Thur update: Dr. Zarr @ Peabody tonight, Sam’s Club/free food, pop-up shop, Tarik Black, and Beer Week events today and tomorrow

Dr. Zarr’s Amazing Funk Monster plays the Peabody rooftop tonight. The buffet will have pigs in blankets, vegetables and dipping sauces. Those in VIP will also have a buffet of mini mac & cheese casseroles, deviled eggs, and BBQ meatballs. The drink special will be Svedka Orange Cream Pop with Sprite for $4. VIPs will enjoy a Ghost River beer tasting by Budweiser of Memphis.

This isn’t a Downtown thing, but probably worth mentioning: Sam’s Club will be open to the public, no membership required, Friday April 26 through Sunday April 28. They will have free food samplings throughout those three days. Sampling schedule can be found on their site. Free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

The Memphis Daily News reports that on Wednesday, May 15, pop-up shop at Hoot & Louise on G.E. Patterson will sell clothes, Muddy’s cupcakes, and new and used vinyl records from The End of All Music. Good day to do it, since a lot of people will have the day off as they prepare for BBQ Fest.

Tarik Black is being pursued by a number of top-tier basketball schools including Duke, Kansas, Ohio State, and more. The big man has one year of eligibility left, and can transfer and play immediately since he’s graduating from the U of M this summer.

For Memphis Beer Week today, there’s a Sierra Nevada beer dinner at Automatic Slim’s, 7 PM, in which West Coast beer meets southern-inspired cuisine. Limit of 35 people, so call the restaurant and make reservations if you want to go.

South of Beale will have a Blackstone Brewery tapping today. Come try Milk Stout from the Nashville brewery.

It will be Abita Firkin Night at Aldo’s Pizza Pies. They’ll tap a firkin of ZSB (Zac’s Special Bitter), with an Abita rep on hand to discuss the beer. 6-9 PM.

Blackstone Brewery makes a second appearance tonight at the Flying Saucer at 9 PM. Three new beers will be tapped: Belgium Tripel, Milk Chocolate Stout, and Hop Jack IPA. A rep from the brewery will be on-site to hand out samples and talk about the beers.

Also, tomorrow, Friday, April 26, South of Beale will host a beer lunch. $20 includes appetizer, lunch, dessert, and beer. Also, $2 Yazoo pints until 4 PM. I figured I’d go ahead and mention it a day early, since my lunchtime blog posts go up after most people have already gone to lunch.

Getting back to today, of course, there’s one other event going on Downtown that’s probably worth a mention: The Grizzlies host the L.A. Floppers tonight at the FedExForum at 8:30. Come watch an Oscar-winning performance by Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, and a game-winning performance by the Grizzlies. If you’re going to the game, get there a little early, because everyone has to go through security scan.

It’s warmed up and turned into a beautiful day. I’ll be out at the usual places after work.