Streeeeeetch at Delta Groove Yoga Festival this weekend. (Photo: Courtesy Delta Groove Yoga)
Memphis Tattoo Festival Renasant Convention Center Friday-Sunday, April 5-7 Some tattoos aren’t meant to be seen, but at the Memphis Tattoo Festival you’re gonna see them all, whether you like it or not. The three-day tattoo extravaganza will have live tattooing from over 200 of the world’s best artists, plus merchandise, tattoo contests, and art-making. Many artists will book the festival in advance, but there will be opportunities each day to find artists that are taking walk up tattoos on a first come first serve basis. You must be 18+ to get tatted. Tickets are $55 for the weekend, and $25 for the day. If you like tattoos, check out U of M’s Tattoos Today: A Body Art Expo on Monday, April 8, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. It’s going to be a showcase and competition celebrating tattoos as artistic expression. Free to attend!
Grind City Music Festival Grind City Brewing Co. Friday-Saturday, April 5-6 Are you a little bit country? A little bit rock-and-roll? Well, this two-day festival of Americana, alternative country, and rock-and-roll music is just for you. The lineup on Friday is: Young Mister (3 p.m.), Drayton Farley (4 p.m.), Daniel Danto’s Cosmic Country (5 p.m.), Muscadine Bloodline (7:30 p.m.), and Charley Crockett (9 p.m.). Saturday: Raneem Imam (2 p.m.), Lucky 7 Brass Band & Friends (2:30 p.m.), Blackillac (3:50 p.m.), Ole 60 (5 p.m.), Nikki Lane (6:15 p.m.), The Red Clay Strays (7:30 p.m.), and Whiskey Myers (9 p.m.) Doors open at 2 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. and Saturday. Single-day tickets are $69 (yeah, they are), and weekend passes are sold out, sucka. VIP passes are $249, though. Get your tix here.
Central to the Arts Festival University of Memphis Saturday, April 6, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. For this artsy fest, University of Memphis campus along Central Avenue will be filled with live performances, film showings, installations, fashion shows, and interactive arts booths. Here’s a full schedule of all that’s going on. Oh, and it’s free to attend.
Delta Groove Yoga Festival Overton Square Saturday, April 6, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. It’s not that big of a stretch to say that this festival is for posers — yoga posers, of course. The day will feature lots of — you guessed it — yoga, with live music. On the schedule are slow flow yoga with multi-instrumentalist Sean Murphy, kundalini yoga with guitar, yin yoga with cello, and yoga nidra with a sound bath. You can get a full-day pass for $33 or drop-in for a class for $11. Tickets and full schedule can be found here.
Bookstock Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library Saturday, April 6, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. This fest is one for the books. Literally. Bookstock is the largest annual local authors festival in Memphis. Expect 60+ local author exhibits, cultural performances, book giveaways, keynote speakers (this year’s are Avery Cunningham and Sidney Thompson), lots for the kids to do, and so much more. Find a full schedule of events here.
Love Food Hate Waste Memphis Made Brewing Company Saturday, April 6, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Project Green Fork presents this free, family-friendly event featuring live chef demos, food-saving tips, games, prizes, and complimentary specialty beer.
Total Eclipse of the Heart Monday brings a friggin’ eclipse. An eclipse! Well, kinda. Here in Memphis We’re only getting a partial view, but still it’s a big deal. Big enough that everyone and their grandma has an event scheduled. Memphis will experience the eclipse at 98 percent totality at approximately 1:56 p.m. But don’t let it eclipse your workday. I’m sure that’s what the ol’ boss’ll be saying when everyone’s gone for a few hours to go look at the sky. (Oh, and have you checked out our cover story from last week on this very eclipse????)
Eclipse Preview Weekend: MoSH is here to teach you the science-y stuff behind the eclipse with a cool eclipse simulation in the planetarium plus some cool activities like making an eclipse viewer from a cereal box. Museum of Science & History, Saturday-Sunday, April 6-7, during, like, opening hours obv
Total Eclipse of the Park (Partial Eclipse Edition): Watch the celestial spectacle from the Greensward with free eclipse viewing glasses. Lunch options from Feast and Graze will be available for purchase. Register here. Overton Park, Monday, April 8, 12:30-3 p.m.
Solar Eclipse Rooftop Viewing Party: Get an eclipse-themed drink, music, and exclusive views. Beck & Call, Monday, April 8, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m., $23.18
Solar Eclipse Drop-In Activity: Join Memphis Botanic Garden for an eclipse viewing on the lawn. Children can plant a moonflower or sunflower to take home. No registration is necessary. Eclipse glasses will be available for purchase. Free with garden admission. Memphis Botanic Garden, Monday, April 8, 1 p.m.
Solar Eclipse Preparty Moonpie & Beer Pairing: Three different flavors of moonpies paired with three beers and a pair of solar eclipse viewing glasses. Proceeds benefit The Dream Factory of Memphis. Meddlesome Brewing Company, Sunday, April 7, noon, $15
Solar Eclipse Viewing on the Mounds: Join a T.O. Fuller Park Ranger for a walk to the Chucalissa mounds to view the eclipse. Bring a lunch if you’d like and a blanket or chair and water. Solar eclipse glasses will be provided. Reserve your spot soon, there are only 10 spots available. T.O. Fuller State Park, Monday, April 8, 12:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m., $5
Pro Tip: You can get solar eclipse glasses for FREE at your local library branch. So far, they’re out of stock at Cordova, East Shelby Library, Frayser Library, and Raleigh Library.
Resident Artists Open Studios Crosstown Arts Tuesday, April 9, 6-8 p.m. Visit Crosstown Arts’ resident artists’ studios during the Open Studios night. Residency alumnus Nelson Gutierrez will present his installation A Journey into the Shadows spanning from the second-floor balcony to Crosstown Theater.
MAS Kitten Shower Memphis Animal Services Thursday, April 11, 5:30-7 p.m. Embrace your inner cat lady already and join MAS for the annual Kitten Shower to celebrate the start of kitten season with food, games, prizes, and fun. Consider making a donation. MAS is registered on Amazon. You can also buy many of these products locally and drop them off or have them delivered to MAS at 2350 Appling City Cove.
There’s always something happening in Memphis. See a full calendar of events here.
A consortium of organizations want systemic changes in the youth justice system and have formally requested a meeting with Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner to address them.
The Black Clergy Collaborative of Memphis (BCCM) announced on Wednesday that they, along with nine other organizations, delivered to Bonner seeking his help to develop a new plan to address issues they see in the system. The consortium includes Stand for Children – Tennessee, Gifts of Life Ministries, Whole Child Strategies, Just City, Shelby Countywide Juvenile Justice Consortium, The Equity Alliance, Memphis for All, Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope (MICAH), and Youth Justice Action Council (YJAC).
The biggest concern for the group is that the Shelby County Youth Justice and Education Center has not allowed in-person visitation for several years. they also said youth are not receiving an education that parallels mainstream public school; they are not allowed time outdoors; and research and advocacy organizations are not allowed time with detained youth.
The groups say the youth justice system should “balance accountability with rehabilitation,” and that those who are detained should “ receive appropriate care, education, and support during their involvement with the legal process.”
The wellbeing of detained youth is dependent on community collaboration, they said, and they are “eager” to develop a plan focused on “youth adolescent development and their strengths.”That plan should include data, research, and evidence-based practices, they said, something missing now.
“Unfortunately, some organizations gathering data and performing research have been denied access to youth in detention who have lived experiences that can inform the plan that will help youth avoid interaction with the justice system and prevent them from returning if they have already been involved,” the groups said.
A report from the Disability Rights TN and Youth Law Center says “logistical and cost barriers” often stop families from visiting their children while they’re detained. The advocacy consortium listed a variety of other reasons like transportation burdens and phone restrictions that also have proved to be hurdles to visitation.
“Parents literally cannot parent their children, not because they don’t want to, but because the juvenile justice system erects barriers that make it virtually impossible to do so,” the report said.
The report from the law center also says detained youth “ are not receiving an education that parallels mainstream public schools and holds them to the same academic standards.”
“Receiving appropriate education ensures that youth eligible to return to school after release will be prepared to succeed in mainstream public schools and will not be further marginalized,” the groups said. “Youth who do not return to public education should have the tools to pursue a productive life after detention. “
The organizations requested that Bonner respond with his availability by this week. It was unclear if the meeting has been scheduled.
Legislation to let some public school teachers carry handguns advanced Tuesday in the Tennessee Senate as the Republican-controlled legislature quashed new attempts to tighten the state’s lax firearm laws following last year’s mass school shooting in Nashville.
The bill, which still faces votes before the full Senate and House, would let a teacher or staff member carry a concealed handgun at school after completing 40 hours of certified training in school policing at their own expense, as well as passing a mental health evaluation and FBI background check.
The local district and law enforcement agency would decide whether to let faculty or staff carry a gun under the bill co-sponsored by Sen. Paul Bailey of Sparta and Rep. Ryan Williams of Cookeville, both Republicans.
But parents would not be notified if their student’s teacher is armed, which runs counter to the GOP’s emphasis on parental rights and notification on education matters such as curriculum and library materials.
“The director of schools, principal, and the chief of the local law enforcement agency are the only ones notified of those permitted to carry,” Bailey told senators, “and they are not to disclose if someone is or is not permitted to carry on school grounds.”
The 7-1 vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee comes as Tennessee’s legislature continues to pass measures aimed at fortifying school campuses rather than restricting gun access in one of the most gun-friendly states in America.
Gov. Bill Lee later called lawmakers back for a special session on public safety. But none of the bills that passed specifically addressed concerns about easy access to guns that were raised by the March 27 shooting at Nashville’s Covenant School, where a 28-year-old intruder, who police said was under a doctor’s care for an “emotional disorder,” used legally purchased guns to shoot through the glass doors.
This year, bills moving through the legislature would require age-appropriate gun safety training for school children as young as kindergarten; change school fire alarm protocols to take into account active-shooter situations; create a pilot program to give teachers wearable alarms; increase safety training for school bus drivers; and set guidelines to digitize school maps so first responders can access school layouts quickly in an emergency, among other things.
Meanwhile, Democratic-sponsored legislation to restrict gun access by broadening background checks and promoting secure firearm storage have met swift defeats. Earlier on Tuesday, one House panel dismissed, without discussion, a bill seeking to ban semi-automatic rifles in Tennessee.
School safety is one of the top three education concerns of Tennessee parents, but significantly fewer parents agree that schools are safer when teachers are armed, according to the latest results in an annual poll from the Vanderbilt Center for Child Health Policy.
Sen. London Lamar, a Memphis Democrat who voted against the measure, said more guns aren’t the solution to stopping gun violence.
“I do not think that it is the responsibility of teachers in our state, who have taken the oath to educate our children, to now become law enforcement officers,” she said.
Lamar also expressed concern about one provision to shield districts and law enforcement agencies from potential civil lawsuits over how a teacher or school employee uses, or fails to use, a handgun under the proposed law.
Organizations representing Tennessee teachers and school superintendents prefer policies that place an officer in every school over any that could arm faculty.
But Bailey told the Senate panel that nearly a third of the state’s 1,800-plus public schools still don’t have a school resource officer, despite an influx of state money to pay for them.
Law enforcement groups have struggled to recruit enough candidates because of inadequate pay, occupational stress, and changing public perceptions about the profession.
“Everybody’s got a shortage right now, but it’s been going on for years,” said Lt. Kyle Cheek, president of the Tennessee School Resource Officers Association.
Cheek, who oversees school-based deputies in Maury County, said equipping a teacher for school policing would require extensive training beyond a basic firearms course. And it would raise other concerns too.
“Who takes care of the teacher’s class if they’re going to check out a security issue?” he told Chalkbeat. “It’s a huge responsibility.”
The advancement of Bailey’s Senate bill means the measure likely will face votes this month in the full Senate and House before the legislature adjourns its two-year session.
The House version cleared numerous committees last year, but Williams did not pursue a vote by the full chamber after the Covenant tragedy prompted gun control advocates to stage mass protests at the Capitol.
Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
The Association of American Medical Colleges has found that not only do Black men make up less than 3 percent of physicians, but that the enrollment of Black men in medical school drastically declined between 1978 and 2014.
The organization said their recent data “shows little improvement.” and that the “percentage of Black men in medical schools has increased only slightly since 2016.”
This information represents a national problem, but stakeholders and physicians in the Memphis community are determined to address the issue locally, as well,
Baptist Health Sciences University has historically held its Black Men In White Coats: Building Diverse Health Care Professionals Annual Summit in hopes of addressing this inequity, and empowering minority students to seek careers in medicine and science. On Saturday, April 6, the university will hold its sixth iteration of the event from 8;30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Baptist Health Science University assembly.
Event organizers say the free event will provide hands-on demonstrations, opportunities to learn about local resources, financial literacy, and more. Students will also be able to “speed network” with local healthcare professionals.
This event follows the announcement that the university was awarded chapter status with Black Men in White Coats in October. The national initiative was founded by Dr. Dale Okorodudu to encourage Black male students to consider careers in medicine and “increase ethnic and socioeconomic diversity in the field of medicine.”
Keith Norman, vice president of chief government affairs and community relations officer for Baptist Memorial Health Care, said they’ve seen first-hand the decline in the number of African-American males entering medical school and serving as healthcare practitioners at “every level.”
“We wanted to change that dynamic,” Norman said. “In a city like Memphis, Tennessee, where we see a population of 65 percent African Americans and then we see the increase of poverty and such high determinants of health — social determinants of health — that are moving in the wrong direction, we know that by increasing the number of African-American male and female practitioners we can help to improve the economy, as well as drive down the social determinants of health, and have better health outcomes for the entire population.”
The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion defines social determinants of health as “the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.
Norman added that representation in any field of study is always increased when “people can see others like themselves and hear their stories.” He said when participants interact with mentors and other professionals, they are encouraged to matriculate and “finish the course.”
Lilian Nyindodo, chair and associate professor of Biomedical Sciences, at Baptist Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine, said one of the primary goals of this event is to increase mentorship, as it has been identified as a factor to “boost the confidence” of Black men looking to enter the field.
Nyindodo also said lack of financial resources and literacy often pose problems and Baptist’s event hopes to remedy this. “We acknowledge that people who do come from underrepresented communities are first-generation students,” Nyindodo said. “They do not understand how to navigate paying for tuition, so that’s going to be a resource that’s going to be offered to them.”
Organizers hope the momentum and lessons learned from the event will continue long after the event is over, and mentors are able to share their knowledge and expertise on an ongoing basis. “It’s much more than an introduction on Saturday,” Nyindodo said. “It’s a lot of follow-through activities for years to come.”
Nyindodo added that being intentional in the community is important, because following up often ensures students will follow through in their endeavors. “We try to be intentional to stay present and give the students what they need to be successful in choosing the health profession,” Nyindodo said.
From left: Martin Luther King III, Arndrea Waters King, Yolanda Renee King
Photo Courtesy United Nations
It’s never easy for the King family to come to Memphis.
Martin Luther King III was only 10 when his father was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel. It would be another 40 years before he would visit the site to place a memorial wreath.
This week, he’s back with his family: his wife Arndrea Waters King and daughter Yolanda Renee King. “This is the first time that we’ve done this as a family,” Arndrea says. “We felt that it was important to do so this year and we wanted to acknowledge those people that we feel are continuing, in their own way, the work of Martin Luther King Jr.”
As difficult as it is to make the journey, it’s also a testament to that work that compels the King family to gather here and encourage the efforts of those who share a dream of battling the “three evils of society: racism, poverty, and violence.”
On Thursday, April 4th, the National Civil Rights Museum will welcome the King family to the event “Remembering MLK: The Man. The Movement. The Moment.” The commemoration will be in the museum’s courtyard at 4 p.m. with a musical prelude followed by the commemorative service at 4:30 p.m. Mr. King will deliver the keynote address with a focus on the most significant social justice issues facing the nation today. (The event will be streamed via the museum’s website, YouTube, and Facebook platforms.)
The Drum Major Institute (DMI) is the nonprofit founded by Dr. King in 1961 to pursue social justice. Arndrea King is president of DMI and Mr. King is chairman and they are bringing the cause to the National Civil Rights Museum. They are also bringing their daughter, Yolanda Renee King, who is already making her mark as an activist and children’s book author.
Arndrea says that the need for social change is just as compelling as it ever was, and in some ways more so. “We feel that in some ways there’s a backward movement from the dream,” she says. “Laws are being passed where our daughter — Dr. King’s only grandchild — has fewer rights now at 16 than the day that she was born.”
The occasion of the 56th anniversary of Dr. King’s death gives DMI the opportunity to remind the nation of the continuing struggle. “It’s very important for us to be there to be assembled and a reminder of the sacrifice that so many people made,” Arndrea says, “but also to rededicate ourselves and hopefully for all people of goodwill to join us and rededicate themselves to the eradication of racism and bigotry and poverty and violence, and to dedicate themselves to peace and justice and equity.”
DMI will announce a number of grants for work being done by several organizations around the country toward that end. Those groups are working in various areas, such as voting rights, justice inequity, and more. Arndrea says, “We feel people are on the front lines of the same issues that Martin Luther King Jr. worked on. And I always remind people that he told us to give us the ballot before he told us about his dream. It’s also important to remember that Dr. King was not only a scholar and minister, but an activist. He saw what was wrong and helped organize change.”
With 2024 a major election year and with the nation seriously divided, Mr. King reflects on what more needs to be done. “It is daunting because of the mechanisms that are in place to divide,” he says. “That could be social media to some degree, that could be some elements of mainstream media and obviously a lot of individuals who may be influencers. Certainly, the megaphone that the former president has is probably doing the most damage, and people seem to be in denial or blind to it, seeing only what they think are the good things. We have to be very thoughtful and very direct intentional is what I would say.”
Mr. King believes the country wants to move in a different direction. “Even the people who are angry and frustrated and hostile at everyone — I can’t believe you want to stay that way. That is just not who we are as human beings. When a crisis comes, we find a way to come together, and I want us to operate the way we operate in those crises. We don’t ask, well, who is the victim? Who’s in trouble? What caused it? It doesn’t matter what your sexual orientation is, it doesn’t matter whether you are a Christian or not, it doesn’t matter. All we come to do is to help you get out of that situation and help you get to the other side.”
What he hopes for, and is working toward, is creating a climate where there can be discussions without rancor, but instead, “with an understanding that there are far more things that we have in common than we have apart. We call ourselves the United States of America, but we are not operating as a United States. We are operating as a fragmented, dysfunctional, very tragic society.”
And here, he cites his father. “My dad would’ve said that we must learn nonviolence or we may face nonexistence. We are not engaging in nonviolence and where we are, it’s not promoted. We must teach how to live together without destroying person or property and how to live in a civil society. You have to intentionally do that.”
Sometimes, though, it’s difficult. “That may be part of why my wife and I and our daughter chose to come to Memphis on this actual anniversary. It is a hard kind of scenario for us. But I also remember that Dad was killed on April 4, 1968, and then on April 8th, my mom and the three older ones of us, my late sister Yolanda and my late brother Dexter and I, along with Mom all came to Memphis for her to continue in the tradition of my father leading that demonstration so that sanitation workers could be treated with dignity and respect and paid a fair and decent wage.”
The involvement of Mr. King and his siblings, thanks to their mother, Coretta Scott King, was a lesson that continues today in that young people are a force to be brought in to help with the struggle. The Martin Luther King III Foundation has begun a five-year initiative called Realize the Dream that involves youth. As Arndrea says, “We’re going to ignite a movement where young people will come together, stand together, work together, serve together in whatever capacity that they choose, and collectively commit and complete 100 million hours of service by the 100th birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. It’s very important for young people, particularly those who were born post-Civil Rights Movement and went through the pandemic and racial awakening — they’ve also now gone through the backlash of that. They can see how they can be a part of doing something to create the world in which they want to live in a very tangible and real way. Dr. King said that everyone can be great because everyone can serve.”
Kali Reis and Jodi Foster star in True Detective: Night Country (Courtesy HBO)
Since its debut on HBO in 2014, True Detective has been a galvanizing show. Showrunner Nic Pizzolatto’s first season featured Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as detectives searching for an occultic serial killer in Louisiana over the course of two decades. It was unique in television, in that Pizzolatto wrote all eight episodes himself, and Cary Joji Fukunaga was the sole credited director. (Normally, TV shows have several writers who collaborate on scripts. The mandatory minimum size of these writer’s rooms was a major issue in last year’s Writer’s Guild of America strike.)
Each subsequent season of the anthology show has featured a different pair of detectives who can barely stand each other solving weird crimes. For season 2 in 2015, it was Colin Farrell and Rachel McAdams; season 3 featured Mahershala Ali and Carmen Ejogo in 2019. Pizzolatto started to develop season 4, but then left HBO in favor of a new deal at FX. Barry Jenkins and Issa López took over as executive producers, and took the show in a new direction — or least to a new locale.
Season four carries the subtitle Night Country because it is set in the fictional Alaskan town of Ennis, located above the Arctic Circle where the sun doesn’t rise at all during the depths of winter. Jodi Foster stars as Liz Danvers, Ennis’ chief of police. It’s a major casting coup, since Foster hasn’t been a regular in a TV series since the mid-1970s. And it pays off. Foster is one of the best actors of her or any other generation, and the greatest pleasure of Night Country is getting to spend six episodes watching her construct and tear down a complex character.
If I had to describe Capt. Danvers in one word, it would be “harsh.” She’s hard on everyone, from her stepdaughter Leah (Isabella Star LeBlanc) to protege Pete Prior (Finn Bennett), to her off-and-on lover of twenty years, Capt. Ted Connelly (Christopher Eccleston). But Danver’s harshest of all to her former partner, Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis, a former professional women’s boxing champion.) Navarro and Danvers split after their response to a murder-suicide case fell under scrutiny from their superiors, and led to both being reassigned to the backwater (or should I say “back-ice”) of Ennis.
Navarro sees ghosts, but that’s apparently not unusual in this town, where the veil between worlds seems thin. The former partners are forced back together when the entire crew of an arctic research station is found dead on the ice, frozen together in what Danvers calls a “corpsicle.” One of the few clues is a severed human tongue left behind in the station which belonged to a Native American woman named Annie Kowtok (Nivi Pedersen), whose murder Navarro has been obsessively investigating for years. How are the two crimes connected, and what do they have to do with the mining company that is polluting the community’s water?
Foster’s virtuosic performance brings it all together, even as some of the subplots spiral off into the arctic darkness. She’s a manic ball of snarling energy, hinting at the secret pain that causes her to lash out at everyone around her.
Lopez’s direction on all six episodes is exceptional. She brings elements of Lynchian surrealism (quiet northern town exists in uneasy proximity to an ancient supernatural force) and the John Carpenter horror classic The Thing. She knows how to produce a good jump scare, and how to hint at unknowable horrors lurking just offscreen. Like True Detective’s first season, Night Country benefits greatly from being the product of a singular artistic vision.
Credit: Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception via Facebook
Immaculate Conception Cathedral School (ICCS) will close at the end of this current school year, officials announced Wednesday morning.
The parish could not overcome financial hurdles nor a “constant struggle with enrollment” at the Midtown school, said Father Robert Szczechura, pastor of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The school will work with parents to direct their students to other Catholic schools in the area.
“We had hoped that our collaboration, promotion, and recruitment efforts for the school, combined with the availability of Tennessee’s Educational Savings Accounts program, would enable our enrollment to grow,” said Kadesha Gordon, ICCS principal “However, it became increasingly clear that our hopes were not sustainable. And, despite everyone’s hard work, the expense of maintaining a school is far beyond what the parish and community were able to support.”
The school operates classes from preschool through eighth grade. ICCS was established by the Sisters of Mercy in 1921, on the corner of Rozelle and Central in the Central Gardens.
“This is a very heartbreaking decision given the rich history of our school,” said Szczechura. “We prayed often, and our school board, parents, and parish leaders met many times to collaborate on all possibilities from several angles to keep the school open. Unfortunately, the ongoing lack of financial stability and our constant struggle with enrollment made it impossible for the parish to continue operating the school.”
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries author Eric G. Wilson claims, “Darker emotional states — doubt, confusion, alienation, despair — inspire a deeper and more durable experience of the sacred than contentment does.” I disagree. I know for a fact that an exquisite embrace of life’s holiness is equally possible through luminous joy and boisterous triumph and exultant breakthroughs. Propagandists of the supposed potency of misery are stuck in a habit of mind that’s endemic to the part of civilization that’s rotting and dying. In any case, Aries, I’m pleased to tell you that in the coming weeks, you will have abundant opportunities to glide into sacred awareness on the strength of your lust for life and joie de vivre.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Will humans succeed in halting the decimation of the environment? Will we neutralize the power of fundamentalism as it fights to quash our imaginations and limit our freedoms? Will we outflank and outlast the authoritarians that threaten democracy? Sorry I’m asking you to think about sad realities. But now is an excellent time for you to ponder the world we are creating for our descendants — and resolve to do something in loving service to the future. Meditate on the riddle from Lewis Carroll’s book Through the Looking Glass: “It’s a poor sort of memory that only works backwards.”
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The genius polymath Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) contributed much treasure to science and engineering. One encyclopedia sums up his legacy: “He was the father of observational astronomy, modern-era classical physics, the scientific method, and modern science.” Unfortunately, many of Galileo’s ideas conflicted with the teachings of Catholicism. The church fathers hounded him for years, even arresting him and putting him on trial. The Vatican eventually apologized, though not until 350 years after Galileo died. I expect that you, too, will generate many new approaches and possibilities in the coming months, Gemini — not Galileo level, of course, but still: sufficiently unprecedented to rouse the resistance of conventional wisdom. I suspect you won’t have to wait long to be vindicated, however.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Now would be a perfect time to prove your love. How? You might begin by being extra considerate, sensitive, sweet, and tender. I hope you will add sublime, scintillating touches, too. Maybe you will tell your beloved allies beautiful truths about themselves — revelations that make them feel deeply understood and appreciated. Maybe you will give them gifts or blessings they have wanted for a long time but never managed to get for themselves. It’s possible you will serenade them with their favorite songs, or write a poem or story about them, or buy them a symbol that inspires their spiritual quest. To climax all your kindness, perhaps you will describe the ways they have changed your life for the better.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Leo naturalist and ornithologist William Henry Hudson (1841–1922) said, “I am not a lover of lawns. Rather would I see daisies in their thousands, ground ivy, hawkweed, and dandelions with splendid flowers and fairy down, than the too-well-tended lawn.” I encourage you to adopt his attitude toward everything in your life for the next few weeks. Always opt for unruly beauty over tidy regimentation. Choose lush vitality over pruned efficiency. Blend your fate with influences that exult in creative expressiveness, genial fertility, and deep feelings. (PS: Cultural critic Michael Pollan says, “A lawn is nature under totalitarian rule.”)
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I praise and celebrate you for your skills at helping other people access their resources and activate their potentials. I hope you are rewarded well for your gorgeous service. If you are not, please figure out how to correct the problem in the coming months. If you are feeling extra bold, consider these two additional assignments: 1. Upgrade your skills at helping yourself access your own resources and activate your own potential. 2. Be forthright and straightforward in asking the people you help to help you.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I don’t regard a solar eclipse as a bad omen. On the contrary, I believe it may purge and cleanse stale old karma. On some occasions, I have seen it flush away emotional debts and debris that have been accumulating for years. So how shall we interpret the total solar eclipse that will electrify your astrological house of intimate togetherness in the coming days? I think it’s a favorable time to be brave and daring as you upgrade your best relationships. What habits and patterns are you ready to reinvent and reconfigure? What new approaches are you willing to experiment with?
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): At your best, you Scorpios are not invasive manipulators. Rather, you are catalysts. You are instigators of transformation, resurrectors of dead energy, awakeners of numb minds. The people you influence may not be aware that they long to draw on your influence. They may think you are somehow imposing it on them, when, in fact, you are simply being your genuine, intense self, and they are reaching out to absorb your unruly healing. In the coming weeks, please keep in mind what I’ve said here.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In my astrological opinion, it’s prime time for you to shower big wild favors on your beautiful self. Get the fun underway with a period of rigorous self-care: a physical check-up, perhaps, and visits with the dentist, therapist, hairstylist, and acupuncturist. Try new healing agents and seek precise magic that enhances and uplifts your energy. I trust you will also call on luxurious indulgences like a massage, a psychic reading, gourmet meals, an emotionally potent movie, exciting new music, and long, slow love-making. Anything else, Sagittarius? Make a list and carry out these tasks with the same verve and determination you would give to any important task.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The coming days will be a favorable time for you to wrestle with an angel or play chess with a devil. You will have extraordinary power in any showdown or collaboration with spiritual forces. Your practical intelligence will serve you well in encounters with nonrational enigmas and supernatural riddles. Here’s a hot tip: Never assume that any being, human or divine, is holier or wiser than you. You will have a special knack for finding compassionate solutions to address even the knottiest dilemmas.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Your featured organ of the month is your nose. This may sound beyond the scope of predictable possibilities, but I’m serious: You will make robust decisions and discriminating choices if you get your sniffer fully involved. So I advise you to favor and explore whatever smells good. Cultivate a nuanced appreciation for what aromas can reveal. If there’s a hint of a stink or an odd tang, go elsewhere. The saying “follow your nose” is especially applicable. (PS: I recommend you take steps to expose yourself to a wide array of scents that energize you and boost your mood.)
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): When is the best time to ask for a raise or an increase in benefits? Can astrology reveal favorable periods for being aggressive about getting more of what you want? In the system I use, the time that’s 30 to 60 days after your birthday is most likely to generate good results. Another phase is 210 to 240 days after your birthday. Keep in mind that these estimates may be partly fanciful and playful and mythical. But then in my philosophy, fanciful and playful and mythical actions have an honored place. Self-fulfilling prophecies are more likely to be fulfilled if you regard them as fun experiments rather than serious, literal rules.
Grind City Music Festival (Photo: Courtesy Grind City Brewing Company)
Hello there, spring! We’ve been sorely missing you, and thank goodness you’re here because that means it’s time for the Flyer’s “Spring Fairs & Festivals” issue. From April all the way through the summer, you won’t want to miss any of these events.
APRIL
Cooper Young Night Out Restaurants, bars, retail, and service businesses will stay open late to offer live music, discounts on food and drink, sidewalk sales, trivia games, shuffleboard, and more. Cooper-Young, first Thursday of the month
First Fridays on Broad Shop from your favorite Broad Avenue businesses after hours, and enjoy discounts and special activities, often with a theme. Broad Ave. Arts District, first Friday of the month
South Main Trolley Night The longest-running street festival in the city has returned this spring for its 24th season. Catch it on the last Friday of every month through September. South Main, last Friday of the month
Grind City Music Festival Are you a little bit country? A little bit rock-and-roll? Well, this two-day festival of Americana, alternative country, and rock-and-roll music will hit that sweet spot. Grind City Brewing Co., April 5-6
Memphis Tattoo Festival Some tattoos aren’t meant to be seen, but at the Memphis Tattoo Festival you’re gonna see them all, whether or not you like it. The three-day tattoo spectacle will have live tattooing from over 200 of the world’s best artists, plus merchandise, tattoo contests, and art-making. Renasant Convention Center, April 5-7
Bookstock (Photo: Courtesy Memphis Public Libraries)
Bookstock This fest is one for the books. Literally. Bookstock is the largest annual local authors festival in Memphis. Expect local author exhibits, cultural performances, book giveaways, keynote speakers (this year’s are Avery Cunningham and Sidney Thompson), and so much more. Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, April 6
Delta Groove Yoga Festival (Photo: Courtesy Delta Groove Yoga)
Delta Groove Yoga Festival It’s not that big of a stretch to say that this festival is for posers — yoga posers, of course. The day will feature lots of — you guessed it — yoga, plus live music. Overton Square, April 6
Central to the Arts Festival For this artsy fest, the University of Memphis campus along Central Avenue will be filled with live performances, film showings, fashion shows, and interactive arts booths. University of Memphis, April 6
Art in the Loop (Photo: Courtesy Art in the Loop)
Art in the Loop Let me loop you in on this arts festival in East Memphis. It’s got an artists market, it’s got live music, it’s got food trucks, and it’s got demonstrations. What doesn’t it have? Beats me. Ridgeway Loop Road, April 12-14
Mid-South Poets & Writers Festival This literary-focused two-day extravaganza will have a neighborhood barbecue, workshops, mixers, showcases, and more. Various locations, April 13-14
Terry Bean at Juke Joint Festival (Photo: Lou Bopp)
Juke Joint Festival Be a juke joint hero, with stars in your eyes, at this fest that’ll keep on rockin’ (just can’t stop) with more than 100 blues performances and real-deal juke joints. Clarksdale, MS, April 13
Shelby Forest Spring Fest This year’s Shelby Forest Spring Fest goes back to the wildest decade — the ’70s — for the wildlife-forward day that has live music, food, arts and crafts vendors, wildlife and cultural exhibits, and more. It’s gonna be a hoot. Meeman Shelby Forest, April 13
Bluff City Fest This music fest presented by the University of Memphis Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music will bring some of the best music in Memphis: rap, contemporary rock and pop, blues, jazz, and classic rock. The Bluff, April 17
The Memphis Uke-N-Roll Jamboree, a ukulele festival put on by the Memphis Ukulele Flash Mob. Festival was at the convention center on April 24, 2022. (Photo: Karen Pulfer Focht)
Ukulele Festival Uke can expect all things ukulele at this festival — open mics, workshops, sing-alongs, vendors, and more. Tickets must be purchased ahead of time at memphisukenroll.com. Renasant Convention Center, April 18-21
Africa in April Africa in April has chosen to salute the Republic of Gambia for its family-friendly festival, filled with live performances, food and merchandise vendors, and the International Diversity Parade. Robert R. Church Park, April 19-21
Good Vibes Comedy Festival The vibes will be just right, good even, when Memphis’ largest comedy festival brings you talent from all over the country to participate in podcasts, roast battles, themed shows, and stand-up comedy. The 2024 headliners are Renard Hirsch, Jayson Acevedo, Hannah Belmont, and Night Classy podcast’s Kat Barnhart and Hayley Madden. Hi Tone, April 19-20
Shell Daze You’ll be dazed but not confused by this lineup of musical acts, headlined by JJ Grey & Mofro and Oteil & Friends. Overton Park Shell, April 19-20
Cooper-Young Porchfest Porches were made for more than Amazon deliveries and spying on your neighbors. They can be stages, too — at least that’s the case for this unique music festival of free concerts on, yes, the front porches of the homes in Cooper-Young. Cooper-Young Historic District, April 20
Earth Day Festival The way the Earth rotates makes my day, and it oughta make yours, too. So celebrate the Earth on its special day (Earth Day, duh) at Shelby Farms Park, where adults and kids alike will have opportunities to experience, explore, and learn different ways of going green in Memphis. Shelby Farms Park, April 20
Knowledge Is Flower Festival This festival’s mission is to promote local farmers, herbalists, artists, and entrepreneurs. The day will have workshops, installations, community engagement opportunities, and local vendors. Arkwings, April 20
Regen Farm Festival Join Riley Family Farms for an afternoon of music and local farm-raised food, and celebrate farms helping build a better Mid-South through regenerative agriculture. Wiseacre Brewery, April 20
Spirit Fest Holistic, Metaphysical, & Crystal Expo Get physical … er, I mean, metaphysical at this holistic, metaphysical, crystal expo with vendors, readers, and healers from across the country. Agricenter International, April 20-21
World Championship Hot Wing Contest & Fest Wing, wing, wing, we have a winner. A winner, winner chicken-dinner. That’s what you’ll be hearing at this contest for the best wing. Oh, and it’s supporting The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Memphis. River Garden Park, April 20
Mimosa Festival Feeling mimosional? It’s okay. You’re in a safe space where you can indulge in all the mimosas. Tom Lee Park, April 21
Rajun Cajun Crawfish Festival Let’s get cray. What’s the o-cajun, you ask? The Rajun Cajun Crawfish Festival, supporting Porter-Leath. It’s a day of crawfish bobbing, eating, and racing, plus music, vendors, and more. Riverside Drive, April 21
Wine, Food and Music Spring Festival Prepare your tastebuds for this annual festival, whose flagship event features all things wine and food — wine vendors, classes, chef demonstrations, and more. The Medicine Factory, FedEx Event Center, Sunday 20-21
Double Decker Arts Festival Take part in this two-day celebration of food, music, and the arts. Oxford Courthouse Square, April 26-27
Overton Square Crawfish Festival Heads, you suck. Tails, you pinch. But the Overton Square Crawfish Festival doesn’t leave anything up to a coin toss when it comes to serving good crawfish. Overton Square, April 27
OttoFest Enjoy artists, bands, food trucks, and a playground at this arts and music fest. Peabody Park, April 27-28
Taste the Rarity Beer gets weird at this event that features breweries from all over the country. Wiseacre Brewing Company, April 27
MAY
Memphis in May International Festival For the month of May, this festival every year brings the world to Memphis and Memphis to the world, and this year it is saluting France through cultural events and performances, educational experiences, museum and gallery exhibits, films, luncheons, and the Memphis in May International Festival Gala. Memphis, May 1-31
River Beat Music Festival We got the beat. We got the beat. Yeah, the River Beat! The inaugural lineup has the Fugees, Odesza, and Jelly Roll, plus a bunch more. Tom Lee Park, May 3-5
Cigar & Whiskey BBQ Festival Talk about a smoke show. Cigars, whiskey, and barbecue come together for this celebration of flavor and fun. Meddlesome Brewing Company, May 4
Ruby Bridges Reading Festival Children pre-K through elementary school can receive free books at the festival, and they’ll enjoy storytelling and entertainment, including a reading and signing with Ruby Bridges herself. National Civil Rights Museum, May 4
Sunset Jazz Jazz up your summer plans with this free family-friendly jazz concert series. Court Square, May 12, June 9, July 14,August 11, September 8, October 13
World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest (Photo: Courtesy Memphis in May)
SmokeSlam Cue another barbecue contest. The inaugural SmokeSlam will include a carnival with games and rides, a marketplace, and an interactive area where fans will be able to sample food and participate in fun food-related events. Tom Lee Park, May 16-18
Memphis Vegfest This is one of the few events where you can truly veg out in a family-friendly environment full of vegan food options and sustainable and cruelty-free products. Agricenter International, May 19
Bluff City Fair We aren’t bluffin’ when we say the Bluff City Fair is a quintessential fair. It’s got attractions and shows, all your favorite fair fare, carnival rides, and kiddie rides, and it’s just plain fun. Liberty Bowl Stadium, May 24-June 2
Memphis Italian Festival When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore. When the world seems to shine like you’ve had too much wine, that’s just the Memphis Italian Festival, “where everyone is Italian.” Marquette Park, May 30-June 1
Memphis Pride Fest Weekend (Photo: Kevin Reed Photography)
Memphis Pride Fest Weekend June is the time for Pride, and Memphis Pride Fest does it best. Spanning four days, the celebration includes a Drag N Drive, complete with a movie screening and drag show; a dance party; the signature parade and festival with two stages, over 150 vendors, food trucks, and so much more; and a delightful brunch crawl. Various locations, May 30-June 2
JUNE
Memphis Margarita Festival Wasting away again in Margaritaville? Searching for a lost shaker of salt? The Memphis Margarita Festival, where you can sample from the city’s best margarita-makers, might be to blame. Overton Square, June 1
Memphis Dragon Boat Festival (Photo: Courtesy Memphis Dragon Boat Festival)
Memphis Dragon Boat Festival Dragon boat races, stage performances, arts and crafts, Asian street food — what more could you ask for? Hyde Lake at Shelby Farms Park, June 1
TriState Black Pride TriState Black Pride presents four days of fun, education, and community, with workshops, lectures, a drag show, stand-up comedy, and a free Community Appreciation Day to cap off the weekend with musical performances by national and local artists. Various locations, June 13-16
Memphis Juneteenth Festival The annual Memphis Juneteenth Festival celebrates African-American culture, food, entertainment, and the overall significance of the holiday. Health Sciences Park, June 14-15
Memphis Crafts & Drafts This event is no rough draft. It was perfectly crafted to fit all your summer market’s needs. Crosstown Concourse, June 15
Memphis Vegan Festival On the veg (of glory)? This festival is for you. It’s a day full of vegan food, live entertainment, and a marketplace featuring local businesses, plant-based health and beauty products, clothing, and accessories. Fourth Bluff Park, June 16
Memphis Summer Cocktail Festival Get your drink on at the hottest festival of the summer featuring seasonal sips, tasty eats, and throwback vibes. The Kent, July 12
Asian Night Market Enjoy authentic Asian street foods at this unique festival. Tiger Lane, July 20
AUGUST
Elvis Week Feel your temperature rising? Higher and higher? It’s not just the August heat. It’s your spidey (Elvis?) senses tingling, burning through to your soul ’cause here in Memphis we know that August means more than hot weather: It means Elvis Week. Graceland, August 9-17
Memphis Chicken & Beer Festival If you appreciate your chicken friend, a cold beer on a Saturday night, a pair of jeans that fit just right, and the radio up, you’ll appreciate the Memphis Chicken & Beer Fest where you can get all that — except the jeans, you’ll have to figure that out yourself. Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium Field, August 17
Shop Black Fest Connect with and shop from Black-owned small businesses at the Shop Black Fest. Riverside Dr., August 17
SEPTEMBER
Oxford Blues Festival This year’s Oxford Blues Festival promises unforgettable experiences with a lineup featuring Lurrie Bell, Libby Rae Watson, Anthony “Big A” Sherrod, Ra’Shad the Blues Kid, Randy Ferguson, Cricket and the Brim Hooks, Kenny Kimbrough & Davis Coen Duo, and DuWayne Burnside. A portion of profits will be donated to furthering the music education of Mississippi youths. Oxford, MS, September 13-14
Cooper-Young Festival There’s no need to stay cooped up in your house when you can join in on the fun at the Cooper-Young Festival, where art, music, and crafts come together to celebrate Memphis’ culture and heritage. Cooper Young Historic District, September 14
Gonerfest 21 Going, going, gone — that’s what they’re gonna say about Gonerfest tickets as soon as the lineup is announced. Already, the first batch of Gonerfest tickets have sold out, so keep your eyes peeled for when more tickets go on sale. Railgarten, September 26-29
You might have missed the first-ever Florida Man Games in St. Augustine on Feb. 24, but it’s never too early to plan for next year. United Press International reported that hundreds of people paid $55 each for a ticket to watch Floridians compete in a mullet contest and a “Florida sumo” event where competitors tried to spill each other’s beers. Other events included a pork butt eating contest, a race that simulated stealing a bike, and an “evading arrest obstacle course.” One winning team walked away with the $5,000 prize. “We understand that Florida is weird,” said Pete Melfi, organizer of the event. “We embrace it.” [United Press International, 2/26/2024]
News You Can Use
Legend says that if the seven ravens who protect the Tower of London (six, plus one spare, as decreed by King Charles II) ever leave the landmark, the tower will crumble and the Kingdom of England will fall. So it’s no surprise that the tower has a ravenmaster, and 56-year-old Michael “Barney” Chandler has just been installed in the job, the Associated Press reported. Chandler is a former Royal Marine who said, “We don’t know if [the prophecy is] true or not, because we’ve never let the number drop below six — and it’s not going to happen while I’m here.” As the sixth holder of the post, Chandler will be in charge of four other Beefeaters who look after the ravens. “You never know what they’re going to do,” he said. “They’re all totally different, personality-wise.” His favorite is Poppy, who hops up to him to accept a treat of a dead mouse now and again. Spoiler alert: The birds’ feathers are trimmed so they can’t fly away. [AP, 3/1/2024]
Leap Day Fun
• In Rye, New Hampshire, Lillian Edin celebrated her 25th birthday — although she is 100 years old. “I feel 25, until I start trying to walk,” Edin said, according to WMUR-TV. “I can’t believe I’ve lived this age. I really can’t.” She was feted with lunch and cupcakes. [WMUR, 2/29/2024]
• A brother and sister who were both born on Leap Day four years apart are getting to celebrate the unusual birthday for the first time. Omri Demchak, 8, and his sister, Scout, 4, celebrated with more than 50 people at the coffee shop their parents own in Brooklyn, New York. Most years, the family celebrate Omri’s birthday on Feb. 28 and Scout’s on March 1. Mom Lindsay Demchak said neither of the leap kids was due on the special day. “It was truly serendipitous,” she told the New York Post. [NY Post, 2/29/2024]
• Issue 12 of France’s La Bougie du Sapeur (The Sapper’s Candle) has hit the newsstands, the BBC reported — which is kind of a big deal because it is printed only on Feb. 29, every four years. The first edition was in 1980. Editor Jean d’Indy said the 20-page tabloid is “put out by a few pals. We meet in a bar and toss around ideas over drinks. We have a lot of fun, and if the reader does, too, that’s the icing on the cake.” It has a print run of 200,000, costs about 5 euros, and is not available online. [BBC, 2/28/2024]
That’sSporting
The 2024 Iditarod race in Alaska got off to a messy start, Sporting News reported on March 7. On the first day, musher Jesse Holmes went mano-a-mano with a moose that became aggressive toward his dogs on the trail. Holmes punched the moose in the nose and went on his way. Soon after, Dallas Seavey and his dogs came upon a moose — it’s not clear whether it was the same one — that was “threatening and belligerent.” When the moose got entangled with his dogs, Seavey dispensed with the heroics and shot it. As per the Iditarod’s rules, Seavey then stopped for about 10 minutes to field-dress the moose, but he was later assessed a two-hour penalty at the next checkpoint because “the animal was not sufficiently gutted by the musher.” A third musher, Wally Robinson, ran across the moose carcass in the dark, on a trail curving through woods. Race Marshal Warren Palfrey confirmed that “we are making sure that every attempt is made to utilize and salvage the moose meat.” So there’s that. [Sporting News, 3/7/2024]
Clothing Optional
Looking for something light and airy to do at the end of April? Set your GPS for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the Crafton Ingram Lanes, where Balls Out Bowling will return on April 28, according to WTRF-TV. The Pittsburgh Area Naturalists are hosting the event, which requires nudity (except women are allowed to wear bottoms). Participants must be 18 or older, and sexual activity is not permitted; harassment will result in being ejected from the bowling alley. And leave your cellphone at home; no photos or videos allowed. You won’t have anywhere to carry it anyway! [WTRF, 3/4/2024]
