I would have liked some drafts — as in the “wind” kind — along with the art and beer at Crafts & Drafts. The weather was pretty sweltering at the event, which supports the Memphis Flyer and Crosstown Arts.
The temperature didn’t seem to bother the crowd at the event, which was held June 25th in and outside Crosstown Concourse. People toted shopping bags and brews, and chatted as they made their way through 95 booths.
Which was more booths than last year, says event producer Molly Willmott. “It’s back to pre-pandemic levels,” she says.
As for how many attended, Willmott says, “We did better than we did — beer sales wise — than we did July of last year. So, I’m going to say we were probably at 1,500 to 2,000 folks over the course of the day.”
She describes Crafts & Drafts as “an event that showcases local makers, crafters, and artists. We curate it and host it.”
I called the National Weather Service to see how hot it was in the Crosstown area around 3:30 p.m., which is about the time I noticed that the crowd seemed to be larger than when I arrived a couple of hours earlier. Meteorologist Samantha Brown told me it was 100 degrees at 3 p.m.
I had my truck air conditioner on full blast for about an hour on the way to Crafts & Drafts, so the chill stuck with me for a while after I arrived. I thought, “Well, this isn’t so bad.” I lost my cool after a while, but the weather was still tolerable, despite being so hot hot. I guess a lot of people felt the same way I did because they were all over the place — outside, inside, standing in line in front of food trucks.
Cold beer was available. And people took advantage of the water sprays in the fountain. Others bought hot food from TacoNGanas, but, hopefully, they ate it in the shade.
For those thinking about cooler December temps, Crafts & Drafts is a good place to stock up on holiday gifts.
I was intrigued by Jeffrey Farmer’s Rock Ya Sox booth. It looked like he had a zillion different designs of socks.
“Some of these are my designs,” Farmer told me later. “Some of these are already pre-made. I came up with the logo and idea.”
And, he says, “Overall, I think I have maybe 300 to 400 designs. I haven’t counted in a while.”
As for how many socks he personally designed, Farmer told me, “100, I want to say.”
During Crafts & Drafts, the nattily-dressed Farmer was wearing a style of socks called “Burgundy Illusion.” Thinking how hot it was during Crafts & Drafts, I asked Brown if he ever wears shoes without socks. “I never wear shoes without socks.”
I cooled off with a stracciatella gelato from Hugh Balthrop at his Sweet Magnolia Gelato Co., which is a permanent fixture at Crosstown Concourse. Balthrop, who opened that location May 7th, says they did three times the business during the festival than normal. But his business, in general, is “going great.” “We’re almost selling out every day at Crosstown,” he says.
And here’s a gelato scoop: Balthrop closed his location on the square May 1st in Oxford, Mississippi. But students at University of Mississippi at Oxford and the general public don’t have to worry about their sweet teeth suffering. “We’re going to be on the campus proper starting the first, second week in August.
They’ll have a “physical location’ at Weir Hall, Balthrop says. “And it’s right on the business row. So, back of that is where they put all the food trucks. We’ll actually be inside the building.”
His gelato also will be available at other campus spots. “They have these little convenience stores on campus. They have 10 locations. We’ll be inside those as well. They’re called ‘pods.’”
Balthrop’s gelato is also available at other locations in Memphis.
If you stayed away from Crafts & Drafts because it was too hot, there will be another Crafts & Drafts November 12th and 13th at Crosstown Concourse. Applications are now open for that one through August 1st at memphiscraftsanddrafts.com
Justin Fox Burks 
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