Thursday update: Outdoor festivals this weekend (including a new one)

The Grizzlies are back in town and host San Antonio for playoff Game 3 tonight at FedExForum. Game time is 8:30 PM. Growl towels are on the seats!

Got outdoor plans for Saturday? Might want to make a backup plan. MemphisWeather.net has a new blog on what to expect for the rest of this week. Saturday is said to be a wet day, with “a complete washout” for at least part of the day. The morning and early afternoon hours are expected to be the “most under the gun.”

Saturday would normally be the day for the bi-weekly crawfish boil at Max’s Sports Bar. However, due to the rain chance, it is being moved back a week to Saturday, April 29. In the past, rain has moved the crawfish boils only one day back to Sunday. However, if that was the case this week, Max’s boil would possibly draw people away from Rajun Cajun Crawfish Fest and draw money out of the hands of Porter-Leath that would be used to help kids. Cheers to Max for being a good Downtown neighbor!

Since we’re on the subject of festivals, for the benefit of new Memphians let’s have a look at the festivals coming up this weekend. Africa in April happens in Robert Church Park, on Beale just east of Fourth, Friday through Sunday. The featured country this year is the Republic of Togo. Friday is Children’s and Senior’s Day with an international diversity parade. Saturday is Family Health Wellness and Community Day, with an international health fair. Sunday is International Music Day.

The Southern Hot Wing Festival will happen Saturday on Riverside between Jefferson and Union, from 11 AM to 7 PM. This is a cooking competition with about 70 teams cooking to see who has the best wings. Teams will let you sample their wings in exchange for a small $1-2 donation to Ronald McDonald House, which houses families of kids being treated at St. Jude. There will be cornhole and hot wing eating contests. General admission is $20 ($15 online or at Ronald McDonald House). I’ll be honest, this is not one of my top festivals to go to because the cost to get in is so high (twice that of a one-day entry to BBQ Fest), but different strokes for different folks… just a couple of days ago my BBQ teammate Jeremy told me that Wing Fest is his favorite.

My BBQ team The Moody Ques is not competing in Wing Fest, by the way, in case anyone was wondering. We did consider it but decided in favor of Southaven Springfest the following weekend.

Memphis Brewfest happens the same day, Saturday, from 4 to 7:30 PM at AutoZone Park. Sample over 100 beers, many not available in Memphis otherwise. Proceeds benefit Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy. Tickets are $45 in advance, $48 at the door. The beers are poured in the breezeway under the bleachers, so you’ll be covered in the event of rain. You will be able to purchase food and non-alcoholic beverages if you desire.

Porter-Leath Rajun Cajun Crawfish Fest happens Sunday from 11 AM to 7 PM. It will be on Riverside and Wagner between Union and Beale. Buckets of crawfish will be for sale, and there will be food trucks there too. Live zydeco music, a gumbo cooking contest, crawfish races for the kids, crawfish bobbing for adults (you know, like bobbing for apples, but not apples, crawfish – and the crawfish are alive and they do fight back). This is a huge festival. The crawfish are usually good here but in the past they haven’t come with taters and corn as is the case with most festivals. Get there early to avoid long lines for crawfish. Also note that the lines for porta-potties get very long mid-afternoon, so keep that in mind when deciding your beverage intake. The rain is expected to be gone by Sunday, but it is going to be a cool day for this time of year, with highs in the mid 60s and wind. Plan your wardrobe accordingly.

Also, there is a new festival happening this Sunday out in The Edge. Pinkwigpalooza will be an outdoor music festival happening outside 405 Monroe Sunday from noon to 6 PM. James and the Ultrasounds, Cassette Tape, Mighty Souls Brass Band, and John Paul Keith will perform. There will be local craft beer by High Cotton and local food trucks. General admission is $15, with students $10 and kids under 10 $5. The event will support the Pink Wig Project, a non-profit whose goal is to help people live their life and not let cancer rule. The only thing that would make this event better would be the smell of Wonder Bread baking, but you can’t have everything I guess. It’s going to be a profitable day to be a Lyft driver on Sunday with these two festivals happening about a mile apart.

Memphis Police have been called to the blighted 100 N. Main skyscraper 58 times this year. That’s once every two days. Now a judge has ordered the owner to take steps to keep intruders out.

BBQ season is approaching and the Memphis Flyer has a good article on finding the perfect beer to pair with your ribs.

Job news: New Memphis is hiring an executive administrative assistant.

Wiseacre Brewing Co. will have a classic Earth Day-style field day outdoors on Saturday, with all the classic outdoor games. There will be bocce, badminton, four square, and of course, cornhole.

President Trump invited former Alaska governor Sarah Palin to dinner at the White House last night and told her to bring some friends. She brought Ted Nugent and Kid Rock. Man, that’s a whole lot of batshit crazy at one dinner table.

Happy 4/20. I don’t partake, but for those that do, light up and enjoy. That’s it for now. Back tomorrow.