Paul Ryburn's Journal

The results of the Memphis Flyer’s Best of Memphis 2923 poll are out. I haven’t had time to look at the results yet, but I’m sure I’ll be back with comments after I do.

FedExForum is instituting a ckear bag policy, effective immediately. The policy eill limit the size and type of bags that can bd brought into the arena. More info

Insomnia Cookies on Beale has a deal for you this week. Purchae 12 Classic cookies and get 12 more Classics for $2.

The South Main Association has announced its October social.  It will be Tuesday, October 10 from 6 to 8 at Ibis in the upstairs space. It will be Halloween-themed with a costume contest and treats. Members get two complimentary drinks. The grand prize for the costume contest is a $100 gift card.

Black Restaurant Week returns Friday, September 29 to Sunday, October 8. Most participating restaurants will offer a special. Dpwntown restaurants participating include

• Butterific Bakery & Cafe
• Cupcake Cutie
• Curry N Jerk
• Energy Famous Pasta
• Feast & Graze
• Tailors’ Union

You may not have heard of Energy Famous Pasta… it’s a new restaurant on Court Square. Here’s a link to the website.

Sim-golf bar Birdie’s will open at 8 AM Friday for those who wish to “work remotely” and watch the Ryder Cup. Birdie’s will open at 8 Saturday and Sunday as well.

The Orpheum has opened a “Balcony Project” exhibit. The balcony is a leftover from the days when the theater had a “colored entrance” and segregated seating, The National Civil Rights Museum and a Rhodes College professor were consulted to make sure the exhibit is done tastefully.

Today’s special at Local on Main is a hot honey chicken sandwich with house-made Tom Yum aioli.  It comes with fries and you can get it grilled or fried. Other specials at Local today:

• $6 grape Kook-Aid shots
• $6 Moscow Mules

Since the specials are time-sensitiva, I’m gonna ahead and hit Publish here. Back in a couple of hour with a Thursday update #2 post with more news and possibly my reactions to the Best of Memphis poll.

Last night I attended the September Downtown Neighborhood Association meeting at Blind Bear. There wasn’t a speaker or formal program – rather, it was an opportunity to come together with neighbors for food and drink. Nevertheless, I did come away with a few pieces of info I want to pass on to my readers.

National Night Out is a chance to break bread and socialize with the people who keep us safe, our police officers and firefighters. It’s a chance to learn how we can all work together to make our neighborhood safer. There’s always yummy food supplied by area restaurants and shops.

The DNA is organizing a National Night Out celebration on the grounds of the Cossitt Library, northwest corner of Front and Monroe, the evening of Tuesday, October 3. Previously, National Night Out was celebrated the first Tuesday of August, but (unless you live in Alaska) the early October weather is much more hospitable.

Got a question for SOUTH MAIN: You guys doing anything for NNO? In past years there have been gatherings under the Memphis Farmers Market pavilion and at the 409 South Main event space. If you have info, hit me up at paul.ryburn@gmail.com or contact me on Facebook Messenger.

Why am I so concerned with what South Main is doing for NNO when DNA is organizing a great event a block from my front door? Elementary, my dear Watson. Two-piece boxes of Jack Pirtle’s chicken tend to show up at South Main NNO celebrations – boxes that include a biscuit and a cup of that yummy gravy. I’m totally willing to put on my walking shoes and travel for some Pirtle’s.

In other DNA news, they are planning an end-of-year celebration for the latter half of October. These parties celebrate all that is wonderful about Downtown and always overflow with food and beverages. I’ll have more details soon.

A number of DNA members got their 901 PEACE purple wristbands at the meeting.

If you see me out, I can give you one. Luanne (The Grizzlies Glamma/Sparkle Mentality) has a bag of them and can give you one, as can a few others. The wristbands are the brainchild of owners of a Beale Street hotspot. They are designed to promote unity among our Downtown stakeholders and 10,000 of them were printed.

Related to the wristbands is a Downtown Neighbors Clean, Green, and Beautiful Pledge you can print out, sign, and return to your neighborhood association or send to downtown@downtownmemphis.com. Take the pledge to create a more welcoming Downtown

I discovered a new menu item last night. Blind Bear put out chicken bacon ranch quesadillas on the DNA’s food buffet last night. For some reason, I had passed those over until yesterday. They were so good that I went back to the buffet for seconds!

The body pulled from the Mississippi River last weekend has been identified as Tamia Taylor. Taylor was a 21-year-old mother who disappeared from a “booze cruise” operated by Memphis Riverboat Cruises a couple of weeks ago.

Riverside Drive’s reopening date remains up in the air following the completion of Tom Lee Park.

MLGW will open its Downtown office Saturday morning to help customers with delayed billing issues.

St. Mary’s soup kitchen at 155 Market Ave. in The Pinch needs the following items: vegetables (onions, cabbage, potatoes, tomatoes, beans, etc.), stew meat, chips/pretzels, cookies/brownies, coffee, sugar, and bottled water.  901-522-9420 for more info. The soup kitchen has operated since 1870 and serves the hungry six days a week.

Memphis in May is polling BBQ teams as it tries to find a new location for BBQ Fest.

The Moxy Memphis Hotel will host Haunt Couture: A Moxy Halloween Soiree on October 31. Drag queens, DJ Alpha Whiskey, Pok Cha Egg Rolls food truck on site. Costume contest with a night’s stay at the Moxy as the grand prize.

The CA has a list of haunted locations Downtown.

A chorizo and Mexican street corn flatbread is the special at Local on Main today:

There will be a sunset skate at River Garden Thursday from 5 to 8 PM.  Free lessons and free limited skate rentals.

Doug MacLeod plays Live at the Tracks at Central Station Hotel Thursday evening.

Brimstone Jones plays Loflin Yard Sunday at noon.

A New York judge has found the Trumpster and his adult male spawn Don Jr. and Eric liable for fraud. The judge also took away Trump Org’s business license. A receiver will be brought in to handle the dissolution of the corporate entities. The Trump family has announced it will appeal.

That’s it for today. Back tomorrow with more news.

From the DM: Taste of the (Medical) District returns with vendors new and old. The tasting event is next Tuesday (Oct. 3) afternoon at Health Sciences Park. The event is free, but you have to sign up to attend on Eventbrite. I just got on there and claimed my ticket!

Great blog post from Copeland Coaching this week: Work is not family. If management tries to paint a picture of “one big family,” it can be a red flag, a sign that employees’ boundaries won’t be respected.

A MUST-READ from the Washington Post: The new phone etiquette. Allow me to summarize this OUTSTANDING list:

• Don’t leave a voice mail – hang up at the prompt and send a text instead. No one listens to voice mail anymore.
• Text before calling – to check to see if the recipient is free, and to give them an idea what it is you want to talk about.
• Just because someone is calling you, doesn’t mean you have to pick it up
• Send facts via text; use voice when emotions need to be expressed
• If you call someone and they don’t answer, don’t immediately hang up and call them again (and again and again and again). If your matter is urgent, hang up and text them and explain why.
• DON’T USE YOUR SPEAKERPHONE IN PUBLIC!!!!!! I’d estimate that 30% of the time I sit at one of my favorite bars, I wind up next to someone having a speaker or FaceTime conversation. Incredibly annoying and RUDE to those seated nearby!

HOTWORX in The Edge at 750 Madison will have a 1-year anniversary celebration this Wednesday from 4 to 8. Come enjoy goodies from local vendors.

Enjoy free, family-friendly concert Sunset@BRIDGES this Thursday from 5 to 8 PM at 477 N. Fifth.

Celtic Woman has been announced for the Orpheum the night of Thursday, April 25.

A way-too-early bowl projection has the Memphis Tigers facing Wake Forest in the Military Bowl on December 27.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Blog post will be late one day this week, very possibly tomorrow, so I can walk up to the Election Commission office and early vote.

Back when there’s more news to post and I have time to post it.

From Tiger Blueprint: Is Penny Hardaway the Deion Sanders of college basketball?

The SEC, whose officials called Saturday’s Memphis vs. Missouri game, apologized for an incorrect ruling on the field that Memphis, down by 7 late in the 4th quarter, must use a tee for its onside kick. Memphis failed to recover its own kick and Mizzou ran the remaining time off the clock to win.

Memphis magazine’s Vance Lauderdale discusses Hemphill Diesel School, which had runs in what is now The Edge District as well as South Main in the 1930s and 1940s.

Here’s a list of The Features weekly specials at Blind Bear for this week:

• Gumbo greens –  collard greens, onion, peppers, celery, turkey sausage, chicken, smoked turkey, shrimp (optional) – served with honey jalapeno cornbread $8 cup, $12 bowl
• Rasta pasta – jerk chicken with a cream sauce, mixed bell peppers and green onions over penne pasta $16
• Mixed berries cheesecake $8
• Chocolate cake $8

Downtown Neighborhood Association members, don’t forget, the monthly meeting is tonight at the Blind Bear. Tony tells me wings and possibly their Hibernation Dip will be among the hors d’oeuvres. I am a DNA member in good standing, so I will see you there!

If Queen Elizabeth II had visited Downtown Memphis’ Cossitt Library while she was alive, this is the book she would have checked out:

Memphis Songwriters Series featuring John Nemeth, Sarah Spain, and Deion Corley (wow, two Deions in one post) happens Thursday night at the Halloran Centre. Tickets are $10.

Jerry Seinfeld will be at the Orpheum Friday night. Tickets are $67.50 to $195.

Today is National Better Breakfast Day. My recommendation would be to show up at Bardog at 8 AM and order a Big Bardog Breakfast with eggs, breakfast potatoes, toast, bacon, and sausage – then make breakfast even better by ordering an ice cold PBR too.

Not Downtown but possibly worth a quick Lyft or Uber: Beer can chicken cooking contest at Crosstown Brewing Co. Saturday afternoon

Memphis Tigers coach Ryan Silverfield wants Vandy, in Nashville, at the Titans’ stadium.

All right. It’s about 7 PM Monday, and since I have a time-sensitive item in this post (National Better Breakfast Day) I’m gonna go ahead and schedule it to go up a little after midnight. Back later in the day if there’s more news to report.

The Beale Street Wine Race back in April never crowned a winner because of a shooting on the street (which is sooooo very Memphis). But a winner will be determined this Sunday, October 1.  All 10 teams will run  Cheek-in will be at 2 PM at Alfred’s with the relays starting at 3 PM.

The other events will not be replayed. Villa Castrioti won the opening parade back in April, and Jessica from Blind Bear won Queen of the Vine. A winner was determined in the grape stomp but had not yet been announced at the time of the shooting and will be announced Sunday.

Blind Bear can help you celebrate National Quesadilla Day today, as can Bardog, Maciel’s on Main, and Local on Main (which has a duck quesadilla!) Now that I think about it, Taco Bell at Crump and B.B. King is a place to celebrate too.

Here’s a pic of the collard green gumbo that will be one of The Features the weekly specials at Blind Bear this week:

Tony tells me that there will be an option of adding shrimp and he will send me a photo of that. The gumbo is good and spicy, as I prefer it!

I have a friend looking to pay a fair price for a one-day ticket to Mempho Music Fest this Saturday. paul.ryburn@gmail.com or hit me up on Facebook Messenger if you’ve got one.

Monster Market, “a pop-up for weirdos like you,” comes to The Medicine Factory (on W. Virginia Ave., a block north of Crump)  October 13-18. They wrote, “Our 2023 collection is absolutely stacked with freaky art, weird apparel, strange trinkets, and unique gifts from 80+ makers.”

Fooling around on Google Maps a few minutes ago, I discovered a new restaurant called Memphis Jamaican Kitchen. It’s at 237 Vance, which I believe would put it just east of B.B. King. Menu

Let’s go ahead and take a look at college football games of note to Memphians coming up this weekend.

Friday, September 29

• 10 Utah at 19 Oregon State, 8:00 PM, FS1

Saturday, September 30

• 8 USC at Colorado, 11:00 AM, FOX
• 22 Florida at Kentucky, 11:00 AM, ESPN
• Texas A&M at Arkansas, 11:00 AM, SEC Netwirk
• 1 Georgia at Auburn, 2:30 PM, CBS
• 24 Kansas at 3 Texas, 2:30 PM, ABC
• Arkansas State at UMass, 2:30 PM, ESPN+
• 23 Missouri at Vanderbilt, 3:00 PM, SEC Network
• Boise State at Memphis, 3:00 PM, ESPN2
• 13 LSU at 20 Ole Miss, 5:00 PM, ESPN
• 11 Notre Dame at 17 Duke, 6:30 PM, ABC
• South Carolina at 21 Tennesse, 6:30 PM, SEC Network
• 12 Alabama at Mississippi State, 8:00 PM, ESPN

For now I’m going to continue to put Colorado’s games in the “of interest to Memphians” list, even though it isn’t a regional school. Coach Prime is a figure of national interest.

The Denver Broncos got pounded by Miami yesterday 70-20… dang that sounds more like a high school basketball score than the NFL.

Pickleball is coming to Beale Street with 6 temporary courts the day of the first preseason Grizzlies game Sunday, October 8. Then on November 18 (my birthday!), there will be a pickleball event at FedExForum.

From the CA: Small hotels don’t help attract conventions to Memphis, says an industry expert. When there is a concentration of smaller hotels, convention planners are forced to use 8-10 of them for room blocks, which can be quite a headache.

That’ll do it for today’s news. Back tomorrow.

Birdie’s, the virtual golf bar on South Main, is considering hosting a Ryder Cup-like event this coming Saturday and Sunday and is polling its audience to see if there is interest.

The way it would work is, there would be teams of 8 from Downtown and Midtown. Saturday afternoon would be alternate shot and Fourball, while singles play would take place on Sunday. Both days coincide with the actual Ryder Cup tournament, which of course they’ll have on TV.

They’re thinking $60 for the entire event. DM @birdies901 if interested.

In other news, Birdie’s now has Sweetens Golf available – both the sim-golf course and the whiskey of the same name.

Cousins Maine Lobster and their food trucks are departing the Memphis market as of this weekend. They invite you to come find them when in Nashville, Knoxville, or Chattanooga.

Three pieces of Blind Bear news to pass along to you today:

• They now have a Bloody Mary made with Ole Smoky dill pickle moonshine
• Brunch drink specials are now available Friday happy hour (3-7) in addition to Saturday and Sunday 11-7
• New moonshine flavor mango habanero is a popular item. It’s tasty but it’ll make your throat burn.

Mango habanero moonshine

Henry Turley Co. is organizing a Downtown clean=up day Saturday, October 14 from 9 AM to noon. Meet at the new Downtown Mobility Center. They’ll provide all the cleaning supplies, so all you have to do is show up. The weather should be perfect and it’s a great way to meet your neighbors.

A couple of days ago I was cleaning up around the apartment and came across a pack of baseball cards I was given in 1998. Most of the cards were players who never made it big, but there was a Paul Molitor card in there.

1998 was Molitor’s final year, am I right? I wonder it the card is worth anything?

From ABC 24: 100 murals to be displayed at Paint Memphis’ festival in The Edge Districtl. It’ll be from noon to 6 PM at 484 Union on Saturday, October 7.

A huge podcasting festival is coming to Downtown Memphis this coming weekend. From the event’s flyer:

At the inaugural PodBox Memphis Festival, you’ll have the opportunity to attend engaging breakout sessions, witness a captivating fireside chat on building podcast networks, participate in a podcast pitch competition, and hear a remarkable keynote on the future of podcasting.

Events:

• Networking mixer at Beale Street Landing – Friday, September 29 from 6 to 9 PM
• International Podcast Day at Cossitt Library – Saturday, September 30 from from 10 AM to 5 PM

The Memphis Tigers fell to 3-1 with a 34-27 loss to Missouri in St. Louis last night. Next up: The Tigers return to the Liberty Bowl for a 3 PM Saturday game vs. Boise State.

Memphis 901 FC is on its way to the playoffs thanks to a victory over Tampa last night. Three matches remain in the regular season, including next up: home vs. Birmingham Legion FC this Saturday.

A female body was recovered from the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River across from Presidents Island. It’s unknown if this is Tamia Taylor, who disappeared from a Memphis riverboat weeks ago.

YOGA! Join A Journey to You, Yoga with Amah Wellness every Saturday under the Sunset Canopy in Tom Lee Park from 9 to 10 AM. All experience levels are welcome. Bring a mat or towel.

Tuesdays are Pint Nites this fall at BarWare, 276 S. Front, with half off beer and flatbreads from 5-11 PM.

Eight & Sand Lounge inside Central Station Hotel will have gluten-free IPA, Amber, and pizza for Tuesday Brewsday from 6-8 PM.

That’ll do it for today. I’m gonna sit here at the Blind Bear all afternoon and be bored by NFL football. Back tomorrow. with more news.

 

Memphis Made Brewing Co. is holding a 10 Years of Beers party at its Midtown location, 768 S. Cooper, on Saturday, September 30. The brewery will be renewing its vows that day with

• something old: the return of Lucid Kolsch
• something new: Tin Cup, a 10th-anniversary beer; also Ain’t No Mountains in Memphis, a hard soda
• something borrowed: Burn the Witch Black Lager by fellow Memphis brewery Meddlesome
• something blue: Blue Raspberry Dockside

Live music by the Church Brothers at 5 and Jeff Hulett and the Hand Me Downs at 6. The taproom will be open 1-10 PM. The Smoke and Rolls food truck will be on site, and the brewery will show a slideshow of images from the past 10 years.

The CA has a photo gallery of the dropping Mississippi River levels. This would be a good time to own a metal detector.

Gift shop Walking Pantts Curiosities will celebrate the grand opening of its Beale Street location Friday, September 29. It’s in the old Tater Red’s space. … But wait, there’s more! Next door to Walking Pants, the one and only BLACK DIAMOND will reopen. $5 cover for entertainment there includes

• Comedy from Skunky and Friends from Bumpin’ 96.3 at 7:30
• Deanna Dixon and Broke Tall Folk at 8:30
• DJs, spoken word, street artists, and more throughout the evening
• Dreamers’ Revival film crew will be there to capture all the action

Shelby County Chancellor Melanie Taylor Jefferson will be the one to decide whether construction of the Brooks Museum of Art can proceed Downtown before a lawsuit by the land’s heirs and Friends for Our Riverfront is resolved.

The Blind Bear is putting some of its lesser-known moonshine flavors on fire sale for $3. Get them before they run out. ( * = highly recommended by me )

• Strawberry cream *
• Banana pudding *
• Shine Nog (eggnog flavor)
• Java
• Peppermint
• Cookie dough
• Tennessee mud

Java moonshine, a beverage named after a programming language? Pretty savvy move to get people who work in AutoZone’s IT department to stop by after work.

Here’s a look at the Bear’s weekly food specials, available through Saturday:

Know what I like most about this specials menu? They stopped calling it “The Features.” I always thought that name was a bit pretentious and off-brand for the Bear.

Today is National Ice Cream Cone Day. Margie’s 901 ice cream shop has got ya, as does Insomnia Cookies on Beale.

Moneybagg Yo denies that he was the one who canceled his upcoming FedExForum show.

Enchanting Strings: A Classical Guitar Showcase by Peter Fletcher happens at the Cossitt Library 5-7 PM today.

Tonight is Songwriter Night with Kathy Zhou, Foster Falls, and Liv Zemer at South Main Sounds, 550 S. Main, 7 to 9 PM.

That’ll do it for now. I may take Saturday off from posting.

This is Negroni Week at Inkwell, the cocktail bar out in The Edge. A Negroni is a classic cocktail made with equal parts gin, campari, and sweet vermouth. Your bartender can make it sweeter or more bitter according to your taste.

South Point Grocery now offers online shopping.

Down in Southaven, the Mid-South Fair opens today at Landers Center. Today only, admission is free. WREG weatherman Todd Demers asked if it was possible to get a salad at the fair. Seriously, Todd?

Don’t feel like going all the way to Mississippi for fair food? Quintessential Sweets in the 99 N. Main building sells funnel cakes, deep fried Oreos and Twinkies, snow cones, caramel apples, and Rice Krispy treats.

Do you remember the twenty-first of September? It’s Earth, Wind & Fire Day.

Free queso? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

The DM says the Sterick Building at B.B. King and Madison could be renovated to include micro-retail and coworking spaces.

One of the beertenders at Soul & Spirits is a TV star.

Action News 5 looks at Peabody restaurant Chez Phlippe in the latest 5 Star Story.

Local on Main has a smoked Gouda BBQ bacon patty melt on special today:

Congrats to the Eric Hughes Band on getting their brass note on Beale Street.

I Love Memphis has a look at Caption by Hyatt and Hyatt Centric as staycation destinations.

Alice Reasons plays Live at the Tracks at Central Station Hotel tonight.

Chris Tucker plays the Orpheum Friday night. Tickets are $39.50-$79.50.

There’s a Strawberry Hennessy Festival at Carolina Watershed Saturday afternoon.

The Downtown Neighborhood Association wants you to sign a Clean, Green, and Beautiful Pledge.

Free home COVID tests are coming back and you can start ordering the Monday.

The AutoZone National Sales Meeting will be at the Renasant Convention Center Tuesday-Thursday of next week.

The Gallery in Dos Hermanos Kitchen in the Cossitt Library opens tonight at 6:00. The work of Marion Goodwin of Focus Media Group will be featured.

Westy’s is hiring servers.

That’s it for now. Back tomorrow.

Congratulations to all the folks at Bardog Tavern. Downtown’s neighborhood bar has turned 15 years old.

Student Madness, a pre-season party celebrating Memphis Tigers basketball, will happen on October 4 at the U of M’s Elma Roane Fieldhouse. As the name suggests, the event is for students only. The event will replace previous years’ March Madness events. Students: Get your free ticket

The DM reports that a Whataburger location may go into 1925 Union.  That’s probably as close as the chain plans to get to Downtown.

Moneybagg Yo’s September 30 concert at FedExForum has been postponed. This news comes after the shooting inside the arena at a Lil Baby concert earlier this month.

Today is National Fried Rice Day.

It’s also National Queso Day, and Local on Main is celebrating with a Queso Burger that has

• pico
• tortilla strips
• house pickles
• jalapenos
• queso

Local also has $6 small queso dip today.

The Memphis Flyer’s Bruce V explains his thought process in determining his vote for Memphis mayor.

BRIDGES is hiring an accounting and grants coordinator.

YogaSix Downtown seeks a yoga teacher.

The Church of the River (Unitarian) seeks a part-time music director.

Ducks Unlimited seeks a visitor service rep (weekend only) for its Waterfowling Heritage Center at Bass Pro at the Pyramid.

And now, a personal story…

Yesterday morning I turned on WREG Live at 9. They had a segment on living with Parkinson’s Disease. One of the presenters was a man who had Parkinson’s. His hands were trembling as he talked.

I thought to myself, my left hand trembles like that sometimes.

For years, I thought my trembling was related to the drinking I do out at Downtown bars. But recently there have been periods when I have gone weeks without drinking, and the trembling didn’t subside.

So I searched Wikipedia for Parkinson’s and discovered that several other motor-related behaviors I have could be symptoms.

About 2 1/2 years ago, as I was working at a law firm in Brinkley Plaza, I noticed I had a tendency to clench my left hand (I’m right-handed, by the way). That tendency continues to this day. I can consciously relax the hand, but when it slips out of mind I start clenching it again.

I clench my left foot often when sitting or when lying in bed. Like the hand, I can consciously relax it.

The past year or so, I have found it more difficult to do things like get my wallet in and out of my pocket and put a hoodie on.

Leaning forward, I’ve heard, is a Parkinson’s symptom. I tend to lean hard to the left lately when seated at the bar at Blind Bear or Bardog. Now that I think about it, I’m leaning a little to the left over the computer right now.

My typing speed has decreased from 50 WPM to 10 WPM over the past two years.

For the past month, my left wrist has hurt when I twist it in certain directions. I assume this is a result of constant clenching of my hand.

When I was a little kid, Muhammad Ali was The Champ. The Greatest. He fought in The Rumble in The Jungle, The Thrilla in Manila. He was larger than life. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

Then I saw videos of Ali in the 2000s. The rigidity that I seem to feel in my left hand had overtaken his body and even his face. He could barely move or speak. He was a shell of his former self physically.

Is that my destiny? Scary to think about.

Back tomorrow with more news, assuming I still have the ability to type.

 

Cafe/bar/coffee shop Cafe Keough will celebrate its 10th anniversary Saturday with a tap takeover by Grind City Brewing Co. The event is 21+ from 3 to 6 PM at 12 S. Main. Here’s what they’ll have going on:

• Free swag
• Raffle drawings every 30 minutes
• Live music by KittyPool
• Beer, wine, liquor, and boozy coffees
• Grand raffle prize: Taste a tour of Grind City Brewing
• First 20 people to buy a beer get to keep the glass
• Must be present to win raffle prizes

Be on the lookout for these 901 PEACE wristbands around town:

I was told they were created by a local restaurant to encourage Memphians to come together as a community and understand that violence is never the answer. I have a few extras; if you see me out and want one, just ask.

The Downtown Neighborhood Association’s September meeting will happen next Tuesday, the 26th, from 5:30-7:30 PM at the Blind Bear. Members will get to dabble in the Bear’s new menu and learn about upcoming events.

Grind City Grocer, located at 60 S. Main for the past year, is moving. Although their shop is closed, you can catch them at High Point Arts Fest this Saturday.

Another closing: I notice that the bank at the corner of Main and Monroe, inside Brinkley Plaza, is closed. It was a SunTrust, I think?

The Memphis Redbirds are back in town for one final homestand of the 2023 regular season. They will play Charlotte this week. Here are details:

Tuesday: First pitch 6:45 PM

Wednesday: Day game; first pitch 12:05

Thursday: Throwback Thursday with the Redbirds in throwback Memphis Chicks uniforms, $2 PBR, and $1 hot dogs. A $15 specialty ticket includes a PBR T-shirt and two PBR beers. Use promo code PBR to get that ticket.  First pitch 6:45.

Friday: There’s a specialty ticket that includes an all-you-can-eat buffet of sliders with cheese, lettuce, and pickles, as well as hot dogs, chips, soda, and water. $30 dugout, $27 field box.

Another Friday specialty ticket is for Fath & Friends Night at AutoZone Park. Christian artist Terrain will perform a pre-game concert. $5 of each specialty ticket will be donated to AngelStreet, an organization that provides access to the arts and leadership opportunities to girls. First pitch 7:05.

Saturday: Memphis Grizzlies Night at the Redbirds. The Redbirds will wear Memphis Connect jerseys, based on the jerseys the Grizzlies wear. The first 5000 fans get a replica Memphis Connect jersey. Desmond Bane will throw the first pitch, and Tony Allen will appear as well. Grizz, the Grizz Girls, the Claw Crew, and the Grizzline will be there. A ticket package includes a ticket to this game and to the Grizzlies’ October 25 season opener.  Gates open at 4:30 PM and first pitch is 6:05.

Sunday: There will be several Get Active specialty tickets entitling the holder to play catch on the field; or participate in cycling classes, HIIT classes, or yoga classes.  All kids 12 and under receive a Prairie Farms ice cream sandwich upon entering. First pitch 2:05 PM.

It’s time for a look at college football games of interest to Memphians this Saturday:

• 4 Florida State at Clemson, 11:00 AM, ABC
• Auburn at Texas A&M, 11:00 AM, ESPN
• Kentucky at Vanderbilt, 11:00 AM, SEC Network
• 19 Colorado at 10 Oregon, 2:30 PM, ABC
• 22 UCLA at 11 Utah, 2:30 PM, FOX
• 15 Ole Miss at 13 Alabama, 2:30 PM, CBS
• UTSA at 23 Tennessee, 3:00 PM, SEC Network
• Arkansas at 12 LSU, 6:00 PM, ESPN
• 14 Oregon State at 21 Washington State, 6:00 PM, FOX
• Southern Miss at Arkansas State, 6:00 PM, ESPN+
• UAB at 1 Georgia, 6:30 PM, ESPN2
• 6 Ohio State at 9 Notre Dame, 6:30 PM, NBC
• 24 Iowa at 7 Penn State, 6:30 PM, CBS
• Memphis at Missouri, 6:30 PM, ESPNU
• Mississippi State at South Carolina, 6:30 PM, SEC Network

Whew! Certainly a more interesting lineup than last week. Max’s Sports Bar is gonna be PACKED!!!

Memphis 901 FC hits the road Wednesday night for a 7 PM match at Birmingham Legion. Watch locally on WMC Bounce.

The Brooks Museum plans a rooftop park when it moves Downtown.

A woman banned from Downtown Walgreens returned with a knife Saturday.

Nick Black will headline Happy Hour in Health Sciences Park this Thursday from 5 to 7 PM. Chairs and blankets are welcome and food trucks will be at the park. The first 50 Regional One employees will receive a free gift bag with a $10 food and drink coupon.

Catherine and Mary’s is hiring a head bartender.

Eight & Sand Lounge in Central Station Hotel will host Whiskey Wednesday from 4 to 11 PM tomorrow with $10 Tennessee Lemonades and $2 off A|M Old Fashioneds.

That’s it for today. Back when there’s more news.