I would be willing to venture a guess that most of my readers have never been to a burlesque show… nor have I. Want to experience burlesque without having to leave Downtown, and while supporting the kids of St. Jude? Come to Kitty Wompas’ Cat House Saturday, August 20 at 9 PM at Bardog Tavern. Kitty is shaving her head for St. Jude at the Bardog alley party (Monroe Fest) on Sunday the 28th. The burlesque show is free to attend, but tips will be accepted and will count toward the $20,000 Kitty’s head shaving is raising for St. Jude. Besides Kitty, performers include Requi Emma, Hustle & Glow, Delilah, Fatima Fox, and Larry Clark.
Memphis in May has announced the dates and honored country for BBQ Fest 2017, and there is a change. The public dates for BBQ Fest are May 17-20… four days rather than the usual three. As I understand it, Wednesday will be Friends & Family as it has been in the past, but it will also be open to the public. Not quite sure how that will work. I hope to find out more in the next few days.
The honored country will be Colombia. That should be a fun one! Our friends over at Porkosaurus have an advantage here, with a Colombian on the team. The Moody Ques don’t have any Colombians but we do have a team member from South America, so perhaps she will have ideas for our 2017 booth. Team members, don’t forget we have a burger tasting Saturday 6-10 at Frank’s, RSVP to moodyques@gmail.com if you plan on coming.
Tin Roof has a few specials to celebrate Elvis Week this week. You can get a peanut butter and banana sandwich, Elvis’ favorite, with chips for $7. With any entree purchase this week, you get a free “Trail of Elvis” appetizer. The bar has a $7 Elvis Week shot: Irish cream, vanilla vodka, and Creme de Banana with a peanut butter rim.
Happy St. Practice Day! On the 17th of every month, The Brass Door will throw a party to “practice” for the big event on March 17, St. Patrick’s Day. The first practice will be Wednesday, August 17 and it will also be the grand opening of The Pub at the Brass Door. The Heart Memphis Band will play 8 to midnight. The party will be in the alley as well as the bar and there will be Fireball, Guinness, Jameson and raffles. $10 admission includes two tickets – one raffle ticket and a ticket for a pint of Brass Door Red. Angry Irishmen will be the drink special and there will be fire sales throughout the night.
Food Truck Night at Miss Cordelia’s and Cordelia’s Table will feature three food trucks and two breweries. Sushi Jimmi, Joy Ride, and MemPops will be selling food. Nashville’s Fat Bottom Brewing and Little Rock’s Diamond Bear Brewing will have beers on tap and will have reps there to talk about their beers. Tonight 5-8 PM.
Dutch, the beagle/shepherd mix I wrote about the other day, has been successfully rescued from the Memphis Animal Shelter. My friend who is adopting him had to go to what was termed “the kill shelter” where dogs had red and green cards on their cages. A red card means, “Stop, don’t kill this one, adoption in progress” where green means “this one can be put down.” It’s really sad and you have to cover your eyes to avoid making eye contact with the dogs with the green cards. Anyway, my friend who rescued Dutch took a huge financial hit to save him, because the dog has to have surgery to cure him of heartworms. Donations to Dutch’s GoFundMe will be much appreciated and will go directly to the hospital performing the surgery. If donations exceed vet bills, anything extra will go to Streetdog Foundation so that other dogs may be rescued as well.
A plan has been submitted to save the Mid-South Coliseum with Wiseacre Brewing as its anchor tenant. Wiseacre wants to occupy 65,000 square feet of the building. Is this a sign that Wiseacre is looking toward going national and competing with craft breweries like Samuel Adams and Yuengling? That could be good for Memphis. Also, imagine pre-gaming for Tigers games at the Liberty Bowl a short walk away at the Wiseacre taproom!
A second man is now on trial for the 2013 South Main shooting death of popular nurse David “Tucci” Santucci. Mario Patterson is charged with killing Santucci with the intent to commit robbery. A second suspect, Dondre Johnson, was convicted last September.
If you’ve been to Grizzlies games at FedExForum, you have heard the announcer introduce “YOUR… Memphis… GRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrizzlies!” However, for the 2016-17 season you will hear a different voice, because announcer Rick Trotter has been let go by the team. He was also employed by The Downtown Church, which released a statement saying Trotter was terminated May 27 for “moral failures of a sexual nature.” He is accused of taking photos up four women’s skirts at the church. Geoff Calkins’ column on Trotter is a good read.
Mayor Strickland pledged to answer questions asked in response to the July 11 Black Lives Matter protest, and he has done so.
Happy birthday to two of Downtown’s favorite barkeeps, Daniel from the Silly Goose and Paul from the Dirty Crow Inn.
That’s the news for now. I possibly have more coming today, so check back. As usual Silly Goose will be my Wednesday plan for after work.