Merrymaking in Midtown 4/26-28

It’s the weekend, and there is plenty to do!

Cooper-Young Community Yardsale

This Saturday is the annual Cooper-Young Community Yard Sale! It will be from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and is rain or shine. Don’t forget to stop at the ATM. For a list of houses participating, check the Facebook event.

Bristerfest

Support GrowMemphis by attending this awesome festival Saturday and Sunday. It is chock full of music, food, and fun. Pre-sale tickets are $25, and $30 the day of. Kids under 10 are free!

Get the full details and buy tickets here.

On Location: Memphis

This weekend-long film festival showcases independent films from around the world. Hop over to several Malco locations, including Studio on the Square, to see the films.

Tickets, times, and locations vary, so check out the website for details.

Cooper-Young Mural Project

Come out Sunday to the McLean underpass between York and Evelyn to help local artist Carl E. Moore paint a mural. This is part of the Cooper-Young Mural Project to help clean up two underpasses in Midtown. What a fun way to give back to your community!

Beer Tastings on Friday

Memphis Beer Week is wrapping up, but not without lots of great tastings over the weekend. Fuzzy Brew, an awesome local blog for home-brewers, has a list of all the tastings and events in Memphis. Here are the ones in Midtown:

Young Avenue Deli — Abita Firkin Night, featuring a Juniper Pale Ale firkin, from 6-9 p.m.

Cash Saver — Yazoo in-store tasting event, 4-6 p.m. Yazoo growlers will be sold to-go.

Boscos – Happy hour tapping of Memphis Amber Ale cask.

Joe’s Wines & Liquors – Abita Beer tasting, 4-6 p.m.

I’m sure there are other great things happening this weekend. If you have an event and want to share it, fill out the calendar form on the calendar page of the blog so I can add it!

If you take some awesome pictures of things you’re doing around 38104, I’d love to feature them. Just email them to heckyeahmidtown@gmail.com with a short description and any credit details you want included!

Update on the Blog

Hi all three of you that have probably actually looked at this!

I just want to make it known that I plan on building this blog up over the Summer into a great resource for Midtowners. Blogging is a slow, delicate process as I’ve learned, but I will make this happen. 

If you have an event going on, please send it my way via the calendar form so I can put it in the calendar!

-Hannah

Take the Pledge

Midtown businesses, this post is for you.

I am issuing you a challenge.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to take the Breastfeeding Welcomed Here pledge.

What does breastfeeding have to do with me, you ask?

Well, Memphis has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the country, though thankfully it’s declining. Breastfeeding is a major factor in improving that rate.

“How is taking a pledge going to help that?” you may be asking yourself.

Nursing mothers are often asked to leave or go to the bathroom to feed their babies. They don’t want to make a spectacle, and they certainly aren’t trying to put on a show. Many of them wear layers so they can be as discreet as possible.

Enter: you, left stage. By taking the pledge you are helping normalize the biological act of feeding a baby. You’re letting families know that you are responsible enough to know the law, which states mothers may breastfeed wherever they are authorized to be (TCA 68-58-10). We need to be encouraging more mothers to breastfeed, and this is one way to make a collective, societal change.

So as not to be redundant, I will direct you to Eat Well, Play More Tennessee’s website! Just click through to this link for more information, FAQs, and the pledge form.

If you’ve made it this far into this post, then I think you deserve to be in on a little secret. Memphis has two very active groups on Facebook, one dedicated specifically to breastfeeding support, the other to natural-minded families. The breastfeeding group has just under 500 members, and the other has more than 600. If I had a business, I’d want in on a that action.

I hope you consider the benefits of taking the pledge. If you do, I’d love to know about it in the comments!

Heck Yeah Midtown, a promo video

I made this video to represent some of the awesome things about Midtown. #heckyeahmidtown

Chalk Festival at The Brooks Museum of Art

The Brooks Museum of Art did not disappoint Spring Breakers wanting to soak up the sunshine. Hundreds gathered Thursday to create a mosaic of chalk art in the museum’s Chalk Festival. There was music. There were food trucks. There was creativity. There were little ones tapping away at the pavement, and seasoned artists showcasing their talents by recreating paintings from exhibitions currently at the museum. I recognized recreations from Angels & Tomboys: Girlhood in the 19th Century, on display until May 12th, and Romare Bearden: A Black Odyssey on display until April 28th.

“Kept In” originally by Edward Lamson Henry drawn with chalk by an artist at the Chalk Festival

A recreation of “Circe” by Romare Bearden

Abbott Handerson Thayer’s “Angel” as interpreted by Eva Langsdon using chalk and pavement.

Whoever drew this won over every kid that noticed it, which I would bet was probably all of them. They had to jump in it multiple times.

“Fanny Travis Cochran,” originally by Cecilia Beaux, recreated with chalk by RahLeeCoh Ishakara. His work can be found at rahleecohfineart.blogspot.com

I choose you!

Photo of the week

Two sweet girls at our awesome zoo enjoying the sea lions. Membership: $99 Experience: Priceless

If you get some cool pictures around Midtown, send them my way along with any credit information you’d like to include!

Inaugural Post

Hi!

Welcome to Heck Yeah Midtown. Introductions are kind of awkward for everyone, so I’ll keep it short.

My name is Hannah and I live in Midtown with my family. We’ve lived in several other parts of Memphis, but found ourselves always gravitating back to Midtown.

There is so much to love about Midtown, and I want to showcase it. If you’re a Midtowner, or just love Midtown, leave a comment telling me why you love the 38104! I welcome any and all suggestions on people, places, and things to feature.

Til next time,

Hannah