Tag: Memphis bars

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Spring Fairs & Festivals 2025

Art in the Loop (Photo: Courtesy Art in the Loop)

April showers bring April festivals, and then there are May festivals, and June ones, and July and August. And we don’t even have time to get to September. That’s right, friends (may we call you that?): It’s time for the Spring Fairs & Festivals Guide. 

April

Month of Jazz at Crosstown Arts
A monthlong celebration of jazz. 
Crosstown Arts, various dates through April 30 

Memphis Tattoo Festival (Photo: Courtesy Memphis Tattoo Festival)

Memphis Tattoo Festival
If you can dream it, you can tat it. 
Renasant Convention Center, April 4-6

TrollFest
Don’t be a troll; instead, learn how to take better care of the environment at this festival. 
Memphis Botanic Garden, April 5

Wine, Food and Music Spring Festival
Wine all you want. Notice I said “wine,” not “whine.” 
Beale Street Landing, April 5

Foodees Food and Culture Festival
Does it bother me that it’s not spelled “Foodies”? A little. Do I care? Not when the festival is bringing 70 food trucks and 100 crafters and makers. 
Riverside Drive, April 11-13

TrollFest (Photo: Abigail Morici)

Brewfest
You’re cruising for a brewski. 
Mississippi Ale House, Olive Branch, MS, April 12

Cooper-Young Porchfest
Get out of my head and onto my lawn (for free porch concerts, obviously). 
Cooper-Young Historic District, April 12

Juke Joint Festival
No need to be a juke box hero when you can go to the Juke Joint Festival. 
Clarksdale, MS, April 12

Orbit Fest
You’ll want this fest in your orbit: seltzers, vendors, music. It’ll be a blast.
Crosstown Brewing Company, April 12

Cooper-Young Porch Fest (Photo: Brandon Dill)

Shelby Forest Spring Fest
A Mardi Gras-themed fest with wildlife and cultural exhibits, plus music, food, arts and crafts, and more.
Meeman Shelby Forest State Park, April 12

Shop Black Fest
Black businesses for the win.
Bass Pro Drive + Riverside Drive, April 12

Taco & Tequila Fest
Taco ’bout tequila. 
Butterific Bakery & Cafe, April 12

The Mid-South Korean BBQ Festival
A backyard cooking competition of traditional American barbecue and Korean barbecue.
Grind City Brewing Company, April 12

Juke Joint Festival (Photo: Courtesy Juke Joint Festival)

Black Arts & Wine Festival
Shop visual art by Black creatives and sample wines and liquors from Black brands.
Pink Palace Museum & Mansion, April 13

Concerts in the Grove
Enjoy an outdoor concert or two.
Germantown Performing Arts Center, select Thursdays, April 17-June 26

Africa in April
Salute the Republic of South Africa.
Robert R. Church Park, April 18-20

Good Vibes Comedy Festival
LOL IRL.
Hi Tone, April 18-20

Earth Day Festival (Photo: Courtesy Shelby Farms Park)

Earth Day Festival 
Where fun meets sustainability, and sustainability meets you.
Shelby Farms Park, April 19

Shell Daze
Dazed and confused, more like dazed and I don’t know where I was going with this … so I guess I am confused. But this festival is not confusing! It’s all about music: Lettuce, Daniel Dato’s Cosmic Country, Grace Bowers & the Hodge Podge, and The Velvet Dog.
Overton Park Shell, April 19

Art in the Loop
Let me loop you in: It’s the art festival in East Memphis.
Ridgeway Loop Road, April 25-27

Double Decker Arts Festival
A two-day (a double-day?) celebration of food, music, and the arts.
Oxford Courthouse Square, Oxford, MS, April 25-26

Trolley Night
Explore galleries, restaurants, bars, and shops open late with activities on the street every month. 
South Main, last Friday of the month

23rd Annual World Championship Hot Wing Contest and Festival
Wing, wing, wing, this festival is calling for you. 
River Garden Park on Riverside Drive, April 26

Spring Craft Fair
Find crafts and one-of-a-kind treasures.
Meddlesome Brewery, April 26

Taste the Rarity
Get weird with beer.
Wiseacre Brewing Company, April 26

Mimosa Festival (Photo: Courtesy Mimosa Festival)

Mimosa Festival
Mimosa is a fun word to say, and this festival is even funner (and that’s a fun word).
Autozone Park, April 27

32nd Rajun Cajun Crawfish Festival
Heads, you suck. Tails, you pinch.
Riverside Drive, April 27

May

Experience Memphis Gardens
Roses are red; violets are blue. I’d love to walk Memphis’ gardens with you. 
Various locations, May 1-June 15

Memphis in May International Festival
Salute South Korea at this festival.  
Memphis, May 1-31

Mississippi Wildlife Heritage Festival
Go wild with food, art, games, expos, contests, crawfish, and more. 
Downtown Leland, May 2-3

RiverBeat Music Festival
This year’s headliners are Missy Elliot, The Killers, and Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals.
Tom Lee Park, May 2-4

Cigar & Whiskey BBQ Festival 
Cigars, whiskeys, barbecue — it’s in the name. 
Agricenter International, May 3

Bookstock
This fest is for the books. Literally. 
Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, May 3

Café du Memphis
Beign-yay! (And shrimp and grits and café au lait. Yay for all!)
Overton Park Shell, May 3

Overton Square Crawfish Festival
Go cray for the crayfish. 
Overton Square, May 3

The Big Squeeze Food Truck Festival
When life gives you lemonade, wash it down with food truck fare and music.  
Germantown Performing Arts Center, May 3

Memphis Greek Festival
Say: Opa! And bring three cans of nonperishable food for free admission. 

Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, May 9-10

World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest 
Mind your Ps and ’cues — mostly your ’cues because I’m not sure how helpful those Ps will be.
Liberty Park, May 14-17

SmokeSlam
Talk about a smoke show.
Tom Lee Park, May 15-17

DreamFest Weekend
Sweet dreams are made of this: a weekend of Memphis music.
Overton Park Shell, May 16-18

Ruby Bridges Reading Festival
Enjoy book giveaways, children’s activities, and storytelling.
National Civil Rights Museum, May 17

Trans-Fest
A celebration of the trans community. 
Wiseacre Brewery, May 17

Uptown Arts Festival
Expect art, music, beer, and a good time. 
Grind City Brewing Company, May 17

Bluff City Fair
This fair isn’t bluffing when it comes to fair foods, carnival rides, and attractions.
Tiger Lane at Liberty Park, May 23-June 1

Memphis Dragon Boat Festival
Dragons will race. Well, dragon boats. 
Hyde Lake at Shelby Farms Park, May 31

Memphis Italian Festival
Where everyone’s Italian.
Marquette Park, May 29-31

Memphis Margarita Festival
Some people claim there’s a festival to blame, and it’s this one. Wastin’ away again at the Memphis Margarita Festival … 
Overton Square, May 31

Memphis Vegan Festival 
No animals were harmed in the making of this festival.
Fourth Bluff Park, May 31

June

Juneteenth Shop Black Festival
Shop from 100 Black businesses.
Fourth Bluff Park, June 1

Tupelo Elvis Festival
Get ready to rock and roll. 
Downtown Tupelo, June 4-7

Memphis Pride Fest Weekend (Photo: Courtesy Mid-South Pride)

Memphis Pride Fest Weekend
A four-day celebration embodying the spirit of the LGBTQ community.
Various locations, June 5-8

Memphis Crafts & Drafts Festival Summer Market
This event is no rough draft. It was perfectly crafted to fit all your summer market needs. It’s also put on by the Memphis Flyer, which I’ve heard is pretty awesome. 
Crosstown Concourse, June 7

Fried Chicken Fest
Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the Fried Chicken Fest? That doesn’t sound right. The fest is fun for humans though! It’s got fried chicken (with apologies to the chickens that crossed the road), music, and lawn games.
Germantown Performing Arts Center, June 7

Craft Food & Wine Festival
Delicious food, exquisite wines, and live music, all while supporting Church Health.
The Columns, June 8

Betonia Blues Festival
With a lineup with the likes of Nick Wade, Jimmy Duck Holmes, Chris Gill & Sole Shakers, and Bobby Rush featuring Mizz Loew, you know you’re in for a good time.
Blue Front Cafe, Bentonia, MS 

Memphis Brewfest
Just brew it. 
Shelby Farms Park, June 21 

Record Fair
Girl, put your records on. Tell me your favorite songs from Goner Records, River City Records, and Shangri-La Records ’cause this is the place to buy all your music.  
Soul & Spirits, June 21

July

Delta Soule Picnic Festival
Expect R&B and Southern soul music.
Warfield Point Park, Greenville, MS, July 5

Memphis Summer Cocktail Festival
Get your drink on.
The Kent, July 12

August

Planted Rock Vegan Festival
We will … we will … rock you (as long as you’re a plant). This fest promotes vegan foods and will give healthy living tips. 
Collage Dance Center, August 5

FedEx St. Jude Championship
Here’s where I’d insert a golf pun, if I knew any. If you know about golf, I assume you know about this championship. 
TPC Southwind, August 6-10

Elvis Week (Photo: Courtesy Elvis Presley’s Graceland)

Elvis Week
The Elvii are coming! The Elvii are coming! And they’re showing up for music, panels, contests, movies, fan meet-ups, tours, and more. 
Graceland, August 8-16

Skol-astic Book Fair
Ah, book it. Book it real good. 
Soul & Spirits, August 9

Memphis Chicken & Beer Festival
People like chicken; people like beer. 
Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium Field, August 16 

Categories
Letter From The Editor Opinion

All the President’s Memories

So I’m sitting in my favorite bar last Tuesday. It’s a slow night. Just a couple of other regulars and our usual bartender, a bright, young fellow who seems to enjoy his customers’ company, despite our tendency to bloviate. On the television above the back-bar, All the President’s Men is playing silently, the dialogue running across the bottom of the screen. For a veteran journalist such as myself, it is a bloviation opportunity not to be missed. This movie is the journalism version of a Marvel superhero flick.

You know the story: The impossibly pretty Robert Redford (Bob Woodward) and his shaggy sidekick, Dustin Hoffman (Carl Bernstein), play Washington Post reporters who are on the hunt for evidence that will expose the nefarious deeds of President Richard M. Nixon in the Watergate scandal.

The intrepid reporters meet with their editor to discuss leads and tips and procedures. They smoke in his office. They go out to interview a source, and they smoke in the source’s house. They meet a tipster in dark parking garage, and smoke. They smoke in the newsroom as they pound out copy on their Remington typewriters. Newspapering used to be a smoky damn lifestyle, I tell you what.

I’ve been writing an editor’s column for one publication or another since the mid-1980s, so I remember pounding out copy on a typewriter. I remember when everyone had an ashtray on their desk. I have become that guy — as one does when one reaches a certain age — a maestro of memories, a dealer of anecdotes, a chronicler of ancient customs, and no doubt a bore.

But bartenders get paid to get bored. So.

“I remember when writing a column would take me all day,” I say, warming up. “Now, I can knock one out in a couple hours.”

“Huh,” says the bartender, helpfully. “Why’s that?”

“Why is that? Why, you young whippersnapper … you have no idea what it was like back in the 1980s. You’d come up with an idea for a column, then you’d have to verify the facts to make sure you could defend your opinion. You can’t just make shit up. You have to research stuff, and in those days, that was hard work. Why, back then, I had a whole shelf of books in my office for research — thesauruses, dictionaries, atlases, anthologies, encyclopedias, and Bartlett’s Quotations — just in case I needed a pithy quote. Here’s a tip, by the way: Quotes make you sound smart.

“Anyway, sometimes, we even had to get in our primitive vehicles and drive across town to a library! When we got there, we’d have to look up book titles in card catalogues and then go search through long aisles of bookshelves with weird Dewey Decimal System numbers on the end. And then — get this — sometimes, the book we wanted was checked out! Do you even know what the Dewey Decimal System is, young fella? Well, do you? I didn’t think so. And don’t even get me started on phone booths.”

“That’s really interesting,” says the bartender, helpfully.

“I’ll have another glass of the red, please.”

“You got it.”

“Thanks. Anyway, the point is, now I don’t have to do any of that because the entire panoply of human knowledge is at my fingertips — on my computer and my phone. On my phone! Think of it, man! I have the greatest library humankind has ever created, and it’s right here on the bar. I don’t have to go anywhere. I don’t have to turn and pull a book off the shelf. Hell, I don’t even have books in my office any more. I just google. If I need a pithy quote about, say, the newspaper business, I type in ‘quotes about newspapers,’ and I got more quotes than I can ever use.”

“That’s wild,” says the bartender, as he pours a drink for another customer.

“That’s why this movie is so important,” I say. “The Fourth Estate is under attack like never before. We need newspapers more than ever. You should watch this with the sound on, sometime.”

“I’ll do that,” the bartender says.

“After all, as Napoleon once noted, ‘Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than 1,000 bayonets.'”

“You just googled that on your phone, didn’t you?”

“Maybe.”

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Robert Gordon Talks About Drinking and Politics

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

As we near November 8th, the battle between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton is rising to new levels — and so is our blood alcohol content. We turn to Memphis-born author and filmmaker Robert Gordon, co-director of Best of Enemies, the 2015 documentary about the 1968 political debates between ideological opposites William F. Buckley Jr. and Gore Vidal, to see what wets his whistle this election season.

It’s well documented that Gore Vidal favored 12-year old Macallan single-malt Scotch and that the conservative William F. Buckley Jr. preferred fine wine to hard liquor. What’s your favorite drink?

My summer drink is usually vodka with soda water and some squeezed lime or lemon juice. But as we transition into shorter, colder days, I shift over to the browns, usually beginning the season with Scotch and a splash of soda water and then eventually getting rid of the polluting soda water. And red wine always warms the heart.

Justin Fox Burks

Robert Gordon

During the summer of 1968, when Vidal and Buckley debated, Scotch and soda, dry gin martinis, and Manhattans were on every bar menu. What have you been drinking as you’ve watched this year’s presidential debates?

When we were making Best of Enemies, we changed the question from, “Who would you rather have a beer with?” to, “Who would you rather have a martini with?” That seems to get at the difference between those guys and our present pundits. As for a drink during the final presidential debates, I’d go with a bota bag full of tequila and an open throat. There is no hope.

Whom would you rather have a drink with, Vidal or Buckley?

I’d have thought Vidal, until I had a drink with Vidal, and so now I think Buckley.

If your candidate doesn’t get elected, how would you handle the next four years?

I’m unable to believe that a majority of this country would fall for the bluster of a sexist, racist, selfish demagogue. Unless Trump abdicates the race, I see it as steady cocktails ahead. What time is it?

You’ve become a prolific filmmaker as well as an author. When you’re in work mode, do you tend to drink anything in particular? Does that choice change as you shift between mediums?

I rarely drink while working, unless the work is public speaking. My drink choices are determined more by the clime than by my mode or medium. A day editing video is usually more tense than a day of writing. Writing, it’s unmediated. It’s me and the laptop.

Film, first off, there’s another person involved. And we’re working toward a mutual vision that hasn’t yet formed, so the communication is intense. Plus, there’s the machine. When you’re moving big pieces of data around, the machines get clunky. So the rhythm you and your editor are creating can be crushed by the machine. A drink is a lovely way to take the edge off. Really, I’m only drinking for the benefit of everyone around me. Writing is intense, but it never requires a boilermaker. Sometimes the editing room does.
What’s your favorite place to drink?

I purposely didn’t mention the Lamplighter in It Came From Memphis because I didn’t want the beauty of its local flavor disturbed. And my only regret about shooting the Cat Power video in there (“Lived in Bars”) is that when we lit the ceiling, Anne saw how the nicotine had colored the tile. When she renewed her lease, she got new ceiling tile put in. Oh, that ceiling was beautiful! The luster of that golden glow, the hue was 50 years in the making.

Where my wife Tara and I usually drink and dine now, it’s rarely crowded, and since we usually luck into our favorite table, I can’t reveal the name. But I’ll say it’s in Midtown.

And shout out to past Memphis haunts: the Toast, Charlotte’s, the Bull Shotte, Jefferson Square.

Categories
Music Music Blog

Rest in Peace Sports Junction

About two years ago or so I got a Facebook message from a local publicist who invited me to a “press night” for Sports Junction. I have to admit that I was intrigued mostly because I wanted to see what the new owners of the building- a place that was once a Karate Dojo that Elvis attended before becoming the iconic Hi-Tone music venue- had done to the place. But to be fair, given my role at the Flyer, an informal press release about a sports bar with hookahs and cigars doesn’t exactly scream “music feature.”

The first thing I noticed when I went into the Sports Junction was the first thing that probably every single person noticed when they walked into that place- the amount of HD TVs. I’m not positive, but I’d be willing to bet that there were more TVs than barstools in Sports Junction. The owner of Sports Junction assured me he’d be booking bands at the bar, but I don’t think that ever came to fruition. 

At first the bar had $1.00 drafts all day every day- a pretty good deal if you ask me or anyone else who enjoys a cold beer in the middle, beginning, or end of the day. That stopped after awhile, which meant I stopped going there too, until a friend informed me of the Tuesday night special at Sports Junction.

Basically the Tuesday night special at Sports Junction featured $1.00 beers and half price wings from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., which meant you could go there after work, get a decent buzz, eat some wings, and leave with about $13.00 less than what you came in with. Add the fact that DJ Superman from HOT 107.1 would normally start BLASTING hip hop, funk, and soul at about 5 p.m., and you had a gold mine hidden in the shadow of Overton Square.

The Hi-Tone building has always been special to people, it’s special to me as well. It’s the first place many local musicians (myself included) performed on a real stage. Most will agree that the pizza there was amazing. But Sports Junction was also important to a lot of people, for perhaps a much more important reason.

The staff and the patrons of the Sports Junction were almost all African American, save for a few, including the small group of white friends that I would attend the bar with on Tuesday nights whenever I got the chance.The simple truth is that there was no bar like the Sports Junction in midtown. It featured a no-frills vibe that made everyone feel welcome, the food was good and affordable, and they practically gave beers away.

I have no reason to think that whatever the Sports Junction becomes next won’t be great. I’m sure it will be. Alchemy has done very well and I’m sure I’ll find myself in the new Sports Junction at some point or another. The point is – midtown needs a bar like the old Sports Junction. It served a purpose far greater than offering cheap beer and fancy TVs.  It was a place where Memphians of all kinds could come together and find a common ground over a sports game and some wings. Someone would be wise to continue that trend. Hiring DJ Superman for a weekly night would be a start.

Rest in Peace Sports Junction (2)

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Bar Report: On the Regular

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

If there’s a bar where everybody knows your name, you’re probably an alcoholic — anonymous

That’s a riff on the old Cheers theme song, of course. And, of course, it’s not true. You are not an alcoholic — not you! — just because the bartender looks up when you arrive and starts pouring your favorite libation. You’re not an alcoholic just because everyone at the bar turns and shouts your name when you enter. You’re a regular, just like they are. You’re walking into your home away from home, your family away from family. Your special joint.

And that’s what this new monthly column, “Bar Report,” is going to be about — a look into Memphis bars and pubs and the culture surrounding them. Flyer staffers are going to take turns writing the column. We’ll be talking about all kinds of stuff: What are the best bars for first dates? What makes a good sports bar? How do you find a bar that’s age appropriate? Is there one thing that all good bartenders have in common?

We’ll be writing about drink trends, seasonal beverages, day drinking, historic bars, bar hopping, ethnic bars, dive bars, high-end dining bars, seasonal drinks — you name it, and we’re probably going to cover it.

I was discussing “regulars” with a bartender friend the other day and thought maybe that would be as good a topic as any with which to kick off this column. It’s one of the things that isn’t discussed much but seems obvious on reflection: how various establishments become venues for particular age groups — how “regulars” select their venue. One bar might draw baby boomers while the place two doors down the street is filled with millennials. The choice gets made based on many factors: the kind of food, the music, the décor, the noise level, the proximity to other places. A craft brewery will draw a different crowd than a wine bar or a cocktail-centric bar, obviously.

But the variations on a theme are almost endless: There are pickup bars, gay bars, wine bars, craft beer joints, live music clubs, dance clubs, after-hours bars, foodie bars, artisanal cocktail bars, Irish pubs, to name a few. Someone who’s out to meet strangers and drink themselves into a bed will go to a different kind of venue than the person who just wants a quiet joint where they can have a conversation with friends. A married couple in their 50s will want a different bar experience than two single women in their 30s.

One thing is certain, though: Regulars are the lifeblood of any drinking establishment. David Parks, who holds down the fort behind the bar at Alchemy, says “regulars represent 75 percent of my income, but it’s more than that. Some of them have become close friends — and friends with each other. A few even got married, with varying degrees of success.”

Justin Fox Burks

Allan Creasy

Allan Creasy is the bar manager at Celtic Crossing. He says regulars can make — or break — a bar: “If you walked into a bar, and it was perfect — had all your favorite drafts, had the televisions on exactly what you wanted to watch, there was a friendly bar staff — but if every person who started a conversation with you was an ass, you would stop going, eventually.

“Friendly regulars are worth their weight in gold,” he adds. “It’s impossible for me to chat with everyone and make drinks at the same time. A good regular is almost doing a part of my job for me, making the pub more of a home.”

Tyler Morgan and Justin Gerych man the bar at Cafe 1912. They will tell you the quiet backroom venue tends to draw a more mature crowd, seasoned Midtowners looking for decent food and friendly conversation.

On a recent night, when Morgan was pouring the drinks and the place was filled with regulars, a young couple walked in and took the last two seats at the bar. They were immediately peppered with friendly questions: “Where do you work?” “Where do you live?” “Do y’all like Midtown?” “How long have you been dating?” It was like they’d just come home from college and were dealing with nosy parents, probably not what they expected to encounter on a dinner date, but they endured the inquisition good-naturedly.

At one point, a geriatric-looking fellow — a regular, of course — stood up and adjusted his pants at the crotch.

“What are you doing, Richard?” asked his companion, slightly horrified.

“Adjusting my chemo bag and having another drink, goddammit.”

He then turned to the young couple and said, “I bet you two feel like you’ve just walked onto the set of Cocoon.”

Ah, regulars. Can’t live with ’em. Can’t live without ’em.