Tag: Memphis River Parks Partnership

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Memphis River Parks Partnership Names John Best First ‘Maker of Culture’

Photo Credit: Memphis River Parks Partnership.

Memphis River Parks Partnership (MRPP) has created and filled its newest role with a community leader dedicated to maintaining immaculate vibes and experiences on the riverfront.

The organization named John Best as its first “Maker of Culture” in early April. Best is a DJ who has performed at multiple park events, and is also the general manager of Memphis-Shelby County Schools’ 88.5FM and Cable 19 TV.

“The Maker of Culture (MC) will actively promote the values and mission of Memphis River Parks Partnership and work to create a fun, welcoming and safe environment for visitors to the Memphis riverfront,” the Partnership said in a statement.

Carol Coletta, president and CEO of MRPP said Best has performed in this capacity for “several years” and that it was time to make it official. She added that his work “provides a fun musical backdrop that helps us maintain a warm and inviting culture.

Jasmine Stokes, director of programming and engagement for MRPP, said Best knows the values of the Riverfront, and is an “amazing steward of promoting those values in a fun and effective way.

“He is representative of park values and what we’re trying to convey through music and having a fun time,” Stokes said. “We couldn’t just say ‘ Yeah, he’s the DJ of the Riverfront.’ We wanted it to feel more special and know that he’s more than just the DJ. He is the Maker of Culture.”

Best said before the music, before being a DJ, he’s for the community, and wants to see it grow. He said he reminds park-goers to pick up trash and to be stewards of the space, while also cultivating a fun and engaging environment.

“I have the same mindset from day one to day now: Let’s lift Memphis by bringing positive energy and positive events for the whole family to come to,” said Best.

Part of Best’s commitment to diversifying and boosting engagement in riverfront culture is by playing multiple genres of music for different age groups. He said his goal is to bring all cultures together, no matter race, creed, or religion. “We know that the park is open to all, so I must be able to cater to all,” Best said. 

Best also plans to bring DJs specializing in different genres, such as Salsa and House. Best will train and coach the DJs on “park culture and crowd control.”

“The DJs will monitor activity at the Sunset Canopy, interact with park visitors to reinforce good neighbor behavior and sample multiple music genres each week,” the Partnership said in a statement. DJs will also present three-hour sets “during peak park hours” on Saturdays and Sundays through November 30th.

According to the Partnership, Best will also “provide an extra layer of park oversight” by providing the organization with feedback for “continuous improvement in operation.”

“I’m observing the crowd all the time,” Best said, “By me being on this platform, I have a nice view of what’s going on. When I make announcements about things that the park doesn’t allow, and creating commercials that play every 30 minutes to stress whatever the park is pushing, I’m pushing on the microphone. It’s not in an accusatory way.”

Stokes added that while it’s still in its draft stages, Best will help develop and maintain the Tom Lee Park Music Policy.

“Music is so powerful — so powerful — so we want to make sure it’s positive and family friendly,” Stokes said. “It doesn’t have to be Baby Shark all the time, but just making sure it’s not influencing negative behavior at the base level,” Stokes said.

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“A Riverfront for Everyone”

Tom Lee Park (Photo: Courtesy MRPP)

While renovations for Tom Lee Park were underway, Carol Coletta, Memphis River Parks Partnership (MRPP) CEO and president, knew that the project was worth remembering. It’s a story almost a century in the making, beginning with Tom Lee’s heroic act of saving 32 people from drowning in the Mississippi River in 1925. “Very few public assets or public parks are built with one person’s courage and display of generosity and humanity at its core,” she says.“We had this in mind every step of the way … the opportunity to bring that story to the forefront and put that at the center.” A film, it seemed, would best document MRPP’s efforts in continuing that story, so Coletta commissioned filmmaker Molly Wexler and her team at Last Bite Films to follow the four-year journey.

“We didn’t specify the story,” Coletta says. “We just said to Molly and her great crew to just document what’s going on here and talk to everyone, see what you see. And I think they really landed the story really neatly because in a lot of ways, they’re really telling a story about equity and at its heart that’s what the story of the making of this park is all about. We had this mantra of a riverfront for everyone. And not just for a few days a year, not just to be enjoyed by a few, but really a riverfront for everyone.”

Part of the beauty of a documentary, as opposed to, say, a book, is that individual voices come together, with each voice taking direct ownership of part of the story. It’s a story of many, not just one, Coletta says. “It just comes alive and I think it sticks in a way when you hear straight from people who’ve been involved, people who feel affected by it, seeing some of the images. It opens with a beautiful image of Tom Lee’s family and just to see them, just to hear from them, and how meaningful this was to them is a lovely part of the story. But it’s a piece of the equity story.”

The film, she continues, “has a real emotional center to it that is quite lovely, and so I think it will be a film that can be enjoyed by people who know nothing about Memphis and know nothing about this park. … I think of major projects that have been built in Memphis, and the histories teach us a lot about what it takes to build something ambitious. I’ve seen a lot of projects get built and I hope someone who’s going to build the next project can look at this film and say, ‘Let’s learn from this experience.’”

The 25-minute documentary, titled “A Riverfront for Everyone,” will premiere at the inaugural This Is Memphis event on Friday, February 16th, ahead of Tom Lee’s birthday on Sunday. For the premiere, MRPP will host a silent auction of fun, unique, Memphis-related experiences, and will serve generous bites and drinks throughout the evening. Cocktail attire is suggested. Purchase tickets here.

MRPP also plans to air and to screen “A Riverfront for Everyone” on WKNO and at film festivals at later dates.

This Is Memphis, Halloran Centre, 225 S. Main, Friday, February 16, 6:30 p.m., $50.

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Mempho Producers Plan Three-Day Music Festival for May in Tom Lee Park

Credit: Mempho Music Festival via Facebook

A new three-day music festival will head to Tom Lee Park in May, organized by the producers of the Mempho Music Festival. 

Memphis River Parks Partnership (MRPP) announced the news Friday afternoon. It came after Memphis in May announced Thursday it would pause its signature three-day music festival, Beale Street Music Festival, for 2024. 

The new festival is a partnership between MRPP, Mempho, and a group called Forward Momentum. It is “a group of prominent Memphians focused on the betterment of our city and our music and tourism industries.” It claims its “mission is to ignite the power of live music, creating extraordinary experiences that resonate with the souls of music lovers.”

Carol Coletta, president and CEO of MRPP, said Forward Momentum was “a great fit for a signature music event in Memphis,” given its “successful track record and deep financial strength.”  

“Music is in our blood, deeply connected to our Memphis community, and we aim to continue this rich legacy and history by introducing a feature destination event, with major acts and broad appeal, that will keep visitors coming back year after year,” said Jeff Bransford of Forward Momentum.

MRPP explained in a news release that Tom Lee Park is designed to host big music events as a park. The new, unnamed music festival will “dramatically reduce the number of days the park is closed to the public. The agreement states it will be closed no more than 13 days, which compares to the 36 days the park was closed this year.”

“Having Forward Momentum step up to claim that critical May weekend is more confirmation that our investment in Memphis’ riverfront has created a year-round attraction for tourists and locals alike,” said Memphis mayor-elect and Downtown Memphis Commission president Paul Young.

Details of the event are expected to be announced soon. 

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Beale Street Music Fest Will Not Be Held In 2024

Beale Street Music Festival (Courtesy Memphis in May)

Beale Street Music Festival will not take place next year, and the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest will be held at Liberty Park, organizers said in a statement Thursday. 

Memphis In May International Festival (MIM) said Music Fest will be “paused” for 2024, leaving an unknown path forward for years after that. MIM said it plans to “explore all options to present an event in the future that meets the standards and authenticity expected of the brand.” 

The decision came after 2023 attendance ”suffered a significant decline.” Its recent annual report said Music Fest attendance hit a 30-year low this year. But MIM president and CEO Jim Holt once again laid part of the blame for the situation at the feet of Memphis River Park Partnership (MRPP) and its $63 million renovation of Tom Lee Park.

“Obviously, Memphis in May has built a very authentic brand beginning with the name and location of the music festival,” Holt said. “With a pending lawsuit and the event now un-welcomed in the new Tom Lee Park, future Beale Street Music Festivals will face fundamental challenges.”

Last month, MRPP sued MIM to recoup $675,000, which the group said it was owed to repair the park after this May’s events. 

“We have proudly presented the Beale Street Music Festival as a world-class entertainment event for nearly half a century,” MIM board chair Al Gossett said in a statement. “Our board’s decision is to not disappoint or underdeliver against the high standards and expectations of fans and supporters of this city’s largest annual event and signature music festival.”

Barbecue will be held May 15th-18th in Liberty Park, which has hosted the event twice in the past. 

The Great American River Run will be held Downtown on May 25th, 2024. 

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Memphis In May Blame Game: Park Redesign or Music Fest Lineup?

Credit: Memphis in May

The Memphis opinion machine cranked up Tuesday with some blaming Memphis in May’s record losses on the Tom Lee Park redesign and others calling the Beale Street Music Festival lineup “garbage,” “out of touch,” and “ass as fuck.” 

News dropped late Tuesday (well, after Flyer working hours, anyway) of a 30-year-record-low crowd at Memphis in May (MIM) this year resulting in a record-low financial loss of $3.48 million.

In its annual report, MIM blamed much of this on the redesigned Tom Lee Park. The $63 million renovation was mostly complete by the time the festival geared back up for a return to the park this year. 

Credit: Memphis in May
Credit: Memphis in May

That design was tailor-made for MIM, created under a mediation agreement ordered by Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland. That means MIM’s instructions drove many of the details of the redesign.

This still did not stop festival organizers from saying the “the return to Tom Lee Park was marred by difficulties including: obtaining a lease with the Memphis River Parks Partnership (MRPP), problems with access to the park, restrictive use of essential park features, designs not meeting agreed-upon specifications, and a park with 40 percent less useable space.”

Jerred Price, a candidate for Memphis City Council this year and moderator of a Facebook page called Save the River Parks & the Festivals, laid the blame on MRPP, and especially its CEO Carol Coletta. 

“The Tom Lee Park excessive redesign is hurting our festivals which create hundreds of millions in tourism dollars, business for our local small businesses, and our economy,” Price said in a post Tuesday. “MRPP violated the terms of their mediation agreement terms. 

“Something must be done. Memphis River Parks Partnership needs to be held accountable. Lose the festivals, lose hundreds of millions in economic impact.” 

Among the post’s 10 comments, many urged a lawsuit against MRPP. 

“Time to sue the shizzle out of MRPP and Coletta,” said Ann Bridgman. “Every vendor, every employee, and every single business that took a hit Downtown this year and for years to come. 

Bridgman said she walks in the park nearly every day and is underwhelmed with the money spent on the new design. She said it had no water features and wondered where were the “lasers and dancing lights.”

But MIM shared the blame when it came to low attendance at Beale Street Music Festival. There, it also listed “astronomically elevated talent costs, plus ticket sales competition from big-name artists’ concerts in the Memphis area during late first and early second quarters of this year.”

Here, Memphis Reddit users stepped in with unfiltered opinions on a post by u/mothman26, which linked to a WMCTV story on the MIM news. 

Memphis in May had record profit loss in 2023; Beale Street Music Fest had lowest attendance in 30+ years
byu/mothman26 inmemphis

“Lineup was overall subpar,” wrote u/AcanthopterygiiNo603. “Headliners were weak. 

“Also, I am a lifelong hip hop fan, but acts like Finesse2tymes clearly promoting violence should be passed over. The whole scene was uncomfortable and with the crime epidemic, promoters need to be more aware of who they are choosing.”

u/Sacrolargo agreed with MIM officials that other shows in other markets likely drew attendance from Music Fest. u/Sacrolargo said Shaky Knees Music Festival was in Atlanta that weekend. U/mothman26 pointed out that Taylor Swift also played Nashville that weekend. 

Some, though, said MIM officials were “out of touch” when planning its music lineup and suggested getting outside help to plan its next year. 

Others, however, were happy to offer unvarnished criticism. 

“Lineup was garbage, not sure it needs to be any more complicated than that,” wrote u/Typical_Control_1175.

“The line up was ass as fuck,” wrote  u/Black_n_Neon.

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Little Amal Comes to Memphis

Little Amal visits Folkestone, England. (Credit: The Walk Productions/Igor Emerich)

This Wednesday, Memphis is welcoming a very special 10-year-old Syrian refugee as she makes her way across the United States. Little Amal, as she is called, is a 12-foot-tall puppet, who has traveled over 6,000 miles to 15 countries since July 2021, searching for family and friends, as part of one of the world’s largest free public art engagements. And now, Amal is coming to Memphis for a parade around Downtown, stopping at the historic Clayborn Temple, the Orpheum Theatre, and Tom Lee Park, with Memphis youth joining along the way and carrying puppets made in their own image. 

The goal of Amal’s journey is to spark conversations about who we are and where we come from, says Anasa Troutman, executive director of Historic Clayborn Temple, who organized Amal’s stint in Memphis. And to make her stay even more poignant, Troutman adds, “We brought in Jeghetto, a United States-based puppeteer, who also makes oversized puppets, and he is making a second puppet, so there’ll be the Syrian girl and a large-scale puppet of a little Black girl.”

Memphis Girl stands at eight feet tall and will join Amal in the parade, which kicks off at Clayborn Temple, where attendees will learn about the history of Clayborn Temple and walk around the I Am A Man Plaza. “Then they’ll proceed together with a whole bunch of kids from all over Memphis,” Troutman says. After Clayborn Temple, the parade will proceed to the Orpheum Theatre, chosen for its connection to storytelling, and students from the Refugee Empowerment Program will welcome her with personal messages. 

Little Amal towers over the crowd in Manchester, England. (Credit: The Walk Productions)

For the final stop, the group will take the walking celebration to Tom Lee Park. “I would never have Amal come here and not take her to the river,” Troutman says. “The city is built on the river, the history of the city begins on that river. … Also because of all the work that’s been done there, it is the premier location of the city to be able to take people to experience that part of our culture and our infrastructure.”

At Tom Lee Park, Amal will receive a “Culture of Love” quilt as a parting gift. “Culture of Love,” Troutman says, has been the guiding theme for Amal’s stay in Memphis. In preparation for the big day, Clayborn Temple collaborated with a number of organizations — from BRIDGES USA, to Shelby County Schools, to Memphis Youth Arts Initiative — to facilitate workshops for kids to create the puppets that’ll be used in the parade. 

“Our goal was to be able to reach 1,000 children,” Troutman says. “Instead of trying to go and recruit all these young people to our organization, it felt really juicy and exciting to go to places where children already were because we want to support organizations that are already supporting young people, and we want to become part of their community and have them become part of our community. So the message of our local work has amounted to building a culture of love. This project has really brought us closer to the Memphis community and I love that.”

Little Amal takes part in the Luminato Festival in Toronto. (Credit: The Walk Productions/Taku Kumabe)

In addition to love shared among community members, Troutman hopes to instill self-love into the individual youths participating. “We talk all the time about the future,” she says. “The young people of this city deserve an opportunity to become the possibility of the future. The story of Amal is that refugee children bring possibilities, not problems. We’re saying the same thing. In a time when there’s a lot of conversation about crime, about poverty, these children in Memphis bring possibilities, not problems. If they’re engaged in the creative process, it allows them to open their minds and imagine what their future could be, what the future of the city could be.” 

She continues, “There’ll be 1,000 children from all over Memphis who are getting to make puppets in their own image to be able to say things like, ‘I am beautiful, I am worthy, I am the future, and I am going to show that by creating this puppet, that’s going to show everybody what who I am.’ That is a powerful exercise to be able to create something in your own image, to be able to then put it on display in such a public way is very empowering and very healing.” 

Walk with Amal begins at 4 p.m., and all — those young and young at heart — are welcome to join in at any of the three stops. You can support this project by donating here. 

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We Saw You: Tom Lee Day One

Memphis River Parks Partnership president/CEO Carol Coletta was on hand at Tom Lee Day One (Credit: Michael Donahue)

Caleb White sat on a railing overlooking the Mississippi River and ate a cornbread waffle from Paper Plate Pavilion as his dog, Marley, rested nearby. They were among the visitors at Tom Lee Day One on September 2nd at Tom Lee Park.

Asked what he thought about the 31-acre riverfront park, White says, “Freaking amazing. It’s exactly what this city needed. We just moved to Memphis a month and a half ago.”

White, who says they have “a bunch of kids,” added, “It’s a good place for kids to congregate and hang out. We’re a pretty sporty family.”

Facing him as they rested on some steps were White’s boyfriend, Dr. Dodgen Swanson, and White’s ex-wife, Brittany Vickery; White’s and Vickery’s children: Emma, Mary Katherine, Madeline, and Easton; and Vickery’s boyfriend, Brandon Conley, and his children Colt and Delilah. 

Caleb White and Marley at Tom Lee Day One (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Dr. Dodgen Swanson, Emma White, Colt Conley, Mary Katherine White, Madeline White, Easton White, Brittany Vickery, Brandon Conley, Delilah Conley at Tom Lee Day One (Credit: Michael Donahue)

White told me me a few days later, “I left there with a sunburn on my forehead. I had such a great time. We went back on Sunday and hung out a couple of hours.”

After five years of design and construction, the transformed Tom Lee Park opened. Visitors registered to attend that day, but there was no admittance charge.

There was so much going on, including basketball and volleyball games. There are still open spaces with a great view of the river, and the occasional riverboat.

Tom Lee Day One (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Alex Vandenbergh, Jaden Taylor, Jean Lefleur at Tom Lee Day One (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Sai Mummareddy, Luis Gorostieta, Kwaku Frimpong, Victoria Lwamba, Mark Gonzales, Satashi Koike at Tom Lee Day One (Credit: Michael Donahue)

According to a press release, Tom Lee Day One included a people’s procession, a ribbon cutting and interfaith blessing by the Tennessee Mass Choir, as well as attractions, including a volleyball tournament, yoga, and live music.

Tom Lee Park was developed and is managed by Memphis River Parks Partnership (MRPP), a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that, according to the press release, “stewards the riverfront on behalf of the people of Memphis.” The Partnership manages five connected riverfront park districts of 250 acres of parkland as well as multiple rental and performance facilities. Carol Coletta is president and CEO of MRPP.

“We have some software that we’re able to capture on cellphones that 4,000 adults were there,” says Candace Gray, MRRP publicist. “That does not include children and people who did not have cell phones. We would probably say 6,000.”

She said that public reaction was positive. “It was so great to finally see people in the park and how they used it. We kind of had an idea how they’d use it, but it’s different when you get people in the park and see how they actually use the space.”

Denico, Aiden, and Candace Gray at Tom Lee Day One (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Stoney, Big Stoney, and Droopy World at Tom Lee Day One (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Travis Hughes, Rachel Grant, and Lenny Hughes at Tom Lee Day One (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Kim Rix and Dame Mufasa at Tom Lee Day One (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Rylee Reynolds, Dawson Hardesty, Daniel Hardesty, Sarah Hardesty, Clair Mulvihill at Tom Lee Day One (Credit: Michael Donahue)

Gray says, “Now the park is officially opened, even though the city has not reopened Riverside Drive yet.” She says MRPP doesn’t know when the reopening is scheduled, but, “the biggest thing is we felt the spirit of community that day with people of all ages, all races, different abilities. Everybody was in there and it was so harmonious and just beautiful.”

Rocky and Mira Freeman at Tom Lee Day One (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Mallory De Boom and John Zarshenas at Tom Lee Day One (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Marion Caradine and Jason Blount at Tom Lee Day One (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Jessica and Jonathan Mosley with Eli and Sunny at Tom Lee Day One (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Nathalie Molina, Dennis Molina, Chawan Rasheed, Ali Hamade, Quy Van, Charlie Hughes, Layla Norbash at Tom Lee Day One (Credit: Michael Donahue)
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Memphis in Maybe

Photo: Beale Street Music Festival | Facebook

There is about to come a true reckoning for Memphis, and for the two organizations — the Memphis River Parks Partnership (MRPP) and Memphis in May (MIM) — who’ve been wrangling for years over the fate of the 30 acres of land along Memphis’ Mississippi waterfront that comprise Tom Lee Park.

MIM, the ever-whinging predictors of doom for their annual events because of the new park’s facilities and landscaping, and MRPP, the ever-optimistic promoters of a “world-class reimagined riverfront,” will soon see their competing visions encounter a real-world test.

From May 5th through May 7th, the Beale Street Music Festival will return to the still-uncompleted but thoroughly reconfigured terrain along the river. Tens of thousands of music fans will stream into the park searching for music, which for the first time ever will not involve merely wandering around in a big field and stopping when you see a band on a stage.

According to MRPP, the new Tom Lee Park is 80-percent completed. There are new trees, sodding, bushes, and grasses, plus landscaped ridges, moguls, and walkways and partly completed shelters and playgrounds, plus natural spaces and trails, including a “riffle area.” In other words, music fans are going to have to walk around the plantings and landscaping and new construction — or on it and over it.

In the past, after Music Fest, with its seemingly inevitable rainy day or two, the park was almost always a disaster area — a muddy, gross morass littered with discarded tennis shoes, boots, clothing, food and drink detritus, and dozens of ever-aromatic porta-potties. How will it go this year?

I don’t know, but I’m trying to imagine, say, Keith and Travis, two young music fans from Jonesboro, a little stoned, a lot drunk, meandering through the park. Then let’s say they hear the raucous sounds of Low Cut Connie in the distance and head in the direction of the music. It’s dark, and Keith stumbles in some monkey grass, drops his beer cup, falls to his knees, then climbs up on a mogul of earth to get a better view. Travis, who is a more sensitive type, says, “Dude, you probably shouldn’t be up there. You’re trampling the liriope.”

“Whooo, LIRIOPE!!” says Kevin. “LOW CUT CONNIE!!! Whooo!!!”

Multiply this action over three days and 30,000 people, plus a probable rainy day or two, and you’re reimagining some serious damage repair. Or at least, one would think so.

Then two weeks later, the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest settles in for four days of nonstop partying and carousing, including the building of often-massive ramshackle temporary shelters for teams to boogie the days and nights away while tending their world-class smokers. Lumber gets hauled in; muddy pathways form between team shelters and sites. Booze gets drunk, trash gets thrown, pigs get smoked, and a good time is had by all. Except the clean-up crews.

Memphis in May has complained that it hasn’t been given enough acreage to carry out its events in the new park. MRPP responded with a document clearly showing that it has in fact provided more space than MIM asked for. Even so, MIM has disinvited 35 barbecue teams to this year’s contest, claiming a lack of space. In addition, the Blues Tent is being moved to Beale Street, also because MIM says the new park configuration isn’t big enough for it. So it goes. If you get what you ask for, it’s difficult to justify the complaints.

But enough theory, enough predicting, enough sniping. Events are in the saddle now, and we’ll soon know for sure whether MIM can succeed — financially and otherwise — in the new park.

And we’ll also soon know how much MIM events will damage the area and its new landscaping. One assumes that both sides will learn a lot from 2023, and that both sides may have to make adjustments for future Memphis in Mays.

The good news is that, after much wrangling, the contract between MRPP and MIM has been signed, with the city agreeing to pay for any repair damages above $500,000. That’s an open checkbook for taxpayers, with the amount to be determined, one would assume, after the last barbecue smoker trailer leaves the grounds. It’s also another reality check, literally, and another learning opportunity.

Call me Pollyanna, but I think that after all the smoke clears this May, both organizations, and the city, will know more about how to create a win-win for Memphis: namely, a great annual festival held in a world-class river park that also serves the populace year-round. That’s the reality we should all be hoping for.

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Memphis In May Will Return to Tom Lee Park This Year

Music lovers at the 2018 Beale Street Music Festival (Photo courtesy Memphis in May)

Memphis In May will officially return to Tom Lee Park this year.

Memphis in May International Festival (MIM) signed a contract with Memphis River Parks Partnership (MRPP) on Friday, according to an image posted to MIM’s Facebook page Tuesday. 

The two agencies have tangled publicly since MRPP’s plan to renovate the riverside park was unveiled in 2019. That $62 million plan includes adding contours, built amenities, trees, and landscaping to what was a flat, open plain. 

The plain was an empty canvas for MIM’s big festivals, the Beale Street Music Festival and the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. MIM has been vocal for years now that the new park amenities would shrink the size of the festivals and their crowds. However, MRPP contends it will not.

(Credit: MRPP)

However, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland entered the two groups into mediation to hammer out a plan. The plan ensured the park could be renovated and have spaces big enough for MIM’s festivals. 

Both signed the agreement, though MIM president and CEO Jim Holt has continued to complain about the park plan, as recently as last month when he told Memphis City Council members the plan put his festivals “in jeopardy.” At the time, the MRPP and MIM contract was snagged on insurance provisions and council members asked the groups to work together for a resolution. 

MIM president and CEO Jim Holt

On Tuesday, the council approved a resolution to use up to $500,000 in taxpayer money to pay for damages done to the park. Anything above that amount will be paid by MIM. 

(Credit: MIM/Facebook)

“Signed, sealed, and delivered!” MIM posted (above) on Facebook Tuesday. “Memphis in May has a signed lease for Tom Lee Park. There was never a doubt we’d be back home on the river in 2023.”

However, Facebook commenter Eric Groff said, …“except for all the doubts you folks expressed in the media…”

In a statement on Facebook, MRPP said park construction is now more than 80 percent complete. 

“Memphians can now look forward to the opening of a great park at the edge of our nation’s most storied river,” read the statement. “An unforgettable civic celebration will mark the opening this Labor Day weekend.” 

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Memphis in May In “Jeopardy” As Park Negotiations Fall Through

Credit: Memphis River Parks Partnership

An exasperated Memphis City Council urged Memphis In May (MIM) and Memphis River Parks Partnership (MRPP) to put aside “bad blood,” act like “grown ups,” and get a lease deal signed to bring the festivals back to the Tom Lee Park this year. 

Eighty-three days before May, the festivals are “in jeopardy,” according to MIM president and CEO James Holt. Some other contracts cannot be signed — like those securing artists for Beale Street Music Festival — until the lease deal for Tom Lee Park is in hand, he said. 

(Credit: City of Memphis)

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland has long had the groups in mediation to hammer out details. Holt described hours of meetings recently with Strickland and his team directly. Still, one detail has stymied the lease deal. 

MIM wants a cap on payments made to repair any damages done to Tom Lee Park during the festivals. MRPP wants no cap on those payments, in a sort of you-break-it-you-buy-it situation.

MRPP president and CEO Carol Coletta said renters are likely responsible for any damage done to government-owned facilities like the Renasant Convention Center and the new Memphis Sports & Events Center. 

”Jim Holt — after all the conversations over the last one, and after the mayor his [Chief Operating Officer] Chandell Ryan worked so hard to get the final pieces of this deal — walked away and said, ‘We can’t live with being responsible for our damages, the expense of our damages. We cannot do it. So, we walk away from the negotiations.’”

Holt said MIM agreed to up its average restoration fee of $50,000 a year to $500,000 for the 2023 festivals. Strickland added another $500,000 of city funds. That $1 million would be ready to clean up the park after the festivals. 

(Credit: Memphis River Parks Partnership)

The additional money is needed this year as Tom Lee Park is undergoing a major, $60-million renovation. The renovation will include new landscaping, new sidewalks, new buildings, new play and recreation infrastructure, and more.  

“We feel that [MRPP is] effectively attempting to shut down our festival,” Holt told council members Tuesday. “Now, the government contractor that the mayor and the city pays … is dictating the terms and has told the mayor and MIM, ‘no, $1 million is not enough. I only accept MIM to take unlimited responsibility for any damage.’”   

With MIM being on the hook for damages — even with $1 million in funds to fix any — it would incentivize the group to not damage the park, said council member Worth Morgan. Should the liability fall to MRPP, Morgan said they likely fear MIM “might damage the park unnecessarily as getting back” at MRPP.  

Tension between MRPP and MIM rose almost immediately after MRPP unveiled the new look of Tom Lee Park in 2017. MIM officials quickly pointed out that the new design would shrink the size of the festivals, which would also shrink its revenues, and taxes into city coffers. MRPP has defended the park design as a place for all. All of it has made for a tension between the two that even the public can feel.

(Credit: City of Memphis I Memphis City Council member Worth Morgan)

Morgan said the situation was like “the Greensward issue.” There,  a similar tension was publicly felt between the boards of the Overton Park Conservancy and the Memphis Zoo. That issue flamed, roiled, and simmered — and included an arduous council-led agreement process — from 2014 until a final agreement between them was inked last year. 

“There’s some bad blood between the two and that is really what is inhibiting this [lease deal] rather than dollars and cents.”

Worth Morgan

“You have two boards and there’s distrust, there’s some bad blood between the two and that is really what is inhibiting this [lease deal] rather than dollars and cents,” Morgan said. “That’s why we’re here trying to arbitrate this. So, I would strongly encourage the boards to put down their pitchforks that are pointed at one another and simply agree to the terms that we’ve talked about.”

(Credit: City of Memphis I Memphis City Council member Martavius Jones)

MRPP officials were present at Tuesday’s council hearing on the matter but were not given a chance to speak by chairman Martavius Jones, claiming the hearing was bumping against the council’s full meeting at 3 p.m. Jones invited MRPP back to speak at the next council meeting in two weeks but urged them to have a deal in hand.