Five Things To Do In Memphis This Weekend

This weekend will be full of 🎄🎸🎭🛶📚.

by

Don’t Hydroplane

TheatreWorks @ The Square

Performances Friday, July 7 – 23

Let’s play a game! Can you guess the event I’m suggesting based on a sequence of emojis?!? (Please don’t peek at the subheadings unless you want to cheat, you cheater.) Peep your first emoji clue above!

Oooooh, car + rain + SCREAMING + thumbs-down — oh, what could that mean? Don’t Hydroplane, of course! But don’t worry, we give this production a thumbs-up! As winner of the 2022 NewWorks@TheWorks Playwriting Competition, this comedy written by Bryan Curtis follows two sisters as they navigate the difficult task of finding a final resting place for their loved one. Need I say more?

Don’t Hydroplane runs July 7th through July 23rd with performances Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.. For tickets ($25), call the Box Office at (901) 726-4656 or buy them here. The Pay-What-You-Can performance is Thursday, July 13th.

Christmas in July - First Fridays on Broad

Broad Avenue Arts District

Friday, July 7, 5 – 8 p.m.

I’m sure all you emoji decoders out there figured this one lickity-split, and I’m sure all you cheaters just read the subheading that tells you the answer. Tsk-tsk. Could I just not include the subheading? Sure, but where’s the fun in that? I like adding that extra bit of accountability, that extra test of your willpower. My guess is that you might lack it — just don’t be shocked if Santa adds you to the naughty list, but at least, you’ll have six months to make up for it. 

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s get on to the main event of this here blurb: It’s Christmas in July on Broad Avenue. That means specialty-themed products, treats, and discounts at participating shops, like Falling Into Place, Sugar Ghost Ice Cream and Bubble Tea, Memphis Current, Whitney Winkler Art Studio, Vice by Kathleen, Everbloom, ARTVISION Gallery, Greenline Landscape Services, and more! 

Canoes + Cocktails at Shelby Farms Park

Hyde Lake at Shelby Farms Park

Friday, July 7, 7 p.m.

The emojis speak for themselves. Canoes, cocktails, sunset — what more do you want from an evening on Hyde Lake? Rent a canoe, kayak, or bring your own boat to enjoy the best views of the Memphis sunset with a guided paddle. Snacks, specialty cocktails provided by Old Dominick Distillery, yard games, and more will follow. Canoes don’t float your boat? That’s a-okay! You can purchase a “Social Only” ticket and enjoy the fun that happens after the guided paddle. 

Tickets and boat rentals can be purchased here. Shelby Farms Park’s Canoes + Cocktails occurs every Friday this summer. 

The Way They Play

Museum of Science & History

Saturday, July 8, 1:30 p.m.

If any of these emojis pop up in your most recent emoji list, you, my friend, gotta attend MoSH’s “The Way They Play.” Honestly, if you haven’t ever used any of these emoji, you should attend MoSH’s “The Way They Play” — because after this event all you’ll be thinking about is 🎸🎶🧑‍🎤. 

The event, which is in conjunction with MoSH’s “America at the Crossroads: The Guitar and a Changing Nation” and “Grind City Picks: The Music That Made Memphis,” spotlights special guest musicians in discussions and demonstrations of iconic styles, tricks, techniques and quirks every second Saturday of the month during the exhibitions’ run. This month’s special guest is Albert King Jr. and you won’t want to miss his appearance as he spills the secrets to his craft. 

Admission to “The Way They Play” is included in general admission.

Authors Panel: Malfunction Junction Vol. 2

Novel

Saturday, July 8, 2 p.m.

Twelve authors, one book — the result? Malfunction Junction Vol. 2. The full title is Malfunction Junction Vol. 2.: Close Encounters of the Third Street Kind, and the anthology of short stories written by several local authors centers around encounters set in the Memphis and Mid-South. For the anthology’s release, Novel will host an authors panel with eight of the writers, who will also autograph copies of their book: K.D. Barnes, Rikki Boyce, Michael Chewning, Will Hagan, Rae Harding, Daniel Reece, Justin Siebert, and Imogean Webb.