Memphis in May Beale Street Music Festival: Extended Trolley Hours; Swine Flu Precautions; Construction at North End of Tom Lee Park

MATA will extend service for Memphis in May’s Beale Street Music Festival and offer passes. One-day trolley passes are $3.50 and three-day passes are $8.00, both include unlimited travel.

Visit one of the trolley ticket booth locations to purchase trolley passes during the festival. Ticket booths are located at Main & Beale, Main & Union, Main at the Convention Center and at Madison & Cleveland.

Extended Trolley Hours of Operation:
Friday, May 1, 6 am – 2 am

Saturday, May 2, 6 am – 2 am

Sunday, May 3, 10 am – 11:30 p.m.

To see ticket booth hours of operation and for more information visit http://www.matatransit.com or call 901.274.6282.

The Swine Flu continues to spread as we all know. There was a story on the local news about festival organizers installing hand washing stations throughout the park as well as hand sanitizers to remind people to wash their hands often. I think these should become a permanent part of the set up, so I hope they keep doing this in years to come.

The construction of Beale Street Landing is still underway at the north end of Tom Lee Park which does not mean anything other than the park is smaller by 1/8 of a mile and it looks a little messy at that entrance.

Outdoors, Inc. Canoe and Kayak Race

Before you head off to day two of this weekend's Beale Street Music Fest, there will be time to participate in or watch the Outdoors, Inc. Canoe and Kayak Race Saturday morning. This will be the 28th annual race and it's a lot of fun, though I've only ever been a spectator. The race begins at the north end of Greenbelt Park and ends in the harbor just at Jefferson Davis Park. Post-race music performed by Amy Lavere. Here are the race particulars from their website:
OUTDOORS, INC. CANOE AND KAYAK RACE
On the Mississippi River, Memphis

SATURDAY, May 2, 2009 @ 10:00 a.m.
For information, call race director, Joe Royer at
901.527.6028 (office); 901.482.5998 (cell) or JoeRoyer@OutdoorsInc.com
Race information website: http://www.outdoorsinc.com/

This is the largest canoe and kayak race in the southeastern United States. Over 500 recreational to expert canoe and kayak paddlers participate.

*Registration at 4 Outdoors, Inc. locations by 6 p.m. Friday, May 1st
*Check-in Sat., 5/2 at 7 a.m. at race start site, north end of Green Belt Park
*All barge traffic on the Mississippi River stops by order of the US Coast Guard
*Memphis police and harbor patrol will be on duty
*Tennessee State Wildlife Resources Agency will be on duty
*Park permitted and donated by Riverfront Development Corporation


View Outdoors Inc Canoe & Kayak Race in a larger map

• World class athletes who have competed in the past 5 years include:
Greg Barton of Charleston, SC- USA double Olympic Gold medallist, double Bronze medallist, 4 World Championships, and current US National surf ski champion, returning to Memphis as the 5-time winner and holder of the race course record (you know him when you see him - Intense)

Michael Herbert of Rogers, AR – Pan Am Gold medallist, 2001 winner of the Outdoors, Inc.
Canoe and Kayak Race, beating Greg Barton

Karen Lukanovich of the Canadian Olympic team and women’s holder of the race course record (2002)

Oscar Chalupsky of Durban, South Africa – 10 times World Ocean Kayak Champion in Hawaii

Herman Chalupsky of Durban, South Africa – 2004 Outdoors, Inc. Canoe and Kayak race champion and 2004 World Ocean Kayak Champion at Molokai, Hawaii

Rocky Caldwell, Dale Burris, Clifton & John Rickey of Missouri & Arkansas – national champion and world class canoe paddlers

Ekaitz Sayes of Spain – European Champion (23 and under)

Chris Hipgrave of Bryson City, NC, native of Purley, England – US Wildwater National Team member

Memphis Art Park; The Corkscrew

A while back I posted about the Memphis Art Park proposed plan for the piece of the Promenade from Front and Monroe down to Riverside Drive and Riverside Drive to Union. They have recently updated their proposed master plan. To see all the information go to: http://www.memphisartpark.org/

Also at the Corkscrew:

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Memphis in May Music Fest, Weather and Parking

Friday, May 1 - opens at 5:00 pm
The All-American Rejects
Steve Miller Band
Ben Harper & Relentless 7
Tommy Castro
Katy Perry
The Cult
G. Love & Special Sauce
Jack's Mannequin
Rise Against
Ronnie Baker Brooks
Matt Nathanson
Medeski, Martin & Wood
Lurrie Bell

Saturday, May 2 - opens at 1:00 pm
Al Green
Korn
George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic
John Lee Hooker, Jr.
Shinedown
Elvis Costello
The Roots
Curtis Salgado
Saving Abel
Los Lobos
Michael Burks
The Bar-Kays
Thriving Ivory
Susan Tedeschi
Julian Marley
Cedric Burnside & Lightin' Malcolm
Chancho En Piedra (from Chile)
Muck Sticky
Green Rive Ordinance
Hubert Sumlin
Shane Dwight
Jump Back Jake

Sunday, May 3 - opens at 1:00 pm
James Taylor
311
Fall Out Boy
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
Hinder
Bonnie Raitt
Snoop Dogg
Guitar Shorty
Theory of a Deadman
Jerry Lee Lewis
Three 6 Mafia
Sherman Robertson
Chancho En Piedra (from Chile)
Amos Lee
Prosevere
Damon Fowler
Dead Confederate
Reba Russell Band

And the typical Memphis in May Music Fest Weather Schedule (do not let this deter you):

Fri May 1
Scattered T-Storms
75°/57°
50%

75°F
Sat May 2
Scattered T-Storms
75°/57°
40%

75°F
Sun May 3
Scattered T-Storms
70°/59°
40%

Back in March I posted these comments and thought it was worth revisting them again:
Last year at the last moment it began to rain and I found myself frantically looking for rain boots somewhere downtown or in midtown to buy in a hurry. I found a pair at Peria on Union but since then I've seen them downtown at Alley Katz at 156 Beale Street and Lansky Lucky Duck in the Peabody at 149 Union. Just in case it rains and you're already downtown, you'll know where to go to get shod appropriately.


Getting to a parking spot down here during events can be a challenge, so you may want to take a look at the CCC's list of parking garages, lots and their special event rates as well as a map of all the parking garages and lots downtown:
http://www.downtownmemphis.com/domain/gettingaround/gettingaround_parking.asp
http://www.downtownmemphis.com/domain/gettingaround/parking.pdf

Last year the trolley system had extended hours but that information has not yet been updated on Memphis in May's website www.memphisinmay.org and I'm sure later in the week there will be information on shuttles serving the festival.

Wine Race Photos

It was a perfectly warm and sunny day for the Wine Race. Held annually, the wine race is a relay of waitstaff from participating restaurants running down a section of Beale Street with trays of wine bottles and glasses. Goal : get to the end quickly with no spillage and nothing broken. It was fun to watch...


This fella was amazingly fast


She dropped almost everything on her tray


Uncorking


Spectators in front of the Old Daisy Theater on Beale



Kids playing football in Handy Park

Beale Street Wine Race Today

http://www.bealestreetmerchants.com/NewsDetail.php?id=29

May: A Chile Month

It's hard to believe but next weekend is the Memphis in May Beale Street Music Festival and the start of a month long party. This year's honored country is Chile. If you've been checking in on any of the blogs in the Chilean blog list on the sidebar then you may know a little more about Chile and some of the bloggers living there. I'd like to thank Sara at La Gringuita Diaries again for her emails, comments and Chilean blog links she's passed along. There are a whole lot of Chile themed events coming up but today I'm going to focus on art.

Currently the The Dixon Gallery and Gardens has an exhibit of "Chilean Art in the Sixties" showing through May 31st. At the Brooks Museum the "Chilean Life on Canvas" exhibition runs May 1st - May 31st. "The Life of Pablo Neruda" exhibit is showing at the central library May 1st - May 31st. "Crowds in the Shadows" a photography exhibit of important events in Chilean civil rights history will run May 1st - May 31st at the National Civil Rights Museum. There are several other exhibits that will be showing through May; go to the MIM website to see more information and the complete listing; http://www.memphisinmay.org/

Memphis in May flags of some of the past honored countries displayed on the Civic Center Plaza downtown.

And while I was down there I took some random photos of Civic Center Plaza:

International Film Festival; Active Weekend Downtown

random photo from the Edge neighborhood

I ventured out East last night to the On Location: Memphis International Film Festival at the Ridgeway Four. I saw the documentary film "Prom Night in Mississippi", about a school in Charleston, Mississippi who had their first racially integrated prom in 2008. (!) Charleston resident and Academy Award winning actor Morgan Freeman offered to pay for an integrated prom and the school board accepted. All of the events from that point leading up to the prom are the focus of the documentary and are told from the student's perspectives. It was great and the festival continues through the weekend.

And back downtown, apart from the many social events happening this weekend such as the Trolley Tour tonight, Opera Memphis' "Faust" at the Orpheum Saturday night, Great Wine Race on Beale this Sunday and so much more, there are two 5K's and a bike ride:

Arbor Day 5K, Saturday April 25th, Elmwood Cemetery., 4pm. All proceeds will be used to purchase and plant trees for the grounds of Elmwood. Technically not downtown but close enough. I registered for this one.

St. Mary's Catholic Church Steeplechase 5K/walk, Saturday, April 25th. St. Mary's Catholic Church, 155 Market at 9am. This fundraiser benefits the church’s outreach to the homeless and the building fund.

Charles Finney Bike Ride, Saturday, April 25th at Greenbelt Park. 8am. Annual bike ride benefiting the Church Health Center .

Full List of Downtown Events this Weekend

Red Fish Open House Cancelled; Tonight: Downtown Rooftop Parties and the Redbirds; Zombies at Trolley Tour

FYI: The Zombies will be back again this year for tomorrow night's trolley tour. Adults, children and even pets dress up like the gory undead and shuffle their way down South Main.

I received this email from Red Fish gallery today:
"Hello All My Fabulous Customers and Friends,
Unfortunately the RED FISH GALLERY GIFT & GLASS OPEN HOUSE this Friday, April 24, 2009 has been CANCELLED. I will let you know when our next event shall be. Thank you for understanding and being such devoted Customers and Friends."
Too bad!

The Center City Commission has updated it's weekly events listing:
http://www.downtownmemphis.com/domain/news/html/thisweek.html

Some things happening downtown tonight:
Peabody Rooftop Party with Kevin and Bethany Paige tonight, 6pm - 10pm. $5, ladies get in free until 8pm.

Sunset Atop the Madison with The Dempseys tonight, 5:30 - 10pm. $7.

Memphis Redbirds vs Nashville tonight at Autozone Park, 7:05 pm

Shelby County Courthouse

I have been wanting to take some photos of the beautiful details of the Shelby County Courthouse and so here they are...

South Main Trolley Tour This Friday; Cossitt Library; Earth Day

David Lynch, "Beale Street Southside" posted with artist's permission

The South Main Trolley Tour is this Friday night 6 -9 pm and finally the weather should be gorgeous with a predicted high of 80 and clear, sunny skies. Perfect for strolling down Main and wandering in and out of galleries and shops. I like to think of it as the Memphis passeggiata and I wish we could do this more than once a month.

Among the many wondrous things you can see and do is the See the Difference Interiors Grand Opening at 431 S. Main. They are featuring the works of artist David Lynch, including 5 originals. There will also be a few signed-limited edition posters for sale. Meet the artist and See The Difference designers Diane Gordon and Becky Beaton.

David Lynch, "Beale Street Northside", posted with artist's permission

DO NOT FORGET that Red Fish Gallery & Gifts will be having their open house party and sale going on that same evening at 7pm on the "other Main Street". They are located at 356 North Main in the Pinch District. RSVP to :lcstjohn@yahoo.com or mailto:tracyharold@yahoo.com or mailto:orlindathomas57@hotmail.com

On a slightly more serious but nontheless exciting note are the renovations happening at the Cossitt Library at Monroe and Front. I thought initially that the renovations would be limited to interior work but judging from trucks that were out there yesterday it looks like ye olde eyesore is getting a more comprehensive overhaul than I thought. Great! Might it have a little something to do with their soon to be next door neighbor the U of M Law School?

And for Earth Day, some green tips taken from http://www.thedailygreen.com/ and http://www.thegreenguide.com/

• Reduce your speed to 55 mph from 65 mph may increase your fuel efficiency by as much as 15 percent; cut it to 55 from 70, and you could get a 23 percent improvement.


• Buy at your farmers market. Buying local not only saves energy used to ship produce, but also preserves flavor and nutrients.


• Tone down the take-out. Cooking just one more dinner and packing just one more lunch a week will have a big impact on unnecessary waste and will save you money.


• Save money by investing in a reusable water bottle, such as a BPA-free Klean Kanteen stainless steel bottle or an aluminum Sigg bottle.


• Try a "green" nail polish such as the soy and corn-based Priti and the water-based Suncoat, which hydrates the underlying nail and is available in 32 colors. Bright polishes from ToeShades require no remover to take off: They simply peel away. Conventional nail polish often contains the solvents toluene and amyl, butyl and ethyl acetate, which are known neurotoxins.

Items: Corkscrew, Ruby Wilson, Redbirds, Manhole Covers and Metal Museum

Item #1 - It's Ladies Day at the Corkscrew and as I find I am tapped out of the vino, I will be making a run there for the 10% wine discount.

Item #2 - Jimmy Ogle is giving his "Manhole Cover" tour today at 11:45 am starting at Wagner and Union. I can never seem to make it to these and I've been wanting to go.

Item #3 - The Redbirds are at home and play tonight at 7:05, tomorrow afternoon at 1:05 pm and have evening games Thursday and Friday at 7:05 pm.

Item #4 - The Ruby Wilson Benefit is tonight at BB Kings on Beale, 7:30pm $20; music performed by Bobby "Blue" Bland, The Dempseys, Kallen Esperian and others. The singer recently suffered a stroke and this benefit will help raise money for her medical expenses.

Item #5 - The National Ornamental Metal Museum has a new exhibit called "The New Steel V2" that runs through June 21st. I have to admit when I read that name I thought of the movie Zoolander and his "blue steel" pose.

Books, Lunch and Exoskeletons

I would like to have gone to the Hot Wing Festival or the Montessori Regatta on Saturday or to Africa in April or the Crawfish Festival yesterday but I made the fatal mistake of going to the bookstore after the Farmers Market on Saturday. I bought four books, devoured one and started on another which I also can't put down. I did come up for air long enough to make lunch for my parents who came to visit yesterday. I made two whole roast chickens (my cooking flaw: more is better = I will eat chicken for the next few days), potatoes and asparagus plus we polished off the Cucina bread from the MFM. I had the windows open and all through lunch the smell of cooking crawfish from the festival wafted in, not an unpleasant smell but it competed with the garlic and rosemary I sprinkled liberally on the potatoes.

One graphic detail: Every year after the crawfish festival I have to wrestle the cast off exoskeltons of crawfish out of Poppy's mouth as she scoops them up on our walks down Main Street. You wouldn't think they'd end up that far away from their source but they do. Around this time of year if you hear someone screaming "Drop it Poppy, drop it, drop it, drop it!!!!!" you'll know what the deal is. Gross but true.

Silent Sunday

Memphis Farmers Market; Here Today, Gone Tomorrow Dry Cleaner

We've already had a little rain this morning and the forecast looks like there's more on the way. Hopefully, it will hold off until tonight so the Hot Wing Festival and the Montessori Regatta can carry on. I multi-tasked this morning by running to the Farmers Market, thereby getting my exercise and the ciabatta bread I've been missing for months. There was a pretty large turnout for their first day and there were a lot of vendors; bread, flowers, preserves, greens, herbs, granola, soap, coffee and more.


THE Ciabatta from Cucina Breads; cucinamemphis@gmail.com
This made my day, really, it's that good.


A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Smith & Routt Dry Cleaners opening a location at 53 Monroe. They had plastered every available surface of those windows with signage and there were clothes on the racks ready to be picked up by customers. Well, they were open for about a minute and a half. They've vacated and besides those orange notes of vague explanation, there's no sign they had ever been there. Strange.

Beignets; Memphis on the Travel Channel; $5 Cover; This Weekend Downtown

I had a chance this morning to stop by Beignets before work and have, of all things, beignets. They are very, very good. I can see this becoming a Saturday morning ritual before my trip to the Farmers Market. Beignets is at 124 G.E. Patterson.

Remember way back in September when Travel Channel's Samantha Brown was here? Well, the new season of "Samantha Brown's Great Weekends," starts Saturday, May 9th so sometime soon (air dates are not posted yet) we can see the Memphis show. Other cities in this new season include Montreal, Santa Barbara, Boston, Maui, Chicago and Savannah.
http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Samantha_Brown

The world-premiere Memphis screenings of $5 Cover, the web series created by Craig Brewer, will be on Thursday, April 30 at Malco Paradiso at Poplar and Mendenhall. There will be two showings, 7 p.m. and 9:30. Tickets go on sale today at indiememphis.com. Any remaining tickets will be available at the door that night. The show starts airing on MTV, and appearing on the site http://blog.fivedollarcover.com/ on Friday, May 1.

The Commercial Appeal is having a photo contest and the prizes are two tickets to the $5 Cover Premiere and two VIP passes to the Indie Memphis film fest later this year. Here's a link to more info: http://focus.commercialappeal.com/ContestGallery.aspx?e=41

I am officially stating that with the advent of spring, hence the floodgates of Party Season have opened, it is impossible for me to keep up with everything going on downtown. I will continue to refer you each week to the Center City Commission website which posts an exhaustive list of weekly events from Thursday through the following Wednesday. Behold: http://www.downtownmemphis.com/domain/news/html/thisweek.html

Some of the things that seem kewl* are:

Taste Brazil event at Itta Bena on Sunday, April 19 from 6pm - 12am. Brazilian food and authentic South American music. $5 cover. 145 Beale. 578-3031.

The Memphis Farmers Market opens tomorrow!!! Also there is a MFM dinner at McEwen's on Monroe this Sunday, April 19th at 6pm. 30% of the proceeds are donated to the MFM.

And, gee, just a few other things like the Montessori School Regatta and Duck Race, Hot Wings Festival, Crawfish Festival, Africa in April, aaaahhhhh there's not enough time!

* alternate spelling inspired by a co-worker who totally surprised me with this. He's usually a very straight-laced speller, even when texting. You never know about people:)

Walls and Gelato at 59 S. Main

The mural designed by artist Jeff Zimmermann is progressing on the side of a building overlooking AutoZone Park. So far I really like it though it only looks to be about half complete.


A wall designed by years of wear and tear in South Main.

I received an email today with more information about the mixed use building at 59 S. Main. Not only will they be opening an Italian coffee shop this year but they will also have GELATO. The coffee will be fresh roasted and they plan on offering 32 gelato flavors and several other Italian treats. How can this go wrong?? I can't wait.

KPAW and the TAZ Fund

Fellow blogger Kembree over at Persian Pitbull sent some information about a great Humane Society program and event:

The 2009 KPAW (Kids Promoting Animal Welfare) Kickoff Party
Saturday, April 18th
10:00AM - 2:00PM
Humane Society of Memphis & Shelby County
935 Farm Rd
Memphis, TN 38134

Taz will be the special guest at this kickoff party. He is a male, 97 lb Rottweiler who has a severe dry eye disorder caused by a dysfunction of his tear ducts which causes infection-like symptoms in both of his eyes and could affect his vision permanently. The eye surgery he needs costs nearly $2,000 which exceeds the normal vet care budget. So, the TAZ Fund has been created as a on-going account to capture donations for all HSMSC dogs or cats that require special surgeries that are above and beyond the normal and customary medical needs.

The HSMSC will be selling baked goods to raise money for the Taz Fund as part of the KPAW kickoff party this Saturday.

Busy Party Week Downtown

The season of party after party in Downtown Memphis is starting! Now, if the weather will warm up and cooperate we'll be in business. Since the trolleys are currently celebrating their 16th anniversary, you can ride them for free all day through this Sunday.

Bike Night kickoffs tonight on Beale Street at 6pm and happens every Wednesday night through the summer and fall.

Thursday, April 16th the first of the Block Parties at Main and Peabody Place is happening as I mentioned in a post earlier this week. Also Thursday evening, the Madison Hotel and The Peabody have their rooftop parties.

The 7th Annual Hot Wing Contest is this Saturday, April 18th (rain date is Sunday, April 19th) from 10am - 7pm on South Main at G.E. Patterson.
http://www.southernhotwingfestival.com/ Benefits the Ronald McDonald House.

Africa in April events kick off this week and go on through the weekend mostly on Beale and in Robert Church Park at Fourth and Beale:
http://www.africainapril.org/calendar/khaki/eventscal.html

The 17th Annual Rajun Cajun Crawfish Festival is Sunday, April 19th from noon - until? at Beale and Wagner Place. Benefits Porter Leath.

The Beale Street Wine Race is coming up Sunday, April 26th.
Incidentally, this is the 1st official poster of the Wine Race and the artist is David Lynch. http://www.davidlynchart.com/

Happy Birthday Trolleys

The trolley will be free all day April 15th - April 19th in honor of their 16th year in operation. I cut it off in this picture, but the poster says free cake at the North End Terminal on Wednesday, April 15th at noon and again on Friday, April 17th at the Central Station at noon.

An Invitation from Red Fish

Red Fish Gallery, Gifts & Glass will be having a special Spring Sale next week:

Friday, April 24, 2009
7:00 pm
356 N. Main street

Women's clothes (mostly sizes 6-10), women's shoes (sizes 7-8), jewelry and many other items have been marked down.

*parking in the lot next to TJ Mulligan’s

RSVP to either:
lcstjohn@yahoo.com
mailto:tracyharold@yahoo.com
lindathomas57@hotmail.com

If you haven't been this special sale would be a perfect time to see what they have and get some great deals. I have been several times and bought some things for myself as well as gifts for other people. They always have a wide variety of interesting items. This will be on trolley night, so if you're downtown anyway swing by the "other Main", North Main in the Pinch District and check them out. They will also be serving food and drinks so you can have a nosh while you browse. Most civilized.

Ironic Signage

3rd Thursday Main Street Block Parties

A series of block parties on Main Street at Peabody Place have been planned for the 3rd Thursday of each month from April through June.

The first one is this Thursday, April 16 from 5:30 – 7:30 pm. Devil Train and North Mississippi Bluesman Mark ‘Mule Man’ Massey will perform.

Specials include:

THE MAJESTIC GRILLE
2 Flatbreads for $9
$4 Strawberry Basil Martinis
$4 Mojitos on the patio
Fiddler on the Roof on the BIG screen!


CIRCA
$5 appetizers & $19 'steak frites'
$5 Feature Wines by the Glass / $20 Bottles


BLUEFIN
Krono Grilled Beef, Chicken or Shrimp w/ teriyaki sauce $2
$5 Bluefin Cosmo
$2 Domestic Beer
$2 Fireball Shots


CENTER FOR SOUTHERN FOLKLORE
Southern Sampler $10
Lemon baked chicken, greens, hot water cornbread, macaroni & cheese, coleslaw
$4 Peach Cobbler & Ice Cream
$16 Ghost River Growlers (64 oz)

THE SILLY GOOSE
$3 Wells


SHELTON CLOTHIERS
20% OFF ENTIRE STORE!(excludes sale items)

BELZ MUSUEM OF ASIAN & JUDAIC ART
$2 off Museum Admission
15% OFF any one item in the museum store

2009 America's Favorite Cities Survey

Travel + Leisure magazine wants to know what five cities from the list below you'd like to see added to their 2009 America's Favorite Cities survey coming in June:

Memphis
Anchorage
Baltimore
Cleveland
Detroit
Houston
Kansas City
Providence
Salt Lake City
St. Louis

Go to http://www.travelandleisure.com/specialfeatures to vote for your 5 picks out of the 10 by May 15.

Then, on June 1st, people will have a chance to rate the 30 top US cities based on criteria such as culture, nightlife and dining. By the way, the 2008 Favorite City survey was narrowed down to Boston and San Francisco with Boston prevailing as the winner.

Back to the Main Street Mall Conundrum; Flight Opens Tomorrow

The Commercial Appeal ran a story today about upcoming recommendations for improving the pedestrian stretch of Main Street in the core of downtown to attract more businesses and shoppers. The recommendations, which may include arguments for a return to vehicular traffic, are to be presented to the Center City Commission next month. Click here to read the full article: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/apr/12/focus-main-street-mall-changes-afoot/

Where to begin? Which comes first, the shop or the shopper? Seems like a long road ahead.

Flight Restaurant and Wine Bar opens tomorrow, Monday, April 13th at 5pm. Flight is at the corner of Main and Monroe in the Brodnax Building. They will be open for dinner only until the latter part of the month when they plan to start serving lunch. A "flight" is a sample of three items. For example, the soup flight consists of French onion, seafood gumbo and lobster bisque, the seafood flight is shrimp, lobster and scallops and the feathered flight is chicken, quail and duck. From the menu it appears you can order a flight or a full portion of any single item. The wine flights are divided into 7 red wine flights and 7 white wine flights but they have bottles as well. Go to www.flightmemphis.com to see their menus.

A Cocktail for Your Friday

Dear Readers,
Some of you may have had a hard week in which case you may need a drink to soothe your nerves. Some may have had a great week in which case you may need a drink to celebrate. Some of you may have had an ordinary week in which case you may need a drink for inspiration. Whatever the case is, I have the drink for you. And if you don't like it then I'll have the drink for you. This is something I made just messing around with what I had on hand, though I'm sure somewhere someone has done this before. It's probably got some kind of Rat Pack-esque name like Orange Flamingo or Lemon Sweetart. You'll have to punt on the measurements and give it your own name.

Orange juice (mainly)
Vodka (a shot)
Limoncello (a shot)
Lime juice (a splash)
Garnish with a fat strawberry

It's light and refreshing, perfect for spring.

As a random yet related sidenote, one of my favorite lines from a movie is:
"Well, I don't want to be rude, but, ah, may I have a drink? I had three or four before I got here, but they're beginning to wear off, and you know how that is."
-from "The Awful Truth"

Beignets is Open, Really; Rooftop Parties Tonight

Beignets is now truly open, I know this because I had lunch there today. Pictured below are not long, skinny, orange beignets but rather the sweet potato fries that were great. I also had a muffaletta and my friend had a veggie sandwich which she said was very good. The place is really cozy with little seating areas scattered throughout, an upstairs seating area and a patio. You order at the counter and a server delivers the food to your table. They also have a cooler by the counter full of prepared meals that you can grab and take to go if you're short on time - great idea. They have wireless as well. I'll get around to coffee and beignets soon. They are at 124 East G.E. Patterson.

As I mentioned earlier this week, tonight kicks off the season of Thursday night rooftop parties at the Peabody Hotel and the Madison Hotel. I haven't been to a rooftop party in quite a while mainly because my rooftop has a view of both the Madison and the Peabody rooftops. I get both parties in stereo plus I can drink the discounted wine I bought from the Corkscrew on Tuesday on my roof for free. Cheapskate, I know. And missing the point on top of that. I'll try to go to some rooftop parties this season.

See the Center City Commission's website for a long list of events, including the rooftop parties, happening this weekend and through next week: http://www.downtownmemphis.com/domain/news/html/thisweek.html

Frix-Jennings and Coffee on My Block; Indie Memphis Micro Cinema

Back in July I wrote about 59 S. Main between Monroe and Union being renovated into a mixed use building. It will house a doctor's clinic and coffee shop on the ground floor and four apartments on the upper floors. According to a brief in the Memphis News, the clinic will be complete in 8 weeks and the coffee shop and apartments are scheduled to be complete in the summer. I am looking forward to having a coffee shop nearby again.

Last night I went to the Indie Memphis Micro Cinema Club's 50th screening. They showed 11 short films and this was the first time I have been. Where have I been?? It was really interesting and the films were diverse in subject matter and style. There were four or five I liked very much which pleasantly surprised me. I will definitely be going back for their monthly screenings at Power House. Here is their micro cinema schedule for the next couple of months:

May 13 - Micro Cinema #51: CHILEAN SHORTS @ Power House Memphis
June 10 - Micro Cinema #52: T.B.A. @ Power House Memphis

One of my favorite films from last night was called "Force 1 TD" by Randy Krallman. It was a comedy about three friends who go on a search for some special sneakers for a guide horse. One of the guys is blind and he has a guide horse named Carmine who has to be appropriately shod! If you click on this Sundance link: http://www.sundance.org/festival/shorts/dto.asp and scroll down a bit, you can watch it or download it on iTunes, Netflix or Xbox.


For the heck of it, here's some info on miniature guide horses:
http://www.guidehorse.org/

Jay Etkin Gallery Has Moved; Indie Memphis Micro Cinema Club #50; Brown Bag Lunch Series; Redbirds Baseball

Jay Etkin Gallery recently moved from it's location at 409 S. Main to 484 Union. That corner at Huling seems very empty now without the African wooden masks and sculptures staring out onto Main. This very large gallery full of ethnographic and contemporary art was always one of my stops during trolley tours.

Indie Memphis Micro Cinema Club is celebrating their 50th screening tonight at the Power House, 45 G.E. Patterson, 7:30pm. The club shows films monthly and to mark their 50th they will be showing nine short films by US and Canadian filmmakers. Admission is free but donations are appreciated.

The Center for Southern Folklore continues their free Brown Bag Lunch concerts this Thursday and Friday in the Folklore Store, 123 S. Main:
Thursday, April 9, 12:00 noon Bluff City Backsliders
Friday, April 10, 12:00 noon Burning Down Doyle

The Redbirds regular season home opener is tomorrow night and they will play home games in our beautiful AutoZone Park every day through next Thursday the 16th. Most of the games are in the evening but there are a couple of afternoon games as well. AutoZone Park was recently listed as the #1 minor league ballpark by Baseball America.

Tuesday Specials, Beignets Update, Steeplechase 5K, Cossitt Library

Tuesday is becoming quite the day for deals around downtown. Of course, my favorite deal is Ladies Day at the Corkscrew when all wine is 10% off.

On Harbor Town, Movie & Pizza Company offers all their pasta dinners for $7.99 on Tuesday nights. They also have a Monday night special which is $10 for a large single topping pizza. 901-527-2233. I had to get a picture of that cool car parked in front of Movie & Pizza.

Cordelia's Table at Miss Cordelia's offers $10 dinners on Tuesdays as well.


Beignets restaurant on G.E. Patterson did not open yesterday as expected but they had this little sign out on the sidewalk saying they will be open in two weeks.

The Steeplechase 5K at St. Mary's Catholic Church downtown will be Saturday, April 25th at 10 am. This church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and proceeds go to the church's building and steeple restoration fund.

The Cossitt Library at 33 S. Front is currently closed for renovations. I hope that work extends to the "reflecting pool" in front. Quotation marks were necessary.

Bardog Brunch

Add Bardog at 73 Monroe to the brunch list from an earlier post!: