Doing a little Z-boING could win you a pair of half-court plaza-level Grizzlies tickets. Take a pic of yourself Z-boING and submit it to the Z-boING site and you could win tickets to the February 29 game vs. Dallas. Alternately, you can enter to win the tickets by buying one or more Z-boING or Rudy Gay “Make Your Own Luck” T-shirts from the site.
Speaking of the Grizzlies, two very generous team members spent their own money to throw a party Monday night for kids who normally wouldn’t get to see the team. Tony Allen and Zach Randolph had a party at The Westin Hotel on Beale, across from the FedExForum, for the mothers and children of the Memphis Family Shelter. The moms got manicures and pedicures while TA and Z-Bo helped the kids make Valentine’s Day cards for their mothers. More on the party here. Doesn’t this kind of story make you proud to be a Grizzlies fan?
It’s still a week away, but this is a date worth saving: Next Wednesday, February 22, is the one day of the Folk Alliance Conference that will be open to the public. Pay $10 and get to pick and choose from a musical buffet of over 30 artists. Folk musicians from around the world attend this conference. I went to public night last year and most definitely recommend it. It will be at the Downtown Marriott and the line-up for the evening can be found here.
Residents of the Vance Avenue area south of the FedExForum are planning improvements to their neighborhood. This Memphis Flyer article has details. Apartments worth saving will see improvements; those that are too far deteriorated will be demolished. I see a signpost from the intersection of Vance and Allen accompanying the article. There are many “need to be demolished” apartments and houses among Allen and its parallel street Abel. Downtown panhandlers go to these streets to buy drugs after they collect enough money. Getting rid of their havens would make all of Downtown considerably safer.
The Redbirds have announced a social media night for April 26. The ‘birds will follow the first 500 guests who write down their Twitter handle. Fans will be encouraged to take photos from their seat and post to Facebook during the game; adding their seat location will make them eligible to win a social media-themed prize during the game. One fan will also receive a prize pack that includes a bird watching book, a team-signed hashtag and a box of figurines containing 140 characters.
That’s the news. Time to put on my 1920s gangster attire, and after a quick one at the Saucer, hit the Blind Bear for poker and St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.