Last night, I stopped by at Calhoun’s around 8 PM to meet up with the gang. As the evening progressed, people wandered in from a party at an art gallery next door, the girls in summer party dresses and the men in business casual attire. “WTF are you all dressed up for?” I asked one of my friends who got dragged there by his girlfriend. “Haven’t you noticed that it’s 90 outside?”
Turns out it was a “recruitment party” for one of the carnival krewes in town. They were trying to convince people to plop down ~$400 to “fill their social calendar” with formal cocktail parties, parades, happy hours, etc.
Look. If you’re into that kind of thing, great, join. But if you’re down here and you’re looking to meet some cool people and make friends, there are a lot of ways to do it without paying a $400 fee, and without having to put on “business casual attire” every time you attend a happy hour, or worse, a suit and tie for a “medallion party” or a tux for their formal balls. There are a lot of opportunities to have fun that are inexpensive and a lot less stuffy.
Thinking about what goes on Downtown, here are a few opportunities coming up where I think it will be very easy to meet people and make friends.
– If you’re into running, every Monday night there’s a group that meets at Bardog Tavern at 6:50 PM. They run a course, which is different every week and usually 3-5 miles, often with options for a longer or shorter course for those who prefer it. Afterward they return to Bardog’s basement and chill out and talk and get to know each other. I don’t run with them, but I know the organizers and this is one of the most open, easy-going groups you’ll meet. They’d love for you to join them.
– If you’re not into the bar scene and are looking for something more civic minded, check out an organization I joined my first year Downtown, MPACT Memphis. They have a calendar full of activities throughout the month. Looking at what’s upcoming, they have a tour of an Underground Railroad museum, a “civics 101” workshop where you can learn about elected bodies, and a restaurant tour outing to Thyme Bistro. They also sponsor debates, set up leadership luncheons with community leaders, and arrange happy hours where members can network and get to know one another. I was very active in this organization from 2002-05 and met a lot of wonderful people who remain my friends to this day. Best way to get exposed to the organization, if you’re unfamiliar with it, is to attend one of their monthly “MPACT 101” events.
(- Edited to add: I hut Publish and then realized I left Bravo off the list. If you want to get into the arts and network and meet new friends at the same time, check out Bravo. I was a member for 5 years and made new friends in that group.)
– On the other hand, if are into bars and want to meet some folks while checking out several of Downtown’s most popular bars, buy an Elvis costume, stop by the grocery store and pick up a few canned goods, and meet us at the Flying Saucer next Saturday, August 14, at 7 PM. You’ll be able to drop off the canned goods to donate to the Food Bank (or make a cash donation, if you’d prefer not to haul around the cans). We’ll hang out and chat and drink and get our Elvis on for about an hour at the Saucer, then we’ll wander together to Blue Fin, and spend about an hour there, then we’ll stop at Alfred’s and Silky’s on Beale. The Saucer is the last official stop on the pub crawl, where we’ll end up sometime around 11-midnight. If you dress up and get into character, I guarantee you will have a good time and meet some new friends.
– One of the easiest places to meet people in all of Downtown is Calhoun’s, the little sports bar where I was last night. If you enjoy trivia, you can ask for a blue “crack box” and play Buzztime Trivia on their monitors – once you get on there, it isn’t hard to get the others in the bar interested in joining you. They also have Texas Hold’em on another monitor if that’s your preference. When the weather is nice, they’ll set up cornhole boards on the sidewalks outside, and it’s very easy to find a partner and join in for a game. When there’s a big game on, this is a great place to watch and bond with your fellow sports fans, as you stare at whichever of their 10 TVs is closest. As big a fan as I am of the Saucer, I have to admit that Calhoun’s is probably the bar Downtown with the friendliest regulars.
– If you’re a history fan, keep an eye on the DowntownMemphis.com event calendar. There’s a historian named Jimmy Ogle who gives tours around Downtown, explaining street names, wording on manhole covers, and other little-known facts about the neighborhood. He gives lunchtime tours now and then on weekdays, but the ones you really want to watch for are the Saturday afternoon, two and a half hour walking tours. Those seem like they’d be a good way to meet and chat with like-minded people, just casually walking the streets and learning together, on a day when you don’t have to worry about rushing back to work for an afternoon at the rat race.
You know, I guess I see these things so easily, because when I moved down here in 2002, I didn’t know how to find friends very well… yet, within a few years I had fallen into the wonderful group of people you see me with in photos. I guess that’s what this blog is all about… writing about cool things going on down here, so that others can experience and enjoy Downtown as much as I have the past eight years. Without paying a $400 yearly fee to have friends.
That said, the carnival krewe I mentioned at the beginning of this post most have something going for it, because several of the coolest females I know, women I really respect and enjoy having as friends, are members and are in fact very active in the krewe. I also have to give a tip of my hat to their boyfriends for dressing up and going to these parties. I honestly don’t think I could do it, were I dating someone in the krewe. It’d probably be the source of a lot of arguments.
Check back… I have more to post today, once I jump in the shower and get some laundry done. I regret to tell you that one of my posts today will bring sad news to Downtowners.