It’s been real. It’s been fun, but thank God Memphis in May is almost over.
Recover from your month-long hangover with a relaxing picnic in Tom Lee Park during the annual Sunset Symphony. The Memphis Symphony Orchestra performs classic pieces in this MIM grand finale on Saturday from 2 to 9 p.m., and this year they’ll be joined by Motown legends The Four Tops. Stick around until the end and catch the fireworks display over the Mississippi River.
In keeping with the “cultural entertainment” theme, don’t miss Germantown Community Theatre’s musical adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, the tale of four sisters growing up in post-Civil War America. The show runs through June 1st.
If gritty Southern rock is more your speed, head south to Tunica for the grand opening of Harrah’s Casino (formerly Grand Casino). On Saturday, ZZ Top will christen the newly-named casino, and the long-bearded dudes will be accompanied by the Miss Hawaiian Tropic models. Sunday brings Food Network host Paula Deen’s “Personally Paula” event, in which the Southern queen of the kitchen dishes gossip and stories from her life.
Also on Saturday, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) activist Dan Mathews makes an appearance at Davis-Kidd Booksellers. But he won’t be protesting in the nude or throwing red paint on fur coats. Instead, Mathews will sign his new book, Committed, about his days touring for PETA demonstrations.
Wind down the weekend with a free canoe trip through the Mississippi River Bottomlands. The tour, led by Sierra Club members, kicks off on Sunday at 8:45 a.m. Interested parties should meet up at the Meeman-Shelby Forest Visitors Center.
— Bianca Phillips
