Month Long Memphis in May Festival

Come spring, everyone in Memphis is knocking down the doors of all the nurseries and garden shops. Home Depot is swarming with crowds in for plants, sprays, and all sorts of home improvement materials. It's time to get outdoors and we all await with anticipation all the great activities that are coming up in Memphis in May, a month-long celebration of a single country and life in the south itself. This year, the featured country is Spain.

What is the real purpose of this festival? The overall promotion of the city is its main focus. MIM generates around $30 million in economic impact. It also fosters international relationships between countries. As the city's largest largest consumer event hands down, it promotes tourism on a major scale. In other words, it gets the city on the map and introduces it to people who might want to relocate here or who might want to make future visits. A 501-C (3) corporation, MIM pumps all of its money into its staff and back into the community. Contact the web site for phone numbers and to ask about schedules.

Now for a little about the schedule--all during the month there are lecture programs, chef demonstrations, exhibits and performances at many different venues throughout the city. For instance, at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts on Friday evening, May 11, the most talented flamenco dancers backed by the Spanish musicians of the famous Casa Patas, will perform on stage to audiences who pay just $11 to take part. Chef samplings will be offered between performances too. What a bargain! Exhibits are still being finalized, so check back to see the lineup of those. MIM also sponsors the 15-member student exchange with host families in Spain and pays for their expense round trip to travel by air. The chef demonstrations have not completed scheduling, but the feature dish will be Spanish tapas and usual venues are at the musicfests and at various pubs and other locations around town. Mmmm.

The kickoff for MIM every year is the Beale St. Music Fest, which is fundamentally a celebration of the music and culture of the city, especially the blues. It opens up this year with the outdoor stages, May 4-6, offering three days of music right on the banks of the Mississippi in downtown Memphis. Blues, rock, gospel, R&B and a bit of jazz pours forth from some of the most famous performers in the business. Jerry Lee Lewis, Steely-Dan, the Barkays, the Almand Brothers and Bobby Blue Bland are just some of the major headliners playing this year. It is crucial to get early tickets to this event because it sells out early every year!

Next, mid-month, the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest takes place at Tom Lee Park, again on the banks of the Mississippi. This year the event will be May 17-19. Anyone who has been to Memphis knows that barbecue is our middle name here. This event has grown from a small gathering of cooks to what is today the world's largest barbecue contest, drawing contestants from all over the entire world. It's tremendous. One world of caution--though there are huge tents and small private tents of the cookers, if it rains, watch out! Tom Lee becomes a big mud hole. Those planning on attending should bring appropriate shoes, because for some reason it usually does rain at least one day of the thee-day contest.

The Sunset Symphony winds down the MIM celebrations with a fantastic symphonic performance, once again, in Tom Lee Park, May 26. The rain date is May 27. This really is a heart-pounding experience. As the river flows by, the crowd is treated to fabulous symphonic classics, including the 1812 Overture, complete with cannon shots. Everyone cheers madly. Then at the first cannon shots, a huge display of fireworks explodes from barges off Mud Island. No matter how many times people see this, its thrill never goes away. Especially now, when our poor country is so divided politically, this event is one that makes us feel the love of country in a really emotional way.