Author: Julie Ray

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Priddy Farms’ Inaugural Watermelon Festival Kicks off This Weekend

You won’t be melon-choly when you visit Priddy Farms. (Photo: Julie Ray)

Spencer Priddy’s farm sits on 24 acres in Bartlett, Tennessee. When the tree farm where his family got their yearly holiday tree in Millington closed, he thought, “I can do that.”

That was 23 years ago. Priddy has created a successful pumpkin and Christmas tree farm by researching best practices and proper planning. He started getting requests for a summer event and decided to roll out the inaugural Watermelon Festival this year. The summer festival features giant waterslides, bounce houses, a petting zoo, hayrides, and watermelons.

Animals like the watermelons, too. Be sure to share some with Chocolate Chip, Oreo, Clara Belle, Sherman, Dolly the Llama, and Pork Chop — just some of the miniature horses, pigs, and assortment of other friendly farm animals. Some of the animals are even rescues, like Nigerian goats, Biscuit and Butter. And some have unlikely allies like Mr. Peabody and Ms. Scarlett, a pair of peacocks who share their pen with a white rabbit.

“You can take a train ride to the watermelon patch,” says Priddy as he motions to the back 20 acres. “But it’s not really watermelon season around here yet. We brought these watermelons in for the festival until ours ripen.”

The festival has a garden gnome theme and is open Wednesday-Sunday through August 15th.

“Call me patriotic,” says Priddy. “We stuck some flags in our summer decorations, too.”

Fall will be here soon enough, and Priddy is busy planning a new corn maze for the upcoming season to add to the Haunted Woods attraction.

Watermelon Festival, Priddy Farms, 4595 N. Germantown, Bartlett, Tennessee, July 1-August 15, Wednesday and Thursday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Friday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m, Saturday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m.-7 p.m., free-$8.

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Crosstown Reveals “Invisible Art” by Stacey Williams-Ng

Stacey Williams-Ng gives a hoot about pollution. (Photo: Courtesy of the artist, Stacey Williams-Ng)

A children’s fable by Hans Christian Andersen, “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” comes to mind when it comes to a public art piece in the works by artist Stacey Williams-Ng. The art is “invisible,” just like the emperor’s new clothes. In this case though, it’s not a ruse.

On the sidewalk around the Crosstown Concourse fountain, Williams-Ng will use hydrophobic paint, which repels water, to create the piece. The shapes will be invisible when the plaza is dry, but when water from the fountain is splashed onto the shapes, they’ll become visible. Can you see it now?

Made possible through a grant provided by the Urban Child Institute, the piece is based on the environmental conservation of the Mississippi River. The idea is to teach kids about litter as they play in the splash pad in the summer. It’s a good lesson for all of us.

“I recently learned that the Mississippi River is in serious peril as a result of pollution,” says the artist, Williams-Ng. “I thought it would be really neat to create hidden objects and wildlife that reveal the problem of pollution in our rivers. After all, we don’t usually see litter either, so we assume that it’s not there. But beneath the surface, there is trash that is threatening our ecosystem.”

The artist has already started work creating cans, shoes, and other typical litter items, interspersed with river wildlife like catfish for the public reveal on Saturday. Activity sheets with an interactive map for a treasure hunt and a word-find puzzle will be available for the kids.

Opening reveal for “Invisible Aquaphobic Art,” Crosstown Concourse Plaza Fountain, 1350 Concourse, Saturday, June 26, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., free.

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Clash of the Queers Variety Show at Black Lodge this Weekend

Wyre prepping for the stage as a creepy neon clown. (Photo: Selfie by Barbie Wyre)

Organizer, producer, and host of the queer variety show this Saturday says that as a Rhodes College freshman, they were foolishly allowed to prance around on stage. It was at that moment the thought occurred to them: “Let’s do queer art.”

In 2017, Barbie Wyre started doing just that at Growlers by organizing all-ages, open-stage events as a queer community building tool. Then 2020 happened.

Now in 2021, Wyre is back in a big way.

“This is the biggest show I’ve ever produced,” says Wyre. Without a breath between words, a rapid-fire event description follows: “Underground queer bands. R&B. Soul. Punk. Rock. EDM. Aerial. Fire. Belly dancing. Stilts. Contortionists. Two videographers. Live painter using neon and glitter — must have glitter. Have you seen the movie Hedwig and the Angry Inch? It’s my favorite.”

Wyre even has a tattoo inspired by the movie. A picture of the tattoo was sent to the movie’s director John Cameron Mitchell, who co-wrote the stage musical of the same name with Stephen Trask. “Mitchell said he liked it,” says Wyre playfully. “So now I have full Hollywood access. By the way, did I mention that anyone who shows up in pajamas gets free unlimited popcorn?”

Show up in your pj’s if you like popcorn and quirky queer movies. You can attend the music, variety show, and movie portion of the event separately, but all-day access is only $20. It’s a steal.

What comes next? Wyre says there is already a show in the works for July 2021.

Clash of the Queers Variety Show, Black Lodge, 405 N. Cleveland, Saturday, June 26, 3 p.m., $5-$20.

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Up and Away: Bluff City Balloon Jamboree Lifts off This Weekend

Bluff City Balloon Jamboree (Photo: Chasing the Son Photography/Ewing Marketing Partners)

Want to spend the weekend with a windbag full of hot air on Father’s Day? That windbag is not dear old Dad — though you can take him on his day — it’s a hot air balloon at the inaugural Bluff City Balloon Jamboree.

At dawn, you can witness the mass ascension of balloons, and right after sunset there will be a spectacular balloon glow. In between will be a festival-like atmosphere. In the morning it is free to watch the balloons. There is a $10 entrance fee to the rest of the festivities, including tethered rides at $20 per person. 

“You will want to be up close and personal with everything in the afternoon, shop the vendors, eat the food, do the carnival rides, and see the balloon glow,” says Susan Ewing of Ewing Marketing Partners.

It’s a great event for the whole family, and the proceeds from the event will benefit education through Collierville Rotary Club, Collierville Education Foundation, and schools throughout the Mid-South.

Tickets must be purchased online in advance. There will be no ticket sales at the gate. Otherwise you’ll have to stand in the Target parking lot near the event site at Maynard Way and Byhalia to see the balloons. That would be deflating.

Should you want to keep your feet on the ground, there will also be an art marketplace and informational booths featuring displays of artists and artisans, with an opportunity to learn about services and products offered by local and regional businesses.

Bluff City Balloon Jamboree, Maynard Way and Byhalia in Collierville, TN, Saturday, June 19, noon-10 p.m., and Sunday, June 20, 1:30-10 p.m., $10.

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TONE and Unapologetic Host Juneteenth Family Reunion at Orange Mound Tower

Photo: Jesse Davis

The month of May brought a lot of changes in Memphis’ Orange Mound community. Let’s go back so that we can move forward. The Collective (CLTV) was a nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring and propelling African-American culture in Memphis. Primarily the focus for CLTV was on the arts.

Note the verb “was.” In mid-May, the organization changed its name to Tone and expanded its mission to the community as a whole. By the end of May, it was announced that Tone had partnered with Unapologetic, a music-centric arts and culture organization, to develop the United Equipment tower and surrounding property on Lamar.

Now, the partnership is having its first event at the Orange Mound Tower. The celebration will host musical performances, food trucks, games, and more to celebrate the legacy and freedom of those who came before. In a historically Black neighborhood, community-forward Black ownership definitely honors the Black community and ancestors.

The Juneteenth Family Reunion will be the first event at Orange Mound Tower. (Photo: Jesse Davis)

The emphasis on family for this Juneteenth celebration is intentional, says Victoria Jones, founder and executive director of Tone. “Family reunions used to be a highlight of my year when I was a kid. The desire to expand that experience to include the artists and creatives I have grown to call family through the celebration of freedom was a huge inspiration for our Juneteenth Family Reunion. We are inviting our ancestors into the space — it’ll be a real family affair as we celebrate their perseverance and hope that got us this far.”

Juneteenth Family Reunion, Orange Mound Tower, 2205 Lamar, Saturday, June 19, 5-11 p.m., free.

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Opera Memphis Presents Scalia/Ginsburg at the Grove at GPAC

Scalia and Ginsburg (Photos: Public Domain)

Leo Tolstoy, the 19th century Russian author who wrote War and Peace, said, “All art has this characteristic — it unites people.”

And so it does.

U. S. Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia were polar opposites politically. They might never have shared an opinion but they did share a love for the art of opera. Music united them in a very special way. Composer-librettist Derrick Wang has captured their friendship in an operatic comedy that will be performed this Saturday by Opera Memphis in The Grove at Germantown Performing Arts Center.

The piece was written in 2015, and Ginsburg and Scalia saw the performance together. Upon seeing the piece for the first time, Ginsburg remarked, “Scalia/Ginsburg is for me a dream come true.”

Handorf Company Artists Dane Suarez and Stephanie Doche perform the roles of Scalia and Ginsburg. They are joined for this production by Opera Memphis favorite Darren K. Stokes as the Commentator. Opera Memphis director of musical activities Cris Frisco will conduct the performance accompanied by a musical score performed by members of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra.

The piece has a central message of unity, highlighting the friendship between the title characters. A message to all of us that unlikely friendships can be formed with our adversaries. If that common denominator is an art form, so be it. More likely we’ll unite over food and cocktails. Grazing boxes from Feast & Graze, food truck fare, and cocktails will be available for purchase. You can also bring a picnic, beverages, chairs, and blankets to share with an adversary — or not. You be the judge.

Scalia/Ginsburg, presented by Opera Memphis in The Grove at Germantown Performing Arts Center, 1801 Exeter, Germantown, TN, Saturday, June 12, 7 p.m., $35.

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Tsunami Executive Chef de Cuisine Kevin Sullivan Celebrates 19 Years in the Industry

Tsunami Executive Chef de Cuisine Kevin Sullivan (Photo: Courtesy Kevin Sullivan)

The next time someone tells you to “own it,” talk to Kevin Sullivan — excuse me — Executive Chef de Cuisine Kevin Sullivan. After nearly 20 years in the restaurant industry, he got his just desserts as part owner of Tsunami restaurant.

Sullivan is a homegrown Memphian. An honor graduate of Northside High and the University of Memphis, he began his career at a popular midtown restaurant, Tsunami, as a dishwasher in 2002. Curiosity put him in every part of the kitchen where he has spent the last 19 years honing his craft. His culinary degree was earned the old-fashioned way, by apprenticeship. He is a graduate of what Sullivan calls the “Tsunami Institute of America” under the tutelage of Chef Ben Smith.

To celebrate, Sullivan is throwing a birthday party for his 19th year on the culinary scene. A five-course dinner and wine pairing planned for Sunday, June 13th, has sold out, necessitating a second birthday dinner on Monday, June 14th. Better hurry up and secure your seat.

“This is a great event for Kevin,” says Chef Ben Smith. “This is not ‘Tsunami presents’; this is all about visibility for Chef Sullivan — being sure people get to witness how he puts talent and inspiration into action.”

Sullivan’s dishes are his own, a blend of his family’s traditional vegetable-forward recipes, featuring Southern influence sauteed with worldwide flavors. Try his creative menu at the birthday dinners. If you miss both birthday events, you can still wish Chef Sullivan a happy birthday and try his fare at the Chef’s Market on Tsunami’s patio. Prepared dishes are sold alongside Chef Smith’s soups and spreads most Saturdays.

Chef de Cuisine Kevin Sullivan’s Birthday Dinner, Tsunami, 928 Cooper, Sunday, June 13-Monday, June 14, 6 p.m., $145.

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901 Comics Anniversary Celebration to Feature Artist Pat Broderick, Live Music, and More

Pat Broderick

The Switchblade Kid was rattling Cooper-Young neighborhood windows last December when my 9-year-old niece frantically tried to get me to stop the car. “Wait! Stop! Stop the car!” she exclaimed while grabbing my phone to video the punk scene at the Cooper-Young Gazebo. Little did she know, that scene was our destination. We walked away with some auction items from 901 Comics, benefiting the P&H Cafe, along with some groovy memories.

901 Comics is at it again in its partnership with The Switchblade Kid Harry Koniditsiotis and his 5 and Dime recording studio. This time it’s 901 Comics’ quinquennial celebration benefiting A Room in the Inn. 901 Comics owner and former Memphis police officer Shannon Merritt says he picked the nonprofit because he’s personally seen the need. “There is a severe need for facilities like this,” says Merritt, who encountered such situations as a police officer. “Displaced families and individuals are desperate for any help. MIFA can only do so much.”

Live music performances will be featured every hour on the hour from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Cooper-Young Gazebo. The lineup includes alternative rock from Sunweight and J. D. Reager, Americana from The Whiskey Wells, and more alternative rock from SooperFlat.

Celebrity guest, legendary Marvel and DC artist Pat Broderick, will sign autographs and do sketches at the shop. (Photo: public domain, compilation by 901 Comics)

SooperFlat will also release Dr. Confusion on flexi disc with story, the brainchild of band member Patrick Seller. Along with in-store specials all week preceding the event, Marvel and DC artist Pat Broderick will sign autographs and do sketches at the shop. There will be raffles and auctions.

Be sure to pencil this novel graphic event on your calendar.

901 Comics 5th Anniversary Celebration, 901 Comics, 2162 Young, Thursday, June 3-Saturday, June 5, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., free.

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The Hot Foot Honeys Tap into EDM

Photo: Courtesy of Hot Foot Honeys

Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, born May 25, 1878, changed America after the first televised interracial dance with Shirley Temple in the 1935 film The Little Colonel. In his honor, National Tap Dance Day is May 25th.

Shim-sham into the 21st century, and the Hot Foot Honeys (HFH) tap dance company is not only living up to the mission of the preservation, promotion, and performance of rhythm tap; the Honeys are embracing innovation.

“Katie [McIntyre] saw the Dorrance Dance company perform with electronic tapboards, and decided that not only was she going to do it, she was going to make the boards herself,” says Hot Foot Honeys’ artistic director Marianne Bell about her fellow company member.

Katie McIntyre introduced electronic tap boards to “improvography,” a structured form of improvisation. (Photo: Courtesy of Hot Foot Honeys)

McIntyre collaborated with Nicholas Van Young of Dorrance Dance and contacted Ableton, the German software company that creates the sounds of maracas, sitars, percussion, chimes, and other instruments emitted from the boards. The platforms were built and, when tapped, make a sound in unison: tap — rattle, tap — brrring, tap — pop. Bell says that the boards can even be programmed to make animal sounds. Tap — quack might get a laugh, but the Honeys say it’s a great teaching tool for kids.

Videographer Eric Swartz filmed the Honeys’ first foray into musical composition while dancing at various Memphis locations, including the Levitt Shell, Brooks Museum, Black Lodge, and the Mississippi River.

Bell, McIntyre, and fellow company members Danielle Pierce, Sara Sims, Brooke Jerome, Amber Dawson, and Emily Voogd will each do a piece using choreography by Nico Rubio and in collaboration with experimental pop musician Ben Ricketts.

Off the Scuff, online from Hot Foot Honeys, hotfoothoneys.com, Thursday, May 27-Sunday, May 30, $10-$20

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ParTee Time: Mirimichi Terrace is Open Once More

The updated Mirimichi Terrace opens to the public with food, drinks, karaoke, and other entertainment. (Photos of Mirimichi Terrace courtesy of Morris Marketing Group)

Clubbing at the golf course takes on new meaning now that Mirimichi’s Terrace, a 10,000-square-foot outpost, is open to the public featuring music, movies, and entertainment.

“We are excited to announce our live music schedule for the season and offer our guests a beautiful view and relaxing environment to enjoy entertainment, food, and drinks at the Mirimichi Terrace on scheduled nights,” says Matt Davies, director of golf at Mirimichi Golf Course.

While the course was open all year for the naturally social-distanced sport of golf, the Terrace closed to the public just after updates were finished last March. Finally, Memphians can eat and drink at the bar or on the spacious deck with tables, chairs, and umbrellas again. A fireplace and two televisions will also feature sports entertainment on Saturdays and Sundays.

As if lots of space and a view of the green, pond, and fountain weren’t reason enough to putter on over to Mirimichi, this week features Sherry-Oke Karaoke. In June, tee off with Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, and Rodney Dangerfield during a screening of Caddyshack. Acoustic guitar, classic rock-and-roll, DJs, and more entertainment will be featured on select nights through September. The full schedule can be found on Mirimichi’s website, mirimichi.com.

And who knows? — maybe Justin Timberlake will show up and join in the fun. Though he sold the custom-built course in 2014, surely a quick vocal exercise during karaoke would be par for the course.

Mirimichi Live Music and Entertainment series featuring Sherry-Oke (Karaoke), Mirimichi Terrace, 6195 Woodstock-Cuba, Millington, TN, Friday, May 21, 7-9 p.m., $5.