to be the chef at the upcoming Etowah dinner after Conley reached out to him. “I was like, ‘Yeah. It makes sense. I haven’t been to Memphis in quite some time.’ And I can sort of bring a different element to dining that Memphians aren’t quite used to yet.”
Orion Free Concert Series (Photo by Disciple Photos)
Yet another season has come and gone, and it’s once again time for the Flyer’s Fall Fairs & Festivals guide. You won’t want to miss any of the events written about here, so get your calendars and sparkly gel pens out and start planning.
SEPTEMBER
Orion Free Concert Series You’re free to do what you want any old time, and one of the best ways to spend your free time is doing something that’s free. So why not attend one or many of Overton Park Shell’s concerts this fall — all a part of the Orion Free Concert Series? Overton Park Shell, various dates in September and October
30 Days of Opera This operation brings opera to you for a second month this year, with free, outdoor performances all over Memphis. Various locations, through September 30
Delta Fair & Music Festival Carnival rides, live music, attractions, livestock shows, oh boy, there’s so much going on every day at the Delta Fair. Agricenter International, through September 10
Southern Heritage Classic Cultural Celebration Kick off the season with the Southern Heritage Classic Cultural Celebration. Sure, there’s the rivalry football game between Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Tennessee State, but there’s also a ton of non-football events to check out, from the parade to a concert starring the “empress of soul” Gladys Knight. Various locations, September 7-9
Germantown Festival The weens are coming! The weens are coming! They’re here to compete in the best Running of the Weenies dachshund race around. And that, of course, would be at the Germantown Festival, which happens to be celebrating its 50th anniversary. This year’s festival will be complete with arts and crafts, children’s activities, rides and games, entertainment, and more. Germantown Civic Club Complex, September 9-10
International Goat Days Festival If loving goats is baaaaad, I don’t want to be good. And I’d bet that the Goat Days Festival would agree — the day is all for the love of the goat, with goat yoga, a goat beauty pageant, and a goat show, plus some non-goat activities. Millington Sports Complex, September 9
Collierville Balloon Festival Take the scenic route at the Collierville Balloon Festival, where you can get a view of (and take a ride on) more than 20 stunning hot air balloons, enjoy live entertainment, peruse arts and crafts vendors, and more. Maynard Way, Collierville, September 16-17
Cooper-Young Festival At last year’s Cooper-Young Festival, I saw a pink parrot in an orange diaper and I haven’t seen one since. Who knows if I’ll see him again this year, but of course, there’s the usual art, music, and crafts that make the Cooper-Young Festival a hallmark tradition to look forward to. Cooper-Young Historic District,September 16
Medical District Wellness Festival Are you a health nut or a wannabe health nut? Well, you’re gonna go nuts when you hear about the inaugural Medical Wellness Festival, a free event with services and resources from healthcare professionals, live music, and a full schedule of wellness activities and fun for all ages. Morris Park, September 16
Memphis Brewfest Fun is brewing over at the Memphis Brewfest, which will entice attendees with unlimited samples of 100+ beers, seltzers, and spiked ciders. The day will also have a Jameson Irish Whiskey activation experience, vendor shopping, music, and games. Memphis Sports & Events Center, September 16
Memphis Dance Festival Even if you can’t dance and you can’t jive, you’ll have the time of your life at the Memphis Dance Festival. The free event will have performances by hometown favorite dance companies and national acts. Collage Dance Center, September 16
Shop Black Fest Shop from 150+ local Black-owned businesses, and enjoy music and a Greek step show. Downtown Memphis, September 16
Mid-South Fair Life isn’t fair, but life is better when there’s a fair around. Just take the Mid-South Fair as a prime example. It’s got rides, entertainment, and the best fair fare — funnel cakes, candied apples, turkey legs, and more. Landers Center, September 21-October 1
Mighty Roots Music Festival Might I interest you in a mighty good time? Moon Taxi, The Vegabonds, The Stews, Hans Williams, and more are all a part of Mighty Roots Musical Festival’s lineup, and that, my friend, is the definition of a mighty good time. Stovall, MS, September 22-24
51st Annual Pink Palace Crafts Fair Thanks to the Barbie movie, pink is in this season, which means the Pink Palace Crafts Fair is looking even more stylish this year as it celebrates its 51st anniversary with 150 artists from around the country selling their works. Audubon Park, September 22-23
Aquatseli Bluegrass Festival “Aquatseli” is Cherokee for “our,” so make this bluegrass extravaganza yours and check out the instrument workshops, open jams, square dancing, clogging, vendors, and more. Meeman-Shelby Forest Millington State Park, September 23
High Point Arts Fair Make this fair the high point of your weekend. Artists and artisans will gather to sell their handmade goods, breads, jewelry, pottery, desserts, and more. The Point, September 23
Latin Fest Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at Cazateatro Bilingual Theatre Group’s Latin Fest, where friends and families can listen to and dance to live Latin music, taste Latin food and drinks, enjoy activities for kids, and shop from vendors. Overton Square, September 23
Memphis Comic Expo BOOM! BAM! POP! What’s all that ruckus? It’s the Memphis Comic Expo coming back to town, this year with Kevin Eastman, co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, as a special guest. As always, the expo shines a spotlight on artists and writers in the world of comics, bringing the best local and regional talent. Agricenter International, September 23-24
Wiseacre Oktoberfest Zicke zacke, zicke zacke, hoi hoi hoi! Oktoberfest is back, boy oh boy. So dust off your steins and snap on your lederhosen for a day with food trucks, Mighty Souls Brass Band, a stein-holding competition, and more. Wiseacre Brewing Company, September 23
Gonerfest 20 Going, going, gone off to Gonerfest 20 for four days of rocking music, courtesy of Goner Records. The lineup is exquisite, and tickets are selling out already. Railgarten, September 28-October 1
Bartlett Festival With the Judge Freeman Marr Panther Pride 5k to kick things off, this festival boasts local music, arts and crafts, a car show, children’s activities, a barbecue cooking contest, concessions, and so much more. W.J. Freeman Park, September 29-30
Mempho Music Festival (Photo by Austin Friedline)
Mempho Music Festival I know I’m preaching to the choir when I say that the Mempho Music Festival always hits the right note when it comes to composing a finely tuned experience. This year’s headliners are The Black Crowes, My Morning Jacket, and Turnpike Troubadours. Radians Amphitheater, Memphis Botanic Garden, September 29-October 1
OCTOBER
Wine on the River Memphis Put a cork in it, they say. Stop whining about your love of wine. Well, this event wants you to pour out your passion as they serve wine from all around the world. Tom Lee Park, October 7
King Biscuit Blues Festival Hear ye, hear ye, King Biscuit Blues Festival is back for its annual three-day event, complete with the Flour Power 5K, the Tour da Delta bicycle race, and a Kansas City-sanctioned BBQ Contest, all in historic Downtown Helena. Oh, and of course, there’ll be blues music — lots of blues music — on six stages. Helena, AR, October 4-7
Crown Me Royal Film Fest This noncompetitive film festival boasts panels, workshops, and independent film screenings from BIPOC behind-the-scenes filmmakers and creatives from all media platforms. Visible Music College, October 6-8
Soul of the City Spies, outlaws, political bosses, religious figures, ne’er-do-wells, gallants — no, we’re not talking about a period drama; we’re talking about Elmwood Cemetery’s 20th annual Soul of the City, the reenactment tour that keeps the dead coming back year after year. (And the living enjoy it, too.) Elmwood Cemetery, October 13-14
Barktober Fest Lie down with the dogs, and you wake up with the best sleep ever. So support the cute pups at Streetdog Foundation’s Barktober Fest, where you can sample brews created just for this event by local homebrewers, as well as your faves from local breweries. The Shops of Saddle Creek, October 7
Oktoberfest Oh what a brewtiful day it will be for Grind City’s Oktoberfest, where there will be beer and live music and games all day long, including a bratwurst toss, keg carry competition, beer sliding competition, and a stein-holding contest. Grind City Brewing Company, October 7
Memphis Bacon & Bourbon Festival Bacon + bourbon = good times for all. It’s simple math, really. FedEx Event Center at Shelby Farms Park, October 7
Memphis miniFEST Everything’s cuter when it has a mini version, and this miniFEST is no exception. An evening of music, arts, and community in a festival-style atmosphere — what could be more charming than that? Hi Tone, October 7
(Photo: Courtesy Paint Memphis)
Paint Memphis Paint the town red … and green … and pink … and blue … and, like, all the colors at Paint Memphis, the festival that features around 100 artists from all over the world who will create murals in the Edge District. The day will be complete with music, a vendor market, kids area, food trucks, and more. The Edge District, October 7
Deep Blues Festival Navy, indigo, cobalt, azure, sapphire — those are just some of my favorite shades of deep blue. But, let’s be frank here, the Deep Blues Festival has the best deep blues out there with a lineup that hits the right shade of outsider and alternative blues. Clarksdale, MS, October 12-15
Mississippi Delta Tennessee Williams Festival Are you a streetcar? ’Cause you look like your name should be Desire. I promise I’m not a player, just a play lover, and if you are too, meet me at the Tennessee Williams Festival, where we can enjoy screenings, lectures, and performances. Clarksdale, MS, October 12-14
Tambourine Bash The tambourine has been around since antiquity, and while the Tambourine Bash hasn’t been around nearly as long, it’s become a mainstay here in the 901, known for its Memphis music collaborations. Overton Park Shell, October 12
If you like tequila, you’ll want to give this festival a shot, with 50+ types of tequila and mezcal available for tasting and a full-on party. Shelby Farms Event Center, October 13
Edge Motorfest Call me car-azy, but the Edge Motor Museum has an engine-ous event, complete with over 150 cool cars, food trucks, vendor booths, and more. Edge Motor Museum, October 14
Memphis Food & Wine Festival It’s wine o’clock somewhere. Sorry. I know what you’re thinking — that’s so cheesy, borderline offensive. But this festival will never offend your culinary senses as it showcases local chefs alongside acclaimed national chefs and top global vineyards. Memphis Botanic Garden, October 14
Outlaw Music Festival Wanted: You at the Outlaw Music Festival. Reward: An incredible lineup featuring Willie Nelson & Family, The Avett Brothers, Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs, Elizabeth Cook, and Particle Kid. BankPlus Amphitheater at Snowden Grove, October 14
Ska-Tober Fest 2023 Meddlesome is making ska cool with its Ska-Tober Fest, featuring The Big News, Boss Battle, The Hotrails, Runaway Ricochet, The Taj Motel Trio, The Skalors, and The Lung Darts. Meddlesome Brewing Company, October 14
Fall Fest at the Nest No need to fly the nest just yet — not when the Fall Fest at the Nest has rides, attractions, vendors, live music, a barbecue contest, a car show, raffle, food trucks, and more. St. Benedict at Auburndale High School, October 19-21
Art on Fire This fest is fire (as in it’s super fun and awesome, not as in Fyre Fest). With live music, tastings from local restaurants, drinks, an art sale, and a roaring bonfire, this night will set your heart aflame. Dixon Gallery & Gardens, October 21
BAM! Wiseacre Beer and Music Festival Just like Emeril, this inaugural festival of beer and music will bring out the spice in life, with a side of BAM! Wiseacre Brewing Company, October 21
Cooper-Young Beerfest Hoppy times are in store at this festival bringing all your favorite regional breweries to town. Midtown Autowerks, October 21
RiverArtsFest And we’re rolling, rolling, rolling down the river. Big wheel keep on turning, the arts keep on burning — every year at the RiverArtsFest, where more than 150 artists from around the country gather in Memphis to exhibit and sell their latest works of art. Downtown Memphis, October 21-22
Honey Music Festival Honey, I shrunk my taste in music — if only there was a way to magnify my exposure to great music. Oh wait, there is! The second-ever Honey Music Festival, where attendees will enjoy a wide range of musical genres and styles. From classical compositions to contemporary jazz, there’s something for everyone, no matter how small their taste in music. Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center at the University of Memphis, October 22
Indie Memphis Film Festival Let’s go to the movies. Let’s go see the stars at the Indie Memphis Film Festival, a six-day celebration of film — independent features, documentaries, and short films from all of the world. Various locations, October 24-29
Dia de Los Muertos Parade and Festival Dia de Los Muertos is — dare I say — deadicated to celebrating and honoring ancestors who lived before us. On this day, enjoy a parade beginning in Overton Square with floats and performers making their way to the plaza at the Brooks Museum, where you can enjoy art-making activities, face painting, music, costumed performers, dance performances, and more. Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, October 28
Hambone Festival Presented by artist and musician Stan Street, this music festival features a stellar lineup, a jam night, street parties, and Cruisin’ the Crossroads Car & Truck Show. Hambone Art Gallery & the Shack Up Inn, Clarksdale, MS, October 27-30
NOVEMBER
Mushroom Festival There might not be mushroom in this paper to talk about this festival, but our hearts have mushroom for this three-day fungi extravaganza with music, food, art, forays, workshops, demonstrations, and more. Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park, November 3-5
(Photo: Courtesy Memphis Japan Festival)
Memphis Japan Festival Enjoy a family-friendly, interactive, and hands-on experience of Japanese culture featuring food, entertainment, games, crafts, and more. Memphis Botanic Garden, November 5
Memphis Grilled Cheese Fest This festival will have you cheesing ear to ear as you sample grilled cheese after grilled cheese, made by local chefs, restaurants, natural-born cheese lovers, and maybe even you if you sign up to compete in the cook-off. Hi Tone, November 5
Memphis Crafts & Drafts Festival: Holiday Market Holiday … celebrate … if you can’t tell I have a certain Madonna song in my head, but it puts me in a good mood, almost as much as Memphis Crafts & Drafts, the best crafts market around. The day will be … it will be so nice. Crosstown Concourse, November 11-12
M-Town Funk & Blues Fest Won’t you take me to Funkytown? And by that I, of course, mean the M-Town Funk & Blues Fest, where Midnight Star, Original Lakeside, Larry Dodson and Band, and Bobby Rush will keep you moving, keep you grooving with some energy. Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, November 25
DECEMBER
Holiday Spirits: A Christmas Cocktail Festival Put the rum in pa-rum pa pum pum and the spirits back in Christmas because it’s the most wonderful time to say cheers with this festival of cocktails, music, and the big man in red. The Kent, December 1
AutoZone Liberty Bowl Liberty, liberty, liberty — no, this isn’t an insurance commercial with an emu. This is THE Liberty Bowl, where football, parties, and more happen. Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, December 29
When Collage Dance started planning their third annual Memphis Dance Festival, set for Saturday, September 16th, they were thinking so big that planning began back before the second annual festival even commenced. The payoff? Having Collage’s professional touring company perform side by side with the renowned Rebirth Brass Band. While most touring companies, including the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, typically dance to prerecorded tracks, this special celebration — it’s also National Dance Day — calls for a unique collaboration where both music and dance can unfold in the moment. In bringing a group of such stature to Memphis for a free festival, Collage is signaling a commitment to both its art and the community in a major way.
As executive director Marcellus Harper explains, not just any live band would do. “We definitely sought them out. This has been two years in the making. Last year, we had the Hot 8 Brass Band, also from New Orleans, but I’m personally a big fan of Rebirth. [Artistic Director] Kevin [Thomas] and I love New Orleans: the culture, the food, the music. And I remember seeing Rebirth at the Maple Leaf Bar. It was packed with the most diverse group of people I’ve ever seen and they were all vibing along. It’s such an emotionally evocative music that it really makes you feel something.”
Collage Dance Collective (Photo by Brittney Scales)
That’s especially true for the upcoming Memphis Dance Festival appearance, which will culminate with the band and the Collage Dance Collective performing New Second Line, choreographer Camille A. Brown’s response to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Dance fans may know the piece from a 2018 TED Conference performance available online (Brown was a TED Fellow), but even that relied partly on a prerecorded track. The Memphis staging will be all the more galvanizing for being completely live, and for being so familiar to the dancers.
“We’ve been performing this piece for almost eight years,” says Harper. “It comes in and out of the repertoire, though the work was not created for our company. Camille is a pretty famous choreographer in the dance world. It’s a piece I saw many years ago, and I just loved the combination of the music and the high-energy dancing. It really connected with the audience. And that’s what we really are all about: finding ways to connect with audiences who might feel like dance is not for them, and really getting them excited about it.”
The Rebirth Brass Band’s command of nearly all eras and styles of African-American musical heritage, from New Orleans music to hip-hop, jazz, soul, and funk, dovetails neatly with Collage Dance’s origin “in response to the ballet industry’s lack of racial diversity on stage.” As Harper points out, “So often in dance — and ballet, in particular — the themes, the stories, and the narratives have left many people out. I think that’s part of the reason that dance audiences aren’t diverse. People want to connect to what they see. And so with New Second Line, you have this great music and this really powerful story of resilience and navigating grief. It’s especially relevant for African-American cultures and cultures of the African diaspora, and particularly in New Orleans. And even though the piece is inspired by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, you’ll see a lot of celebration in it. The piece is actually very jubilant and very joyous. And it really complements that beautiful brass band sound.”
Ultimately, hosting a festival with a free concert by one of the nation’s premier jazz and funk groups is indicative of how far Collage has come since moving to Memphis in 2007. Lately, their years of work have paid off in the form of the new dance center, completed in 2020, being named a “Southern Cultural Treasure” by South Arts and the Ford Foundation, and, just last month, receiving a $2 million dollar grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. All of the above will give plenty of cause for celebration at the festival, and not just by Collage dancers and students: Many dance groups will take the stage on September 16th, including Lil Buck. Noting the diverse lineup, Harper says that through the Memphis Dance Festival, “the community gets an opportunity to witness our city as both a music town and a dance town. With two of the largest dance companies in the nation right here in Memphis, it’s outstanding to say dance has also created its home here.”
The Memphis Dance Festival is at Collage Dance Center, Saturday, September 16th, noon-4 p.m.
Attentive veterans of Memphis politics — and of the city’s mayoral contests, in particular — tend to remember very few of the mayor’s races that have occurred since the pivotal year of 1991 as having been especially meaningful.
There was the 1991 election itself, a genuine watershed event, which saw the election of former school superintendent Willie Herenton as the first elected Black mayor in Memphis history.
There was the 1999 showdown involving Herenton, running for his third term, and a crowded field of challengers, the most significant of whom was undoubtedly local government veteran Joe Ford, who bore the hopes of his powerful and entrenched inner-city political clan for taking over the reins of city government.
There was the 2007 three-way contest between incumbent Herenton and two well-supported challengers, Councilwoman Carol Chumney and former MLGW president Herman Morris.
It almost goes without saying that Herenton, the victor in all of these races, was the key player in each of them. It is even possible to speak of a generational slice of Memphis politics as having been The Herenton Era.
It might seem outwardly that such an era passed away, along with Herenton’s post-election waffling after 2007 and his decision ultimately to abandon his mayoral seat. As we know, it was won in a 2009 special election by then County Mayor AC Wharton, who won again in 2011 over Councilman Edmund Ford Sr.
Wharton was in his turn unseated by Councilman Jim Strickland, who won again in 2019.
But wait, here we go in one more mayoral election year, and who do we see again but Willie Herenton, who has literally won or been at the top of every poll so far conducted about the race?
For reasons of his own, the former mayor has chosen not to exploit his position in the polls to gain further traction in any of the season’s several concluded and still pending mayoral forums.
But he is aware of his standing, and he knows the influence polling results have on elections. In the aforementioned 2007 mayoral race, the incumbent, then running for a fifth term, was under fire from the electorate and knew it.
An expectant public, then and now, was all too well attuned to such polls as were made public. There were two in the last weeks of the race when the main question on voters’ minds was who — Chumney or Morris — had the best chance to defeat Herenton. Interestingly, that may be the crucial question in this year’s race as well.
And the answer came, in two successive polls, one of which showed Chumney as being closest to unseating Herenton, the other of which concluded for Morris.
The baseball term “Tie goes to the runner” can be invoked. Herenton outpolled both of his opponents.
The Herenton Theory of the 2023 election is that whichever other candidate proves to be a true runner-up, poll-wise, to the venerable former mayor will inherit a flock of last-minute votes and go on to win.
The much-vaunted Emerson College poll, recently published by WREG, is of less help than it originally seemed. True, candidate Paul Young finished strongly behind Herenton in first-choice votes for mayor. But opponent Floyd Bonner’s people point out that when strongly leaning uncommitteds are added to the total, the sheriff and the Downtown Memphis Commission CEO are all tied up.
They note further that the poll seems to over-sample, at 20 percent, millennials, a hotbed of Young’s support and a demographic group that normally votes in the 5-percent range.
Two points: (1) There will be other polls between now and October 5th, and (2) is it possible that Herenton himself will win, as in 2007?
The best thing about Emma Seligman’s 2020 film Shiva Baby is the intimate connection between director and lead actor. Rachel Sennott’s Danielle is a college senior facing adult life by making a bunch of questionable choices, like the secret sugar daddy whom she uses for financial support instead of getting a job. Shiva Baby is one of those rare films that earns the “dramedy” moniker. Yes, it’s an extraordinarily well-done cringe comedy, but you actually end up caring about what happens to these (admittedly obnoxious) people.
Seligman and Sennott re-teamed for Bottoms, a completely different kind of comedy that hints at a deep well of potential for this duo. This time, Sennott stars as PJ, a would-be Ferris Bueller at Rockbridge Falls High School. The problem, as she and her best friend Josie (Ayo Edebiri) express it, is that they’re not the talented, charming kind of gay kids, but rather the sarcastic and abrasive kind. Sure, the Gen Z high schoolers are not nearly as uptight about sexual orientation as they were when John Hughes was making his teenage dramedies, but that doesn’t help PJ or Josie get laid. Nor does it help that they set their sights impossibly high. No matter what gender they are, losers of PJ and Josie’s caliber have no shot with the pair of cheerleaders as radiantly perfect as Isabel (Havana Rose Liu) and Brittany (Kaia Gerber). Josie’s plan is to patiently wait until their 20th high school reunion and hope Isabel has been ground down enough by life to settle for her.
PJ convinces her that the long game is not viable, so they go to the school’s opening weekend carnival determined to shoot their shot. It’s an unmitigated, but incredibly funny, disaster. Josie’s opening lines include “I like all the holes in your pants” and “Oh look, you’re skinny, too!”
As they’re leaving in humiliated defeat, they witness a parking lot fight between Isabel and her quarterback boyfriend Jeff (Nicholas Galitzine). When they offer Isabel a safe ride home, Jeff tries to stop them from driving away, and flops at the slightest contact between the bumper and his precious QB knee. His teammates (who always dress in full football pads and uniform) rush to his aid. The approaching homecoming game against arch rival school Huntington High means this delicate flower must be protected at all cost. As rumors spread that PJ and Josie spent the summer in juvie, they are called into the principal’s office (Wayne Péré, deliciously slimy). Frantically BS-ing to keep from getting expelled, Josie claims their altercation with Jeff was part of a women’s self-defense club. As their infamy spreads, PJ sees an opportunity. They’ll start a fight club, get the cheerleaders involved, then, hopefully, nature will take its course.
Bottoms stars Shiva Baby’s Rachel Sennott and The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri as teenage fight club leaders looking to get laid. What could go wrong?
It is, of course, a terrible plan, but that doesn’t stop their burly coach-turned-social studies teacher Mr. G (NFL legend Marshawn Lynch) from signing on as faculty sponsor. PJ’s attempt to become high school Tyler Durden are hilariously pathetic — and made even more hilarious by the fact that they actually work in attracting not only their fellow losers like Hazel (Ruby Cruz), but also Isabel and Brittany.
Sennott and Edebiri are on fire in Bottoms. Josie is the mistress of the rapid, spiraling meltdown. Sennott slowly reveals the desperation lurking below the surface of PJ’s cynical bravado. Fight Club, David Fincher’s classic of male fin de siècle ennui, has long been ripe for a good skewering. Seligman and Sennott gleefully subvert Brad Pitt’s famous speech to the new recruits; the first rule of this fight club is “be punctual.” But the camaraderie of violence works just the same for awkward high school girls as it does for disaffected office workers. As PJ and Josie get lost in “body contact exercises” with the cheerleaders, the group drifts into low-level terrorism. In true Heathers fashion, the adults are so clueless and self-involved that they paper over every new, absurd event.
Seligman’s direction is razor-sharp. Even as she’s hanging Fincher’s pretensions out to dry, she learns from his strengths. There’s no lazy, flat comedy lighting here, and her image composition belie a Kubrickian precision. She honed her lead duo to perfection but didn’t neglect her supporting characters — who knew Marshawn Lynch had such great comic timing? Bottoms is the best high school comedy since Booksmart, and, for my money, an instant classic.
