This past week I’ve been working the ticket window on Beale Street for Backbeat Tours. Many of my friends have asked me, “When are you going to get tours of your own to lead? I want to take a tour from you.”
Well, good news… the work schedule for the next 2 weeks came out. I’m still scheduled at the ticket window Monday-Friday, but I also have been given my first tour to lead.
But, bad news… it’s on a day when many of my friends already have other plans. I’m scheduled to lead a Walking Tour of Beale Street on Labor Day, Monday, September 4, from 1:30-2:30 in the afternoon.
I know that Labor Day is the last big pool day of the season for a lot of people. I wouldn’t expect anyone to give that up. So, those of you who promised to take my first tour… you’re released from your promise. There will be plenty of other tours, on other days.
For those of you who don’t have plans for Labor Day, though, here’s a sampling of what I’ll be talking about:
- Beale’s early days and how the street was a melting pot of the community
- The post-Civil War era, when Beale was the “Black Main Street of America”
- How yellow fever decimated Memphis in the late 1870s, and the surprising industry that brought Memphis back financially
- The Saloon Row era of the 1890s-1920s
- Robert R. Church Sr., the South’s first Black millionaire – how he made Memphis a land of opportunity for African-Americans
- W.C. Handy, “Father of the Blues,” and how a song he wrote influenced Memphis politics for decades
- Talent competitions hosted by Rufus Thomas and radio deejay Nat D. Williams, and the rise of the musical career of B.B. King
- Where Elvis got his snazzy clothes – the man who befriended him while other shop owners shunned the teenager
- The professional wrestler who got arrested on Beale Street and became a local civil rights icon
- 1960s-1970s: How the automobile and the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led to the decline of Beale and of Downtown in general
- 1980s and beyond: The rebirth of Beale
The Beale tour is the shortest tour we offer – only one hour, leaving you plenty of time to enjoy the rest of your day. It’s also our best value at only $15 (free for kids 4 and under). Book your tour now – and remember, Monday, September 4 is the day I work.
I will keep you informed of future tours and dates I will be working. And now, on to the news…
A hurricane in the Pacific, Hurricane Hilary, is forecast to be the first tropical system to have a direct impact on California in more than 80 years. It is currently a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 130 MPH near the southern tip of Baja California. It should weaken to a tropical storm by the time it reaches U.S. soil. The current path indicates a possible direct hit on San Diego.
If you know any young people (18-30) looking for a career, here’s an opportunity to tell them about. The Tech Collective has a 4-month training program in IT Hardware. Not only do active program participants not incur any student loan debt – they earn $400 a month. Participants receive assistance finding employment and coaching for the first 90 days on the job.
Day One at Tom Lee Park happens Saturday, September 2. Some of the activities include
- Guided walking and nature tours
- Basketball skills games
- Guided workout classes
- Regular yoga and hip-hop yoga classes
- Riverfront Storytime – learn all about the river
- Learn to juggle and hula hoop
- A signature Day One drink
- Latin dance lessons
- Music by Garry Goin and Friends
- An all-day 4-on-4 volleyball tournament (register here)
- The MP3 Experiment at 5 PM: “a massive participatory social experiment”
- A 6 PM a cappella performance by Theaster Gates at his new sculpture, A Monument to Listening
Learn how to make dirty ear wax Q-tip Halloween treats.
Momma’s will have soft opening hours of 5 PM-midnight this weekend and 11 AM-midnight starting tonight. Deep Roots will play there tonight at 8. Momma’s is “the diner and dive off 55” trucker bar at Crump and Kentucky.
5 O’Clock Shadow plays Slider Inn Downtown tonight at 7.
The DM has a list of 901 Day celebrations happening around town on Friday, September 1.
Today is National Hot and Spicy Food Day.
USA Today published a list of the 10 best historic hotels in the U.S. Coming in at number two was Memphis’ very own Peabody Hotel.
From Action News 5: Yoga on the River instructor promotes unity
Phelps Security seeks unarmed officers for the Downtown area. Pay is up to $15 an hour.
England and Spain will play in the Women’s World Cup finals Sunday at 5 AM. Watch on FOX or the FOX Sports app.
I’m going to switch things up a bit this morning and brunch at my friend Jessica’s bar at Local. About 5 I plan to head over to the Robert Raiford Day celebration. Back tomorrow with more news.