Friday update: South Main Trolley Tour, Memphis Gooners, no holiday parade, Bobby Rush, Halloween mystery dinner, Dog of the Day and more

With all the Halloween parties and events going on this weekend, it’s easy to forget the fact that it’s the last Friday of the month. That means it’s Trolley Tour night on South Main. Area businesses will be open from 6 to 9, many serving wine, beer and hors d’oeuvres. The Beale Street Flippers will perform, the Mobile Music Machine from Live from Memphis will be out, SACHE will have a live DJ and punch, and the SMA will sell beer, wine and champagne.

Arsenal.com has a great article entitled Meet the Memphis Gooners, the Arsenal fan club that meets at the Brass Door to watch games. Because of the time difference, they’re often there as early as 7 AM. I joined them for one game back in August, and it was a lot of fun.

No Downtown holiday parade this year. The CA reports that the parade is being scrapped in favor of a 6-week lighting project designed to draw more people Downtown to shop. I’ll miss the parade, but I have to agree this is the right move to benefit area businesses the most. The parade had been held on the first Saturday in December, putting it in competition with other parades, the St. Jude Marathon, the SEC championship game, and Stumbling Santa. The lighting project will let people come downtown when they choose, rather than forcing them to choose on a very busy day.

Bobby Rush plays the Warehouse tonight. $10 admission, free to Rhodes and U of M students. Special guests the Bo-Keys.

There will be a Halloween themed interactive mystery dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse from 7 to 10 tonight. $38 admission includes dinner. Might want to call ahead and see if reservations are needed (901-210-0545) if you plan to go to this.

I see that the “Dog of the Day” at Bardog today is the Cujo: Chili, cheese, pico and sriracha. That is one of their best hot dogs ever. I highly recommend it.

PBR Man attended the Kooky Canuck Halloween party last night. It was a good crowd and a lot of fun as always, but I was surprised by how few people I knew there. Hung out with my friend Joe and the group he was with. There was a woman in the group who I remember being dressed as the mysterious Mad Hatter at last year’s Halloween parties – she and Joe had become friends. That’s what I love about the holiday – you make new friends, bonding over costumes.

Plans for tonight: A few warm-up beers at the Saucer, then step into a telephone booth and morph into PBR Man, then on to a private party three of my friends are throwing. If it’s anything like their 2009 bash, there will be amazing food, spooky decorations, and of course, BEER! I also like the fact that they live in the core, so when I get ready to leave I’m only steps away from Downtown’s best bars. Of all the parties on this weekend’s schedule, this is probably the one I’m looking forward to the most.

Time to hit the water cooler and hydrate in preparation for this weekend. It’s going to be a big one!