Please tell me about some of the good things going on in Memphis.
Dave Cooley
Good things going on in Memphis? I’m glad you asked!
On the “banks of the river,” as Lt. George W. Lee said,
things are shaping up nicely. Stupendously might be a more apt term just now. Consider:
- 1 ESPN this week named the Memphis Grizzlies as the Best Sports Franchise in the nation. Not best in the Midsouth or best farm club or any other qualifier. Just Best. And that makes perfect sense in terms of what the team does to unite and lift spirits in our town. Glad ESPN took notice.
- 2 We’re getting ready to walk across the Mississippi on a very nice, 14’ wide walkway attached to the old Harahan Bridge. Talk about the best view of the river – try smack dab in the middle. And so much easier to navigate than the arch thing upstream. I predict this walkway will be a regional tourism magnet that way Graceland is on a national level.
- Overton Square is unrecognizable! Coming back or perhaps better described as reinvented in a whole new, fabulous way – great restaurants, a theater district, and a much need parking garage. And just minutes via car, bike, or foot from the thriving restaurant district in Cooper-Young.
- The tiny, old, and beloved Seessel’s on Union is poised to become an expansive, up-to-date Kroger with enough parking to decrease a trip to the grocery by about 95%.
- The Levitt Shell is offering top quality, safe, clean, fun entertainment in Overton Park – and did I mention free? – to the tune of about 50 concerts a year.
- The Greenline is a re-purposed railroad line which makes walking, running, or biking from Tillman to Shelby Farms downright fun! Full of people all the time.
- Two dog parks. A skate park. Shelby Farms Park Conservancy. Overton Park Conservancy.
- About a dozen great ways for young professionals to get engaged in the community, from the Community Foundation’s brilliant Give 365 group to Young at Art at the Dixon and many more beside.
- Opera Memphis has virtually reinvented the art form as smart, sassy, and fun with a great regular season, something called 30 Days of Opera which is way too much fun to describe in this short space, and a Midtown Opera Festival that is cutting edge in the nation.
- We’ve had two mayors for some time, we now have to Fairs – Mid-South and Delta. And more festivals than you can shake a pronto pup at – Stone Soul Picnic, Cooper-Young Fest, RiverArts Fest, Carr Ave Fourth of July, Pink Palace Crafts Fair, Mid-South Music & Heritage Festival, and more.
- Music is celebrated regularly with the new Memphis Music Hall of Fame, a coming Blues Foundation museum, everything from films to student recitals at Stax Museum/Stax Museum Academy, the Beale Street Brass Note Walk of Fame, the International Blues Challenge.
- And our people who give and lead continue to make this city great – from the Crystal Awards for philanthropy from the Association of Fundraising Professionals to great panel luncheons from the New Memphis Institute to grassroots initiatives of all sorts made possible by people with ideas, guts, heart, and sweat equity. Memphis Fashion Week. Clean Memphis. Memphis Urban League Young Professionals. Phoenix Club. Carnival Memphis Children’s Charity Initiative. Church Health Center’s national replication workshops. Indie Memphis film festival. On Location Memphis film festival. Visible Music College.
And that is approximately the tip of the iceberg. New ideas, old initiatives revamped, traditions honored, new traditions begun. Business as usual for a town that looks inward
for inspiration and always finds a way.
