Yesterday at RiverArtsFest couldn’t have been nicer… not a cloud in the sky, high was 74 degrees but it felt more like 80 on the street. Tasty food, good music, and lots of art you can buy to decorate your home. If you missed it yesterday, it’s going on from 10 to 5 today.
My picks for food at the festival: Crepe Maker, which is toward the northern end of the festival (around Main and Nettleton I think). Also, Central BBQ, at the far south end of the festival past all the artists’ booths. Central BBQ was where I ate yesterday, getting a heaping pile of BBQ nachos for only $5 – that’s a bargain. There’s also a vendor down there selling Italian roast beef sandwiches and Philly cheese steak sandwiches for $6, and that’ll probably be my lunch today.
My pick for art: Shane Paris Art. Shane got lucky and got one of the best booth locations at the festival. It’s right in front of Gestures, and it’s also unusual in that it’s a brown tent rather than white like most of them. In addition to the digital artwork he sells, you can talk to him about custom photo collages, pet photos, logo design, and ad layout. Also, if you need a website with custom logos and artwork for your business, Shane and I can team up to do it for you.
My pick for beer: Calhoun’s! Everyone was talking about the $5 32 oz. Bud and Bud Lights they were selling at the window, how that’s a better deal at the festival beer (and you don’t have to deal with stupid drink tickets). However, that’s not even the best deal. Go inside, to the bar, and order a PBR in a to-go cup for $1.50. Don’t forget to tell them it’s to go. They have several other beers on tap (I saw a lot of people buying Yuengling) that can be put in a cup.
There are 183 artists and I could easily spend several thousand dollars decorating my apartment with the great stuff they have there. Probably your best chance of the year to see so many different artists’ work in one location in Memphis. Great weather again today. The Weather Channel is predicting a sunny day, 10% chance of rain, high 80.
I’ll be back down there around noon, and will be there until it ends at 5.