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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
Music Music Blog

Historic A. Schwab on Beale Ramps Up Local Vinyl Collection

Record Display in A. Schwab General Store, 1930s (Photo Courtesy A. Schwab)

At one time, A. Schwab General Store and Soda Fountain was the only store open for business on Beale Street. Founded in 1876, it has been in continuous business since then, and is still independently owned, with two Schwab family members still on staff. It has been closed for business only twice: during the Yellow Fever epidemic of the late 1800’s and during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It only makes sense, then, for the establishment to champion all things Memphis. And if you’re on Beale Street, Memphis means music. The store has carried records since the 1930s, and has a large collection of vintage records once sold there, including “Crazy Blues” by Mamie Smith, arguably the first blues record ever recorded. Indeed, A. Schwab’s archives pre-date the age of phonography, holding several player piano rolls, including W. C. Handy’s “Beale Street Blues,” and numerous examples of sheet music.

In keeping with this fine legacy, the store has announced a significant new focus on such holdings, the “Memphis Music Vinyl” department, to be celebrated in a special event, an official Record Store Day Launch Party on June 12th, from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m., staged in partnership with Shangri-La Records. The event will include door prizes, special event sales, an exclusive ticketed evening concert AND free chocolate “45 rpm records” made by Memphis chocolatiers Dinstuhls to be given to the first 45 people purchasing vinyl.

Terry Saunders, owner of A. Schwab’s, first contacted local musician Amy LaVere about the idea of expanding the music department. “Jake [Saunders] and I are so in love with the rich music history of Memphis, as well as the depth and breadth of talent in the contemporary music scene,” she says. “We felt it should be showcased in vinyl in keeping with the store’s long history of selling records.”

Consulting Shangri-La Record’s John Miller, and other Memphis music aficionados such as It Came From Memphis writer Robert Gordon, and label owner Bruce Watson (Fat Possum, Big Legal Mess, Bible & Tire Recording), LaVere curated the new “All Memphis Then and Now” vinyl record collection and it is impressive. No genre or era is left behind.

The special ticketed event begins at 5 pm and features a live interview and brief performance by Gospel Soul artist Elizabeth King, hosted by charismatic WYXR DJ Reverend Juan D. Shipp. Elizabeth King’s latest release Living In The Last Days recently reached #2 on the Billboard Blues Charts. At 77 years old, the gospel singer and mother of 15 children has a fascinating life story, recently detailed in this Memphis magazine profile.

Ms. King will be followed by John Paul Keith, who will be playing songs from his stellar brand new LP release, The Rhythm Of The City.

Tickets for the special event can be purchased directly through Amy LaVere, via A. Schwab’s General Store.


Categories
Music Music Blog

For Saturday’s First COVID-Era Record Store Day, Local Shops Get Creative

CREDIT: J.D. Reager

MIchael Donahue

Eric Friedl and Zac Ives of Goner Records

Over the years, Record Store Day (RSD) has become one of those rare commercial “holidays” that have a real sense of community to them. Even as vinyl sales have grown in recent years, there is a camaraderie among the artists, fans, and retailers of LPs that is almost contagious.

Now, with contagion at the front of everyone’s mind, that is an enthusiasm that needs to be handled carefully. Memphis’ two primary record shops, Shangri-La Records and Goner Records, have each come up with their own solutions to the conundrum of how to celebrate vinyl en masse without violating social distancing guidelines.

Shangri-La, for example, will make use of its ample parking space. As their website explains, “you will be able to line up outside in the parking lot areas that will be marked six feet apart. It is IMPERATIVE that you stay on the demarcated space as we let one customer (plus anyone with whom that customer co-habitates) in the store to shop at a time.

“Each shopper will have an individual time of ten minutes to shop the RSD bins, make selections, and check out. After that, the next customer enters and it will continue in that fashion until 1 pm. After 1 pm, we will begin allowing customers to make individual appointments as we have been. Instead of 45 minute appointments, however, we will be limiting them to 20 minutes each to allow for additional Record Store Day shopping.”
J.D. Reager

Jared McStay, co-owner of Shangri-La Records

Of course, masks will be required throughout the process, and anyone who’s been in contact with someone who has symptoms should stay home. Given the idyllic weather of late, it promises to be an enjoyable outing for all.

Goner Records, meanwhile, has a more elaborate plan: a lottery for the first customers served on RSD. And today is your last chance to sign up for it. As co-owner Zac Ives explains:

We thought, maybe we can just dovetail this with things we’re trying to do with Goner TV. And do the best we can in a weird situation. So we came up with this goofy idea to have everybody sign up. We’ll do a random lottery for the order, and then we’ll have four phones set up and we’ll just start calling everybody, going down this list, pulling records for them, wrapping them up in a bag, and they can come pick it up later in the day.

We will have an emcee, cutting in live from the shop in our broadcast. So people can see where we are on the roll of numbers. We’re gonna make it as fun as we can. We’ll have a box of doughnuts and some coffee. Trying to keep everybody going from 9:00 until noon. And then at twelve, we’ll turn everything over to the website. Everything that’s left at that point will go up on our online store and people can order from there. But to be in that first three hours, you’ve gotta be signed up by Tuesday.

Instead of all the RSD releases coming out at once, they spread it out over three months, I guess with the idea that that would lessen any kind of mob. We don’t want to have a ton of people in one place, and maybe this is a way to spread that out on the shop side. So the releases will be split into thirds, the last Saturday of August, September, and October.

Goner is not releasing any RSD albums. We do have pre-orders up for the Archaeas record and the Optic Sink record. The Rev. John Wilkins CD is coming out in September, but the LP is delayed until November, and we’ll have a pre-order of that available as well.
Explaining the process, Ives can barely suppress his air of amusement. “It seemed funny to us, the whole telethon nature of it.”  There’s no telling what shenanigans could occur, so tune in and find out, even if you miss today’s deadline. See the Goner Records website for details.