Thursday update

This Saturday is the Grizzlies’ first Grind City Wrestling Night of several this season. The first 5000 fans will receive a Memphis Grizzlies wrestling T-shirt. There will also be a special Wingsday ticket where you get a Terrace IV ticket and an order of five-piece boneless wings from Wing Guru.

Did you know that Explore Bike Share will help you get to your Downtown Dining Week restaurants? Through Sunday, use the code “DMC Dining” and enjoy free Explore Bike Share rides.

Help the Mid-South Food Bank feed families in need on Thanksgiving. Go to their Donate page and select “Local Cares Thanksgiving” from the “My donation is for:” drop-down box. $15 buys a family a turkey, while $25 provides them a full Thanksgiving dinner.

The annual Veterans Day parade happens Monday.

The grand opening of South Main Artspace Lofts at 138 St. Paul is this afternoon. From 4 to 5 there will be a speaker program and a fashion show on the plaza featuring the work of Paul Thomas. From 5 to 7 there will be open artist studios and live music performances on the plaza. RSVP here.

The Thanksgiving edition of Drink-N-Draw comes to the Ghost River taproom Friday from 7 to 9. This event is part game show, part art contest, and is all fun. It’s hosted by Eric C and Gil Worth, 2013 Memphis Pun Champion. Prizes for Best and Worst Drawings. $5 includes all supplies.

MIFA Holiday Cards featuring art by Leslie Barron are now available for order. This is a way to honor your loved ones while helping Memphians in need.

Now this is cool – not only will high school kids learn to code, but they’ll be working on a real-world project to help St. Jude understand their donors.

More apartments are coming to Downtown’s south end, at 27 W. Carolina.

Wok’n in Memphis is having its 1 year anniversary party at the 409 S. Main food hall this Sunday from 5 to 9.

Jennifer Biggs of the Daily Memphian now has a cocktail named after her Bar Talk column. Chris Ferri of Belle Tavern invented it and you can find the recipe here.

The 1880s Marine Hospital, next to the Metal Museum in the French Fort neighborhood just south of Downtown, is set to be renovated into 71 apartments. The buildings were last used as a National Guard HQ during Desert Storm. The new apartments will have common amenities like a pool and covered parking, but there will also be a special amenity… a fallout shelter. Probably not a bad thing to have as long as Trump has the nuclear codes.

The Andrew Michael family of restaurants, including Downtown restaurants Catherine & Mary’s and The Gray Canary, is holding a job fair.

In other job news, the City of Memphis is hiring a Process Improvement Coordinator.

Geoff Calkins is writing a book about Penny Hardaway. He posted Chapter One this morning.

Yesterday was a fantastic day! After a five-day hiatus from bars more than a block away from my apartment to address health problems, I caught a Lyft to the Blind Bear about 3 PM. It was great catching up with friends, playing trivia, watching the Grizzlies get a high-quality win, and generally being entertained by what I’ll call the human condition (i.e. a drunk person making a complete jackass of himself). I stayed past midnight and then I actually walked home! I know that doesn’t sound like much, given that the Bear is a three-block walk from my front door. If you know the shape my legs have been in lately, though, that is a big deal! I will be getting out again today. Also, a Friendsgiving dinner this Saturday I thought I would have to skip is now back on my agenda.

Watching WREG Live at 9 as I type this. The new trend in bars, a reporter claims, is large drinks that are shared between several people. In that respect Memphis is a pioneer. Silky’s has had the Diver for years!

That’ll do it for now. Going to get out to the Silly Goose this afternoon. Back tomorrow with more news.