Photography by Patrick Fore on Unsplash
St. Patrick’s Day at Celtic Crossing
Celtic Crossing Irish Pub
Friday, March 17, 9 a.m. – 2 a.m.
I made a grave error this week while grocery shopping — the gravest of errors, in fact, when purchasing the cheddar cheese for all the grilled cheeses I was planning to make myself this week. Turns out, the pack of delightfully orange slices I selected was neither cheddar nor cheese; I had (mistakenly and ignorantly) taken the label “Cheddar Cheese Style” to mean fancy cheddar, as in, Oh yeah, I love that cheddar cheese style you got going on. But, alas, it was vegan, made of cashews.
I gave it a nibble, though, a try, thinking maybe it wouldn’t be that bad. It was terrible. Horrible. No good. Very Bad. No offense to the vegans out there, but it was so bad that upon consuming the fraudulent cheese purchased in the dairy aisle, I looked above to the heavens (and below, too, for good measure) and cursed my Irish ancestors for bestowing upon me none of the signature luck of the Irish. Why me? Why was I so unlucky in cheese? Have I done something to offend them? Surely not, but maybe it’s time to turn my prayers to St. Patrick, the patron saint of the homeland, and what better way than going to celebrate his day out in the streets of Memphis.
One such celebration can be found at Celtic Crossing on Friday. The pub opens at 9 a.m., an hour before Cooper-Young’s St. Patty’s Day parade kicks off with the theme of Irish Heroes, so you’ll have a front-row seat. Then, from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. guests can enjoy musical entertainment by Crossing Chunes, Bluff City Backsliders, Shakermaker, Twin Soul, and DJ Tree. Plus, the Memphis Pipes Band bagpipers, dressed in their best kilts, will be performing throughout the day, and Irish dancers will take to the stage at 6 p.m. Cover charge is $10 starting at 2 p.m.
Photography by Alex Litvin on Unsplash
St. Patrick’s Day S**TFEST: Leprechaun in the Hood & Leprechaun in Space
Black Lodge
Friday, March 17, 6 p.m.
Luck is great, if you can get your hands on it, but some of us — like those who accidentally buy vegan cheese — aren’t so … lucky, for lack of a better term (or maybe I’m lazy and unlucky). But one thing the unlucky can do is guard themselves against chance, and this Friday that means wearing green because you don’t want to risk a leprechaun coming in hot to pinch you. (If you aren’t familiar with the myth, as kids.nationalgeographic.com explains (a fitting source because you should’ve learned this as a kid), wearing green makes you invisible to the leprechauns, who just want to go around pinching people because they’re annoying little bastards.)
And, hey, if you want to tempt fate and risk physical harm from a leprechaun, that’s your problem, but you might want to give the Leprechaun series a viewing. They’re terrible movies, but they get the point across: Leprechauns suck. So go ahead and join Black Lodge as they screen Leprechaun in the Hood (6 p.m.) and Leprechaun in Space (7 p.m.). The screening is part of the Lodge’s S**TFEST series, so expect razzing, riffing, mocking, and drunken yelling at the screen (it’s encouraged). The event is free to all and 18+. Specialty drinks will be available for purchase.
Stick around the Lodge afterward for a St. Patrick’s Day dance party with Memphis Dub Step Alliance, 9:30 p.m. - 3 a.m.
Jeghetto’s Puppet Invasion
Beale Street | Saturday, March 18, 11 a.m.
Fourth Bluff Park | Saturday, March 18, 1:30 p.m. & 3 p.m.
Every now and then as I contemplate fate and luck, I’ll have this question if fate is our puppet-master, if there’s no free will but instead only chance. Just kidding, I don’t really have these philosophical considerations going on in my noggin, but I wanted a smooth transition to our next event in this list and luck wasn’t on my side when it came to coming up with something better than that opening line. So anyways … puppets … they’re coming to Memphis, and a man named Jeghetto is bringing them.
Well, actually, the man’s name is Tarish Pipkins, but as a self-taught puppet-maker, he goes by Jeghetto. His puppets have been in a Missy Elliot video, in an Alexa Super Bowl ad, and at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Duke University. This week, thanks to Memphis Public Libraries, he’s been working with high school students in Memphis, teaching them to make their very own puppets that’ll parade down Beale with the Lucky 7 Brass Band, Saturday at 11 a.m.
After the parade, you can catch Jeghetto and his puppets in a free puppet show, with show times at 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. at Fourth Bluff Park.
Photography by Tad Lauritzen Wright
Artist Trading Cards Memphis (ATCM) Inaugural Event
Wiseacre Brewing Company
Sunday, March 19, 2-5 p.m.
The luck of the Irish might not be with you, or with me, but you don’t need luck to get a pretty gosh darn cool trading card this weekend. And, no, we’re not talking baseball cards or Pokemon cards — you can be unlucky with those, not that I would know, seeing I’ve never collected them, but a girl can assume, can’t she? Anyways, the cards I’m talking about are small, original pieces of art by local and international (!) artists. You’ll be able to purchase cards individually or in packs, sight-unseen or sight-seen (?) — all at affordable prices. You can even trade cards, including your own 2.5”x3.5” artwork if you have some at the ready. Some packs will even come with “golden tickets” that’ll get you a full-size piece of art if you’re so lucky. No matter what, you’re guaranteed to leave with something pretty gosh darn cool. So don’t miss out!
Participating artists include Michelle Fair, Keiko Gonzalez, Mary Jo Karimnia, Tad Lauritzen Wright, Sara Moseley, Alex Paulus, Nick Pena, and Matias Paradela.
Photography courtesy Harmonia Rosales
Beyond the Peonies by Harmonia Rosales
“Harmonia Rosales: Master Narrative”
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art
On display through June 25
You know who does make me feel like the luckiest girl in the world, especially when I can’t rely on my Irish ancestors to pass down their God-given luck? The Brooks, especially on Saturdays at 10 a.m.-noon when admission is free, and what better way to spend that lucky block of time making your way through Harmonia Rosales’ “Master Narrative,” the latest exhibition to open at the museum.
Rosales challenges Eurocentric ideals by seamlessly entwining the tales and characters of the Afro-Cuban Lucumí religion, Greco-Roman mythology, and Christianity — all in the style of Renaissance masters. More than 20 paintings are simply breath-taking and a must-see. The exhibit closes on June 25th, so you have time to see it every weekend and weekday between now and then.
