Five Things To Do In Memphis This Weekend: June 10-12

With this heat wave, the dog days of summer are officially here, and so Blobby the dog (and thus an expert on how to spend these dog days) is at the ready to plan your weekend of hot air balloons, dance, food, and community.

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Bluff City Balloon Jamboree

Shelby Farms Park, 6903 Great View

Friday-Sunday, June 17-19, 4 p.m.-10 p.m.

My Abby — that’s my person — tells me I’m full of hot air, especially when I make a commotion whining for my share of her dinner, which by my internal clock calculations should begin after my eighth nap today. But I can’t help it — I have to use that hot air to my advantage, pushing it out with every whine so that it’ll reach the tips of her food and keep it warm for when she drops a bite into my mouth. Sometimes, it leaves me winded and I have to settle in for a ninth nap. Lucky for me, some hot air balloons are going to be available this weekend and I plan to get my paws on them so I can deflate them at my whining hour, instead of wasting my own personal hot air. And they say I’m not the brightest. … You run into one glass door and eat one bee and fall into one pool, and … oh, what’s that? That’s not what a hot air balloon is? Well doggone it. 

If you are down with hot air balloons that are not in fact utilized for warming food, you should head over to the Bluff City Balloon Jamboree, where you can hitch a hot air balloon tether ride or catch a hot air balloon Glow Show. There will also be a kids zone, food vendors, arts and craft vendors, and live music. Tickets ($25+) can be purchased here.

Summerdance

The Halloran Centre, 225 S. Main

Friday, June 17, 7:30 p.m.

I’m an agent of chaos and an agent of routine. How can those two things coexist? Well, I enforce my routine by invoking chaos. Dinner time? Run around the house and jump on every piece of furniture. Bye-bye time? Run around the house and jump on every piece of furniture. Outside time? Run around the house and jump on every piece of furniture. Treat time? Run around the house and jump on every piece of furniture. Could you call this an elaborate song and dance? No, I can neither sing nor can I dance. After all, I have two left feet (and two right ones). But you know who can dance, without invoking chaos? The New Ballet Ensemble.

This weekend New Ballet’s students and teaching artists will present their annual Summerdance production, featuring original works choreographed by international guest artists in an array of genres, including the introduction of traditional Congolese dance. Tickets ($15) can be purchased online. 

Memphis Vegan Festival

Pipkin Building, 940 Early Maxwell Blvd.

Saturday, June 18, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

My Abby insists that there’s people-food and there’s dog-food and then there’s that’s-not-food food, but I say that all food is good enough for Blobby. Fiber gummies? Put them in my tummy and charge the emergency vet bill to my mummy. A box of Cheez-Its? A chef’s kiss of pure bliss. Succulents? How opulent. You know what? I’d go plant-based for a taste of another one of those green and juicy suckers, topped with the perfect seasoning of potting soil. Mmmmm … Anyways, as someone who can hear a bag of chips being opened miles away, I also hear there’s a plant-based festival happening this weekend, but they probably won’t be serving succulents, a big mistake if you ask me. (And pets aren’t allowed, good grief.)

The festival will have 18 vegan vendors selling plant-based health and beauty products, 26 other shopping vendors, and six vegan food trucks. Carmen Hicks and J Buck are set to perform in the afternoon. Tickets are $15 at the gate, with $5 admission for kids ages 6-12 and free admission for kids 5 and under. Food trucks usually sell out by 4 p.m., so be sure to get there before then. Lawn chairs and picnic blankets are welcome.

Many Mansions Opening Reception

Tops Gallery at Madison Avenue Park, 151 Madison Avenue

Sunday, June 19, 2 p.m.-4 p.m.

At this point in time, my Abby has been gone for what seems like 400 years, off to something she calls “work,” but we both know I’m the one doing the work in this house. Who else is going to chase off the squirrels, eat unwanted bees, and lick the floor clean? She also says I don’t have an accurate concept of time, but that’s coming from someone who’s been gone for 439 years. Time really drags when you’re typing each letter with your nose, all alone in this house, for 504 years. 

Oh, well, I guess I’ll look out the window — it’s my favorite pastime, and I’d suggest you take it up. Now for beginners, I recommend looking inside windows first, just so you can get comfortable with ogling your neighbors all day. A great place to start: Tops Gallery at Madison Avenue Park. Right now, the gallery has Nancy Cheairs’ Many Mansions splayed out in the front window. Just peer in and stare at the single work of 50 canvases of houses. Once you become accustomed to the 2-D images, you can level up to the real thing and start looking out instead of looking in.

Many Mansions, which was created in 1984-1985, is full of color, which as a canine, I can’t fully appreciate. But Tops Gallery can, so take their word for it, not mine: “Begun intuitively, the repeated paintings revealed themselves as an idiosyncratic color wheel that invokes both the weather map as well as the calendar. Independently, the deeply-hued paintings describe domestic isolation in a domestic size but Many Mansions is more apt for a public context where communal viewing is unavoidable.” Join Tops in the opening reception for this piece on Sunday.

Juneteenth Family Reunion Festival

Orange Mound Tower, 2205 Lamar

Sunday, June 19, 5 p.m.- 11 p.m.

I might have a limited vocabulary, but my ability to understand my Abby’s tone is out of this world. I don’t know many people, but I imagine the louder the tone, the bigger the tone, the more impressive they are (and the less of an alpha dog I am). So for an organization to be named TONE (in all caps!) you just know they mean business and they’re about to do something so great that I can’t even describe how great it is because of my aforementioned limited vocabulary.

This weekend, TONE is hosting its second annual Family Reunion Festival in honor of Juneteenth on the grounds surrounding the Orange Mound Tower in America’s first Black neighborhood. This year’s festival will include food trucks, vendors, games, and live music. The packed setlist, headlined by rapper and Memphis native Duke Deuce, features the Memphis Youth Arts Initiative Drumline, Mante Carlo, Bodywerk, Talibah Safiya, Texas Warehouse, Hitkidd, and Lukah. Admission is free. 

Other Juneteenth Happenings: 

Rhymes on the River: Juneteenth Poetry Slam: Poetry competition where the power of words meets the beauty of the Downtown riverfront. Comedian Rob Love hosts as the poets prepare for a three-round elimination poetry night in honor of Juneteenth. | Fourth Bluff Park, Friday, June 17, 7-10 p.m.

A Juneteenth Celebration featuring Callie Day: In celebration of Memphis Black Arts Alliance's 40th Anniversary as the leading black arts advocacy organization in Memphis, MBAA presents a very special 40th Anniversary and Juneteenth Concert with the dynamic gospel vocalist Callie Day with Prizm Ensemble at Christ Missionary Baptist Church. | Christ Missionary Baptist Church, Friday, June 17, 7 p.m.

Juneteenth Festival and Health Fair: Methodist LeBonheur Hospital and its partners will provide health screenings and vaccinations, and provide information for mental and physical wellness. | LeMoyne-Owen College, Saturday, June 18, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Juneteenth Feeding the Root GROWS Market: Feeding the Root will have locally grown produce, herbs, plants, food, yoga, and vibes! Stay for a farm-to-table plant-based lunch by Chef Araba from Araba's Cultured Kitchen. | 1551 Bridgewater, Saturday, June 18, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Juneteenth Arts Festival: 901 Celebrating Diversity: featuring gospel jazz saxophonist Dr. Alvin McKinney and many other special guest performers, local artists, small businesses, authors, and more. | Cordova Branch Library, Saturday, June 18, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Juneteenth Celebration at MoSH: Join MoSH for a value added experience for guests June 18th and 19th, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be Juneteenth carts out on the gallery floor as well as a special tour of the museum at 11 a.m. and 2pm. From 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. enjoy a one-of-a-kind musical performance by Ekpe Abioto in celebration of Juneteenth and Black Music Appreciation Month. The celebration will take place on the mezzanine and is included with the cost of exhibit admission. | Museum of Science & History, Saturday-Sunday, June 18-19, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

The Memphis Juneteenth Festival is held each year in Memphis during Father’s Day weekend for two fun-filled days, complet

e with eclectic music, choirs, entertainment, arts and crafts, food vendors , majorettes, dancers, steppers, cheerleaders, a car and bike show, activities for seniors and kids, and more. | Health Sciences Park, Saturday-Sunday, June 18-19

To mark this important day, Elmwood Cemetery is making all audio tours free for seven days, from June 19 until June 26. 

Juneteenth Shop Black Festival: The third annual Juneteenth Shop Black Festival features 100 Black businesses, 15 food trucks, and 10 food vendors, with a music lineup featuring Gerald Richardson, Carmen Hicks, and Courtney Little. Admission is $10. | Pipkin Building, Sunday, June 19, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

TriState Black Pride Weekend Music Festival: Featuring select artists from around the nation convening in Memphis Juneteenth Weekend. | Overton Park Shell, Sunday, June 19, 3-10:30 p.m.

Focused on Freedom Community Day: To extend the celebration of freedom during Juneteenth weekend, the National Civil Rights Museum is offering a FREE admission day with highlights, including the “Solidary Now!” and the “Poverty Today” special exhibitions. Normally closed on Tuesdays, the museum will be open on June 21 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The experience is an opportunity to learn about the Civil Rights Movement and to remember the sacrifices of generations past that made room for the freedoms enjoyed today. For more information about the museum’s extended Juneteenth weekend of activities, visit civilrightsmuseum.org. | National Civil Rights Museum, Tuesday, June 21, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.