Thursday update

Celebrate Memphis, the free celebration of Memphis’ 200th birthday in Tom Lee Park, is this Saturday kicking off at 3 PM. Here’s a map:

Entertainment at the festival will include

  • Cornhole tournament at 4 with free cornhole before and after the tournament
  • World’s longest picnic table (going for a Guinness world record) at  5:15
  • All-Veterans Parachute Group landing at 5:30 followed by air show
  • Drone show and fireworks celebration at 9:30
  • Local bands on 5 stages
  • Sports Zone
  • Ford Family Zone
  • Touch-A-Truck
  • Creative Arts Tent
  • Global Community Expo & Market
  • Water on Wheels (a U of M mobile learning unit)
  • MATA Mobile Mural

The concession stand at River Garden, a modified 80 SF shipping container, has been approved to become a permanent fixture in the park by a 7-0 vote of the Board of Adjustment. I agree with some of the people who spoke in this article. Although I normally wouldn’t agree with shipping containers in parks, no one was using the park before. I also like that the clerks running the concession stand serve as ambassadors for our city.

The Puck Food Hall Grand Reopening is scheduled for May 30. This is the reinvention and rebranding of the 409 South Main food hall, with the number of restaurants expanded from 6 to 10.

Not all the new vendors are known but Edible Memphis posted to Facebook yesterday that Dr. Bean’s Coffee and Tea Emporium will be among them. Expect a pour-over bar and there will be classes, competitions, and throwdowns. Edible also shared some info on the change to the name Puck: The building in the early 1900s was a grocer and purveyor named Puck Brand Products in the early 1900s, and it’s a nod to Shakespeare’s Puck character. Puck is also the thing hockey players try to slap into the net, and was a character from the third season of The Real World who blew snot rockets.

DJ Epic brings hip-hop, dubstep, and mash-up style to the Peabody rooftop party this evening. $10 to get in $20 VIP. Your admission fee includes a buffet of catfish bites and remoulade sauce. Those in VIP get a second buffet of Ghost River brined pork loin with red onion and apple cider sauce as well as Memphis green tomato chow chow.

Poll I saw on Twitter yesterday: Would you trade Mike Conley to Boston for Gordon Hayward, Boston’s 20 and 22 picks in this year’s draft, and cancel out having to CONVEY THAT PICK that we owe Boston in either 2020 (top 6 protected) or 2021 (unprotected)? Hell yes, I would take that deal in a second. Assuming the Grizz take Ja Morant in the draft, they’ll be able to get by without Conley at PG, and Hayward was an All-Star two years ago at small forward, a position at which our team has been inconsistent since the Rudy Gay trade. Him plus three picks? Easy yes, especially since the Grizzlies 2020 draft pick will possibly be another lottery pick.

Go order a burger from Huey’s on Tuesday, May 28, National Burger Day, and it might be free. If your burger comes out with a Golden Pick in it, there’s no charge.

Memphis 901 FC drew with the Swope Park Rangers of Kansas City, 2-2, last night. Draws are not very sexy but as coach Tim Mulqueen pointed out, to get one on the road (and the 1 point in the standings that comes with it) against a very good team is something to be proud of.

Memphis Sports Hall of Fame has announced its inaugural class. Good group. The one person who had to be in there was Larry Finch, and indeed he was. Penny made it too – I knew he’d go in at some point, but I wasn’t sure it would be the first year. Glad to see late radio legend George Lapides made it. He was the role model for the current generation of radio. If he could speak from the great beyond through this blog, I’m sure he’d advise all my readers to go eat at Mister B’s.

A new visual and creative arts event called Creative Drip will happen inside the 507 lounge at Curry-N-Jerk, 128 Monroe, tonight at 7. Following tonight this event will happen the third Thursday of every month.

Crosstown Brewing Co. releases a new pilsner, Terraplane, today at 4.

Yesterday I got to see one of my favorite bartenders for the first time since BBQ Fest, someone who has no trouble getting invited to many of the booths in the park. “Y’all’s booth was the best one I went to,” she said, referring to the Moody Ques. YES! That’s what we like to hear. It still enamors me to think back to this time two years ago, when everyone was predicting our demise. Where da haters at now? The Moody Ques will be back for 2020.

You just can’t make this stuff up: While testifying before Congress, HUD Secretary Ben Carson was asked to explain disparity in rates of REO , a class of property owned by a lender after an unsuccessful foreclosure auction. It’s a real estate term that anyone in the business should know. Carson balked at the question, and Porter asked him, “Do you know what an REO is?”

“An Oreo?” replied Carson. The man in charge of housing in this country believes Congress  brought him in for his thoughts on the special-edition mint creme Double Stufs. My God. Sad thing is, he probably actually knows more about Double Stufs than he does real estate.

The Trump administration has postponed the Harriet Tubman $20 bill until 2028. It was supposed to be issued next year.

That’s it for now. Still recovering from an infection, and may be coughing a bit when I get out today. Don’t worry, it’s not contagious. Back tomorrow with more news.