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I have to get off the internet. Besides the absolute drain on time — doomscrolling has become second nature — my feeds are overrun with AI. Busy AI event flyers, completely fabricated stories, profile photos that look nothing like the people they portray, groups and pages with more and more AI-written content. Folks are using ChatGPT to draft their emails for them. People are sharing AI-generated songs with AI-generated music videos as if they’re something special, not a single note performed or line drawn by a human. Every Google search provides an AI summary, which more often than not is incorrect (and meant to sway you). It’s becoming more difficult to find verifiable information, or confirm photos or stories are real.
And all of this comes at a cost many still aren’t comprehending. Your stupid AI photo, lazy event flyers, and soulless “music” are destroying the environment and depleting our water supply. I’ve written about how AI is making everyone dumber, and I stand by that. If you can’t write your own Facebook post, there is something wrong, and having a robot think for you won’t fix it. A lot of folks clearly don’t care about thinking, but they should very much care about breathing clean air and having water to drink.
As you’ll read in this week’s cover story by David Waters, Colossus used 25 million gallons of Memphis’ aquifer water in March alone. The going data suggests each AI search uses about a bottle of water, and each center uses a million or so gallons of water a day. On April 3, 2026, the supercomputer’s Grok chatbot posted on X: “At Colossus in Memphis, we’re using ~3 million gallons of treated municipal wastewater per day for cooling (via our new Colossus Water Recycle Plant, which went live recently). This fully offsets any aquifer draw.”
Within that same week, plans for construction of the wastewater recycling plant, which was originally announced in October 2025, were put on hold indefinitely.
There are in the neighborhood of 4,000 data centers operating or in progress in the U.S., making up nearly 50 percent of such facilities worldwide. In early May, Politico reported that a data center in Fayetteville, Georgia, drained 30 million gallons of drinking water without initially paying for it, with residents only becoming aware when their water pressure trickled. “… Officials discovered two industrial-scale water hookups feeding a data center campus located 20 miles south of downtown Atlanta. One water connection had been installed without the utility’s knowledge, and the other was not linked to the company’s account and therefore wasn’t being billed.” An hour away, Morgan County, Georgia, residents are reporting highly contaminated well water.
We have seen here in Memphis how quickly these centers move, how loose the regulations are, and how money is more important than community concerns or input. Citizens across the United States are fighting back. As I write this, on Tuesday, Monterey Park, California, was set to be the first city in the nation to vote on a permanent data center ban. And in Middle Tennessee, the city of McMinnville’s mayor requested a special meeting for Wednesday to consider a moratorium on such facilities, days after plans for a 96,000-square-foot Hixson Data Center there were announced.
Renowned activist Erin Brockovich has also joined the fight against data centers, saying in a recent episode of The Jim Acosta Show that communities are upset these projects have been “shoved down their throat in secrecy.”
And that’s what it feels like being online now. AI is being shoved down our throats at every turn; yes, sometimes in secrecy.
I have to get off the internet. But seeing as how that’s impossible with this job, at this time, in this technology-dependent world, I’m finding ways to quiet the noise. Besides turning off every AI tool, I downloaded the DuckDuckGo search engine, which offers an AI-free experience — and alerts you to the many internet trackers it blocks as you browse. It feels like the old internet — no AI summaries, no sponsored or algorithm-fueled search responses. Comparing results between this and Google was … astonishing. DuckDuckGo produced results I couldn’t replicate on Google — as if the latter was muffling info and shuffling what it wanted me to see to the top. I want to get off the internet. And while these centers muddy our waters, strain our power grid, and dirty our air, I’m disconnecting as much as I can. I dusted off my CDs to reduce Spotify use. Revisited my DVD collection to pivot from streaming. Purchased magazine subscriptions to feel the pages and sit with a human voice telling human stories rather than scrolling through whatever gibberish has crowded my screens. Nothing artificial here. I’m seeking real creativity, real heart, real intelligence in this increasingly artificial world. Join me. Shara Clark shara@memphisflyer.com
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THE fly-by
{WEEK THAT WAS
By Flyer staff
Memphis on the internet.
GUESS WHO?
POSTED TO REDDIT BY U/BUIUUMCUCNIUUM
The Memphis subreddit jumped on a meme asking which Memphis neighborhoods were personified in the image above. u/heyradio’s response got the most upvotes: “Cooper-Young, Raleigh, Collierville.”
“IMAGES OF TERROR”
Wine guru, writer, and all around bon vivant Fredric Koeppel elegantly and succinctly described on Facebook last week what so many feel when in the presence of the Memphis Safe Task Force.
“I was in a coffee shop yesterday afternoon with a few writer friends — The Memphis School! — when three ICE agents walked in.
“Apparently, one wanted a cup of coffee, innocent enough, but their mere presence, with their full load of black, shiny, ugly, dangerous equipment, and weapons, laid an atmosphere of foreboding and menace in the place. Conversation stopped.
“It’s not easy feeling comfortable around men whose reaction to you would be different if you were Hispanic or Somali or if they suspected you of somehow interfering with their business. Knowing what we know about their history over the past year or so.
“While these individuals may have been perfectly nice gentlemen in their regular lives, their uniforms, their attitudes, their knowledge that they instill fear in American citizens and non-citizens alike, make them images of terror. We were happy when they left.”
Questions, Answers + Attitude
Edited by Toby Sells
Redistricting, Mulroy, & Electric
Cars
Judges dimiss an NAACP lawsuit, Task Force pushback in court, and a plan for the next decade.
MAP CHALLENGE DISMISSED
A three-judge state panel on Tuesday dismissed a legal challenge to Tennessee’s redrawn congressional maps brought by the state chapter of the NAACP, its president, a state lawmaker, and a congressional candidate.
The unanimous decision by the court keeps intact, for now, a GOP-led redistricting process that carved majority-Black Memphis into three separate voting districts for the first time in 50 years in an effort to dismantle Tennessee’s sole Democraticleaning district.
MULROY SUES THE STATE
Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy filed an emergency lawsuit against the state last week to block two new laws he claims illegally interfere with his office in connection with cases coming from the federal Memphis Safe Task Force.
Mulroy contends the two measures, both signed into law May 7th by Republican Gov. Bill Lee, violate the state Constitution and longheld principles of “prosecutorial independence” by micromanaging the DA’s office and giving the state attorney general the authority to seek his replacement. He filed the lawsuit in Chancery Court in Memphis.
BLUE OVAL CITY
A subsidiary of South Korean battery manufacturer SK On took full ownership of the battery plant at BlueOval City in Stanton last week, marking an end to the company’s joint U.S. battery factory venture with Ford Motor Company.
The 4-million-square-foot West Tennessee battery plant located on Ford’s campus is now owned and operated by the newly formed SK On Tennessee. The company plans to produce automotive and energy storage systems at the plant starting in 2028.
YOUTH DEMAND STATE CHANGE
Youth Minds United (YMU), a youth-led advocacy organization in Memphis, wants the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) to better prioritize the safety of young people, and called for policy change and reform last week. YMU said the department’s current structure “further
harms young people by not ensuring their safety, diminishing the stories of youth, and prioritizing adults over the youth they are supposed to protect.”
DRIVE ELECTRIC
Drive Electric Tennessee (DET) has big plans for electric vehicle (EV) expansion in the next 10 years. By then, the group’s new “roadmap” wants 740,000 more consumer EVs on the road, 1,500 more medium- and heavy-duty trucks, 1,000 electric passenger vehicles (such as school buses and shuttle buses), 5,000 light-duty fleet EVs (such as delivery vans), and 22,000 charging stations added across Tennessee.
SPENDING AI MONEY
Conflicting community input continues to emerge as city officials grapple with the distribution of public funds from AI properties here.
An official in the mayor’s office said its survey showed residents want the money to be used for home repairs, weatherization, and public safety. Another survey issued by local environmental groups showed respondents were more concerned about water reuse/recycling and air monitoring, and wanted local jobs and training opportunities.
The Advisory Board Related to Public Use Funds from AI Properties has one meeting left before sending a formal budget proposal to the Memphis City Council for approval.
Tennessee Lookout contributed to this report. Visit the News Blog at memphisflyer.com for fuller versions of these stories and more local news.
PHOTO: CASSANDRA STEPHENSON | TENNESSEE LOOKOUT
Redistricting plaintiff Gloria Sweet-Love, president of the Tennessee chapter of the NAACP, during a recent special legislative session
POSTED TO FACEBOOK BY FREDRIC KOEPPEL
{ CITY REPORTER
By Kailynn Johsnon
MATA Back
Mayor Paul Young plans to fill transportation board in September following a mass resignation last year.
City officials plan to reinstate the Memphis Area Transit Authority’s (MATA) Board of Commissioners by September.
A spokesperson for the city of Memphis confirmed that Memphis Mayor Paul Young plans to reappoint the board almost a year after a majority of its members resigned.
That mass resignation followed the appointment of a trustee to oversee MATA in 2025, which resulted in the cancellation of plans to interview candidates for a new CEO to head the transit agency. Currently, MATA’s website lists only three members on its board, which advocates say does not constitute a quorum.
MATA has reported to the city council to provide updates on transit operations under the leadership of city trustee Rodrick Holmes. Holmes was also announced as interim CEO, with city of Memphis financial officer Walter Person appointed trustee for financial oversight.
May 4th. They also called on Young to appoint a new board before the changes are made permanent due to concerns regarding the city’s charter.
According to the charter, the MATA board has control over routes and bus schedules.
Transit advocates have been vocal about change at the agency, and have looked to Young and the Memphis City Council to hold MATA accountable during the board’s absence. Several organizers and riders attended last Tuesday’s meeting of the Memphis City Council to voice their concerns and asked for more investments for the agency.
Cynthia Bailey, who is still listed as a MATA commissioner on the agency’s website, spoke to the council on behalf of bus riders. Bailey voiced rider concerns regarding leadership and new buses, and told the council that she “strongly” disagreed with the new service changes.
This announcement came a day after Young met with public transit advocates about the agency’s service adjustments, appointments to the board, and other issues facing bus riders.
Questions on the status of MATA’s board began to resurface when the transit agency announced a number of service changes that went into effect on May 17th. The transit authority announced changes to its bus frequencies, route changes, and beginning and end time adjustments as an attempt to stabilize the company and provide better service.
Bus riders acknowledged
Monday,
“How [were] adjustments changed without a board?” asked Bailey. “You have to have a board in order to make changes to any kind of route [and] scheduling because it’s a proposal. You cannot make a proposal without a full board.”
During the meeting, the council thanked Bailey for her concerns and said staff would take note and follow up. They asked riders to send a list of concerns to the council so they could send them to Holmes to “start getting answers.”
Council member Michalyn EasterThomas said this would be a way for the council to see what power they have in addressing these issues.
Board members walked after a trustee was appointed last year.
PHOTO: JUSTIN FOX BURKS
KENNARD FARMER + Amber Rae Dunn
AT LARGE By Bruce VanWyngarden
But I Digress …
Are we all just exploring the shallows?
Isaw a thought-provoking meme the other day. It was a picture of former President Jimmy Carter with the following quote: “According to Gandhi, the seven sins are: wealth without works, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice, and politics without principle.”
I found the sentiments compelling, but because I don’t trust anything on the internet anymore, I googled whether Carter actually uttered those words and learned that he did — at the funeral of former Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey in 1978 — but that the quote wasn’t from Mahatma Gandhi. It was from a sermon given in the 1920s by an Englishman named Frederick Lewis Donaldson. Gandhi published Donaldson’s words in a pamphlet and then ended up getting credit for being their author. Poor ol’ Frederick.
Of course, the whole point of the post was to contrast those seven sins, no matter their original source, with the behavior of some current politicians you can name, most of whom would scoff at the meme (and Jimmy Carter) and urge the immediate deportation of anyone named Gandhi. But I digress …
years. It used to take me much longer to finish them, because if I needed to cite a quote or look up the population of Kansas City or figure out how to spell “onomatopoeia,” I’d have to turn to the shelves of reference books I kept in my office. I had Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, Roget’s Thesaurus, Webster’s New Abridged Dictionary, a World Atlas, Encyclopedia Britannica, and a bunch more that I can’t remember now, because I put them all in boxes a few years ago. Wait, let me google “reference books” … Oh yeah, I also had Robert’s Rules of Order, Who’s Who in America, and a lot of others I won’t bore you with. … Ooh, I see there’s a new post from Heather Cox Richardson. Need to check that out …
Here’s another quote I read this week: “When we adapt to a new cultural phenomenon, including the use of a new medium, we end up with a different brain. … Our online habits continue to reverberate in the workings of our brain cells even when we’re not at a computer. We’re exercising the neural circuits devoted to skimming and multi-tasking while ignoring those used for reading and thinking deeply.”
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It’s from a book by Nicholas Carr called The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains. The book is a dozen years old now, but Carr’s thesis — that using the internet all day instead of reading books and doing traditional longform research has changed the way we humans process knowledge — still seems legit. We do seem to be losing our ability — and the patience — to concentrate on a singular task … Oh wait, brb.
Anyway, as I was saying, now all the research material I need is a couple of keystrokes away, so there’s a flip-side to Carr’s thesis: While it once might have taken me several hours to craft a 750-word column like this one, it was mostly because I had no choice but to spend much of that time searching through reference books and doing “long-form research.” Who knows, for example, how long it would have taken me to find out if the quote cited above was by Jimmy Carter, and whether those words were indeed Gandhi’s? What book would have that information?
Okay, it was a text from CVS Pharmacy. They really value me and would love to learn more about my recent experience with them and would like me to fill out a short survey. I’ll do it later, but for the record, the toilet paper has been excellent so far and so was the Kit Kat bar.
So where was I? Oh yeah, Carr has a point. I spend my workdays on the internet, and I’ve been writing columns for various publications for more than 40
We weren’t spending all that time on a single task because we liked it. We did it because we had no alternative. Now, with the world’s collective knowledge a click away, I can finish my column in … Oh, wait, someone on Nextdoor just found a dog at McLean and Oliver. Cute pup … Sorry. Sigh. I’m wondering if this column is actually an example of “knowledge without character”? Am I a sinner? Or just shallow? I should probably research that.
PHOTO: NWANDA76 | DREAMSTIME.COM What would Gandhi read?
Volunteer or Mentor
Tips to help you find your purpose.
Most people view retirement as an opportunity to enjoy all the benefits of a career built on hard work and commitment. From traveling to finding new hobbies to spending time with loved ones, retirement can be a rewarding and fulfilling experience. While the benefits are wonderful, some retirees discover they miss the sense of purpose and belonging their career provided. Without the structure of a work schedule, some begin to feel unproductive and isolated.
An effective way to fill this gap is to share your talents by volunteering or mentoring others. The following tips can help you get started.
1. Find what interests you.
Consider how your interests and talents may align with different organizations. For example:
• If you enjoy carpentry and home improvement, consider volunteering at an organization that builds homes, such as Habitat for Humanity.
• If you enjoy helping animals, consider caring for pets at a local animal shelter.
• If you have a background in teaching, consider tutoring at a local school or library.
• If you enjoy the outdoors, consider cleaning up litter in a park or on the highway. The National Park Service also offers a range of volunteer opportunities as part of its Volunteers-InParks program.
• If you enjoy gardening, consider helping plant, weed, and harvest at a local community garden.
• If you like to travel, you may be able to volunteer overseas through organizations such as the Peace Corps or Global Volunteers.
2. Start now.
A great time to discover your volunteering and mentorship interests is while you’re still working. Take some time on evenings or weekends to volunteer with a few organizations, and discover which ones you enjoy the most. Another advantage of starting now is that you’ll have the opportunity to make connections with other volunteers who share your interests. The people you meet may become great friends in retirement.
3. Establish a regular volunteering schedule.
One of the things retirees often discover they miss most about working
is having a regular schedule. Having a consistent volunteering schedule can provide structure to your days and give you something to look forward to each week. Scheduling just a few hours per week can potentially provide you with the purpose and drive you need to enjoy retirement.
4. Consider how you can share your knowledge and talents. If you miss your career field after you leave the workforce, you may enjoy mentoring others. The following tips can help you stay engaged while supporting others within your industry:
• Serve on a board — Many nonprofits, community organizations and schools welcome the expertise and insight of a seasoned professional.
• Join professional organizations Professional organizations offer a way to connect with others within your industry. Younger professionals often participate to network with and learn from those with more experience, which is a great opportunity to share your knowledge and support a young professional’s career.
• Consult — It’s not just individuals who can benefit from your experience and insight; businesses can as well. Serving as a consultant to a business can allow you to help the organization grow and thrive without the commitment of a full-time career.
• Teach — Universities often invite guest lecturers to share their wisdom with students. Consider reaching out to local schools to ask if your expertise would benefit their curriculum. This commentary is provided for general information purposes only, should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice, and does not constitute an attorney/client relationship. Past performance of any market results is no assurance of future performance. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources deemed reliable but is not guaranteed.
AJ Kratz, CFA, CFP, is a Private Wealth Manager and Partner with Creative Planning. Creative Planning is one of the nation’s largest registered investment advisory firms, providing comprehensive wealth management services to help align all elements of a client’s financial life, including investments, taxes, estate planning and risk management. For more information, or to request a free, no-obligation consultation, visit creativeplanning.com.
Sweet Summer Loan
Home Sweet Home
COVER STORY By David Waters,
Troubled Waters
A nonprofit’s plan details threats to the Memphis Sand Aquifer and proposes ways to protect it.
water, water, everywhere underneath us, and not a drop to waste. Or contaminate. Or pave over. Or mismanage. Or take for granted.
That’s the fundamental message behind The Blue Print, a new proposal to protect and preserve the Memphis Sand Aquifer, the ancient, underground, invaluable but not inexhaustible source of drinking water in Memphis and Shelby County.
The Blue Print calls for the creation of the first-ever Groundwater Protection Plan for the aquifer. It was developed after years of research by the nonprofit Protect Our Aquifer (POA).
“The reality is, our groundwater is unmanaged,” says The Blue Print. “New research continues to reveal more about our geology and threats of contamination. We must begin treating and managing the Memphis Sand Aquifer as the foundation of our livelihoods, because it truly is.”
Memphis is the largest city in America that obtains all its drinking water from groundwater rather than surface water such as river and lakes. But hundreds of millions of gallons of aquifer water also are pumped every day for businesses and industries, farms and lawns, ponds and fountains, parks and golf courses.
The massive system of underground aquifers in the region is overseen hap-
hazardly by a patchwork of local, state, and federal codes, ordinances, laws, agencies, and utilities. That includes the Environmental Protection Agency, the Tennessee Department of Conservation, and Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW).
That also includes the Shelby County Groundwater Quality Control Board, whose stated mission is to “secure, protect, and preserve the quality and quantity of groundwater.”
But the board meets only four times a year, mostly to hear appeals for well permits. Its 11 volunteer members are appointed by city and county officials and local utilities.
The Groundwater Board was established in 1987, a few years after contamination was detected in municipal drinking water wells in South Memphis and Collierville. The board was charged with the creation of a “Groundwater Protection Plan” for Shelby County.
That plan still does not exist.
“Siloed operations with minimal community engagement have kept the creation of a comprehensive and actionable groundwater management plan out of reach,” The Blue Print says. Meanwhile, “new data and research indicate that our municipal wells are more vulnerable to contamination than we previously thought, threatening the public’s right to clean water.”
The Blue Print details various
threats to the Memphis Aquifer, including existing and potential contamination, known and suspected breaches in the aquifer’s protective layers, and overpumping and wasteful use of water.
The report says those and other “threats to water security” are more imminent for a variety of reasons. Limited and inconsistent water quality sampling, monitoring, and data management. Regressive and inadequate water fees and rates. Poorly managed development, especially in the aquifer’s recharge zone.
The Blue Print was presented in April to the Groundwater Board. Last month, the board met in a special session and formed a committee to seek funding and technical assistance. “Obviously, we need a Groundwater Protection Plan,” Frankie Dakin of Millington told his fellow board members. The board meets again June 11th.
The Blue Print urges action and collaboration.
“As other regions grapple with severe droughts, people and industries will relocate to water-rich areas like ours increasing the pressure and strain on our shared aquifer resources,” says The Blue Print. “We stand at a critical moment, armed with more knowledge than ever, knowing that ‘business as usual’ simply will not do. We need action, we need change, and we need to create that together.”
MODERN WATER
The Memphis Sand Aquifer is an underground, water-saturated sand formation that spans West Tennessee, eastern Arkansas, northwest Mississippi, and parts of five other states.
Aquifer water, estimated to be 2,000-3,000 years old, is stored between grains of sand. It is naturally filtered and protected by thick layers of sand, silt, gravel, and clay. Yet those protective layers aren’t impenetrable.
In 2023, the Center for Applied Earth Science and Engineering Research (CAESER) at the University of Memphis and MLGW completed a five-year, $5 million study of the Memphis Aquifer.
Prior to the study, there were six suspected natural “breaches” in the protective layer of clay over the aquifer. The study confirmed the six breaches and identified 36 other suspected breaches.
It also detected “modern water” (less than 60 years old) in six of MLGW’s 10 wellfields. Breaches allow younger water of poorer quality to seep into the aquifer.
Breaches also allow manmade chemicals to contaminate the aquifer. There are approximately 200 known chemical contamination sites across Shelby County — 10 of them federally-recognized Superfund Sites in active remediation.
“Breaches in the protective clay layer make our water vulnerable to contami-
PHOTO: COURTESY PROTECT OUR AQUIFER
nation from the ground surface, including industrial spills, leaking underground storage tanks (i.e., gas stations), dry cleaners, landfills, and other legacy pollution sites,” says The Blue Print.
“Over-pumping of the aquifer has a drawdown effect, and we are pulling down groundwater levels around the well and sometimes the whole area, creating a ‘cone of depression.’ In parts where the protective clay layer is missing, this lowering of water levels can pull young water and contaminants down through these gaps in the clay layer into the underlying Memphis Aquifer.”
Breaches, contamination, and overpumping/drawdown are some of the “threats to water security” detailed in The Blue Print.
Another threat is poorly managed development, especially in the aquifer’s recharge zone.
The recharge zone is an area of eastern Shelby County and 11 rural West Tennessee counties where the aquifer’s protective layers thin out or disappear. It’s where “rainwater most directly replenishes” the aquifer “and groundwater is more vulnerable to contamination.”
The Blue Print recommends several “best management practices” that should be included in a comprehensive Groundwater Protection Plan to protect the aquifer and the recharge zone.
Mapping
More extensive and precise geologic mapping of the Memphis Aquifer
That includes mapping all existing areas of contamination, all confirmed and suspected natural “breaches” in the aquifer’s protective clay layer, and the entire 12-county recharge zone.
Middle and East Tennessee were mapped with TVA funding decades ago. Except for areas of eastern Shelby County, West Tennessee groundwater remains largely unmapped.
“Shelby County is plagued with legacy pollution where some sites have been well-mapped and others are unknown threats to public health,” The Blue Print says. “Surficial geology helps us understand where the sands that feed the Memphis aquifer are exposed and most vulnerable … We need to establish a network of wells to detect and track toxic plumes deep underground before they reach drinking water wells.”
Last month, state legislators rejected a proposal to fund a complete geologic mapping of West Tennessee groundwater.
Water Sampling
Regular, consistent, and widespread sampling of water quality of all wells
Shelby County is punctured by hundreds of private residential, commercial, and industrial wells that draw millions of gallons of water from the aquifer every day.
Private well owners pay an annual fee of $500 for the privilege. The county health department offers annual water sampling but only has the resources and expertise to test a relative handful every year.
In 2018, the county health department’s water quality branch used its own lab to test 437 of those wells. In 2019, the branch tested 403.
In 2020, the health department closed its in-house lab for lack of funding and began using a private lab that charges $495 per sample. Over the past six years, the water branch has tested 124 wells. That includes 37 samples in 2025.
“Homeowners who rely on private wells or septic systems often have little training in proper maintenance, leading to risks for both public health and water quality,” says The Blue Print. “These samples could provide valuable data for a wide range of stakeholders and purposes … [But] the [health department’s] sampling approach is inconsistent and lacks transparency.”
Data Management
Improved and coordinated management and sharing of all data
That includes digitizing the locations, status, and water quality of each of the hundreds of public and private wells in Shelby County.
“A strong groundwater protection program depends on accurate, accessible data,” says The Blue Print. “In Shelby County, however, one of the most significant threats to effective aquifer management is the lack of a unified, reliable system for well and septic records.”
MLGW and the county’s four other municipal utility companies are required by law to regularly monitor and test their own wells.
The health department’s three-person water quality branch is responsible for maintaining information on all private commercial, residential, and industrial wells, monitoring wells, and abandoned wells, as well as septic systems.
“Yet decades of poor record keeping, and lack of appropriate funding have left the county without a clear picture of where wells exist, at what depth, how much water they use, or if they are closed,” says The Blue Print.
“Without complete and organized
on page 12
data, [the health department] cannot accurately monitor water quality, enforce regulations, or collect the fees that fund its groundwater programs. The lack of a centralized database also prevents collaboration with utilities, planners, and researchers, leaving each entity to work from incomplete or conflicting datasets.”
Land Use
“Smart planning and land use” around wellheads, contamination sites, and recharge areas
Memphis, Collierville, Germantown, and Millington all have “wellhead protection overlay districts” that allow those cities to regulate land use around municipal water wells. Bartlett and unincorporated parts of the county do not.
But aquifer water and contaminants move underground through wellfields and across municipal borders.
The Blue Print recommends that the Groundwater Board and county health department coordinate a countywide approach to wellhead protection. That includes establishing clear Wellhead Protection Zones with specific spill-prevention and mitigation requirements.
The Blue Print also recommends extensive mapping and enforcing “nodrilling zones” near contamination sites and sensitive recharge areas.
“Overuse [of the aquifer] coupled with rapid rural development threatens to seal off recharge areas with pavement and rooftops cutting off the aquifer’s natural lifeline,” says The Blue Print.
Water Use
A “Water Quality Conservation Plan” to update and enforce the current Shelby County Well Code
That would include charging higher permit fees and water rates for nonessential water uses to discourage unnecessary withdrawals and promote responsible groundwater use.
“For example, a large share of well permit appeals to the Groundwater Board involve ornamental wells,” says The Blue Print. “Ornamental wells use our aquifer water for non-essential purposes like pond filling, lawn irrigation, or decorative water features despite public [utility] water being available. This use is not explicitly outlined in the Well Code, presenting an opportunity to further define irrigation and ornamental — separating essential agricultural irrigation from ornamental use to allow for tailored conservation measures.”
The Blue Print also recommends strengthening and enforcing the county’s single-pass cooling ban.
The Shelby County Well Code already requires that industries — including massive new data centers — reuse water
for cooling, “but that lacks enforcement. Enforcing the ban on single-pass cooling water and requiring old and new manufacturing facilities to invest in water efficiency technology will save billions of gallons of aquifer water.”
Plans to build an $80-million water recycling plant to help cool xAI’s massive new data centers south of Downtown Memphis were put on “indefinite pause” last month, according to the project’s engineer.
The proposed Colossus Water Recycling Plant would redistribute up to 13 million gallons of water used by xAI (and its lessee, Anthropic) and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for cooling purposes. xAI used 25 million gallons of aquifer water in March alone.
The Blue Print also recommends charging higher rates to high-volume water users, “ensuring those who place the most stress on the aquifer help pay for its preservation.” Currently, industries that use the most water pay lower rates. xAI pays 19 cents for every 100 gallons of aquifer water. Residential customers pay 32 cents for every 100 gallons.
COLLABORATION
The Blue Print says the need for a comprehensive Groundwater Protection Plan is obvious.
“It is fair to say that our water management is basically non-existent,” says The Blue Print. “Except for required permits to drill a well in Shelby County, Tennessee, there is unfettered access to the aquifer, no collaborative protection programs, nor consistent groundwater quality monitoring. There is a patchwork of governmental entities and public utilities that address varying aspects of water, but few formal spaces to bring these stakeholders together.”
Memphis and Shelby County have the “legal and institutional foundation needed” to develop such a plan.
“Everyone recognizes there is something precious we all share: clean water beneath our feet,” says The Blue Print. “Tennessee’s foundational water law is built on this powerful idea, a public trust doctrine declaring that groundwater belongs to all of us. This principle is strongly supported by other state and local laws affirming our right to abundant, clean water.”
The Blue Print says a Groundwater Protection Plan can and should be developed and overseen by the Groundwater Board and monitored and enforced by the Shelby County Health Department.
“Groundwater is our most vital natural resource, and the pressures on it are growing. In Shelby County, we face both water quality challenges and over-pumping, placing severe demands on our supply,” says The Blue Print.
“While a strong Groundwater Board already exists on paper, now is the time to transform that into plans and action.”
That action begins with a more empowered Groundwater Board and a better-funded health department.
“The Groundwater Board has broad authority to create groundwater protection programs that would be funded and carried out through the health department, although they have primarily convened to hear appeals regarding well permits,” says The Blue Print.
“The technical staff in the [health department’s] Water Quality Branch carry out permitting and enforcement of well and septic system standards and support Groundwater Board actions. This staff can expand to meet the goals of the Groundwater Board, including wellhead protection and monitoring well networks.”
David Waters is Distinguished Journalist in Residence and assistant director of the Institute for Public Service Reporting at the University of Memphis.
POA staff raise awareness of above-ground ecosystems that impact the Memphis Sand Aquifer.
450 hourly winners share over $400K FREE PLAY & PRIZES
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MAY 30 & JUNE 27 | 11PM
10 members win a share of $10,000 Free Play or a 2026 Mini Cooper Convertible!
Mended Therapy
Combining mental health with a love of fashion, creativity, and sustainability, Mended Therapy was born. Ashley wants to show that although things may seem like they cannot get better, there is hope. Just like a mended piece of clothing is brought new life, the same can be said of us. She is here to walk with you through this journey with laughter, creativity, and challenging your beliefs about yourself. She is MENDED (and constantly mending). She hopes you will let her join you as you MEND.
Ashley specializes in working with LGBTQ+ populations and mood disorders.
For more information or to book an appointment, visit mendedtherapypllc.com.
She currently accepts most insurance plans. Self-pay is $125 for individual sessions
steppin’ out
We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews
Where Memphis Melts
By Kimberly Ham
What started as a simple idea between two local ice cream makers has quickly become one of Memphis’ sweetest summer traditions.
The Memphis Ice Cream Festival returns Sunday, June 7th on the Overton Park Greensward, bringing together local frozen treat makers, food trucks, music, family activities, and unlimited ice cream tastings. This year’s event also serves as part of Overton Park’s 125th birthday celebration, making the festival bigger than ever.
Festival co-founders Mary Claire White of Sugar Ghost and Kiamesha Wilson of Kaye’s Pints & Scoops first connected through “Scoop School” in St. Louis while building their respective ice cream businesses. When both realized they had been independently thinking about creating an ice cream festival for Memphis, the partnership was a natural fit.
“We created a Facebook event page, and it sort of went viral,” White says of last year’s inaugural festival. Originally planned as a small gathering beside Sugar Ghost on Broad Avenue, the event quickly sold out at 1,000 tickets. “It felt like a really beautiful proof of concept, knowing that so many people wanted to come out and celebrate ice cream with us.”
The overwhelming response led organizers to seek a larger venue, which opened the door to a collaboration with Overton Park Conservancy.
“One of the biggest things was, it grew so quickly and we needed more space,” Wilson says. “In a conversation, we realized they were having their 125th birthday, so we could celebrate together.”
Visitors can sample creations from eight local ice cream vendors, including Sugar Ghost, Kaye’s Pints & Scoops, Stella’s Ice Cream, Sweet Noshings, Zio Matto Gelato, and others. Wilson says festivalgoers can expect everything from mango sorbet and strawberry shortcake flavors to vegan options and other creative surprises.
But the event is about more than dessert.
“We want them to have fun, like good community fun,” Wilson says. “You’ve never seen anyone frowning with an ice cream cone.”
White is equally excited about the move to the Greensward. “This year’s festival is going to be bigger and better than ever,” she says. With shady trees, open green space, waterslides, face painting, and plenty of scoops, the festival offers a perfect recipe for a Memphis summer afternoon.
VARIOUS DAYS & TIMES June 4th - 10th
Dancing With the Stars Memphis Agricenter International, Thursday, June 4, 5:30-9 p.m.
Dancing with the Stars – Memphis returns for its second annual fundraiser. Presented by Leaders Credit Union, the event pairs local celebrities with professional dancers for a live competition benefiting the YMCA of Memphis & the MidSouth. The evening begins with a cocktail hour at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner and performances at 7 p.m., offering guests an entertaining mix of dance, community spirit, and philanthropy as they cheer on their favorite duos.
Big Gay Dance Party Crosstown Theater, Friday, June 5, 8 p.m.
Kick off Pride season at Friends For All’s Big Gay Dance Party: Dark Side of the Moon. The annual
celebration promises an energetic evening of music, live performances, immersive visuals, and community connection, bringing people together in support of Friends For All’s mission and the individuals they serve. Whether you come to dance, celebrate, or show your support, this festive event offers a vibrant start to Pride 2026.
“Blues Power! Celebrating the Legacy of Albert King” Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Through Thursday, August 6 This special exhibition at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music honors one of the most influential figures in blues history. Showcasing rare photographs, memorabilia, and stories from King’s remarkable career, the exhibit explores how his groundbreaking sound and distinctive guitar style shaped the blues
and influenced generations of musicians. Visitors can discover the lasting impact of the legendary artist whose final recordings were made at Stax Records and whose music continues to resonate today.
Memphis Vintage Market
Overton Square, Saturday, June 6, 12-7 p.m.
This eclectic market returns to Overton Square, transforming the courtyard into a vintage lover’s paradise. Browse a curated collection of vendors offering vintage clothing, jewelry, accessories, home goods, and more, with new treasures to discover throughout the day. Admission is free, and complimentary parking is available in the garage until 2 p.m. Spend the afternoon shopping for local, one-of-a-kind finds in the heart of Midtown.
MEMPHIS ICE CREAM FESTIVAL, OVERTON PARK GREENSWARD, OLD FOREST LN., SUNDAY, JUNE 7, 2-5 P.M.
PHOTO: COURTESY KIAMESHA WILSON Ice cream galore
MUSIC
By
Alex Greene
Waxing Historic
Memphis musical legacies live again in the year’s two best archival albums (so far).
EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert –Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (RCA Records)
In a city where the cliches of “oldies” and “the blues” can so oversaturate us that we’re numb to what was truly trailblazing about Memphis music back in the day, the vision of Baz Luhrmann has been a welcome kick in the pants. His 2022 film, Elvis, helped a new generation reimagine Elvis Presley’s transgressive power, and this year’s documentary from Luhrmann, EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, is working similar wonders. While working on his 2022 film, Luhrmann and his team uncovered long-hidden film negatives and footage in the Warner Brothers vaults, originally captured for the documentary films Elvis: The Way It Is (1970) and Elvis On Tour (1972), as well as previously unseen 8mm footage and never-before-heard audio of Presley speaking about his life.
Just the music tracks from these sources are a revelation; whether or not you’ve seen the film, the EPiC soundtrack album alone (in LP, CD, or streaming
form) brings a fresh perspective to an artist who’s perrenially resurrected. With the music punctuated by Presley’s reminiscences in all their disarming intimacy, the Las Vegas icon, as captured in concert recordings, is given more humanity right off the bat. That’s only compounded by the power of his band.
The 2019 release of the massive box set, Elvis Live 1969, was an early reminder of just how energized the band was when The King first began his series of Las Vegas residencies, all snarky comments about the artist’s Vegas period aside. From the start, he featured ace guitarist James Burton and those vocal ringers from American Sound Studio, The Sweet Inspirations, among many other stellar players. By the early ’70s, that band’s rocking, soulful pedigree, despite some changes in the intervening years, was more assured than ever, and that’s what’s heard in this soundtrack.
Sure, the intro of “Also Sprach Zarathustra/An American Trilogy” remains a kitschy product of its time, but the primal drums that follow are so
potent, you’d scarcely believe you were hearing a version of “That’s All Right.”
The frenetic pace is matched by “Tiger Man,” and that rollicking live energy, inspiring growls and other impassioned vocals from Presley, continues throughout on the uptempo numbers.
Yet the real revelations are the remixes. I for one have nothing against using
studio trickery to pair vocal performances from bygone decades with more contemporary beats and bands. When Mark Ronson floated Bob Dylan’s vocals from “Most Likely You Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine” over a dance track by funkmeisters the Dap-Kings, the results were pure ear candy, and, because it’s such a finely crafted merging of a 1966
song with 2007 sensibilities, it holds up nearly 20 years later. The same can be said of the brilliant remixes on the EPiC soundtrack, for which Luhrmann recruited the likes of Jamieson Shaw, Jonathan Redmond, and Peter Jackson’s Park Road Post Production, among others. “Wearin’ That Night Life Look,” Shaw’s mashup of four different Presley tracks, with their verses and choruses flown in over a slightly modernized big-beat mix, is the album’s dynamically crafted and very danceable highlight, worth the price of admission alone. Meanwhile, PNAU utterly, intriguingly transforms “Suspicious Minds” (not included on the LP). Bono’s cameo is tolerable, as he recites a poem he wrote in 1995, set to music by composer Elliott Wheeler, closing with the words, “Elvis ate America before America ate him.”
Meanwhile, Craft Recordings continues to dig out the obscure Stax content, as they have previously with Stax Singles 4: Rarities & the Best of the Rest, Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos, and Stax Revue: Live in ’65! This year’s historical gem is Stax Killer B’s: 14 Fabulous Flip Sides, and it’s full of revelations.
While this LP is also derived from archives, like EPiC, the tracks are presented just as they were released half a century ago or more. They were final masters at the time and, despite not being deemed sufficiently marketable to rate the A-side of a single, the intervening years have made these also-rans sound brilliant in their own right.
You’re hit with a one-two punch right away, as The Bar-Kays’ “A.J. the House-
fly” storms out of the gates with horn punches and Michael Toles’ tough guitar bringing a compelling party vibe, only to give way to one of the subtlest grooves concocted by Booker T. & the M.G.s, “Soul Clap ’69.” Then come the vocalists, led by the great Johnnie Taylor, aka “The Soul Philosopher,” who delves into domestic relationships (his specialty) with “Love in the Streets (Ain’t Good as the Love at Home),” followed by the startlingly vulnerable “It Hurts to Want It So Bad” by Mel and Tim.
Never heard of Mel and Tim? There are plenty more unsung artists to discover here, such as The Newcomers, Margie Joseph (whose disturbing “Punish Me” was written by — you guessed it — two men), and, of course, the inimitable Jones and Blumenberg. One of the great powerhouses on the record is Little Sonny, the rare bluesman in the house of soul, whose “They Want Money” is like a howl of pain from the depths of ’70s inflation. But the standout track may be one that wins you over with tenderness: the solo artist Stefan’s take on John Fogerty’s “Long as I Can See the Light,” itself a celebrated B-side by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Stefan’s version, in a Bobby Manuel production that foreshadows more of his work in the producer’s seat to come, starts with a sparse piano-and-voice delivery that builds into a classic plaintive swell of horn- and organ-driven soul.
All told, it’s a staggering roundup of quality productions that only cements Stax Records’ place in the history of the world’s great production houses. Tellingly, the Soulsville artists included here don’t really need a contemporary dance remix to stay relevant: these tracks are plenty funky already.
AFTER DARK: Live Music Schedule June 4 - 10
Debbie Jamison Band
Tuesday, June 9, 6 p.m.
NEIL’S MUSIC ROOM
Elmo & the Shades
Chase Tyler and DJ
FERB
Experience Tyler’s powerful vocals and stage presence.
Thursday, June 4, 6 p.m.
THE PEABODY ROOFTOP
Sunsets at Beale Street
Landing: Keri Lee
With local food and drink on hand. Thursday, June 4, 6 p.m.
BEALE STREET LANDING
International Chamber Music Festival: Dali Quartet
Celebrating the diversity of chamber music. Thursday, June 4, 6 p.m.
BALMORAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
John Williams & the A440 Band
Thursday, June 4, 8 p.m.
NEIL’S MUSIC ROOM
Laser Rock: Prince Friday, June 5, 7 p.m.
PINK PALACE PLANETARIUM
Landslide (Fleetwood Mac Tribute)
Saturday, June 6, 8 p.m.
NEIL’S MUSIC ROOM
Wendell Wells
Sunday, June 7, 9 p.m.
NEIL’S MUSIC ROOM
Wednesday, June 10, 7 p.m.
NEIL’S MUSIC ROOM
Twin Soul
Wednesday, June 10, 5:30 p.m.
HUEY’S EAST
Bodysnatcher
Thursday, June 4, 7 p.m. 1884 LOUNGE
Deborah Swiney Duo
Thursday, June 4, 6 p.m.
THE COVE
Devil Train
Thursday, June 4, 9 p.m. B-SIDE
East Nash Grass
Thursday, June 4, 7:30 p.m.
OVERTON PARK SHELL
The Jeff Miller Band
Thursday, June 4, 8 p.m.
THE HI-TONE CAFE
Jubilee Hummingbirds – Listening Event
Thursday, June 4, 6 p.m.
MEMPHIS LISTENING LAB
Pants Tour
Featuring F!rst, Sham, Wicker. Thursday, June 4, 7 p.m.
THE HI-TONE CAFE
dangerwaves
Friday, June 5, 8 p.m.
GROWLERS
Jake Shimabukuro
A ukulele virtuoso who’s redefining the instrument. Friday, June 5, 7:30 p.m.
OVERTON PARK SHELL
Machine Country
With Portland Violence and Noise, Skingraph, Tupelo Powerviolence, Era of Extinction, West Tennessee Sludge. Friday, June 5, 8 p.m.
THE HI-TONE CAFE
Memphis Ukulele Band
With Wyly Bigger, Savoiya Trainum. Friday, June 5, 7:30 p.m.
THE GREEN ROOM
R.E.C
With Aurora, Inside Marsellus Wallace. Friday, June 5, 6 p.m.
GROWLERS
High Fade
A mix of razor-sharp funk and disco. Saturday, June 6, 7 p.m.
OVERTON PARK SHELL
Modern Masters: John Storie with the Ted Ludwig Trio
Storie is a prolific guitarist and composer. Saturday, June 6, 7:30 p.m.
THE GREEN ROOM
DJ Funn
Sunday, June 7, 6 p.m.
CELTIC CROSSING
Dover & More Sunday, June 7, 8 p.m.
THE HI-TONE CAFE
First Sunday: R&B Social Sunday, June 7, 3 p.m.
Golden Mic: Young Artists in Concert Area youth backed by ace musicians. Sunday, June 7, 1:30 p.m.
THE GREEN ROOM
Taylor Nicole Live Southern soul, R&B, and blues. Sunday, June 7, 8 p.m.
LAMPLIGHTER LOUNGE
MUSE Creative
Gathering: SOUND An improvisational sound-
Quail P on tour
scape experience led by Victor Sawyer and Kathy Zhou. Monday, June 8, 6:30 p.m.
BAR DKDC
Buckethead Tuesday, June 9, 8 p.m.
MINGLEWOOD HALL
Nights of Malice With My Own Will. Tuesday, June 9, 7 p.m. GROWLERS
Brendan Lane
Thursday, June 4, 8 p.m.
HERNANDO’S HIDE-A-WAY
The Wallflowers On the 30th anniversary of their landmark album, Bringing Down the Horse, the band is touring the nation. Thursday, June 4, 7:30 p.m. GRACELAND
Edwin McCain and Five for Fighting Friday, June 5, 8 p.m. GRACELAND
Jelly Roll - The Little ASS Shed Tour
Hear the multi award-winning Nashville singer/songwriter in person. Friday, June 5, 7 p.m. BANKPLUS AMPHITHEATER
Quail P Friday, June 5, 8 p.m.
HERNANDO’S HIDE-A-WAY
Concerts in The Grove - Elevation Memphis (Tina Turner Tribute) Thursday, June 4, 6:30 p.m.
THE GROVE AT GPAC
Gerry Finney Wednesday, June 10, 5:30 p.m. HUEY’S GERMANTOWN
GROWLERS
PHOTO: COURTESY HERNANDO’S HIDE-A-WAY
CALENDAR
FRIDAY JUNE 5 MEMPHIS UKULELE BAND
7:30 PM | THE GREEN ROOM | $20 adv / $25door
SARTURDAY JUNE 6
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM | PLAZA | FREE
SARTURDAY JUNE 6
MODERN MASTERS JOHN STORIE with THE TED LUDWIG TRIO $10 student tickets
7:30 PM | THE GREEN ROOM | $20 adv / $30 door
FRIDAY JUNE 12
An Evening with ALEXIS JADE and THE GEMSTONES
7:30 PM | THE GREEN ROOM | $20 adv / $25door
CALENDAR of EVENTS: June 4 - 10, 2026
ARTS AND SPECIAL EXHIBITS
Artists’ Link Art Show: “Kaleidoscope”
An annual judged exhibit for 2026 in the Memphis Botanic Garden’s Visitor Center and Grand Hallway galleries. Free. Through June 30.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
Bartlett Artists
Association Exhibit
A new exhibit featuring work by Bartlett artists. Free. Through July 29.
ST. GEORGE’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
“Blues Power!
Celebrating the Legacy of Albert King”
A limited-time photo exhibit honoring one of the most influential voices in blues history. Through Aug. 6.
STAX MUSEUM OF AMERICAN SOUL MUSIC
“Feels like earth but not”
Paintings by Elizabeth Alley, which examine her connection to vulnerable landscapes and their precarious position in terms of climate change and government control. Through June 13.
SHAPESHIFTER GALLERY
“Last Whistle:
Steamboat Stories of Memphis”
This show features boat models and explores the history of the iconic steamboats that docked at the city. Through June 26.
MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND HISTORY AT THE PINK PALACE
Mary Sims: “A Retrospective”
The first museum survey of Sims’ extraordinary career will be something of a revelation, even to those who knew the artist and her work quite well. Through June 7.
DIXON GALLERY AND GARDENS
“Memphis College of Art, 1936-2020: An Enduring Legacy”
Through this exhibition of 90 faculty, administrators, and graduates, this show reflects on the school’s historical impact and celebrates its continued legacy regionally and beyond. Through Sept. 30.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM
“The Mystery of Cave Island”
Los Angeles-based artist
Eileen Havant Townsend presents eight dioramas of rocky landscapes alongside graphite drawings. Through June 20.
TOPS GALLERY
“Of This Moment” Drawings and watercolors by Jeanne Seagle. Paintings by Annabelle Meacham. Through June 9.
THE MEDICINE FACTORY
Shelby East Garden Club: “Garden Beds & Community Roots”
This celebration of the enduring connection between nature and community showcases archival photographs and personal stories that reflect decades of environmental stewardship and floral artistry. Through July 3.
TOWN OF COLLIERVILLE MORTON MUSEUM
“The Sisters of the Brush and a Brother”
The Sisters of the Brush —
Phyllis Boger, Barrie Skoda Foster, Jana Jones, and Ann Brown Thomason — bonded with “brother” Patrick McGee over their love of painting and formed a collective that is truly unique. Free. Through June 25.
WKNO DIGITAL MEDIA CENTER
Summer Art Garden: “Wax Print Wonderland”
Samilia Pelshak presents an enchanting installation of her vibrant African wax print designs. Through Sept. 27.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM
“What We Surround Ourselves With”
A love letter to the evolution of the craft, work, and stories shared through the Metal Museum’s community. Through July 31.
METAL MUSEUM
“Ratgirl”
Nick Canterucci’s 21st solo exhibit and fifth show at the Medicine Factory. Through July 19.
MEDICINE FACTORY
ART HAPPENINGS
Opening Reception for “Ratgirl”
Opening night of Nick Canterucci’s 21st solo exhibit. Friday, June 5, 7 p.m.
MEDICINE FACTORY
Bartlett Artists Association Exhibit: Reception
Meet the artists. The Bartlett Art Association is a non-profit organization that encourages, educates, improves, exhibits, and supports fine art. Saturday, June 6, 2 p.m.
ST. GEORGE’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Closing Tour | Mary Sims: A Retrospective
Join associate curator Ellen Daugherty for a special tour in honor of the closing of “Mary Sims: A Retrospective.”
Sunday, June 7, 2 p.m.
DIXON GALLERY AND GARDENS
BOOK EVENTS
Sheree Renée Thomas with Troy L. Wiggins: Ring Shout on Saturn
An electrifying collection of stories transports readers on a cosmic journey where ancient
PHOTO: COURTESY DIXON GALLERY AND GARDENS
Introduce your kiddos to the arts and nature with Mini Masters’ mix of crafts and movement.
A profound and inspiring story of Janell Lysack Joslin - an incredible person, athlete, and leader whose life became a masterclass in resilience, faith, and intentionality. Wednesday, June 10, 6 p.m.
NOVEL
COMMUNITY
Canoes + Cocktails
Enjoy a guided sunset paddle on the lake, followed by specialty cocktails provided by Old Dominick, snacks from Feast & Graze, yard games, and music. Friday, June 5, 6:15 p.m.
SHELBY FARMS PARK
Memphis Orchid Society Annual Show and Sale
This orchid show and sale features breathtaking exhibits, highlighting the beauty and diversity of orchids. Friday, June 5, noon. | Saturday, June 6, 9 a.m. | Sunday, June 7, 11 a.m.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
True Crimes of Bygone Times
Good walking shoes are recommended for this 90-minute step back in time. Friday, June 5, 6 p.m.
ELMWOOD CEMETERY
Memphis Vintage Market
Come shop from a block full of vendors ranging from vintage clothes, jewelry, accessories, home goods, and more, all in one place. Saturday, June 6, 12 p.m.
OVERTON SQUARE
PHOTO: COURTESY NOVEL
Author Sheree Renée Thomas talks about her new book Ring Shout on Saturn.
Send the date, time, place, cost, info, phone number, a brief description, and photos — two weeks in advance — to calendar@memphisflyer.com.
DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS, ONGOING WEEKLY EVENTS WILL APPEAR IN THE FLYER’S ONLINE CALENDAR ONLY. FOR COMPREHENSIVE EVENTS LISTING, VISIT EVENTS.MEMPHISFLYER.COM/CAL.
June Game Night & Church Meeting with The Fellowship of Avalon
Come gather with community and spirit at this monthly church game night. Free. Sunday, June 7, 7 p.m.
THE BROOM CLOSET
Kundalini Yoga with Taj Chander: Sacred Sleep
Join Taj Chander for an evening of Kundalini yoga and meditation devoted to the healing power of sacred sleep.
Monday, June 8, 6:30 p.m.
THE BROOM CLOSET
CLASS/WORKSHOP
Country Swing Dance Lessons
It’s never too late to start and a partner is not required to join the class. Friday, June 5, 7:30 p.m.
WHISKEY JILL’S
Watercolor Workshop with Susan Maakestad
Unleash your creativity in this hands-on watercolor workshop led by acclaimed artist and former Memphis College of Art professor Susan Maakestad. $55. Sunday, June 7, 1:30 p.m.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM
Acrylic Painting with Gay Rhodes
Join this 4-session painting series where students will gain new skills from the instructor’s 20-plus years of teaching.
Wednesday, June 10, 9:30 a.m.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
Rhythm & Roots
Each week, students explore drumming, dance, teamwork, and creative expression in a safe and inspiring environment led by experienced instructors and mentors.
Wednesday, June 10, 6 p.m.
MEMPHIS YOUTH ARTS INITIATIVE CENTER
COMEDY
Friday Night Laughs
Hosted by Wild Beale
Come see some of the best national comics in Memphis work their set along side some of the best national traveling comics in the world. Friday, June 5, 8:30 p.m.
SMOOTH LIVING
Chelcie Lynn: Trailer Trash Tammy The Loose Lips Tour
Come for the laughs and enjoy a night with Chelcie Lynn. Saturday, June 6, 8 p.m.
GRACELAND
Eric Bailey Live in Memphis
Standup comedy with a musical twist. $25. Saturday, June 6, 6 p.m.
BARDOG TAVERN
DANCE
Dancing With the Stars
Memphis
Local celebrities and community leaders will put their best foot forward as they take the stage, dust off their blue suede shoes, and compete for the coveted Mirror Ball Trophy. Thursday, June 4, 5:30 p.m.
THE AGRICENTER INTERNATIONAL
901 Stories: Down on Beale
This show benefits the Frayser Dance Project and is sponsored by Alliance Healthcare and Legacy of Legends. Friday, June 5, 5:30 p.m. | Saturday, June 6, 5:30 p.m.
THE NEW DAISY THEATRE
FAMILY
Youth Workshop:
Multiverse Painting
Drawing inspiration from artist Mary Sims, young participants will blend their still-life studies into a unified, original paint-scape. Friday, June 5, 1:30 p.m.
DIXON GALLERY AND GARDENS
Super Saturday - Pride
In this joyful, hands-on workshop, we will celebrate Pride by crafting our own paper plate tambourines using string, bells, markers, and a hole puncher. Ages 5-12. Free. Saturday, June 6, 10 a.m.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM
Mudpie Mondays
Come to the Guest House Patio in My Big Backyard for a mud-tastic time this summer. Children can dig in and craft their own mudpie using natural materials. Free. Monday, June 8, 10 a.m.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
Mini Masters
Introduce your little ones, ages 2 to 4, to the arts and nature with crafts, movement, and more. Registration required. Tuesday, June 9, 10:30 a.m.
DIXON GALLERY AND GARDENS
Paint the Town: History Through Art
Calling all budding, new artists! This is your chance to create all kinds of different art, try out a new medium, and practice expressing the world around you through your amazing artistic gifts and budding talents. Tuesday, June 9, 12 p.m.
TOWN OF COLLIERVILLE MORTON MUSEUM
Storytime and Sign
For babies through 5 years old, sing a song, learn a sign, dance a little jig, and sit for a story during this interactive, weekly story time for little ones and their caregivers. Tuesday, June 9, 10:30 a.m. | Wednesday, June 10, 10:30 a.m.
GERMANTOWN COMMUNITY LIBRARY
FESTIVAL
Crafts & Drafts Festival: Summer
Market
Browse unique handmade goods from talented local makers, grab a drink, enjoy great food, and explore everything Crosstown Concourse has to offer. Free. Saturday, June 6, 10 a.m.
CROSSTOWN CONCOURSE
Memphis Pride Festival
Rally your rainbow tribe! Witness the magic as the most colorful queens, kings, and ev erybody in between bring their talents to the Shell on Wheels stage. Saturday, June 6, 11 a.m.
ROBERT CHURCH PARK
Memphis Ice Cream Festival
Come to this community‑driven celebration of Memphis’ local small‑batch and artisan ice cream makers, founded to spotlight local ice cream makers and bring families together.
$10 $15. Sunday, June 7, 2 p.m.
OVERTON PARK GREENSWARD
FILM
Call of the Dolphins
Narrated by Academy Award winner Mary Steenburgen, Call of the Dolphins invites audi ences on an unforgettable journey into the fascinating world of wild dolphins, revealing the profound connection we share with these highly intelligent animals. Thursday, June 4 Wednesday, June 10, 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m. Closed Mondays.
CTI 3D GIANT THEATER
Mars: The Ultimate Voyage Ever wondered what it will take for astronauts to travel to the Moon, Mars, and beyond?
On such long journeys, what challenges will astronauts face? This show explores just that. Thursday, June 4 Wednesday, June 10, 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m. Closed Mondays.
PINK PALACE PLANETARIUM
Cemetery Cinema: The Goonies
Buy a ticket, bring a lawn chair, and settle down in front of the historic 1866 Cottage for an outdoor movie night unlike any other in Memphis. $15. Friday, June 5, 8:30 p.m.
ELMWOOD CEMETERY
Walking with Dinosaurs:
Prehistoric Planet
Follow a herd of large, frilled, plant eating dinosaurs through the seasons as young ones grow up and establish themselves in their prehistoric world. As an immersive experience — the characters are animated throughout, against real backgrounds — it presents the most authentic dinosaurs ever to be seen on the giant screen. Thursday, June 4 Wednesday, June 10, 3 p.m. Closed Mondays.
CTI 3D GIANT THEATER
FOOD AND DRINK
Sip and Stroll
Enjoy an after hours, 21+ walking tour of a highlighted specialty garden featuring themed cocktails. Thursday, June 4, 6 p.m.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
Food Truck Friday
Enjoy food trucks at the Dixon on Fridays. Friday, June 5, 11:30 a.m.
DIXON GALLERY AND GARDENS
Brunchin Babes Pride Brunch
Get ready to sip, chat, and celebrate all things pride with your brunch crew. Starring Shan ice, Khushan, and Devon. $44. Sunday, June 7, 11 a.m.
DOCKS OFF 5TH
HEALTH AND FITNESS
Discover the Greenway 5K+
By participating, or supporting, you’re helping preserve one of Memphis’ most cherished natural resources and ensuring that the Wolf River remains a vibrant, sustainable ecosystem for generations. Saturday, June 6, 8 a.m.
WOLF RIVER GREENWAY
First Saturday Paddle
Come along with river guides through a beau tiful urban section of the Wolf River. Saturday, June 6, 9 a.m.
WOLF RIVER BOAT PUT-IN
Grind City Cares: Midsouth Race for Perinatal Awareness
Run, walk, and celebrate at the Grind City Cares: Midsouth Race, and help raise aware ness for perinatal health. Free. Saturday, June 6, 9 a.m.
SHELBY FARMS PARK
Open Water Swim
Build confidence and improve your open water skills at Shelby Farms Park’s Open Water Swim Program, held in Hyde Lake. Sunday, June 7, 7 a.m.
SHELBY FARMS PARK
PERFORMING ARTS
Memphis Magic Matinee Starring
Joe M. Turner
By popular demand, Memphis magician/men talist Joe M. Turner presents a special family friendly show. $15. Saturday, June 6, 2 p.m.
HERNANDO’S HIDE-A-WAY
SPECIAL EVENTS
901 Comics’ 10 Year Anniversary
The beloved shop is celebrating its first decade
with a signing every weekend in June. This week, Shannon Wheeler, cartoonist, and Mark Russell, comic writer and author, will be at both 901 Comics stores. Saturday, June 6, 10 a.m. (Midtown) | Sunday, June 7, 10 a.m. (East).
901 COMICS
Annual Cotton Boil Brunch
Join this annual community event that celebrates the city’s deep ties to the cotton industry with Southern food, live entertain ment, and local history. $65 $500. Friday, June 5, 11:30 a.m.
THE COTTON MUSEUM
E.S.T.her2026
Presenting a women empowerment experience rooted in faith and sisterhood. Free. Saturday, June 6, 12 p.m.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM
The Rhythm of Life Cancer Survivor Celebration and Awarness Day
Join an uplifting event to celebrate and sup port a loved one who has been diagnosed with cancer. Free. Thursday, June 4, 3 7 p.m.
SHELBY FARMS LAWN + STAGE
THEATER
Beauty and the Beast
The show boasts the Oscar winning and Tony Award nominated score, including the classic
Crossword
1 Spanish newborn 5 Store offering that can be free 8 Produce producers
21 One of the first five inductees at Cooperstown 23 Break down
Weaver
Flicked bit
29 Go after, in a way 30 Take it easy 31 “What chutzpah!” 34 “Cut that out!” 38 Big name in snow blowers 39 Paycheck abbr. 41 “Holy guacamole!” 42 Alfred Nobel and others
Top with spaghetti straps
Airing
Little bit
Sleep study stage
Sheriffs
Be behind
“Toy Story” boy 59 Oldest golfer to win a P.G.A. Tour event (at 52 years 10 months)
Birthing
Irate
66 In need of a break, say 67 Come up short
68 Canine command usually spoken slowly in a low voice
69 Compete in a no-blinking contest
70 Down 71 Insignificant
1 Short cut 2 Special holiday periods 3 Empathetic comment
3 What this clue’s number is 5 College athlete, e.g.
6 Land east of Iran: Abbr.
7 One-___ (modest bathing attire)
8 Part of an auto engine 9 Melber of MSNBC 10 Light wash 11 Something a college junior has that a freshman usually doesn’t 12 Big hunks 15 Whimsically witty
18 Clicking device 22 Bits of writing often accompanied by headshots
25 Group of quail
26 Some recurring YouTube journals
songs “Be Our Guest” and “Beauty and the Beast.” $240. Thursday, June 4, 7:30 p.m. | Friday, June 5, 7:30 p.m. | Saturday, June 6, 2:00 p.m., 7:30 p.m. | Sunday, June 7, 1:00 p.m., 6:30 p.m.
THE ORPHEUM THEATRE
Collective Rage: A Play in Five Betties
Jen Silverman’s hilarious play that explores anger, sex, love, and the “thea tah” through the experiences of five women named Betty. Friday, June 5, 8 p.m. | Saturday, June 6, 8 p.m.
THEATREWORKS @ THE SQUARE
Falsettos
This musical by William Finn chronicles a Jewish family in the late 70’s and early 80s exploring themes of gender roles, divorce, parenting, gay life and chosen family. Friday, June 5, 7:30 p.m. | Saturday, June 6, 7:30 p.m. | Sunday, June 7, 2:30 p.m.
GERMANTOWN COMMUNITY THEATRE
Legally Blonde
Elle Woods appears to have it all. When her boyfriend dumps her to attend Harvard Law School, Elle ingeniously charms her way into the same prestigious school. $62 $84. Friday, June 5, 7:30 p.m. | Saturday, June 6, 7:30 p.m. | Sunday, June 7, 2:00 p.m.
THEATRE MEMPHIS
Figures on USA’s “Suits”: Abbr.
Third place
Help for pulling an all-nighter
And the like: Abbr.
What connoisseurs don’t have, by definition
Key with a chain, maybe
(or refuting) a hunch
___ Menzel, Tony-winning actress for “Wicked”
Author of “Burr” and “Lincoln”
PUZZLE BY ZHOUQIN
We Saw You.
with michael donahue
We Saw You saw you all over Memphis and part of the Mid-South. The locales for those photo subjects were Pete & Sam’s, Antique Warehouse, Overton Park, Josephine Estelle, Rosie’s Tavern, Tecovas, Mosa Asian Bistro, RiverBeat, Gibson’s Donuts, Woman’s Exchange of Memphis, and Marshall Steakhouse and Carlisle’s Cash Saver in Holly Springs, Mississippi.
above: Ella League, Jakhya McIntyre
below: (left to right) Scout, Noitsreallynice, and Bnodd; London Newsom; Jade Miller, Alexis Morris
bottom row: (left to right) Nancy Morrow, Lunida Holland, Nancy Fleenor, Marilyn Barbee, Sondra Biggs,Valerie Labans; Cooper Driver, Ava Williams
PHOTOS: MICHAEL DONAHUE
below
bottom
above: Walt Stallings | circle: Jonas Kannady
right: (top and below) Aly Ferguson, Luke Coleman; David, Jaik, and Teresa Hunt
: (left to right) Mark Parker, Cyrena Wages; Parker Brandom, Drake Castleman; Schuyler and April O’Brien with their son, Finley; Catcher Miller
left: March Gates, Germantown mayor Mike Palazzolo
FOOD By Michael Donahue
Say “Cheese”
Kurt Mullican is the big cheese at Greys.
obody named “Grey” works at Greys Fine Cheeses. “Greys” — with no apostrophe — is a play on the word “graze,” says Kurt Mullican, 42, cheesemonger and, with his wife Jackie, co-owner of the cheese shop/restaurant at 709 South Mendenhall Road.
“A lot of the time the term ‘grazing’ is used around cheese,” he says. “So, I changed the spelling. I thought it had a little more panache.”
For the first time, Mullican will be a participating chef in Le Bon Appétit, the Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital fundraiser, to be held June 5th at The Kent. “I’m going to be doing a little fondue plate,” he says.
Mullican got involved after becoming friends with chef/restaurateur and event founder Kelly English. “I just love what he does and the way he interacts with the community,” says Mullican. “He asked me one day and I said, ‘Man. Awesome. Let’s go.’”
Cheese wasn’t on Mullican’s mind growing up in Lebanon, Tennessee. He liked to draw. “Mostly things from horror movies. Just a lot of zombies and things like that.” That led to his interest in acting. “I was in a lot of musicals as a kid. I spent a lot of time on stage.” He performed “multiple times. Maybe until halfway through college.” His roles ranged from a Lollipop Guild member with knickers and red-and-whitestriped socks in The Wizard of Oz to the lead in a tattered shirt in Oliver!
He stopped acting in college. “I was going to audition for Equus. I read the script and I was uncomfortable with it.” And, he says, “The nihilism of life set in. Just, ‘Is anything worth pursuing in that way?’ And then, of course, your parents want you to take the safe route.”
So, he majored in education at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, Tennessee. “It didn’t take long to figure out I wouldn’t want to do that,” Mullican says, and he ended up dropping out of school after two years. “I hated school.”
As for food, Mullican was “the total opposite of the picky eater.” But, he says, “Being in the ’90s in Lebanon, Tennessee, we didn’t have a lot of exotic foods.” Back then sushi was exotic, he adds. Also, Mullican says, “My mom’s a terrible cook. I’m that rare exception where even my grandmother wasn’t a great cook.”
Mullican recalls how he became fascinated with cooking. “I got this bug one time when I saw a TV commercial for an electric wok. Like a hot
plate you’d plug in.” His first creation was his “Cajun Chicken” — a fried concoction made of chunks of chicken and Tony Chachere’s spice. “I thought it was awesome.”
Cooking “started out of necessity,” Mullican says. “My mother was busy a lot. She was gone quite a bit and I was left to cook for myself. But I enjoyed the process. When I was 21, 22, I got a job in dietary at a hospital. My mom worked in the administration office.”
He was hired by the manager who ran the Morrison’s Cafeteria account at the hospital. “We did some catering gigs. He gave me an official kitchen shirt that chefs wear.”
Mullican, who also worked on more upscale dinners at night, liked “the chaos of it.” But, he adds, cheese was “underlying this whole time. When I was in my early teens, I did family trips with my dad to the beach. My aunt would take me to the liquor store where they had a really nice cheese counter.”
people’s money and ate at really fancy restaurants a lot of the time.” Mullican also loved to eat at diners. “I had a piece of apple pie with a piece of sharp cheddar on it. That’s THE dessert to me.”
He sampled cheese and talked about the history of it with the store’s employees. He’d leave with 20 “little nubs” of different kinds of cheese. “Then as we sat on the beach and unwrapped one to snack on, we’d try to recall what the lady told us about it.”
The idea of cheese coming in different varieties was new to him. “Being in middle Tennessee in the ’90s, I’d never seen stuff like that. I thought, coming from Lebanon, that the Colby they put in eggs in Cracker Barrel was fancy.”
It became a tradition for him to buy cheese in Destin, Florida, and take it to the beach. “It was kind of a hobby I didn’t know I had. If and when I saw something cool and could buy it, I’d try it.”
His boss at the hospital invited Mullican to join him when he decided to go into a Cici’s pizza business. “I didn’t do that. I just had this image in my mind of mopping up throw-up from little kids rather than learning the management side of the food service industry,” Mullican says.
He sold construction equipment for the next eight years or so. But, ironically, this fueled his interest in cheese. “I traveled around the country on other
He eventually opened a gym in Lebanon. “I generally have always been in pretty good physical shape. I was a wrestler as a kid in high school, and I do jujitsu.”
Mullican then began making online infotainment podcasts for athletic training. He’d come to Memphis to shoot commercials and content for his gym. “I liked Memphis a lot. I still do,” he says.
He began doing little meal preps for athletes when he took a job managing CrossFit Memphis in Cordova, Tennessee. “And that kind of relit the candle,” he says, adding, “I would make it really great. Do a steak, green onion, and cucumber salad. Just trying to bring some flavor to fitness meals.”
And he continued to buy cheese. “I always bought stuff to play with and taste. Being in Memphis gave me a little more exposure to stuff. We didn’t have international markets in Lebanon.”
One thing he likes about cheese is that “everything has a story. And I love that. I think a great example is raclette. It’s a stinky, melty cheese. The cheesemakers in the Swiss Alps, that was the cheese they made for themselves. They would gather by a fire in the evening with their little wheels of raclette.”
Mullican met Jackie at his gym. “We
had a lot of great mindset talks and world view talks,” he says. They got the idea to open a cheese shop after Jackie visited one in Paris, France. “We opened it in May, 2021. I was bringing in cheese.” It’s now “kind of a cheese and wine cafe with sandwiches and salads.” The food is Mullican’s vision. “An extension of me, if you will. It’s got to be cheese-centric.”
Cheese is added to every menu item. “Our turkey sandwich has brick cheese on it,” Mullican says. Comté is his favorite cheese. “When it’s young, like six to nine months, it’s a lot of hazelnuts and brown butter. And then as it ages, those things get way more intense and you start to get some dark, chocolatey, fruity notes out of it.”
Choosing a favorite cheese is difficult “when you’re around different cheeses all the time. But I think that’s definitely one I never swept under the bus for anything else. I don’t ever get tired of it.”
He and Jackie opened a second “Greys Fine Cheeses” location in 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee. They love to travel. “We go all over the world and meet cheesemakers and tour the various facilities,” Mullican says.
Customers might be seeing “some cheese tourism in the future,” he says. “I want to bring other people with me.” Meanwhile, Mullican will continue to sample cheese at Greys Fine Cheeses. “Definitely a lot of grazing, if you will. A little bit at a time all through the day.”
PHOTOS: MICHAEL DONAHUE
(left) Greys manager Brad Barrow with Kurt and Jackie Mullican; (above) Kurt and Jackie Mullican
NEWS OF THE WEIRD
By the editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication
Near-Death Experience
Monica Deyanira Cabrera Barajas, 26, of Mexico, is just happy to be alive after a mishap with her nose ring, Oddity Central reported on April 14. Bothered by a monthlong cough that wouldn’t resolve, she finally headed to the doctor for an X-ray, which revealed the cough culprit: her nose ring. “The only theory I have, which I told the pulmonologist, is that I fell asleep, the little ball fell out, and that was it,” Deyanira said. “I was lying on my back, I didn’t realize, and that’s how I messed up.” The tiny circular metal barbell was found just half a millimeter from her aorta, and she had to undergo not one but two procedures to extract the ring safely. Its placement put Deyanira at risk of puncturing a lung or major blood vessel, which doctors say would have likely led to her death. Deyanira plans to steer clear of nose rings from now on. “I love piercings, and I really liked my septum piercing, but in my case, I wouldn’t get it again because of the terror I experienced,” she said. [Oddity Central, 4/14/26]
No, Thank You
Meanwhile, in Greece, a 58-year-old woman sneezed, and worms came out of her nose, Metro News reported on April 10. “The patient ... worked outdoors on a Greek island, adjacent to a field with grazing sheep,” Dr. Ilias Kioulos, a medical entomologist at the Laboratory of Pesticide Science, Agricultural University of Athens, said. “It was September, during hot and dry weather, and she noticed numerous flies swarming around her face.” About a week later, the woman developed pain and coughing, which persisted for several more weeks. After the worm-sneezing episode, the woman sought medical attention for the parasites. An otolaryngologist extracted 10 larvae and one pupa from her sinuses. “She was treated with nasal decongestants and made a complete recovery,” Dr. Kioulos said. “None of her co-workers reported similar symptoms.” [Metro UK, 4/10/26]
Fine, Have It Your Way
I’munique Clark, 33, of St. Petersburg, Florida, was arrested on April 8 after tearing up a Subway restaurant near her home, The Smoking Gun reported. Clark, who placed her order online with her real name and phone number, used Sub Club points to make the purchase,
paying nothing out of pocket for her meal. Yet, reportedly upset by the peppers on her sandwich, she went to the store, where a Subway employee told her that the sandwich had been made according to the online order, and they would not be providing a freshly made sub to replace the original order. Security camera footage shows Clark responding by pushing a cash register and printer off the counter and destroying 37 cookies along the way. She was charged with criminal mischief, arrested, and released after paying a $500 bond. Her prior convictions include grand theft at a department store and attacking her children’s father with a knife, though prosecutors dropped that charge.
[The Smoking Gun, 4/10/26]
Wait, What?
How does a car from a 1980s actionadventure TV series end up with a speeding ticket in Chicago in 2026? That’s what officials at the Volo Museum — home to a replica of KITT, the car from Knight Rider, starring David Hasselhoff — would like to know. On May 13, the Associated Press reported that the museum recently received a $50 speeding ticket for a car matching KITT’s description going 36 mph in a 25 mph zone in Brooklyn on April 22. The black Trans Am even had the California license plate KNIGHT, the same as KITT on the show, and the museum’s replica, which is unregistered. “The fact that we’re legally tied to a movie prop is interesting,” said Jim Wojdyla, the museum’s marketing director. “We’re known for having our Hollywood cars from TV and movies, but I have no idea how we got registered from a ticket in New York to the plates in California to the Volo Museum in Illinois. We’re still trying to figure it out.” Amateur replicas of KITT are not uncommon — a Facebook group for people who own one has about 19,000 members — and five original KITTs remain out of the 20 built for the show. Volo Museum officials are challenging the ticket but haven’t lost their sense of humor over the situation. “Does anyone have Hasselhoff’s number?” they posted on social media. “He owes us $50!!!!” [AP, 5/13/26]
ARIES (March 21-April 19): You are often the best possible remedy for stale, unoriginal thinking that’s festering in your vicinity. And you are especially so these days. Others might have the gall to disrupt the deadening status quo, but you have the charm to do it without scorching every bridge and laying waste to the land. So I invite you to step into the role of cheerful troublemaker. Unleash your iconoclastic sparks with the intention of making life friskier and more imaginative, not more tangled and irritating.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In many farming cultures, including parts of India, growers speak or sing to their crops as they walk through the fields. It’s a gesture of personal care that mirrors growing scientific interest in how plants respond to sound and vibration. Some studies suggest that plants exposed to sustained speech and song may grow more vigorously. Your assignment in the coming weeks, Taurus, is to speak to the growing things in your life with similar devotion. Talk to your projects. Sing to your relationships. Tell jokes to your dreams. The universe is extra responsive to your sweet voice.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): You have superpowers that hardened hearts and tough guys can’t fathom. Receptivity is a key part of your genius, for example. Emotional fluency is at the root of your intelligence. Your ability to feel so much and so deeply makes you dangerous to status quos managed by people who overthink everything. Wait! There’s more. You can nurture without smothering and protect without imprisoning. You wield the powers of memory without being enslaved by nostalgia. You make home a verb, not a noun, as you build shelter for yourself and your tribe. I hope you will express these gorgeous talents to the max in the coming weeks and months.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): An astrologer rooted in older traditions might claim that now is an ideal time to promote your personal agenda through sly, gossipy maneuvering. But since I am devoted to building a new culture grounded in compassionate values that nourish the soul, my message is different. I’m pleased to tell you that the coming weeks will be a potent phase to engage in elevating gossip that serves the greater good, to celebrate unsung heroes, and to call attention to everything that is thriving. For practical dreamers like you and me, carelessly speaking ill of others undermines our own aspirations. One of the most effective ways to expand our own possibilities is to use the power of language to boost other people’s chances for joy and success.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The ancient Library of Alexandria contained over half a million scrolls. If you devoted eight hours a day to reading, you could finish
By Rob Brezsny
about 5,000 books over the course of your life. The librarians back then knew they would never read all the texts they managed and protected. Their job wasn’t to consume all knowledge but to be stewards of abundance. They’re good role models for you, Virgo. The wonderful fact is that you don’t have to master every single thing that attracts your attention. Your far more relaxing task is to curate with care and wisdom. Your growing edge is to know what to preserve and what to release. One of your noblest projects is to commune pleasurably with the intriguing mysteries that life brings you, not obsess on them.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libra psychologist Carol Dweck distinguishes between fixed mindsets (“I’m not smart enough”) and growth mindsets (“I can become smarter”). When you have a fixed mindset, obstacles weigh you down. With a growth mindset, they motivate you to develop. What determines your trajectory isn’t your current skill level but how you relate to your edge. With this in mind, Libra, I invite you to monitor your selftalk as you encounter challenges. Are you prone to thinking that limitations are permanent, or do you see them as temporary states you can use as opportunities? You now have a good chance to instill the latter as a root habit.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): What’s something you wish you could change about yourself? Is it a trait, pattern, fear, or story about your body? And what exactly tells you that this can never change? Is it loyalty to old expectations or a rotting prophecy someone laid on you? Consider the possibility that maybe the “can’t” is really a “won’t,” or a “don’t know how yet,” or “I’m afraid of who I’d be without this.” Then imagine that you don’t have to transform this thing instantly, but, for starters, need only shift it by 10 percent in the direction of mercy and freedom. What small, specific action would generate that 10 percent?
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): What’s your most vital relationship? I dare you to surprise each other in the coming weeks. Refresh your bond with playful experimentation. Here are adventures you two could explore: 1. Take a walk together with no destination in mind, letting curiosity guide you. Talk about the paths you have not yet taken in life but might like to. 2. Describe the most beautiful future you can imagine for each other. Share practical steps you could take to make these scenarios happen. 3. Choose a food treat you both love, speak a blessing over it, then eat it slowly together as you name what you are most grateful for in your connection.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Chess masters and accomplished musicians practice differently from amateurs. They focus most intensely on their
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Neurologist
Oliver Sacks said, “I am haunted by the density of experi ence.” He meant that every moment contains far more richness than we can fully register or remember. This observation will be especially relevant for you in the coming weeks. Your mind (and heart!) will be flooded with an abundance of stimuli, ideas, feelings, and impressions. It might initially feel overwhelming, but will ultimately be a boon — especially if you prepare yourself for the intensity and abundance. Imagine yourself standing next to a fountain and feeling cheerful about getting soaked.
weak points, less so on rehearsing what they already do well. It’s uncomfortable to confront inadequacy, but they’re better for it. In my astrological opinion, Capricorn, you should specialize in a similar courage during the coming weeks. I invite you to direct your generous attention toward your shakiest skills and most uncertain territories. Glorious growth will happen at the edge of your competence.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Be more like a lightning storm over a green meadow and less like a porch light attracting moths. Be more like a spiritual riddle in an ecstatic poem and less like a slogan printed on a T-shirt. Be more like a Miles Davis improvisation and less like a tune played note-for-note from the sheet music for a formulaic pop song. Can you stretch yourself into more fertile wildness, Aquarius? Will you expand your future with adventures that thrill your imagination? I believe you can and should. For bonus magic, be more like a dream of wandering in a rowdy paradise and less like the old version of yourself. Trust the frontier signals that make your pulse quicken, and speak less about the obvious truths that make everyone nod in agreement.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Are you ready to assess the state of your emotional pain? Every few years, I invite you to take stock. I ask you to reflect on how well you’ve been cultivating meaningful stress while avoiding useless pain and misery. So, how’s your progress since our last check-in? Have you improved at sidestepping dull torments you’ve relived a thousand times? Are you less vulner able to being wounded by ignorant or thoughtless people? Can you more swiftly shake off the sting of minor troubles? Most importantly, are you increasingly magnetized to the intriguing dilemmas that challenge you to grow wiser and more resourceful?
FILM By Chris McCoy
I Love Boosters
Boots Riley’s surrealist comedy is not shy about its political agenda.
To the right-wing commentariat, just about anything can be “Marxist propaganda.” They use it as a generic term of derision for things that seem to be outside of their reactionary political project. Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood? Marxist propaganda. A high school social studies class on the Civil Rights Movement? Marxist propaganda. The Avengers? Marxist propaganda.
It’s all bullshit, of course. Marxist ideas are not being smuggled inside insanely profitable $200 million superhero movies made by Disney, the publicly traded corporation founded by a notorious union-buster. If you want to see actual Marxist propaganda, look no further than Boots Riley’s new film I Love Boosters
Riley would not dispute my characterization of I Love Boosters; a recent New Yorker profile of the hip-hop artist turned director is titled “Marx Brother.” His previous projects, like 2018’s Sorry to Bother You, a magical realist comedy about the plight of gig workers and
telemarketers, are not exactly subtle about their labor politics.
I Love Boosters is named after a song from Riley’s 2006 album Pick a Bigger Weapon. “Boosters” in this case means “shoplifters.” Corvette (Keke Palmer), Sade (Naomi Ackie), and Mariah (Taylour Paige) are The Velvet Gang, a notorious group of boosters who target high-end fashion outlets such as Metro Designers, a chain run by Christie Smith (Demi Moore). The semi-professional shoplifting gig is not exactly lucrative, but it’s the best they can do in recessionhit Oakland. Corvette, for example, is squatting in an abandoned fried chicken restaurant while she saves up to pursue a career in fashion design.
But honestly, boosting is its own reward. The gang loves nothing more than to torment Christie, an Anna Wintourlike figure who lives and works in a skyscraper that is tilted about 30 degrees to one side. When Christie declares a crackdown on shoplifting, the gang decides to pull off one more massive heist which they believe will bankrupt Metro Design-
ers and make them all rich. Since they’re already fashion experts, they easily get jobs at a Metro Designers, where they discover Christie has ripped off one of aspiring fashion designer Corvette’s more out-there creations. They also discover something even stranger, a mysterious woman named Jianhu (Poppy Liu) who is using a high-tech device to steal clothes from Metro Designers at an industrial
scale. When the gang tracks her down, they discover that she has been using a stolen teleportation device originally developed by Christie’s company to save on shipping costs. Jianhu’s plan is to hold Christie’s inventory hostage to gain concessions in an ongoing labor dispute with Metro Designers’ Chinese factories. But once they get their hands on the device, the gang discovers it’s not just a
PHOTO: COURTESY NEON The Velvet Gang
teleporter. It can also change things in the real world through the power of dialectical materialism (look it up). Armed with this most Marxist of weapons, the Velvet Gang sets out to defeat Christie while highlighting the contradictions of capitalism. And they might just set off a worldwide revolution on the way.
I Love Boosters showcases Riley’s many strengths as a filmmaker. He has a fantastic eye for color, a Felliniesque sense of combining the mundane with the fantastical, an enviable knack for perfect casting, and a restless sense of visual experimentation. The film is a constant swirl of chaos which Palmer does her best to anchor in the real emotions of frustration and alienation familiar to anyone working in the late capitalist hellscape that is Trump’s America.
The biggest problem with I Love Boosters is that it’s overstuffed. Riley wants to get every one of his crazy beautiful ideas on the screen at once. LaKeith Stanfield, who held down Sorry to Bother You so well, appears as a scorpion-like cunnilingus demon who is macking on Corvette, for example. For the first two acts of the film, the chaos is exhilarating. By the end, as the medium and the message collide, it becomes exhausting. But still, in a world of generic slop passing as art, this is an actual auteurist vision, realized by some of the best craftspeople in the business. And who knows? You might even learn something.
I Love Boosters Now playing Multiple locations
ELDERLY
Compassionate
BUY, SELL, TRADE
Wanda C’s Towing, 3614 Jackson Avenue, Memphis, TN 38108. Friday, June 19, 2026, at 2 pm. 2019 KIA OPTIMA VIN 5XXGT4L38KG357740 AUTO AUCTION
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THE LAST WORD By
Patricia Lockhart
Summer Fun (Part 2)
Catch us outside.
Hey, Memphis! Do y’all remember what I said last time? “We are outside this summer … responsibly.” I meant it! Memphis has so much to offer outdoors, where you can get your regular dose of vitamin D and have a good time. While I started pre-gaming for summer in early May, this is only the beginning. Here are a few activities I’ve enjoyed recently (and will definitely be double-dipping into).
Memphis Parks
If you’re not following Memphis Parks (IG: @mem_parks), pause your reading right now, get out your phone, and follow them immediately! You are missing out on a lot of free, fun activities. Recently, I attended Poetry in the Park and Lit in the Park. Poetry in the Park with @wekeepingitp was the vibe I always knew I needed. The weather was perfect at Mary Elizabeth Malone Park. The peace levels were at an all-time high. Some people painted, while others picnicked and enjoyed the spoken word. And of course, it was all free! Lit in the Park was held in collaboration with Literature Libations. Just imagine chilling in the park with your book, new best friends, and a charcuterie board from Feast and Graze. Got it in your mind? Good! I’ll see you at their next event!
What I’m most looking forward to is engaging in Yoga in the Park with my friends. Have you ever heard the saying, “You’re not old, you just need to stretch”? Well, it’s true. There is no better way to stay young than getting into some gentle yoga, sunshine, and deep breathing. Personally, I’m leaning toward attending the Senior Yoga first (even though I’m not a senior). There are a few mornings where I feel like I’ve aged overnight! I’m sure some of you can agree.
While this summer, I’ll be having a lot of responsible, adult fun, I’d be foolish not to mention Memphis Parks Family Fun Fridays. They are hopping from park to park, offering free family events that include a free meal or dessert (to the first 500 people), a teen station with arcade games and more, plus all the other typical fun park gadgets. By now, you should be following them on Instagram, so go ahead and look at the dates and add them to your calendar.
Overton Park Shell
If you’ve been a reader of mine for a while, you’ll know that my picnic basket, blanket, and four-pack cooler is currently in my trunk and will remain there until the end of the Orion Financial Free Concert Series at the Overton Park Shell. Do I know all of the bands playing? No. Do I still enjoy myself immensely? ABSOLUTELY! Free live music, food, beer, and friends equals a good time. If you’re new to the Shell, here’s a mini list of what you might need:
• A blanket or lawn chair
• Bug spray (I’ve rarely needed it, but it’s nice to have in case.)
• Food (But there are always two or three food trucks.)
• Water (Gotta stay hydrated, mane.)
• Wine or beer (But they sell it there, too.)
• A good attitude (If your face stank, please stay home.)
Pro Tips:
• Get there early to get a good spot.
• Order your food first if ordering from a food truck.
• Bring a bubble machine (because why not?).
• Be generous and throw some money in the Shell Bucket … iykyk
Shelby Farms
If you’re talking about being outside and enjoying Memphis, Shelby Farms is a must! There’s so much to do there. I recently had the opportunity to attend their Canoe + Cocktails with Memphis Mom Collective. Sidenote: If you’re not following them, what are you waiting for? I had the best time ever!
Shelby Farms also hosts Get Outside Fitness, which includes line dancing, yoga, and more. I’m on a yoga kick this season, so you know where I’ll be! It’s free, but sign-up is required.
“Amazing” is how I always describe Shelby Farms. I’ve seen some stunning sights while walking around Hyde Park Lake. I might arrive with the intention of “just getting my steps in,” but I always leave renewed and restored.
With all that this city has to offer us this summer, there’s no excuse to stay cooped up in the house. Grab your people, charge your phone for the pictures, and get outside! The city is waiting for us.
P.S. My teens are enjoying doing the absolute least this summer. And I’m okay with that. They worked hard this school year and deserve some restorative time … whatever that looks like for them.
Patricia Lockhart is a native Memphian who loves to read, write, cook, and eat. By day, she’s a librarian and writer, but by night … she’s asleep.
PHOTO: COURTESY PATRICIA LOCKHART Enjoy summer outdoors and get in some steps at Shelby Farms.
The Hot Tamale Capital of the World invites you to enjoy an eclectic collection of events and entertaining
» MAY « Mississippi Wildlife Heritage Festival, including Frog Fest and Leland Craw sh Festival LelandChamber.com
Future Tour Golf Championship
» JUNE « Delta Soul & Celebrity Golf Event facebook.com/DeltaSoulGolf
Lake Washington’s “Straight O The Lake” Music Festival
