Five Things To Do In Memphis This Weekend

A weekend for the lucky and unlucky.

An Evening with Chef Eli and Friends

Cossitt Library

Friday, March 14, 7 p.m.

This weekend is a weekend of nonsense. Friday is Pi Day. Saturday is the Ides of March but also Everything You Think Is Wrong Day. Then Sunday is my uncle’s birthday which has no relevance to you and hardly any relevance to me (don’t tell Pimie — don’t ask me how we got to that nickname for my mother’s brother), but it’s also Everything You Do Is Right Day (definitely don’t tell Pimie). Then Monday is St. Patrick’s Day. 

But with Pi Day so close on the horizon all I can think about is good food (i.e. pie, but I’m not super into pie), which is why this Thing To Do is probably top of mind. For this night, organized by Mid-South Pride, chef Eli will be joined by Memphis area chefs (chef Kelly English, chef Katina Johnson, chef Lenard, chef Marco, chef Mo, chef Tam, and Table Pleasers) in presenting an array of dishes, while the city’s most beloved drag artists perform. General admission includes food, entertainment, and two drink tickets, and costs $50. Tickets can be purchased here. 

The Fast & The Furriest 5K

Shelby Farms Park

Saturday, March 15, 8 a.m.

Ah, the Ides of March. We came, we saw, we killed Caesar. I guess, we didn’t. At least, I didn’t. I don’t know about you, though; you might be some wayyyyyy old person. 

This weekend, I suggest you conquer Humane Society of Memphis & Shelby County’s The Fast & The Furriest 5K. You can walk; you can run; you can bring your dog. Dress up in green because this is St. Patrick’s Day-themed, not Ides of March. Register here. 

52nd Annual Silky Sullivan St. Patrick’s Parade

Beale Street

Saturday, March 15, 2 p.m.

The concept of Everything You Think Is Wrong Day is making me want to unravel the ridges of my brain and pull them out through my ears. I need to find a loophole, but if I think I’ve found a loophole on the day of, then I haven’t because everything I think is wrong on Saturday. And it’s like Opposite Day in kindergarten all over again. No thank you. This is the work of the devil or a leprechaun. The two aren’t that far apart — I learned that in kindergarten when the leprechaun tore up our classroom after recess and flipped chairs over our desks and threw our construction paper about. Markers were out of rainbow order. It was a nightmare. 

Hopefully, this St. Patrick’s Day won’t be nightmarish, especially as the 52nd Annual Silky Sullivan St. Patrick’s Parade rolls down Beale on Everything You Think Is Wrong Day. This year, Tony Allen, who will be having his jersey retired that night at the Grizzlies game, will be crowned as Silky’s first Irish Grindfather. Marching bands, steppers, twirlers, floats, and all sort of sights will be part of the fun.

Scheherazade and Butterfly Lovers Concerto

Cannon Center for the Performing Arts | Saturday, March 15, 7:30 p.m.

Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center | Sunday, March 16, 2:30 p.m.

The concept of Everything You Do Is Right Day is dangerous. Some people don’t need that kind of thinking in their lives. Like the king in One Thousand and One Nights who went about killing all his wives because he hated women — up until he meets Scheherazade, who tells him stories over the course of 1,001 nights, stopping halfway through each night, delaying her slaying until he falls in love with her. Yeah, that guy doesn’t need to be told he can do no wrong. 

Scheherazade did do a lot right, though, and she’s been memorialized in Rimsky-Korsakov’s symphonic suite, which the Memphis Symphony Orchestra will perform this weekend. Afterward, Timothy Chooi takes center stage in Butterfly Lovers Concerto, a poignant tale of love and tragedy, blending Western virtuosity with Eastern tradition.

Purchase tickets here. 

Beauty and the Beast

Theatre Memphis

Through March 30

I don’t need a seemingly made-up holiday to segue into this Thing To Do. It's a tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme; it’s Beauty and the Beast. There’s not much more for me to say, other than to get your tickets ($38.25) here. 

Performances are Thursdays to Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m., through March 30.