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Memphis’ First AAPI Heritage Month to Highlight Asian-American Artists

Art by Sharon Havelka (Photo: Abigail Morici)

In 1992, May was officially designated as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI Heritage Month) by the George H. W. Bush administration, but more than 30 years later, this May marks the first time Memphis celebrates AAPI Heritage Month in an official capacity, thanks to the work of SunAh M. Laybourn, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Memphis.

“I just didn’t want another AAPI Heritage Month to go by and for there to be nothing [in Memphis],” she says, especially after last year. “I was feeling sensitive with the rise of and attention to anti-Asian hate, and with it being the one-year anniversary of the Atlanta spa shooting and then what happened with Tommy [Kha’s portrait being removed and reinstated] at the airport, it really just made me so upset. … Last year, I remember googling ‘AAPI Heritage Month list’ just to see if maybe I missed a news story, or maybe I missed some sort of celebration, but I couldn’t find anything. I’m seeing national celebrations where my Asian-American friends in other cities are having this great month of events, and there’s nothing here in the city that I love, in the city that is my home. And so I said, ‘I’ll do it.’”

For this first AAPI Heritage Month in May, Laybourn and community partners have planned a number of activities, including happy hours, screenings, book displays, and the upcoming “Asian American in the South” art exhibition, presented by Google. The exhibition will include artists Tommy Kha, Erin Kim Siao, Anna Cai, Shameka Carter, LiLi Nacht, Yidan Zeng, Sharon Havelka, Vivian Havelka, and Neena Wang.

The exhibition, throughout the planning of AAPI Heritage Month, was a priority for Laybourn, stemming from a conversation last year with Tommy Kha following the airport saga. “I was like, ‘We have to have an art show if nothing else.’ I felt like we needed more visibility of Asian-American artists — because it gives the opportunity for people to understand who Asian Americans are in the South.” After all, the art featured in this exhibition reflects a gamut of experiences, offering unique insights into the Asian-American community in the form of paintings, sculptures, videos, photography, and graphic illustrations. “Oftentimes we can have a limited view of other cultures and ethnicities,” Laybourn continues, “and, for me, when talking to the different artists, I said, ‘The theme of the show is Asian Americans in the South, and you can interpret that in any way you want.’”

In addition to perusing art, the first 100 guests will also enjoy a limited-edition, custom AAPI Heritage Month Phillip Ashley chocolate collection, and Inkwell will have themed cocktails available. Admission to the exhibition is free, but make sure to RSVP at aapiheritagemonthmemphis.com/events, where you can also find more information on other upcoming events.

“This is definitely just the start of creating community, not just in May, but throughout the year,” Laybourn says. “And Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month — that’s not just for Asian Americans — it’s for everyone.”

“Asian American in the South,” Museum of Science & History, Thursday, May 18, 6-9 p.m., free with rsvp.

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Cooper-Young Porchfest Returns for a Third Year

Time to get your porch on. (Photo: Brandon Dill)

Rascal Flatts once sang of sitting on the front porch, drinking ice-cold cherry Coke, but this weekend nearly 40 front porches in Cooper-Young will be for more than those cherry Cokes — they’re going to be stages for nearly a hundred bands putting on free concerts at the third-ever Cooper-Young Porchfest.

Since the inaugural festival in the spring of 2021, Porchfest has clearly grown from the 40 bands volunteering to perform on 20 porches. Its inception is not an original idea, with more than a hundred cities holding porchfests of their own since 2007, says Amanda Yarbro-Dill, Cooper-Young Community Association’s executive director. For Memphis, though, its first Porchfest came at just the right time when freshly Covid-vaccinated people were buzzing to get out and about. “A lot of bands hadn’t really gotten back to playing a lot,” Yarbro-Dill says, “so I think there was a lot of enthusiasm because of that.” But she didn’t expect that the next year the number of volunteer bands would double and that it’d even increase for this year’s fest.

“It feels like Cooper-Young Festival Junior,” Yarbro-Dill says of the event. “But it’s an entirely music-focused day instead of an arts and crafts fest day.” The acts, each lasting around an hour, range in their genres from Americana to environmental crybaby punk. You can also catch some family-friendly drag performances, including a Disney-inspired show with Taco Belle at 3 p.m. and a show with Magical Miss Mothie & Friends at 5 p.m. Since all the performers are volunteers, tips are encouraged, with most accepting Venmo or Cash App.

Photo: Brandon Dill

“It’s like if you wanted to come and spend the whole day in Cooper-Young, you can,” Yarbro-Dill says, adding that before the fest begins, the Cooper-Young Community Association will host its annual Community Yard Sale. (Find the map for the yard sales here.) “You could start out in the morning, and go to yard sales. Go to lunch somewhere here in the neighborhood; patronize our businesses. Come by the gazebo, where we’ll be selling T-shirts and then we’ll also have the map for all the shows. Then you can go to however many shows you want.”

Following the festival, for the first time, there will also be an after-party presented by Young Avenue Sound, Memphis Whistle, and Underground Art. “They’re gonna actually shut the street down there to have a street party and have bands play,” Yarbro-Dill says. Cyrena Wages, Jombi, Joybomb, and DJ Kaz will perform.

A full lineup of the day’s events and a map can be found below and at cooperyoung.org/porchfest. Porchfest is sponsored by Memphis Made Brewing Company and Steve Womack’s State Farm Insurance Agency.

Photo: Brandon Dill

Community Yard Sale, Cooper-Young Historic District, Saturday, April 15, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., free.

Cooper-Young Porchfest, Cooper-Young Historic District, Saturday, April 15, noon-6 p.m., free.

Porchfest Afterparty, parking lot and garage of Young Avenue Sound, Saturday, April 15, 6 p.m., free.

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International Park(ing) Day

(Credit: MidtownMemphis.org)

If you drive past Midtown’s Cash Saver on Friday, you might be tempted to rubber-neck at an unusual spectacle in the street parking spaces, since, in honor of International Park(ing) Day, those spots will be converted into tiny parks. 

Park(ing) Day is a global, public, participatory art project, explains Emily Bishop, board member of MidtownMemphis.org, the organization spearheading the event in Memphis. “That’s a mouthful,” she says, “but it’s where you temporarily repurpose street parking spaces into places for art, play, and activism. What we’re trying to do is get people to reimagine that area of Midtown.”

When the area around Cash Saver, Pho Binh, Crumpy’s Hot Wings, and the like was restriped to add bike lanes, the city added parking lanes, too. “Nobody uses them,” Bishop says. “They kinda get used as an inappropriate passing lane or turning lane. I mean, I see it all the time going to Home Depot.”

As such, safety is one of the points of awareness for this Park(ing) Day Project, the other point being to bring greenery to the space. The plan, Bishop says, is to plant black gum and maple trees along the sidewalk that runs east of Cash Saver on Angelus. “The sidewalk is 10-feet wide, and it has no power lines overhead, so it’s the perfect place for street trees,” she says, adding that under a tree’s shade it can be 10-15 degrees cooler, a much needed benefit during Memphis’ hot summer months. “We’re already working with Cash Saver and the City Engineer’s Office, and if all goes well, we hope to plant those trees in early November.”

Rendering of plans for tree-planting along Angelus (Credit: MidtownMemphis.org)

In the meantime, Friday will be MidtownMemphis.org’s second Park(ing) Day in front of Cash Saver. This year, the group has partnered with Memphis City Beautiful, Clean Memphis, Evergreen, Central Gardens, Neighborhood Preservation Inc. (NPI), The Works Inc., and The Home Depot. 

“We’ll have some green carpet out there to make it feel like grass,” Bishop says. “There’ll be some games. We’ll have plants and bushes that’ll give you a feel of what that would be like. We’ll just see what the creativity of each of our partners is and what they do with their spaces.”

Giveaways and free snow cones will also be available, and attendees will have a chance to meet with the various groups to learn about upcoming projects and ways to volunteer. 

Already, MidtownMemphis.org has planted native trees, bushes, and flowering plants on Avalon, behind Murphy’s and next to Crumpy’s. 

“We were really inspired by the Medical District, the improvements they made, and, of course, Overton Square is so beautiful now,” Bishop says. “We just want this area in between to continue the good work and spread it on down. Everybody travels up and down that section of Madison.”

International Park(ing) Day, Madison Avenue in front of Cash Saver, Friday, September 16th, 3-7 pm. 

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Take a Memphis Brewery Bike Tour this Sunday

Curious about bike tours? So were Ana Duran and Will Hanlon. The power couple wanted to combine their love for beer, business, bikes, and the city, so they came up with the idea of Curious Bike Tours.

“Bikes and beer go really well together,” says Hanlon. “We had participated in Tour de Brewer, and we were impressed by the turnout. But it only happened once or twice a year at most. So we just wanted to do that more often.”

Beer, bikes, and Bluff City history buffs

So, this spring, the pair struck up partnerships with various breweries in the city, so they could start hosting their own brewery bike tours. Every Sunday, Hanlon guides riders throughout the city, alternating between the Midtown and Downtown areas each week to explore landmarks and breweries key to those areas.

This weekend, the group will cruise around Downtown Memphis, stopping in at Crosstown Brewing Company, High Cotton Brewing Company, and Ghost River Brewery & Taproom to sample some beer. In between these stops, riders will learn about significant Memphis landmarks, like Crosstown Concourse, the Pyramid, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

“I was actually a patient at St. Jude,” Duran says. “That’s what brought me to Memphis. So we always like to add personal touches to the places we go by. And this place saved my life.”

Duran and Hanlon say that locals and visitors alike can reap the benefits of this tour.

“It’s about the camaraderie — meeting people, sharing stories, and learning from others,” says Duran. “And also, I’m sure we can feature a fact or two along the way.”

Downtown Memphis Brewery Bike Tour, Crosstown Brewing Company, Sunday, December 8th, 12:30 p.m., $45.

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Walk to End Alzheimer’s at Tiger Lane Saturday

CREDIT: Whitney Shubeck

Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death for Americans, and because there’s no known treatment or cure for the disease, the Alzheimer’s Association seeks to fund and conduct research to end this growing health crisis.

“Tennessee has the fourth-highest death rate from Alzheimer’s in the country,” says Bailey Curtright, manager of development for the West Tennessee Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. “So as a state, and as a chapter, we are more committed now than ever to make sure that we are working hard to serve our people who are impacted and to make sure that other people in the future don’t have to worry about it.”

Whitney Shubeck

the Walk to End Alzheimer’s.

The West Tennessee Chapter offers free services throughout the area for people impacted by the disease, including trials, support groups, and care consultations. And to help carry along their mission of providing these services and getting closer to a cure, the chapter is hosting the 2019 Memphis Walk to End Alzheimer’s this Saturday.

Registration to participate in the walk is free, but walkers are encouraged to raise money for the organization, receiving incentives like free T-shirts and access to the champion’s club on race day.

During the opening ceremony, all participants will receive pinwheel flowers, called Promise Flowers, to plant in the Promise Garden. Flowers come in four different colors to represent attendees’ connections to Alzheimer’s, whether that’s no personal connection but to the cause in general, losing someone to the disease, caring for a loved one, or having the disease oneself.

“It’s really humbling, coming around that finish line and seeing the garden of all 1,600 flowers and their colors showing how many people in Memphis are connected to this disease,” says Curtright.

Walk to End Alzheimer’s, Tiger Lane, Saturday, November 9th, 9-11 a.m., free, but donations strongly encouraged.

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Get the Blues

On July 14th, people will have the chance to see the regional impact of blues music in photographs. Then, they’ll get to hear the music for themselves.

“Blues in the Park,” a concert series in West Memphis put on by the Crittenden Arts Council, is in its second year. Saturday’s event also includes a special viewing of the Center for Southern Folklore’s archival photo exhibit “Memphis Rhythms” at the Crittenden Arts Council, from 4 to 6 p.m. The blues/gospel concert follows at Worthington Park.

“The concert is a way to honor our blues heritage in West Memphis,” says Janine Earney, executive director of the arts council. “In the ’40s and ’50s, West Memphis was the incubator for electric blues.”

The concert kicks off at 5:30 p.m. and will feature the gospel group Spirit of Memphis, 1983 inductees into the Gospel Hall of Fame. Blues music will take over at 7 p.m. with Blind Mississippi Morris and Brad Webb. Morris has been rated among the top-10 harmonica players worldwide by Bluzharp magazine. Webb has played the blues since age 13 and has been performing with Morris for more than 20 years.

“Blues music brings people together and crosses all barriers,” Earney says. “It’s indigenous to the area and reaches everyone, no matter what race, age, or sex. It’s a wonderful unifying music.”

The culmination of the concert series will take place October 20th with an amateur blues/rhythm competition. But for now, park-goers won’t be competing — just listening and, most likely, moving their bodies.

“Blues in the Park,” Saturday, July 14th, 5:30 p.m., Worthington Park (South Worthington Drive, West Memphis). free.

“Memphis Rhythms,” AT Crittenden Arts Council (1800 N. Missouri Street, West Memphis), 4 to 6 p.m. For more information, call 870-732-6260.