PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY DCA
Fieldaze
Various locations
Friday-Sunday, November 5th-7th
Lace up your shoes, stretch out your muscles, and prepare for the most elaborate field day in Memphis with Fieldaze. The festival’s schedule for the weekend is stacked with activity after activity — from line-dance lessons to a walking tour of Elmwood Cemetery to social bike rides and kayaking. Headlining the weekend are the Peer Power BRX Half Marathon + 5K Race, the Huzzah! On the Harbor Kayak Race, and the Outdoors Inc. Grit & Grind Gravel Grinder Bike Race. (Thank goodness for the end of Daylight Savings Time this weekend; you’re going to want that extra hour of sleep after this fest!)
Home base for the weekend will be at Wiseacre Brewing Co., where you will be able to recharge and mingle with fellow field day enthusiasts. For a full schedule or to register, visit memphisadventures.com/fieldaze.
And of course, you can’t be active on an empty stomach, so luckily, Fieldaze coincides with Downtown Dining Week, where participating restaurants will offer specials priced at $20.21. For a full list of specials and participating restaurants, visit downtownmemphis.com.
photograph courtesy nikii richey
“A Come Apart”: Opening Reception
Medicine Factory, 85 W. Virginia
Friday, November 5th, 6-9 p.m.
Inspired by her relationship with her mother, Nikii Richey’s latest show of fabric and wire sculptures explores the relationship between trauma and the demand for beauty in spite of it. In each piece, Richey takes the comfort of old linens and pierces them with wire, often spraying the wire with vinegar to rust it before burning, ,waxing or dyeing the fabric in some way, creating a balance between damage, discomfort, comfort, and beauty. This is a show worth seeing, especially if you share in Richey’s memory of being a little girl having to sit still in too-tight shoes and a too-stiff dress.
“A Come Apart” will be on display at the Medicine Factory until November 28th, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Call 901-484-6154 for entry.
photo courtesy That Golden Girls Show - A Puppet Parody / Facebook
That Golden Girls Show!
Halloran Centre, 225 S. Main
Friday-Saturday, November 5th-6th, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 7th, 2:30 p.m.
Your favorite Golden Girls from Miami are back — this time on stage and in their Muppet glory. Even as puppets, Sophia, Rose, Blanche, and Dorothy are up to their usual hijinx, so prepare yourself for a night of cheesecake and quick-witted put-downs. Devoted fans will take pleasure in this felt-covered nostalgia with laughs galore, and for the first-timers these fans will inevitably drag along to the show, don’t worry — you’re in for a treat, too.
Tickets are $47.50 and can be purchased online.
photo courtesy Grind City Coffee/Facebook
Grind City Coffee Xpo
Wiseacre HQ, 398 South B.B. King
Saturday, November 6th, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Take a break from the work-week grind and revel in a different kind of grind at the Grind City Coffee Xpo, where you can learn all the secrets of blending that special elixir known for keeping many of us awake. Almost a dozen vendors will be there to provide your caffeinated fuel; two of them — Lina Premium Coffee and Boycott Coffee — are making their debut at the expo this year.
Tickets are $20-$35, depending on what time you choose to make your grand entrance. All proceeds benefit Protect Our Aquifer because, as the powers that be at Grind City Coffee say, “You can't have great coffee without great water.”
photo courtesy Memphis Japan Festival/Facebook
Memphis Japan Festival
Memphis Botanic Garden, 750 Cherry
Sunday, November 7th, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Have you heard the rumor that the folks at Memphis Botanic Garden have engineered a portal to Japan? Well, that rumor is false … mostly false. Thanks to the Japan-America Society of Tennessee, though, you can have a little Japanese staycation without having to pay for the airfare. (Entry to the festival is included in garden admission.)
While at the festival, enjoy tours of the Japanese Garden, bonsai displays and workshops, traditional Japanese martial arts demonstrations, sumo suit wrestling, talks about Japan and Japanese culture (including a lesson in Japanese and an introduction to manga drawing), and so much more. The event will take place outdoors, rain or shine.
