Memphis’ own
jookin’ star Lil Buck (Photo: Courtesy Lil Buck)
Even if you can’t dance and you can’t jive, you’ll have the time of your life at the 2nd Annual Memphis Dance Festival. Presented by Collage Dance Collective, the free event features all types of dancing, from ballet to jookin’ to tap and everything in between, with performances by Lil Buck, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater from New York City, Chloe Arnold’s Syncopated Ladies from Los Angeles, Alonzo King LINES Ballet from San Francisco, Nashville Ballet, Memphis Grizz Girls, Ballet Memphis, New Ballet Ensemble, Collage Dance Collective, and many more.
“It’s important that Memphis gets to celebrate the talent that’s homegrown but also that we celebrate that we are worthy of national talent also being here,” says Marcellus Harper, Collage’s executive director. “There’s so much great dance here, whether it’s the ballet companies, the amazing jookin’ community, or our national pom squad. We wanted to create a festival that invites more people from the community to experience it.”
The festival, Harper says, will be like a “sample platter” of different types of dance and the different organizations and troupes, with the hope being that a taste of what these groups offer will lead to continued support. Just like with genres of music, Harper says, “There’s something for everybody. Dance is not monolithic, and we want to amplify that with this festival.” Attendees will also have the opportunity for informal meet-and-greets with the dancers.
Collage, for its part, will have both its professionals and its students perform. The professional company will perform two pieces inspired by Memphis, Harper says. One, titled “Wash,” reflects on the Mississippi River and all that it represents; the other, titled “Bluff City Blues,” celebrates the merging of Memphis blues music with ballet.
“When you think about Memphis, you think about music, blues, barbecue,” Harper says. “I want people to start thinking about Memphis as a dance city as well. You can’t have the blues without movement, and nothing pairs better with music than dance.”
2nd Annual Memphis Dance Festival, Collage Dance Center, Saturday, October 1, noon-4 p.m., free.
Zootoberfest kicks off this weekend. (Photo: Courtesy Memphis Zoo)
Let’s just get in here and talk about the elephant in the room: The Memphis Zoo has a menagerie of events for folks of all ages this October, and like the many too cute animals there, it’s hard to pick a favorite.
On October 1st, the zoo will host its 11th annual Art for Elephants, where Gina, the matriarch of the elephant herd, will flex her creativity and paint a canvas with her trunk. Her masterpieces along with other items will be up for auction throughout the day, with the proceeds going to the charity Elephants for Africa.
“Gina is pretty talented,” says Rebecca Winchester, the zoo’s communications specialist. “She likes to blow a lot of air out of her trunk. Apparently, Gina does more abstract art and the other ones do more straight lines.”
In addition to painting that day, the elephant herd will enjoy “spooky Halloween-themed enrichment.”
And if you can’t get enough of the elephants, the zoo is also hosting its first Conservation & Cocktails on October 8th. At this adult-only, semi-formal event, also in support of Elephants for Africa, guests can enjoy live entertainment, elephant-themed cocktails named after the herd, a silent auction, and more.
Also, in October, the zoo will celebrate Zootoberfest on Saturdays and Sundays. Guests can purchase a $12, 17-ounce commemorative stein while supplies last. “We have tons of different local breweries that set up shop, including Crosstown, High Cotton, Meddlesome, Memphis Made, Wiseacre, Grind City, and Ghost River,” Winchester says. “You can go to each booth and get refills for $6. Then you can walk around the zoo and have beer.”
With so much going on this month, you’ll want to check out memphiszoo.org for more information on these events and others, including Penguin Palooza on October 8th, the Stranger Things-themed Zoo Boo beginning on October 14th, and Pancakes for Primates on October 15th.
Art for Elephants, Memphis Zoo, Saturday, October 1, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., included with admission.
Zootoberfest, Saturdays and Sundays, October 1-31, included with admission.
Men can borrow women’s shoes or wear their own. (Photo: Courtesy Memphis Area Women’s Council)
When the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes was scheduled months ago, Deborah Clubb, Memphis Area Women’s Council executive director, could never have predicted how needed the group’s 11th annual walk would be.
Each year, the one-mile walk invites men and boys to don women’s shoes and join as allies in a demonstration against rape, domestic violence, sexual harassment, stalking, and any other form of gendered violence. This year, that message is especially important, coming so soon after the kidnapping and murder of Eliza Fletcher.
“It’s such a good opportunity for men and boys to show they care about what has happened,” Clubb says. “Some of us walked or ran the other Friday to finish Liza’s run. That was primarily about getting women out because women running for their health or athletic interests felt targeted or endangered or both.
“This is when men and boys can come and say, ‘I will join you in this determination to stop this completely unnecessary gendered violence.’”
The walk will begin and end at the Ramesses II statue on Central at the University of Memphis, and walkers can choose signs to carry and borrow from the council’s supply of women’s shoes or bring their own. Registration begins at 5 p.m., and the first 200 registrants will get a Walk a Mile visor.
The registration fee of $15 or $10 for students (free for U of M students) will go toward producing the walk and other campaigns the Women’s Council sponsors, including Memphis Says No More, a collaborative effort led by the Memphis Sexual Assault Kit Task Force to bring awareness of and offer resources for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
In fact, in light of recent news about the thousands of untested rape kits across the state, Clubb, who worked with the Sexual Assault Kit Task Force to advocate for testing more than 12,000 stored rape kits in Memphis back in 2013, will be a voice along with Memphis Says No More and the Women’s Council to ask for emergency state funding to remedy the backlog of assault kits and to hopefully secure the resources to prevent such a backlog from occurring again.
Clubb says, “It took me a couple of days to come to grips with the realization that we were back again at this place of needing special effort to catch up with rape kits which are materials from someone’s body, someone who has been completely, horribly treated, traumatized, and possibly hurt forever. It’s deeply disappointing, but I’m glad we got awareness.”
And like with this walk, awareness, more frequently than not, leads to action, which in turn leads to change. Hope is not lost as long as, Clubb says, “we keep women’s voices raised around safety, justice, and equity.”
Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, University of Memphis, Thursday, September 22, 5:30 p.m., $10-$15.
If you drive past Midtown’s Cash Saver on Friday, you might be tempted to rubber-neck at an unusual spectacle in the street parking spaces, since, in honor of International Park(ing) Day, those spots will be converted into tiny parks.
Park(ing) Day is a global, public, participatory art project, explains Emily Bishop, board member of MidtownMemphis.org, the organization spearheading the event in Memphis. “That’s a mouthful,” she says, “but it’s where you temporarily repurpose street parking spaces into places for art, play, and activism. What we’re trying to do is get people to reimagine that area of Midtown.”
When the area around Cash Saver, Pho Binh, Crumpy’s Hot Wings, and the like was restriped to add bike lanes, the city added parking lanes, too. “Nobody uses them,” Bishop says. “They kinda get used as an inappropriate passing lane or turning lane. I mean, I see it all the time going to Home Depot.”
As such, safety is one of the points of awareness for this Park(ing) Day Project, the other point being to bring greenery to the space. The plan, Bishop says, is to plant black gum and maple trees along the sidewalk that runs east of Cash Saver on Angelus. “The sidewalk is 10-feet wide, and it has no power lines overhead, so it’s the perfect place for street trees,” she says, adding that under a tree’s shade it can be 10-15 degrees cooler, a much needed benefit during Memphis’ hot summer months. “We’re already working with Cash Saver and the City Engineer’s Office, and if all goes well, we hope to plant those trees in early November.”
Rendering of plans for tree-planting along Angelus (Credit: MidtownMemphis.org)
In the meantime, Friday will be MidtownMemphis.org’s second Park(ing) Day in front of Cash Saver. This year, the group has partnered with Memphis City Beautiful, Clean Memphis, Evergreen, Central Gardens, Neighborhood Preservation Inc. (NPI), The Works Inc., and The Home Depot.
“We’ll have some green carpet out there to make it feel like grass,” Bishop says. “There’ll be some games. We’ll have plants and bushes that’ll give you a feel of what that would be like. We’ll just see what the creativity of each of our partners is and what they do with their spaces.”
Giveaways and free snow cones will also be available, and attendees will have a chance to meet with the various groups to learn about upcoming projects and ways to volunteer.
Already, MidtownMemphis.org has planted native trees, bushes, and flowering plants on Avalon, behind Murphy’s and next to Crumpy’s.
“We were really inspired by the Medical District, the improvements they made, and, of course, Overton Square is so beautiful now,” Bishop says. “We just want this area in between to continue the good work and spread it on down. Everybody travels up and down that section of Madison.”
International Park(ing) Day, Madison Avenue in front of Cash Saver, Friday, September 16th, 3-7 pm.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is known as the “Children’s Festival” in Vietnam. (Photos: Stacy Wright)
Fall officially begins on September 22nd this year, but, for some of us, especially my mom, waiting just a couple more days to embrace the season and put out the knock-off Pottery Barn pumpkins and pumpkin-latte-scented candles is practically unbearable. So, why not celebrate the season of harvest a bit early, the Vietnamese way, with a Mid-Autumn Festival, hosted by Crosstown Concourse, in partnership with Gloss Nail Bar, Karina Tong, and the Vietnamese Association of Memphis?
The Mid-Autumn Festival, or Tết Trung Thu in Vietnamese, is also known as the “Children’s Festival” as it celebrates children’s innate innocence that marks them as the closest connection to the pure and natural beauty of the world. The special event also has “components of a harvest festival and a fertility festival,” says Jesse Davis, communications manager at Crosstown Arts.
As such, lunar imagery plays a large part in this holiday, traditionally celebrated during the Harvest Moon, with celebrants observing the moon to divine the future of the people and the harvests. In fact, mooncakes, representative of the night sky, are a staple dish for the festival and will be served at Crosstown for the occasion.
Crosstown’s festival will also feature live music, face painting, and a dragon dance. Davis explains, “In its oldest form, the festival commemorated the dragon who brings the rain [for crops].” Moreover, this year’s festival will host an Áo dài fashion show. The Áo dài is traditional Vietnamese formal wear, essentially a long, split tunic worn over trousers.
Already, Crosstown is decorating its central atrium, hanging lanterns that traditionally signify the wish for the sun’s light and warmth to return after winter. “Just that alone is fantastic,” Davis says, pointing out that the evening itself promises to be just as — if not more — fantastic.
Mid-Autumn Festival, Crosstown Concourse, Saturday, September 17, 5-8 p.m., free.
In the wake of the recent tragedies impacting our city, our feeling of safety, and our wellbeing, Memphis’ community spaces are doing what they do best — being there for us. Whether you need to meditate in a serene garden or watch penguins be penguins so you don’t have to think, the organizations you support are here to support you.
♥️ Memphis Botanic Garden is offering free regular admission on Friday, September 9th, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., to help Memphis heal and to offer a safe outdoor space for all to enjoy and find comfort and light in.
♥️ MoSH recognizes that Memphis needs some love and is offering free admission to all exhibits, movies, shows, and to the Lichterman Nature Center on Friday, September 9th, 10:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
♥️ Friday, September 9th, Memphis Zoo is offering free general admission to the community to reflect and relax and just exist with the animals. The zoo’s hours are 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., last admission at 5 p.m.
♥️ The Dixon Gallery & Gardens always has free admission and wants to remind us to take advantage of the oasis of safety, calm, and beauty there.
♥️ Memphis Rox will offer free admission on Friday, September 9th. No reservation or special equipment needed.
♥️ The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art will offer free admission Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, so that people may reflect, find constancy, and experience the beautiful possibilities of humanity.
We have included all the local sites we know are offering free admission tomorrow, but we may have missed a few. If you are associated with or know of another venue that should be included, please email calendar@memphisflyer.com.
Cooper-Young
Festival (Photo: Courtesy Cooper-Young Festival)
As you flip your wall calendars to the fresh, crisp September page, after Memphis’ humid, boiling August, you can exhale: It’s almost fall. And that means it’s time for more fairs and festivals, so crack open your planners, pull up your calendar app, tape a sticky note to your head, do whatever you gotta do to make sure you have these fairs and festivals tapped into your autumn plans.
SEPTEMBER
Southern Heritage Classic Cultural Celebration
Can I tell you what a yellow card is or what a running back does? No, but I can tell you that the Southern Heritage Classic, a premier sports and entertainment event, will be a good time. And if you don’t believe me, just take a look at the agenda: The O’Jays are putting on a concert, Landers Center is hosting a Classic Funk Fest, the Classic Parade will roll through Park Avenue, and so much more, including, of course, the Southern Heritage Classic football game featuring Jackson State vs. Tennessee State at the Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.
Various locations, September 8-10
Germantown Festival (Photo: Courtesy Germantown Festival)
Germantown Festival
Some might say weenies aren’t cool by definition, but at this festival, the weenies will prove you otherwise as they gear up for the annual Running of the Weenies at 11 a.m. on Saturday, September 10th. So don’t be a weenie! Go show your support at this festival of arts that, in addition to the famed race, offers children’s activities, rides and games, entertainment, a car exhibit, community displays, and more.
Germantown Civic Club Complex, September 10-11
Goat Days Festival
Bah-bah-bah, Bah-Barbara Ann, you got me rockin’ and a-rollin’, rockin’ and a-reelin’ from too long without goats. But take my hand and bring me to the Goats Days Festival and I’m yours. Starting at 7 a.m. with the much-beloved pancake breakfast, the day features goat yoga, live music all day, local vendors, food galore, a car show, an antique tractor show, a barbecue contest, an all-day kids zone, and so much more.
Millington Sports Complex, September 10
Memphis Rox Yoga Festival
This festival is yogalicious, definition makes yogis go crazy. (It’s hot, hot.) With more than 15 yoga classes, from acro yoga to handstand workshops, this festival also boasts a kids’ zone, live music, and lectures, including topics ranging from nutrition to personalizing yoga through astrology.
Memphis Botanic Garden, September 10
Collierville Balloon Festival (Photo: Courtesy Collierville Balloon Festival)
Collierville Balloon Festival
Enjoy the Wizard of Oz’s preferred mode of transportation at this festival all about the whimsical hot air balloon. Each morning will begin with a breathtaking release of the balloons into the sky, which the family can witness for free before the festival’s activities commence in the afternoon. The day will include a kids’ zone, food trucks, vendors, carnival rides and games, and of course some hot air ballooning. Once the sun goes down, the balloons will light up the sky with an evening balloon glow.
Maynard Way, Collierville, September 17-18
Cooper-Young Festival
Whether you’re young or young at heart, when you’re in Cooper-Young, you’re in for some fun with this festival all about celebrating the arts, people, culture, and heritage of Memphis. Bailey Bigger will headline a lineup of great local, original music, and a slew of artisans from Memphis and across the U.S. will be selling handmade, unique, and quirky art.
Cooper-Young, September 17
Mint Cream Market: Fall Fest
Shop from vintage collectors, craft goods, and unique art at this fest with live entertainment and food trucks.
Arrow Creative, September 17
Orion Free Concert Series
If you press your ear to a shell, you’ll hear the ocean for free. If you press your ear to the Shell, you might be too close to the stage, but you might also hear some country blues or powerpop, depending on the weekend, also for free.
Overton Park Shell, Country Blues Festival, September 17
Memphis Powerpop Festival, September 24
Gonerfest 19
Going, going, gone off to Gonerfest 19 for four days of rocking music, courtesy of Goner Records. The caliber of these artists is too hard to describe in a mere few sentences, which is why I urge you to read our cover story next week because it’s going to be all about Gonerfest.
Railgarten, September 22-25
Mid-South Fair (Photo: Courtesy Mid-South Fair)
Mid-South Fair
If you fancy yourself an old soul, perhaps reincarnated from bygone times, you’ll feel at home at this festival which has been a must-do event since 1856. Fair-goers can enjoy more than 50 rides, a wide array of ground acts, and of course favorite fair fare — funnel cakes, turkey legs, candied apples — you name it, they’ve perfected it.
Lots of things are celebrating their 50th this year. I mean, 50 years ago, The Godfather premiered its first installment in theaters, Watergate began to unfold, Jennifer Garner was born, and right here in Memphis, the Pink Palace Crafts Fair took place for the first time. And now, 150 artists in various mediums are coming from around the country to celebrate the fair’s big 5-0. Attendees can marvel at craft demonstrations, enjoy live music, and entertain the kiddos at the petting zoo and with a ride on the choo-choo train, some rock climbing, and pony rides.
Audubon Park, September 23-25
Mighty Roots Music Festival
We root for music, the mighty, mighty roots music. No longer a rookie, this music fest is back for year two, taking place at the same spot the famous blues singer-songwriter Muddy Waters began his love of blues music.
Stovall, MS, September 23-24
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 State Park, September 24
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 24
Memphis Comic Expo
The Mid-South’s largest comic-creator con has answered the Bat-Signal and is back in Memphis to celebrate your favorite creators, with over 100 artists and writers, a cosplay contest, more than 50 vendors, panels, and more. It’s going to be a marvel.
Agricenter International, September 24-25
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, the Grizzline, and more.
Wiseacre Brewing Company, September 24
Soulful Food Truck Festival
Saddle up your picnic blankets and lawn chairs for this journey to the center of your stomach and your soul as you enjoy food from food trucks and vendors, shop from local artisans, and take in music by Carmen Hicks, Angie P. Holmes, and Courtney Little, plus DJs Zoom and Swagg.
Tiger Lane, September 25
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 30-October 1
Mempho Music Festival
Mempho Music Festival (Photo: Courtesy Mempho Music Festival/Joshua Timmermans)
You know it, I know, the music at Mempho always hits the right note. I mean, how could it not with The Black Keys, Portugal. The Man, Bobby Rush, Amy LaVere, Elizabeth King, and so many more on the lineup?
Radians Amphitheater, Memphis Botanic Garden, September 30-October 2
OCTOBER
Wine on the River Memphis
You don’t have to be Carmen Sandiego and glide around the globe and flimflam every nation just to get a taste of the world. Instead, take your taste buds on a global journey as you sample wine from national and international vineyards along with bites of food from each cultural region.
Riverside Drive, October 1
King Biscuit Blues Festival (Photo: Courtesy King Biscuit Blues Festival)
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 barbecue contest, all in historic Downtown Helena. Oh, and of course, there’ll be blues music — lots of blues music — on five stages.
Helena, AR, October 5-8
Soul of the City
Rock around the clock as Elmwood Cemetery’s residents take you through Memphis music history. You’ll meet Sister Thea Bowman, Grammy Award-winners, rock-and-roll stars, blues crooners, and more.
Bacon? Good. Bourbon? Good. Memphis Bacon & Bourbon Festival? Good. That’s all you need to know.
Metal Museum, October 7
Big River Fit Fest
Let’s get physical in an HR-approved way. For the love of all things good and pure, this fitness fest is designed to expose (again in an HR-approved way) and educate the Mid-South community of all ages and skill levels on fitness, wellness, and health.
Mud Island Park, October 8
Edge Motorfest
If Cars taught me anything, it’s that life is a highway, and I wanna ride it all night long, and if you’re goin’ my way, well, we’re driving to the Edge, for a day to check out over 150 cool cars, food trucks, vendor booths, and more. Ka-chow, am I right?
Edge Motor Museum, October 8
Shell Daze Fall Music Festival
The music doesn’t stop when it comes to the folks at Mempho. Hardly a week after the big shebang, they are putting on a two-day mini fest, with a lineup featuring Moon Taxi, Tab Benoit, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Daniel Donato, Star & Micey, and Garrison Starr.
Overton Park Shell, October 8-9
Southern Soul Music Festival
Jam to your favorite soulful hits and songs by Tucka, Calvin Richardson, Sir Charles Jones, Ronnie Bell, Theodis Ealey, Karen Wolfe, and FatDaddy.
The Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, October 8
Deep Blues Festival
Of all the shades of blue, deep blues are my favorite, and you can bet the Deep Blues Festival will be just the right shade of fun as it celebrates traditional and alternative blues with musicians from all over the world.
Clarksdale, MS, October 13-16
Mississippi Delta Tennessee Williams Festival
Are you a streetcar? ’Cause you look like your name should be Desire. Oh, is your name Tennessee? ’Cause you’re the only 10 I see. 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 13-15
Fall Fest at the Nest
Soar like an eagle right over to Fall Fest at the Nest and enjoy food, fun, family, music and free admission. Shop vendors, enjoy a car show, chili cook-off, cornhole tournament, rides, food trucks, music fest, $10,000 cash raffle, and more.
St. Benedict at Auburndale, October 14-15
Memphis Brewfest
Fifty-something bottles of beer on the wall, 50-something bottles of beer, take one down, pass it around, and you’ll still have 50-something breweries and cideries to sample from. That’s right, at the Memphis Brewfest, you can get unlimited samples from more than 50 breweries and cideries from around the world.
Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, October 15
Memphis Food & Wine Festival
It’s wine o’clock somewhere. Sorry. I know what you’re thinking — that’s so cheesy, borderline offensive. If you’re of a certain age, you might even invoke the word cheugy. But I bet you’ll quit your whining when you get to wining and dining at this festival which not only benefits the FedExFamilyHouse but also showcases local chefs alongside acclaimed national chefs and top global vineyards.
Memphis Botanic Garden, October 15
Shop Black Fest
Support more than 50 local Black-owned businesses of all types at this festival of fun vibes, music, and food.
Downtown Memphis, October 15
Soulsville USA Festival
Treat your soul to a day of music, food, educational activities, games for kids, and free admission to the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, all to honor the city’s rich spiritual heritage and its roots in soul music.
Soulsville USA District at College and McLemore, October 15
Indie Memphis Film Festival
Why Netflix and chill when you could be less run-of-the-mill at an independent film festival? The Indie Memphis Film Festival will screen a range of features, documentaries, and short films from all over the world. Plus, festival-goers can enjoy live music, parties, free panels, meet-and-greets with special guests, and the Black Creators Forum. For more information, be sure to check out our Flyer cover story on October 19th.
Various locations, October 19-24
Cooper-Young Beerfest
I don’t know if you’ve heard but Taylor Swift is releasing a new album on October 21st, which is worth raising a beer mug to and downing a couple more after. And there’s no better place than the Cooper-Young Beerfest the next day.
Midtown Autowerks, October 22
RiverArtsFest
The Mid-South runneth over with art, and the Mississippi River floweth with inspiration — two phenomena that merge only once a year to create RiverArtsFest, where more than 180 artists from around the country can show off and sell their fine arts. As an added bonus, the festival features artist demonstrations, hands-on art activities for all ages, and local music.
Downtown Memphis, October 22-23
World Championship Hot Wing Fest
Wing wing wing! Sorry the old chicken can’t come to the phone right now. Why? ’Cause she’s dead. But that’s okay. She died a winner — a winner, winner chicken dinner — well, depending on how things shake up at the World Championship Hot Wing Fest. So don’t let the old chicken’s death be in vain and head on over to sample the competing wings, all while supporting The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Memphis. As always, the contest will kick off with the Memphis Second Line Jazz Band leading a flock of chickens in a parade through Tiger Lane and across the main stage to the tune of “When the Saints Go Marching In.”
Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, October 22
Dia de Los Muertos Parade and Festival (Photo: Courtesy Dia de Los Muertos Parade and Festival)
Dia de Los Muertos Parade and Festival
Dia de Los Muertos is 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 29
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 29-November 1
NOVEMBER
Fieldaze Memphis
Unlike other fields during autumn harvests, Fieldaze doesn’t have any crop circles (or fields for that matter), but it will have UFOs — Unadulterated Fun Outside — with fitness classes, music, food, entertainment, a half marathon, a bike race, a kayak race, and more.
Call me a 6- to 12-month-old baby ’cause I’m gonna be crawling down Beale for this artcrawl that welcomes artists of all mediums and styles from Memphis, Nashville, and surrounding areas.
Beale Street, Downtown Memphis, November 5
Memphis Japan Festival
Celebrate the history, culture, and people of Japan at this festival featuring food, entertainment, games, crafts, vendors, exhibitors, and more.
Draft your friends and family to the only sporting event that matters — holiday shopping. There are no fantasy leagues, only the real deal, and if you can get it done before Thanksgiving, the glory is legendary. So get a head start and do it all in one stop at the Memphis Crafts & Drafts Festival where local vendors will show off their goods, and local craft beers will make the experience all the more enjoyable.
Crosstown Concourse, November 12-13
DECEMBER
Holiday Spirits: A Christmas Cocktail Festival
This holly, jolly cocktail festival is sure to get you in the Christmas spirit, with its festive … er … spirits, plus the big man in red himself.
If, out of the blue, you got a call from your employer asking if you wanted to go to space, would you say that’s out of your job description? Would you ask for a couple days to sleep on it? Well, for physician assistant Hayley Arceneaux, who got that call from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the answer was clear and immediate: Yes.
The mission Arceneaux would be a part of — SpaceX’s Inspiration4 — launched almost a year ago on September 15th as the first all-civilian space mission and raised more than $200 million for St. Jude, a cause near and dear to Arceneaux’s heart ever since she was diagnosed with bone cancer at 10 years old. In fact, when she wasn’t even finished with her cancer treatment, Arceneaux began raising money for the hospital and embarked on what would become a lifelong journey in support of St. Jude. By 2020, she began her dream job working with pediatric oncology patients.
“I knew I really wanted to work at St. Jude and help support these kids with cancer treatment and help make their experience something positive, and then also show them what their future can look like after cancer,” Arceneaux says. So when, not even a full year into her job, the hospital asked her about going to space, she couldn’t say no to the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “I wanted to show these kids that anything is possible.”
Arceneaux would become the youngest American who has been in orbit, as well as the first pediatric cancer survivor and the first person with a prosthetic body part to go to space. Her story would become an inspiration. “Around the time when I was training I was really touched by people who were reaching out, especially on social media, telling me that my story inspired them to get through hard times and take on big challenges,” she says. “Then I was approached by people who wanted me to share my story in book form.”
Once again, Arceneaux said yes, with the hope of reaching children with cancer, girls and women interested in STEM, and anyone needing a bit of hope. “I think writing it really renewed how much gratitude I feel,” she says. “Like, wow, I’m just so fortunate to survive my cancer, have my dream job, have the opportunity to go to space. … The main thing I want people to get out of it, is the importance of hope when you’re going through something hard.”
Her memoir, Wild Ride: A Memoir of I.V. Drips and Rocket Ships, covers her childhood, her diagnosis, getting her dream job, the loss of her father, and, of course, her journey to space. “The most challenging part of writing for me was describing what it was like to look at the Earth,” she says. When she first got back from space, only one word came to mind when asked that question: pretty. Now, she has written pages upon pages describing what she meant by “pretty.”
To celebrate the memoir’s launch, Arceneaux will do a Q&A at Novel, followed by a book-signing. Line tickets are required to meet the author and are free with a purchase of the book.
Meet The Author: Hayley Arceneaux, Novel, Saturday, September 10, 5 p.m.
The Metal Museum has rolled out its last exhibition of this year’s “Tributaries” series with Morgan Asoyuf’s “Royal Portrait.” The exhibit highlights Tsm’syen culture in the Pacific Northwest and confronts issues spurred from colonization that have affected and infiltrated Indigenous communities.
Historically, Asoyuf explains, in Tsm’syen culture, a matriarch held the special high-ranking role of maintaining the well-being of the community, but colonization dispersed patriarchal ideals, setting the traditional Indigenous power structure off-balance.
“Now, you see the money go more toward men,” Asoyuf says. “A lot of times you see the chiefs dressed really well, but the matriarchs, who are actually supposed to have more power, don’t have any of those things.”
So Asoyuf, who works in goldsmithing, wood carving, and fashion design, has sought to rectify this through her art by uplifting the sovereignty of Indigenous women and queer and two-spirit people who advocate for land rights, environmental custodianship, and missing and murdered Indigenous women and two-spirit individuals.
“They tend to shoulder a lot of responsibility in these activism spaces,” Asoyuf says. “I’m trying to highlight our activists and land defenders and show their royalty, … that royalty [means] to respect the culture and take care of our land.”
As such, the pieces in her exhibition incorporate crowns, scepters, and necklaces — which she calls “mantles of responsibility” — made from a mix of what one might expect in European-style regalia, like diamonds and sapphires, and the unexpected, natural items, like bear claws and salmon bones, which are significant to Northwest coast culture. But the artist insists that main focus of each piece is the Northwest coastal item, with the stones and gems serving as accents.
“It’s challenging the European idea that [regalia] has to have things [like gems] to make it look expensive and royal,” Asoyuf says. “It’s like, we actually have our own materials and stuff, and our value of royalty is so different.”
“The message of art needs to be active,” she adds. And by that, she means, these pieces aren’t made for display cases; they’re meant to be part of a living culture, meant to be worn — which is why the exhibition also includes photos of various activists wearing her jewelry, dressed in full gowns and costuming. In fact, the artist often lends, trades, or gifts her pieces to activists to wear while they do their work out in the world.
“It’s not about my voice,” she says. “It’s about these people’s voices and how I can amplify that and make them stronger. What I do is the art form, the regalia, the spiritual power, but I can use that for the greater good.”
“Tributaries: Morgan Asoyuf |Royal Portrait,” Metal Museum, on display through September 25th.
Mental health concerns seem to be on everyone’s minds these days, as evidenced in this week’s cover story, and Virginia Murphy, founder and executive director of Playback Memphis, has found that true within Playback’s group of professional artists who bring audience stories to life with improvisation, dance, and music.
“We consider our work to be healing work,” she says, “but we were in a moment when we recognized even within our own very healthy organization, by most respects, we had a number of stories where mental health was a central character. … And we didn’t really have a direct way of talking about that with each other. That was true before 2021, before the pandemic, and now it’s kind of on steroids.”
As such, the group has turned its attention to seeking clarity for the sake of mental health and has invited the community to join in this pursuit with its Listening for a Change Week. “It’s an initiative on our part to explore new pathways and partnerships for mental health and healing through the arts,” Murphy says. “We know that we have this incredible therapeutic tool, and we feel like it’s an untapped resource in our community.”
For the Listening for a Change Week, Chesney Snow, a New York City-based, award-winning performing artist and pioneer in beatbox culture, will lead a choreopoem workshop, open to the public, this Thursday. The workshop will give insight into sharing personal stories and using art as a medium for social healing. The event will also include excerpts of Snow’s original choreopoem performance, The Unwritten Law, which explores the artist’s personal journey “from a legacy of incarceration to fatherhood, homelessness to Harvard, to ultimately starring on Broadway.”
After the workshop, Playback will host a free community gathering with Snow at 5:30 p.m. at the Frayser Community Development Corporation garden. You do not have to attend the workshop to join, and light refreshments will be available.
On Saturday, Snow will join in a Playback performance with audience members sharing a personal story or reflection for the ensemble cast of actors, dancers, musicians, and poets to reimagine on the stage. “It’s done in the service of building empathy and awareness,” Murphy says. “You may share a story and see it played back and may see something you hadn’t really considered before. … Not everyone shares, and if you’re in the role of witness, that’s a really important role as well. It helps a lot with perspective.”
After the performance, Jennifer Balink of Kindred Place will facilitate a conversation to reflect on the shared experience of the performance. Murphy says, “We want people to walk out after and feel like they are taking away something that will nourish and support them out of the theater.”
Choreopoem Workshop led by Chesney Snow, Frayser Community Development Corporation, Thursday, August 25, 2-5 p.m.
Listening for a Change: Memphis Matters, TheatreSouth at First Congregational Church, Saturday, August 27, 7 p.m.,$10-$30.
