Memphis Italian Fest is this weekend. It’s not a Downtown festival – it’s out in East Memphis at Park and Mt. Moriah in Marquette Park – but I always like to mention it for my readers who are new to Memphis. Like BBQ Fest, this is a cooking competition where teams set up elaborate booths and have great food all weekend. Also like BBQ Fest, it’s definitely more fun if you know one or more teams and are invited into their booths. Is it worth going if you don’t know a team? Yes. There are vendors selling Italian food to the public, as well as live music and more to do. One exception: It’s not worth going if it has been raining all week and the park is a mud pit, but it does not appear that will be a problem this year.
And no, my team the Moody Ques does not compete in Italian Fest. It would be a Herculean effort to do that and BBQ Fest only two weeks apart.
Voodoo Gumbo, a cover band with songs ranging from rock to pop to dance, will provide the live music for tonight’s Peabody rooftop party. $10 general admission, $20 VIP, ladies and hotel guests free before 7. Admission includes a buffet of mini meatloafs and tater tots. If you’re in VIP you have a second buffet of chicken & waffles, mini beef brisket sandwiches, and mini cheesecakes.
Side Street Steppers will play Felicia Suzanne Restaurant’s patio for this week’s edition of Tacos and Tunes starting at 7 PM. Every week there is live music along with $2 tacos and $5 drinks.
The Hernando deSoto Bridge, AKA “the new bridge” (although it’s 45 years old) AKA the I-40 bridge AKA the “M,” will be getting the LED treatment that the Harahan Bridge got to celebrate the opening of Big River Crossing. Construction will begin next month with the removal of the old lights, and the new display will be turned on in October in conjunction with RiverArtsFest which moves to the riverfront this year.
The Memphis River Parks Partnership will have its first volunteer weekend next weekend. Sign up for one of three shifts:
Friday June 8 2-5 PM
Saturday June 9 10 AM-1 PM
Saturday June 9 2-5 PM
You’ll be assigned a task such as mulching, planting, painting, fixing, or surveying. Are you the type of person who was born to lead? Come to a group leader pre-training session Thursday, June 7 and then you’ll be assigned a small group to manage and train.
The Rock & Soul Museum tweeted a great quote by Elvis Presley:
Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain’t goin’ away.
Oh man, now I want to hear some Elvis! Maybe I’ll play some of his hits on the jukebox at Earnestine & Hazel’s next time I am in there.
A new art installation called Treedom is coming to A.W. Willis Avenue between Second and Third. This will be an interactive installation providing space for community meetings, meals, yoga classes and more. This Saturday, June 2 from 4 to 6 there will be a launch party for Treedom with live music, food trucks and more. The event will start off with a Second Line Parade led by Mighty Souls Brass Band.
There will be free Tillamook cheddar samples at Ghost River from 4 to 8 today. Also note that the brewery taproom will be closed for a private event.
Bring the kids to Mud Island this Saturday from 10 to 2 for Touch-a-Truck. Kids will be able to explore fire trucks, police cruisers, ambulances, motorcycles, tractors, and big mudder trucks. There will also be a splash park, face painting, food trucks, MemPoPS, and free photos at the Amurica photo booth. Admission is free.
If you missed Downtown soul food restaurant Alcenia’s on Sunday’s Today Show, here’s the video.
There was literally a wild goose chase at the Detroit Tigers game last night. The Canada goose showed up on the field during a rain delay. After several attempts to chase the goose off, it flew into the video board and fell into the stands. A fan retrieved the goose and it was deemed healthy and released outside the ballpark.
So Roseanne got canceled due to Roseanne Barr’s racist tweet. My first reaction was, “Damn, that guy who played D.J. had a good job for the first time in 20 years, and now Roseanne went and f’d it all up for him.”
Trump wants to ban the import of luxury German cars into the U.S. You just can’t fix stupid. How the hell does this guy have a 42% approval rating?
That’s it for now. Back tomorrow with news about this weekend’s Memphis Farmers Market and more.