Big news came yesterday about Memphis in May’s 2021 schedule.
- Music Fest will be postponed until May 2022. It is unlikely enough vaccinations for COVID-19 will have been administered by the April 30-May 2 weekend to make 50,000 people gathering in a park safe.
- BBQ Fest will happen May 12-May 15 “with strict COVID19 protocols in place. The World Championship will be somewhat different and smaller with capacity restrictions that may be in place at that time. Team applications are now open.”
- Great American River Run will be May 29
Sucks about Music Fest, but it was the proper call. Since I’m on the board of a BBQ team, I will avoid voicing any opinions here before consulting with the rest of the board. Believe me, though, the opinions I’m not yet voicing are strong ones.
From the DM: Memphis looks at pre-Christmas lockdown; suburbs say no way. I hate, hate, hate the idea of a lockdown but could support it if it were time-limited. The massive Thanksgiving surge was no doubt predictive of a second surge over Christmas, and with local ICU beds at 98% capacity that’s a problem. I could support a lockdown and/or a curfew December 23-January 3 or thereabouts. Just don’t make it open-ended like the original Safer at Home house arrest was. It’s not fair to do an order of indefinite length without plans from the federal government to keep people’s income in place.
Cocozza has decided to temporarily end indoor and patio dining after this weekend. They’ll still have takeout, curbside, and delivery options, and their gran & go meals will still be in stores. Patrick & Deni felt that given the rising numbers, it was the right decision to protect the health of their staff and customers. Most of their staff will be furloughed after tomorrow. Go see them and TIP BIG this weekend. They couldn’t do Brunch with Santa this year, but there’s nothing stopping YOU from being Santa when you dine there.
Cocozza is not the only restaurant making that decision. The CA is keeping a running list of closures. Grecian Gourmet is on that list as well, and I know that River Time Market & Deli is closed until at least the end of the holidays.
How about some good news for a change? From the Flying Saucer:
Weekend SpecialWe’ve brought back the delicious Get Lucky Burger for the weekend. It’s a bleu cheese infused patty with garlic herb mayo, Irish whiskey glaze, Irish cream candied bacon, Guinness cheese sauce, and arugula. You don’t want to miss this one!
The Atlanta Hawks host the Memphis Grizzlies for their final NBA pre-season game tonight at 7 PM. NBATV will broadcast the game.
The FDA has given the green light to a second COVID-19 vaccine, this one from Moderna. I watched a press conference this week with Dr. Stephen Threlkeld, an infectious disease expert. He was asked, which vaccine should I get, the Pfizer one or the Moderna one? He said that they are both on the order of 95% effective, and therefore the one you should get is the one that’s available.
Sources I follow on Twitter seem to believe the Safer at Home order has already been drafted.
Trying to decide if I want to get out one last time before the order goes into effect, or just stay home and read. Back tomorrow with more news, if there is any news. Things get slow around the holidays.