Southern celebration

Photo by Michael Donahue // Buy this photo

Filmmaker Kentucker Audley (right) and Caroline White returned to the Memphis and Music Heritage Festival on Sunday after attending Saturday. John Paul Keith (left) performed both days.

The Center for Southern Folklore's 2010 Memphis Music and Heritage Festival was a success, said Judy Peiser, the center's executive director.

"We had 40,000 (people) last year," Judy said. "I know we had more this year."

And, she added, "We sold out of T-shirts. We've never sold out of festival T-shirts before."

This year's festival paid tribute to the late performer and music producer Jim Dickinson.

"We have never seen so many people arrive early and stay late," she said. "We didn't realize how many people come in from out of town. There were people from British Columbia, people from Australia, people from New Jersey.

"In two days they can get what we all know about. They can get an amazing sense of musical history of the area and also hear what's happening on the contemporary scene."

The Saturday and Sunday festival featured music on four stages and cooking demonstrations on another. The festival also featured an area for arts-and-crafts vendors and an area where people could share stories about their traditions.

"As Southerners, we can spin a yarn and we can tell a story whether it's song or dance or food," she said. "So we try to have those kinds of platforms. Someone might not be very talkative, but when they make their Chinese fried rice, it's their heritage coming out."

No matter what form it takes, they are saying, "This is about my life and how I'm telling you about my life. It's in music. It's in culture. It's in everything we live and breathe. The festival has become that special place where people can kick back, relax and be happy about who they are."

Give him a cup, and he's good to go

Having a cast on your right arm if you're right-handed sounds like a bad thing if you're at a party where more than 100 varieties of beer are being served.

Patrick Lantrip, who broke his arm longboarding in Central Gardens last week, attended Zoo Brew on Friday night at the Memphis Zoo with a cast on his right arm.

"Where there's a will, there's a way," he said. "As long as they give me a cup, I'm good to go."

Patrick and the other guests were given little plastic cups to use for the tastings at stations set up around the zoo.

Patrick, a bartender on Beale Street, usually works Friday nights. "The ironic thing is, if I had not broken my arm, I wouldn't be here."

Tim Dalfiume, Memphis Zoo director of events, said about 2,500 attended this year's Zoo Brew.

Gospel in the park at the Stone Soul Picnic

About 15,000 attended this year's Stone Soul Picnic, said Art Gilliam, WLOK president.

"We had a great crowd," he said. "Everything worked well."

People relaxed on blankets and lawn chairs and listened to gospel music Saturday in Tom Lee Park.

This year's was the 36th picnic, Art said. "The event started a couple of years before we bought the station. It was started by some announcers who just had the idea: Hey, let's get together and go out to what was then Riverside Park and invite some people out and play some music and give them some free hot dogs.

"I think the free hot dog part sparked a massive influx of folks."

Hot dogs no longer are free; concessions, including barbecue, were for sale at booths in the park.

Michael Donahue: 529-2797. donahue@commercialappeal.com

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