There’s one festival left in the Memphis spring festival season, and unfortunately it isn’t Downtown. It’s the Memphis Italian Festival at Marquette Park, at the corner of Park and Mt. Moriah, in (forgive me for the two blasphemous words I am about to type) East Memphis. It’s a lot like BBQ Fest in that it is a Thursday-Saturday festival, teams compete in cooking categories, and they build elaborate booths. You have to be a team member or invited guest to enter the booths and sample teams’ food. There is also food sold to the public, and live music.
I haven’t been to Italian Fest in a few years, but I could probably be talked into going if I can find a few Downtowners who want to split a cab Friday night or Saturday. If I do indeed make it out to East Memphis, someone better take pictures, because this does not happen often.
And I guaran damn tee you if I go I am sticking a disposable rain poncho in my back pocket. Not going to get soaked three times in one month.
It’s 38103 vs. 38104, Downtown vs. Midtown, in a friendly game of sandlot baseball Sunday, June 1, at the Farmers Market site at Front and G.E. Patterson. Memphis Made Brewing Co. and the Local Gastropub Airstream will be on hand selling beers and brats. Game time is 5 PM.
If you’re not sure what’s going on with the Grizzlies organization these days, Chris Herrington has a good article on ESPN.com. Read it here.
A very cool initiative has been launched this week. Create Memphis is a sort of “idea map” where people can post ideas to better their neighborhoods. There is no commitment expected on the person who had the idea to make it happen. Others can vote on ideas, and the hope is that someone will pick up an idea and run with it. Read more about Create Memphis here.
Morrissey plays the Orpheum tonight. Tickets are still available and you can get them here.
The Hungry Memphis blog has a post about Nacho’s, the new place on Jefferson in the former China Restaurant space. Thanks to that post I learned the hours: 7 AM to 5 PM Monday-Friday.
I had a fun Memorial Day yesterday, spending much of it at Bardog where I was lucky enough to have drinks with some great local businesspeople: Cordell and Tawanda of Jack’s Pirtle’s Fried Chicken, and Jeff Stamm of Double J Smokehouse. About 5 I was alerted that I needed to come to the Saucer, where there was an excellent tube top dress seated at the bar. Unfortunately I didn’t get a pic.
Getting a haircut after work (the last time I got a haircut was a few days before Stumbling Santa) then will be out after that. Undecided whether I will take part in Blind Bear poker tonight.