Happy 10th birthday Blind Bear + Thursday news

Happy 10th birthday to the Blind Bear, which opened its doors to the public on December 23, 2011. The place has been my second living room ever since. Congrats to Jeannette and all the folks there on this milestone.

There’s a party tonight to celebrate! Charles and Randi will be dealing blackjack. You can play for free to win Bear Bucks, which can be exchanged at auction for prizes including golf bags, fire pits, and T-shirts. Albert King Jr.’s Final Touch Band plays 8 to midnight. Photographer Jamie Harmon will be there 8:00-11:30 to take speakeasy photos and “mug shots.” The Amurica photo booth will be on the patio.

Wow… there were 776 new cases of COVID reported today in Shelby County, bringing the 7-day rolling average of new cases to 414. That means the rolling average doubled in just 5 days – on Saturday it was 202.

Here’s a scary stat – a study by a health institute at the University of Washington predicts that 140 million in the U.S. will be infected with the Omicron variant between January 1 and March 1. That’s 40 percent of the population.

Paula & Raiford’s Disco will be closed today, Christmas Eve, and Christmas.

The DM has an article about Dreamers’ Revival, the upcoming TV show where Daryl and Ashley of Walking Pants Curiosities will help 13 entrepreneurs spruce up Downtown storefronts for their businesses.

Today is Festivus.

The MemphisWeather.net forecast has us at 63/53 today, 72/62 for Christmas Eve, and a near-record high of 75 for Christmas, with 0% chance of rain throughout. Highs are expected to remain in the 70s through December 28.

That’s the news for now. I hope to see you at the Blind Bear party tonight.