On Monday, the Tennessee state House approved the “success sequence” bill in a 73-20 vote. e bill, which would require the state’s public schools to teach a speci c life path to “success,” previously passed the Senate in a 25-5 vote and is now headed to the desk of Governor Bill Lee for signing. at life path: education, marriage, kids.
SHARA CLARK
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In fact, the text of HB0178 focuses heavily on marriage as the crux of a “successful” life: “WHEREAS, children raised by married parents are more likely to ourish compared to children raised in single-parent families; and WHEREAS, children raised in stable, married-parent families are more likely to excel in school, and generally earn higher grade point averages than children who are not; and WHEREAS, children raised by married parents are about twice as likely to graduate from college than children who are not; and WHEREAS, children not raised in a home with married parents are twice as likely to end up in jail or prison before reaching thirty years of age …”
Perhaps data somewhere shows these things are more or less likely for children who had both parents around, but setting curriculum to teach youth that marriage is a required part of a “successful” life is an overstep. Will they, too, teach how to maintain a successful marriage? According to the National Center for Health Statistics, approximately 41 percent of rst marriages and 60 percent of second marriages end in divorce. In 2021, the most recent state report showed Tennessee had a divorce rate of 3.3 per 1,000 inhabitants. And in 2024, U.S. News & World Report listed Tennessee among the top 10 states with the highest divorce rate. A crucial piece in teaching marriage as an asset would be teaching people how to navigate the commitments, challenges, and changes of marriage. State Senator London Lamar, raised by a single mother, recently commented on the bill, noting it implies single parents are “less than.” “If you are not married, it does not mean that you are less than anybody else. I think this bill is misguided, it’s very o ensive, and I’m living proof that this bill has no merit,” Lamar said.
I’m no senator. But I have what some may consider a successful life and career. My parents divorced when I was 5 years old, but I excelled in K-12, graduating with the fourth-highest grade point average in my high school class (a di erence of mere tenths from valedictorian). I nished college at University of Memphis summa cum laude, with the highest GPA among all graduating journalism students that year. I held jobs while earning an education, taking an internship here with the Flyer as a working student. Dedicated to this publication, and with immense respect for the talented people with whom I work, I took positions in various departments to stick around — editorial, ad sales, advertorial — and wrote/edited for other magazines published by Contemporary Media. rough the years, I learned the ins and outs of the processes that make this thing work. In 2022, my bosses deemed me t to run the whole Flyer shebang. I’m grateful and honored.
I’m also childless (by choice) and have never been married. I knew at a very young age I didn’t want children. And marriage is not for me. Do my life choices make me less than? By not following a rigid “sequence,” did I somehow fail?
NEWS & OPINION
Did my parents parting ways make me a bad kid? A dumb kid? A kid with less potential? No. My mother struggled at times as a single mom. But through her, I learned perseverance, determination, and the value of hard work. I knew that for most people, success (however it’s de ned) would be a climb, and not a straight one — and that I was most people. I think the fact that I’m here, writing love notes to my dear city on a regular basis — and that you’re here, reading my words — is, by some measure, success.
Marriage and kids not required.
Shara Clark shara@memphis yer.com
PHOTO: RUI G. SANTOS | DREAMSTIME.COM De ning success in terms of marriage is misguided.
POLITICS By Jackson Baker
The Cycle Starts Anew
Kelsey, fresh from prison, celebrates; Billingsley and Roland ready for another go at the commission.
King Arthur was not present. In fact, the ranking attendee at the Roundtable in East Memphis last Saturday night for Brian Kelsey’s out-of-prison celebration was Brent Taylor, the fellow Republican who won a special election to succeed Kelsey in the state Senate.
A crowd of some 50 family members and well-wishers braved street oods and a thunderstorm of generational ferocity to help Kelsey rejoice at his recent pardon by President Trump — a circumstance that a grateful Kelsey kept referring to as a “miracle” in the course of a 15-minute speech to the gathering.
Kelsey had been convicted of conspiring with others in a scheme to illegally funnel campaign nance money from his state account into his unsuccessful 2016 congressional race. He consented to a plea arrangement of guilty but later tried and failed to get his plea rescinded.
Ultimately, he would surrender and had spent two weeks in a federal prison in Kentucky before getting the surprise pardon from President Trump two weeks ago. A er his indictment, he had contended that he was being unjustly targeted by then-President Joe Biden. ough the claim appeared far-fetched to many observers, Trump may have regarded it as credible. In any case, Kelsey had a network of GOP supporters who had kept up his ght for vindication.
On the morning that he learned of his pardon, Kelsey told the crowd, guards were conducting a shakedown of the prison population, looking for illicit drugs.
Kelsey said that he was writing a book about his brush with the law, presumably including information about his trial as well as his incarceration.
• Brian Kelsey may or may not be premeditating on a political comeback, but there are several other former o ceholders out there who intend to return to active service. Mark Billingsley, for one: e once and possibly future county commissioner, speaking with KWAM on Monday morning, announced his candidacy in 2026 for the District Four commission seat, now held by the term-limited Brandon Morrison, saying, “ e last couple of
years I’ve been really concerned with our leadership. e way we change things is getting involved. People are voting with their taillights, they are leaving, and I want them to have better opportunities in Shelby County for young and old.”
Republican Billingsley mentioned a dilapidated jail and a defective educational system as things in need of remedy.
“All Shelby County residents deserve better, and they should demand more common sense and real accountability from their elected o cials, no matter their party a liation,” he said, pledging to work across the aisle with the commission’s majority Democrats.
PHOTO: COURTESY NASER FAZLULLAH
A freed Kelsey with well-wisher Naser Fazlullah at celebration party
And Terry Roland, who served as commission chair during his two terms on the body, wants to return to his old District One seat, now held by the also term-limited Amber Mills.
Roland, another Republican, is well known to followers of local politics as a colorful ideologue with pronounced MAGA sympathies. But, like Billingsley, he boasts his record of working across the aisle and was in the forefront of e orts to resolve racial disparities in the county workforce.
A specialist in economic development tools, Roland is the immediate past president of the Millington Area Chamber of Commerce. He recently cofounded a consultancy group with Cary Vaughn and Jon Crisp to focus on development issues.
AT LARGE By Bruce VanWyngarden
When It Rains
April showers bring … tari -ick news.
Perhaps the nadir of last week for me came Saturday morning, as I was standing in a sudden downpour with my two leashed dogs, imploring them to, well, pee.
“C’mon, Olive! Pee and you get a treat! C’mon, girls, pee! Don’t you want a treat?” eir ears always perk when they hear the sacred T-word, but they never seem to make the connection as to how relieving themselves might make the magic happen, and so on we trudged along the ooded Midtown sidewalks until at last the deeds were done and we could return home to shake ourselves dry.
Seriously, can we all agree that last week was insane? Twelve inches of rain in four days? ey called it a “generational event.” Maybe, but does anybody remember the great ood of 2011? Seems less than a generation ago.
proclaimed last Wednesday “Liberation Day” and imposed tari s on, well, every country in the world except Russia. He was like Oprah Winfrey on a bender: “You get a tari , and you get a tari , and you get a tari ! And everyone gets a global market collapse.” Good times!
Noted le ist hippie rag, e Economist, described the proceedings thusly: “It’s hard to know which is more unsettling: that the leader of the free world could spout complete drivel about its most successful and admired economy. Or the fact that on April 2nd, spurred on by his delusions, Donald Trump announced the biggest break in America’s trade policy in over a century — and committed the most profound, harmful, and unnecessary economic error in the modern era.”
My rain-crazed friends and I spent the a ernoon sending each other ood videos gleaned from social media or local TV websites. Overton Park is under water! Union Avenue is closed! Poplar is shut down! Stay away from East Parkway! Giant tree fell on Cooper! ere’s a guy kayaking by Ecco!
ere were several images of sad people standing beside their cars in waistdeep water, victims of the kind of foolish optimism that leads someone into thinking their Corolla is a Humvee. We got 5.5 inches in a single day, a record for April.
Just some wacky weather, nothing more.
By Sunday, we were down to an occasional drizzle, but there’s more moisture to come, folks. at giant anaconda of a storm squatted over the center of the country for several days, and all of that water is headed our way, spilling down the countless rivers, streams, creeks, and ditches that feed into the Ohio, Illinois, Tennessee, and Missouri rivers, and ultimately, the Mississippi. A rise of two feet a day on the lower Mississippi (that’s us), is considered a big deal. e river rose 5.6 feet(!) at Memphis on Monday and is predicted to rise more than 20 feet before it crests at 37 feet on April 14th — three feet above ood stage. e 2011 ood crested at 48 feet, but still, the redesigned Tom Lee Park may be tested.
But all of this wacky weather was really just background noise as the country was being “looted, pillaged, raped, and plundered by nations near and far” and cruelly denied a “turn to prosper.” Or at least that’s what was happening in the spacious cranium of Donald Trump, as he
Out of curiosity, I went around my house checking manufacturing labels. Here’s a partial list of things I own that were made in another country: toaster oven, blender, co ee maker, knife sharpener, microwave, vacuum cleaner, nine lamps, two televisions, stereo and turntable, hair dryer, washer and dryer. If I’d gone out to the garage, I could have kept going, starting with my Subaru and working through all my tools and battery-powered lawn care devices. I do own two American guitars and a Kershaw pocket knife.
All that stu is soon going to cost, at minimum, 20 percent more, thanks to Tari -Boy’s McKinley wet dream. Hope you like the idea of $1,500 iPhones. Not to mention, everyone’s 401(k) is in the toilet and the IRS’ and Social Security’s computer programs are being rewritten by Elon Musk’s unrestrained junior codehackers. What, me worry? ere was at least some good news. Trump sent out this announcement on Saturday: “ e President won his second round matchup of the Senior Club Championship today in Jupiter, FL, and advances to the Championship Round tomorrow.” Priorities! I bet you can’t guess who won.
PHOTO: BETHANY BUTLER MYERS
By Michael Donahue
Star Chef
What do Bill Clinton, Prince Edward, and Julia Child have in common? Ann Barnes has cooked for them.
Four Weddings and a Funeral was already taken as a movie title, but caterer Ann Barnes says that could also be the title of the book she’s planning to write one day.
“I did four weddings and a funeral on the same day,” she says.
During her almost 50-year career, Barnes has cooked for movie stars, musicians, famous authors, ambassadors, royalty, one archbishop, and ve United States presidents.
She’s prepared meals for two (a candlelight engagement party in a park) and for up to 3,000 people (the opening of Wolfchase Galleria in 1997).
“My jaws are still dropping,” Barnes says. “Just wild and wonderful opportunities. One thing led to another.”
In addition to catering, Barnes, who is owner of Corinne’s Very Special Catering (named a er her mother, Corinne Batson), owned Just for Lunch restaurant, which had three locations: 4730 Poplar, 4706 Spottswood, and 3092 Poplar Avenue. Her sister Susan Overton, who owned A Very Special Tearoom in Little Rock, Arkansas, was the inspiration for her Just For Lunch restaurants.
A Dignified Start
Born in Little Rock, Barnes initially learned to cook from e Essential New York Times Cookbook, the Neiman Marcus Cookbook, and Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook. “I never cooked one time until I got married. I got all those for wedding presents.”
Barnes moved to Memphis in 1967.
ree years later, she began doing cooking jobs for friends and family for fun. Her criteria has always been: “If it doesn’t look pretty and taste good, I won’t serve it.”
Dixon Gallery and Gardens was where she did her rst public catered luncheon. “It was an ordinary lunch — an avocado with shrimp salad and fruit, some good rolls, mu ns, and maybe aspic.”
She didn’t realize until the day a er the luncheon that she’d cooked for the French ambassador, who was the honoree. “If I’d have known, I would have thrown in an extra strawberry,” she jokes.
“A er that I had the good future of cooking for many ambassadors,” she says. For a particular Russian ambassador, Barnes made “ice bowls out of ice with ower petals in them so we could serve
borscht. We put a little cream with the beet juice. It looked exactly like Pepto Bismol.”
Fit for a Prince
Among other dignitaries she cooked for was Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II. Prince Edward was at an event Barnes catered in Oxford, Mississippi, where she’s done many catering jobs. (She was told she “had done weddings for anyone who had a street named a er them in Oxford.”) e event for Prince Edward featured “an elevated Southern menu,” she says. She remembers making pecanencrusted cat sh. She may have made a “grits cake” (with cooked grits, butter, and cheese). And, she says, she probably served “eggs Creole,” which is made with andouille sausage and eggs with craw sh sauce poured over it. Barnes and her sta weren’t supposed to speak to Prince Edward. “ ey told us, ‘Don’t talk to him. He’s very formal.’ Well, he wanted to talk. It was a fancy, seated dinner. He wanted to sample a lot of Southern dishes. He talked to servers.
He talked to me.”
e dessert bu et was in another room. ey served peach pan pies (aka “fried pies”), bourbon pecan pie, and banana pudding. e bu et also included crème brûlée, but not served in the thin little ramekins like those favored at restaurants, Barnes says with a bit of distaste. ey were “served in casserole dishes. Served at the table. e old-fashioned way.”
“ e Scotland Yard people said, ‘We’ve been all over the world and this is the best food we ever had,’” she says.
Prince Edward gave her a brass bookmark with a ribbon tied to it. “I thought that was nice.”
A Presidential Path
Other notables Barnes catered for include Jehan Sadat, wife of Anwar Sadat, then-president of Egypt. She prepared a high tea for her at “an intimate gathering in someone’s home.”
Barnes did a reception for 2,500 people for writer/commentator William F. Buckley Jr., host of TV’s
PHOTO: COURTESY ANN BARNES Ann Barnes
Firing Line. It was to celebrate the episode of the show taped in Oxford, Mississippi. “He was very nice. Kind of very Harvard proper, you know what I mean? Very blue blood.”
One of the show’s guests who attended the dinner was former United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. He talked to Barnes like they were old friends. “He took his shoes o . He said he was more comfortable with his shoes o .” He also took the tops o the di erent little sandwiches on the bu et and looked at them, Barnes says. She asked if there was a problem. “He said, ‘No, no, no. I just wanted to see.’” en, she said, “He would politely put them back on and pop them in his mouth.”
Barnes has cooked for former presidents Barack Obama, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Gerald Ford, but she didn’t get to talk to them like she did Bill Clinton, who was the guest at the home of Gwen and John Montague. He went back in the kitchen and “smiled and waved,” Barnes says. “He looked up at me. I had an apron on. [He said,] ‘What’s going on back here?’ I was trying to look digni ed. He took a bite of something as he le the kitchen and said, ‘Good groceries.’”
Meeting and cooking for the Dalai Lama was one of her most cherished memories, Barnes says. “He never quit smiling.”
She made chive dumplings for him — he’s vegetarian. She made owers out of vegetables as garnishes.
e Dalai Lama’s entourage — “big,
(le ) Of all the celebrities Ann Barnes has cooked for, Julia Child stands out the most to her.
(below) Barnes cooked for many former presidents, including the conversational Bill Clinton.
burly men” — didn’t use plates at the bu et, Barnes recalls. “ ey reached into the cha ng dishes and scooped it up and ate it. I tried to hand them plates. ey said, ‘No, no. It’s good.’”
Chef to Stars
e laundry list of celebrities Barnes has fed includes Marlo omas and her husband Phil Donahue, Julie Andrews, Tiger Woods, and race car driver Dale Earnhardt.
She cooked for Sam Shepard and Jessica Lange at Just For Lunch. “Somebody called me and said, ‘ ese people are in town. Can they come and eat lunch?’ We were packed.”
When she learned it was Shepard and Lange, she asked some friends who had been at their table for a long time if she
“The Scotland Yard people said, ‘We’ve been all over the world and this is the best food we ever had.’”
could have it. “Most of my customers were my friends.”
Shepard and Lange “couldn’t have been nicer,” Barnes says. Lange wanted a cappuccino, but “I didn’t have a cappuccino machine, or it was broken or something, so I put on a clean apron and walked out and said, ‘Oh, gosh. Our cappuccino maker is broken, but we have really good co ee. We have great
beans.’” Lange smiled at her and said, “ at will be ne.” “She was gracious about it.”
At a Southern writers conference in Oxford, Barnes cooked for Eudora Welty, John Grisham, and Willie Morris. “Willie Morris signed one of his books,” she says.
Barnes also “did a lot of backstage catering” for people. She didn’t get to talk to all of them, but she cooked at events attended by Al Green, Justin Timberlake, Aerosmith, Journey, e Temptations, Dan Aykroyd, Barry Manilow, Tom Brokaw, Katie Couric, Al Roker, and Joe Cocker.
Barnes remembers catering for Aaron Neville and his band at Germantown Performing Arts Center. “I won the joketelling contest,” she remembers. “We all
continued on page 14
PHOTOS: COURTESY ANN BARNES
steppin’ out
We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews
Iconic
By Abigail Morici
Babbie Lovett has about 2,000 to 3,000 garments that she’s collected in her 92 years of life as a model, show producer, store owner, and mentor in Memphis’ fashion industry. “You know there’s a ne line between collecting and hoarding,” she jests. “I’ve got a house full and three apartments full of racks.”
But, even as she jokes, she says, “It’s like I have a whole box of paints and crayons that I can use.” For her fashion shows, that is. Just last year, for instance, she put a show together for the University of Memphis: Memphis Fashion rough the Decades. “ ese last 10 years, all my dreams seem to be coming true,” Lovett says, “because I’ve always wanted my collection to be used for education or for fundraising.”
ese days, though, Lovett has to organize her shows by feel and memory, since about two-and-a-half years ago she went blind. “It’s one of the most interesting times of my life. It’s a real journey of learning,” she says, ever the one to take a positive outlook.
Her most recent project has been with the Tennessee Ballet eater (TBT), which will honor the last nine decades of her many-chaptered life with e ICON: Babbie Lovett, Fashion Legend this April. Directed by Erin Walter, TBT’s artistic director, and with works choreographed by Max Robinson and Steven Prince Tate, the ballet will traverse the “peaks and valleys” of Lovett’s life, with four ballerinas representing Lovett. “ ere are 15 dances, and some are literal depictions of aspects of her life,” Walter says, “and some are abstractions from things that we were inspired by.”
For e ICON, Walter has incorporated pieces from Lovett’s collection in two numbers. “To see them dance just thrills me to death,” Lovett says. is production will be the h installment of TBT’s 901 Stories, which has brought to life histories of Earnestine & Hazel’s, the Annesdale Mansion, the Medicine Factory, and the Jack Robinson Gallery through dance. “We like to celebrate things about Memphis that maybe people don’t know,” Walter says. “Maybe half of Memphis knows who Babbie is, but the other half doesn’t.”
And to Walter, at least, Lovett is Memphis history. At 92, she began life in the Great Depression, saw the fashion industry boom in Memphis, and took part in it, modeling here and in New York; she built businesses, pioneered “trashion” (taking trash and making it into fashion), and advocated for the arts and causes close to her heart. She was and still is a mentor to many. To try and describe her life in a paragraph is a disservice; to do it in a ballet, however, will put Lovett on the stage, where she’s always belonged, sharing her joy with as many people as possible.
THE ICON: BABBIE LOVETT, FASHION LEGEND, MCCOY THEATRE AT RHODES COLLEGE, 2000 NORTH PARKWAY, FRIDAY, APRIL 11TH, 7:30 P.M. | SATURDAY, APRIL 12TH, 7:30 P.M., $45, TENNESSEEBALLETTHEATER.COM.
VARIOUS DAYS & TIMES April 10th - 16th
“Not Only Seen, But Felt” Urban Art Commission, 422 North Cleveland, through April 17th
Curated by Gabrielle Yasmeen, this exhibit features Black women photographers from Memphis: A.C. Bullard, Ariel J. Cobbert, Alexus Milons, Jasmine Marie, Gabrielle Yasmeen, Keara W., and MadameFraankie.
Love Food Hate Waste Memphis
Memphis Made, 16 South Lauderdale, Friday, April 11, 6-8 p.m., free is free, family-friendly event is all about sustainability, food rescue, and zero waste. e evening will include food waste trivia with prizes hosted by Project Green Fork and a culinary demo turning kitchen scraps into a delicious treat. Register at bu .ly/9ZxN6M8. e rst 50 attendees get a free Memphis Made beer or N/A beverage.
Cooper-Young Porchfest
Coooper-Young Historic District, Saturday, April 12, noon-6 p.m., free
e Cooper-Young Community Association (CYCA) is bringing back the Cooper-Young Porchfest for its h year. Staged on the eclectic porches of the historic neighborhood, this all-volunteer event will feature an eclectic mix of bands playing on residents’ front porches and is intended to be a grassroots celebration of spring, music, and Cooper-Young.
Coupled with this event, the CYCA will also bring back their annual community yard sale that morning, setting the stage for a day of fun and community connection. e yard sale will run from approximately 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
For a map and schedule, visit coooperyoung.org/porchfest or stop by the gazebo day of for a printed copy.
Star Trek Day
Neil’s Music Room, 5725 Quince Road, Saturday, April 13, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
In its most exciting incarnation yet, Shelby County Star Trek Day returns for its 10th anniversary celebration, with major Star Trek stars, including Jonathan Frakes, Armin Shimerman, and Kitty Shimerman, zooming in for a live Q&A. e event always features trivia and costume contests, and vendors selling Trek merch, along with Trek-themed food and drink. You can drink Romulan ale and Klingon blood wine, or eat fried tribble with a plate of Klingon Gagh. (Caveat for true Klingon fans: the Gagh will not actually be alive and wriggling on the plate.) It will conclude with a discussion and Ranked Choice Vote on e Best “Riker” or “Quark” Episode, which will then be screened.
PHOTO: ZIGGY MACK
TBT dancer Dasha Andrienko
CALENDAR of EVENTS: April 10 - 16
ART AND SPECIAL EXHIBITS
“A Journey into the Shadows”
Colombian-born artist
Nelson Gutierrez confronts the realities of migration and displacement through a striking visual language of shadow and movement, using threedimensional cutout drawings. rough May 11.
CROSSTOWN ARTS AT THE CONCOURSE
“Arrangements in Gravity”
Exhibition of recent work by Brian Jobe and Jered Sprecher, in whose work both the poignant and playful are present. Free. rough April 25.
BEVERLY + SAM ROSS GALLERY
ARTSmemphis:
“GRANTEDTime Exhibition”
An exhibit curated by Brittney Boyd Bullock, a visual artist working ber, mixed media, and abstraction. rough Aug. 5.
ARTSMEMPHIS
“Art Speaks: Visual Poetry Exhibition & Art Inspired by Words” is dynamic showcase explores the powerful intersection of language and visual expression. rough May 31.
MEMPHIS ART SALON AT MINGLEWOOD HALL
“Colorfully, Darkly, Quietly”
Combining Willy Bearden’s photography and David Tankersley’s drawings. Free. rough April 29.
WKNO’S GALLERY TEN NINETY ONE
“Dialogues”: New Works by Rivertown Artists
Nine artists engaged in a dynamic conversation through their work. rough May 2.
ANF ARCHITECTS
“Earth Matters: Rethink the Future”
Learn more about biodiversity and climate change. $18. rough May 18.
PINK PALACE MUSEUM & MANSION
“From the Ashes”
Maritza Davila-Irizarry integrates printmaking, mixed media, photography, video, and remnants from the re that destroyed the artist’s studio. rough May 11.
CROSSTOWN ARTS AT THE CONCOURSE
“In Plain Sight”
Ben Couvillion is a photographer with a passion for creating bold and saturated compositions that elevate the beauty of everyday life. rough April 27.
ST. GEORGE’S ART GALLERY AT ST. GEORGE’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
“Many Moons”
Kit Reuther employs her own brand of architectural abstraction to deconstruct representational forms in paintings and sculptures. rough May 10.
DAVID LUSK GALLERY
“Not Only Seen, But Felt”
Featuring Black women photographers from Memphis: A.C. Bullard, Ariel J. Cobbert, Alexus Milons, Jasmine Marie, Gabrielle Yasmeen, Keara W., and MadameFraankie. rough April 17.
URBAN ART COMMISSION
“Thicket”
On ve-by-seven slices of aluminum ashing, and larger slabs of sanded birch, Owen Westberg paints still lifes, views through a window, and landscapes captured in and around Pittsburgh. rough May 17.
TOPS GALLERY
“Pompeii: The Exhibition”
In a media-rich, object-based immersive experience, discover the bustling commercial port and strategic military and trading center that was Pompeii before Mount Vesuvius erupted. rough April 13.
GRACELAND EXHIBITION CENTER
“Small Spaces”
Jennifer Watson incorporates three-dimensional enameled copper sculpture into highly designed, jewel-like paintings that mix overlapping and colliding geometries with animal and plant imagery. rough April 13.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS
“Speaking Truth to Power: The Life of Bayard Rustin Exhibition”
“Speaking Truth to Power” explores Bayard Rustin’s innovative use of the “medium” to communicate powerful messages of nonviolence, activism, and authenticity. rough Dec. 31.
NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM
“The Golden Age of Paper Dolls”
A private collection of paper dolls displayed throughout the historic house, including an area to try out paper dolls and make your own. rough May 28.
DAVIES MANOR HISTORIC SITE
“Trolls: Save the Humans” omas Dambo’s larger-thanlife fairytale, in which art and nature intertwine. rough May 21.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
“Tributaries: Rachel David | Engorging Eden”
“Engorging Eden,” a solo exhibition by Rachel David that transforms everyday furniture into fragmented expressions of life’s chaos, joy, and loss. Sunday, Feb. 9, 11 a.m.
METAL MUSEUM
“Water Valley in Memphis”
Featuring Tori Ellis Smith, Amy Webb, Erin Austen Abbott, Megan Patton, Coulter Fussell, Brooke Alexander, and Hannah McCormick. rough April 10.
THE UGLY ART COMPANY
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 EVENT LISTINGS, SCAN THE QR CODE OR VISIT EVENTS.MEMPHISFLYER.COM/CAL.
PHOTO: COURTESY LANDERS CENTER
Legends of Laughter, aka LOL
ART HAPPENINGS
Art Club: Stettheimer
Have you ever wanted to know more about Memphis’ extraordinary art collection at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art? Free. Sunday, April 13, 2-3 p.m.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
Art in the Tearoom
A ernoon viewing and refreshments of local artists work on exhibit. Free. Wednesday, April 16, 2-4 p.m.
WOMAN’S EXCHANGE OF MEMPHIS
Beyond Chic Fashion Show
Where style meets fabulousness. $55. Sunday, April 13, 3:15-5 p.m.
TOP TIER VENUE
First Annual State of the Arts
Your chance to join a vital conversation about policies and sustainable resources for the creative community. Monday, April 14, 5 p.m.
e Metal Museum, in collaboration with Evergreen Presbyterian, will be hosting an exhibition featuring artwork
created out of gun parts: “Metal Petals + Healing Roots.” Saturday, April 12, 6-8 p.m.
EVERGREEN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BOOK EVENTS
Dolen Perkins-Valdez: Happy Land!
A woman learns the astonishing truth of her family’s ties to a real-life American kingdom in this new novel from the NAACP Award-winning author of Take My Hand. Friday, April 11, 6 p.m. NOVEL
Golden Girls Cozy Mystery Release Party! Novel is throwing a Golden Girls-themed party to celebrate the release of a brandnew cozy mystery series, complete with a Golden Girls costume contest and cheesecake from 901 Bakes! $25. Tuesday, April 15, 6-8 p.m. NOVEL
Loryn Brantz: Poems of Parenting is illustrated collection of tender, funny, radically honest poems about parenthood, based on a series of popular Instagram posts, is the perfect baby shower or Mother’s Day gi . Sunday, April 13, 2 p.m. NOVEL
COMEDY
Country Comedy Boot, scoot, and boogie with Polly Popjoy, Fairyspit, and
host Imagene Azengraber! Sunday, April 13, 8 p.m.
HI TONE
Legends of Laughter
A star-studded lineup of renowned comedians that includes Sommore, Lavell Crawford, Don DC Curry, Arnez J, Guy Torrey, and Finesse Mitchell. Saturday, April 12, 8 p.m.
LANDERS CENTER
Stand Up Comedy Show at Memphis Made Brewery
Nationally touring comedians, brews and food trucks. $5/early bird, $7/general admission. Saturday, April 12, 7:15-9 p.m.
MEMPHIS MADE BREWING
(DOWNTOWN - THE RAVINE)
COMMUNITY
Girls Pearls and Pinot
Meet the designers at a trunk show-style mixer. Free. ursday, April 10, 4-7 p.m.
WOMAN’S EXCHANGE OF MEMPHIS
Memphis Songwriters Association Meeting
Discuss songwriting, the art of being a working musician or touring artist, and the creativity and industry knowledge
PHOTO: COURTESY WKNO
Tankersley’s drawings & Bearden’s photos at WKNO’s Gallery Ten Ninety One
you will need to accomplish it all. en join the song swap. Monday, April 14, 7 p.m.
SOUTH MAIN SOUNDS
DANCE
SpringLoaded featuring Slaughter at the Peabody is production showcases a multi-genre work featuring both student and professional performers plus a bold reimagining of Slaughter on Tenth Avenue. Saturday, April 12, 4:30 p.m. | Sunday, April 13, 2:30 p.m.
BUCKMAN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Tennessee Ballet Theater presents The Icon: Babbie Lovett, Fashion Legend
A 92-year-old Memphian and fashion icon, Babbie’s life spans the realms of New York Fashion Houses, Tony Awardwinning musical productions, and American “royalty.”
Friday, April 11, 7:30 p.m. | Saturday, April 12, 7:30 p.m.
MCCOY THEATRE AT RHODES
COLLEGE
EXPO/SALES
Plant Sale: Dixon
Garden Fair e sale will feature a wide range of plants from di cultto- nd natives to choice shrubs and herbaceous perennials. Friday, April 11, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. | Saturday, April 12, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS Record Store Day
An extravaganza of deals and special editions on vinyl. Visit Goner Records, Shangri-La Records, and River City Records in Memphis, and undercloud Records in Southaven. Saturday, April 12.
VARIOUS LOCATIONS
Spring Morning in the Garden 50+ Expo e Best Times presents over 40 vendors and sponsors offering services and products important to seniors. Tuesday, April 15, 9 a.m.-noon.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
Spring Plant Sale
Find a curated selection of plants well-suited for the MidSouth, including natives, trees & shrubs, vegetables, herbs, annual owers, pollinator plants, woodland ephemerals, and more. Plus a variety of houseplants & tropicals.
ursday, April 10, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. | Friday, April 11, 9 a.m.4 p.m. | Saturday, April 12, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
continued on page 22
FAMILY
April Free Family Day
Enjoy live music, food trucks, arts and cra s, games, and other engaging activities throughout the a ernoon. Free. Saturday, April 12, 1-5 p.m.
STAX MUSEUM OF AMERICAN SOUL MUSIC
Bunny Brunch at the Zoo
Enjoy a delicious bu et-style breakfast, get up close with an amazing animal encounter, and snap a photo with the Bunny himself. $45. Saturday, April 12, 9-10:30 a.m.
MEMPHIS ZOO
Jurassic Quest
e largest and most realistic dinosaur exhibit on tour. Friday, April 11-April 13.
AGRICENTER INTERNATIONAL
Libration 2025 with the Memphis Library Foundation
Support Memphis Public Libraries in an a ernoon of live music, children’s activities, games, and more. $30. Sunday, April 13, 2-5 p.m.
WISEACRE OG
Troll Stroll Saturdays
Learn about the importance of owers and plants in the environment and plant Seeds of Peace to take home. Saturday, April 12, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
FESTIVAL
A Day on Witches’ Way
Explore unique art; indulge in meaningful tarot, astrology, and psychic readings; and celebrate local creators and businesses. Free. Sunday, April 13, noon-5 p.m.
PARADOX AT PECO
Huey’s 55th Anniversary Celebration
With kids zone! Live music: Lucero (7 p.m.), John Nemeth (5:45 p.m.), Even Odds (4:30 p.m.), e Chaulkies & Art Edmaiston (3:15 p.m.), Sons of Mudboy (2 p.m.), and El Ced & Groove Nation (1 p.m.). Free. Sunday, April 13, 1-8 p.m.
HUEY’S MIDTOWN
Orbit Fest
Memphis, get ready for li o ! Saturday, April 12, noon-9 p.m.
CROSSTOWN BREWING COMPANY
Shop Black Fest Memphis
Experience the best Black-owned businesses, food, music, and culture at Shop Black Fest Memphis. Free. Saturday, April 12, 1-6 p.m.
DOWNTOWN MEMPHIS
FILM
April Fools’: The Room
Experience a comedy classic that was never intended to be a comedy at all. Props will be provided.
$5/general admission. Sunday, April 13, 2-4 p.m.
MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART
ACROSS
1 Head on a
In accordance with
King’s College of Our Lady of ___ Beside Windsor 23 Image formed by connecting this puzzle’s circled letters from A to N and then back to A
27 Lust, but not love
28 Sportscaster in the documentary “Telling It Like It Is”
Casablanca
Bring your picnic blankets and folding chairs to enjoy this free, fun, and relaxing evening of cinema under the stars. Free. ursday, April 10, 7 p.m.
OVERTON SQUARE
FOOD AND DRINK
Love Food Hate Waste Memphis
A fun and interactive night focused on ghting food waste. Free. Friday, April 11, 6-8 p.m.
MEMPHIS MADE BREWING (DOWNTOWN THE RAVINE)
PERFORMING ARTS
Hattiloo’s Musical Chairs Dinner Theatre
An immersive experience that blends ne dining, live musical performances, and the playful spontaneity of a childhood game — elevated for a sophisticated audience. 21+. $125/standard meal ticket, $125/vegetarian meal ticket. Saturday, April 12, 6:30 p.m.
HATTILOO THEATRE
Memphis Magic Night starring Joe M. Turner with Quin Kelly
e Blu City’s favorite evening of magic, mentalism, and comedy, at a rotating selection of Memphis venues. Monday, April 14, 7:30-9 p.m.
FLYWAY BREWING COMPANY
Edited by Will Shortz No. 0418 Crossword
29 Ref. work begun by the London Philological Society
31 One taking care of the bill
32 Pool parties?
35 Modern line at an airport
38 Towel provider, often
“You got it!”
French bakery offering
Strand during a ski trip, say
Major seller of health supplements
Peace in the Middle East
Keepers of the records?
Where a 17-Down becomes a 23-Across
Same-sex union? 55 Branch of yoga
56 French bakery offering
58 Diamond pattern
61 Chief in the Creek War of 1813-14
63 Dormmate
64 People whose political views are “Communist lite”
65 Anago, at a Japanese restaurant
66 Has in mind
1 Duplicates 2 “Forward!,” in Florence 3 Fashionable society
4 Raise one’s hand for, say
5 Port north of the Horn of Africa
6 Hand-held console introduced in 1989
7 Teacher of Samuel
8 John and Mark, for two
9 Following 10 Wolf (down) 11 It’s always cut short
12 Part of NATO: Abbr.
13 Thousand bucks
17 One that becomes a 51-Across
21 Home of the Rams before 2016: Abbr.
24 Paper clips have lots of them
25 Past the baseline, in tennis
26 Michelle of “Crazy Rich Asians”
28 Spanish word repeated in a welcoming phrase
30 Something to
Memphis Matters rough words, movement, and music, Playback eatre connects art and social change. $20/regular ticket, $40/pay-it-forward. Saturday, April 12, 7-8:30 p.m. THEATRESOUTH
SPORTS
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Dallas Mavericks Sunday, April 13, 2:30 p.m.
FEDEXFORUM
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Minnesota Timberwolves ursday, April 10, 8:30 p.m.
FEDEXFORUM
Memphis Showboats Home Game Saturday, April 12, 11 a.m.
SIMMONS BANK LIBERTY STADIUM
THEATER
Kroc Memphis Presents: James & the Giant Peach Jr.
An adventure this big can only happen on stage!.$10. rough April 13.
THE SALVATION ARMY KROC CENTER
Punk Rock Girl!
A spirited musical tale about discovering community and forging one’s tribe. Friday, April 11, 8 p.m. | Saturday, April 12, 8 p.m. | Sunday, April 13, 2 p.m.
CIRCUIT PLAYHOUSE
Saint Joan
George Bernard Shaw’s chronicle of Joan of Arc. Friday, April 11, 7:30 p.m. | Saturday, April 12, 7:30 p.m. | Sunday, April 13, 3 p.m.
TENNESSEE SHAKESPEARE COMPANY
Seussical
A musical that captures the essence of Dr. Seuss’ characters. Saturday, April 12, 2 p.m.
CIRCUIT PLAYHOUSE
Silent Sky
e true story of astronomer Henrietta Leavitt explores a woman’s place in society during a time of immense scienti c discovery. $25. ursday, April 10, 7:30 p.m. | Friday, April 11, 7:30 p.m. | Saturday, April 12, 7:30 p.m. | Sunday, April 13, 2 p.m. | Wednesday, April 16, 7:30 p.m.
NEXT STAGE
Some Like It Hot
A tap-dancing, razzle-dazzling embrace of everything you love about musical theater. $29-$130. ursday, April 10, 7:30 p.m. | Friday, April 11, 7:30
The River Bride
Cazateatro presents a tale of true love and regret. Friday, April 11, 8 p.m. | Saturday, April 12, 8 p.m. | Sunday, April 13, 3 p.m. THEATREWORKS @ THE SQUARE
PHOTO: COURTESY DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS ’Tis the season for a garden fair.
2026 ANNUAL ACTION PLAN, PUBLIC HEARING, AND PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
Shelby County Department of Housing (SCDH) has prepared a draft of the Annual Action Plan for Fiscal Year 2026 (July 1 2025June 30, 2026). The Annual Action Plan for FY2026 (HUD Program Year 2025) is required by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the receipt of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) Grant Entitlement funds. The Proposed Annual Action Plan describes activities proposed by SCDH to address housing and community development needs, especially needs in low- to moderate- income areas of Shelby County outside of the City of Memphis.
The Annual Action Plan for FY26 will be available for public review from April 10, 2024 – May 10, 2024. The plans will be made available online at www.develop901.com/housing and physical copies will be held at 6465 Mullins Station Rd, Memphis TN 38134 and at the following library branches across Shelby County: Benjamin Hooks Central Library, Arlington Library, Bartlett Library, Collierville Library, Germantown Library and Millington Library. SCDH will hold a public hearing to discuss the proposed plan and ongoing programming that addresses community needs with both in person and virtual attendance options on April 22, 2025 at 12:00pm and 5:30pm.
In Person Attendance Option: Shelby County Code Enforcement, Training Room, 6465 Mullins Station Road Memphis, TN 38134. Attendees should enter the Code Enforcement Building through the Training Room entrance; upon walking up to the building, attendees will need to follow the signage that leads to the Conference Room.
Virtual Attendance Option: A virtual option to join is also provided, and participants can join the meeting with a computer, tablet, or smartphone at https://www.gotomeet.me/DanaSjostrom or dialing in from a phone +1 (224) 501-3412, Access Code 169-900-933 at the above noted meeting time.
If you plan to attend the public hearing and have special needs, please contact the Department of Housing at (901) 222-7600 by 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 17, 2025 and we will work to accommodate you. Citizen input and public participation is strongly encouraged.
The consolidated planning process for FY 2025-2029 serves as the framework for a community-wide dialogue to identify housing and community development priorities that align and focus funding from the CPD formula block grant programs Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) Programs. The FY 2026 Annual Action Plan is the second of five annual planning cycles and establishes the basis for the use of entitlement funds for the period of July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026. The primary purpose of this hearing is to receive comments on the proposed FY 2026 Annual Action Plan during the public comment period. Shelby County anticipates receiving level funding for the upcoming program year; $1,190,239.00 in CDBG and $414,932.00 in HOME funds in Program Year 2025/Fiscal Year 2026. If these anticipated resources differ from actual 2025 allocations, SCDH proposes adjusting funding for each activity either up or down according to the following order of priority: 1- Housing Rehabilitation and Minor Home Repair, 2- Community Development Projects responsive to high priority non-housing community development needs, and 3- Public Service Activities.
Shelby County expects to submit the Annual Plan for FY 2026 to
HUD on or before May 15, 2025 following a 30 day review and comment period April 10, 2025 through May 10, 2025. Note that there is currently a delay in HUD’s allocation announcements, and the plans will be submitted to HUD within 60 days following the actual allocation announcement.
Anticipated resources are based on level funding from FY2025 and are as follows:
The hearing will provide an update on current activities under the CDBG and HOME Programs including HOME-ARP, information on Section 3 contracting opportunities; and will provide information on other programs operated by the Department of Housing.
In accordance with section 218(g) of the Appropriations Bill 42 USC 12748(g), SCDH is reprogramming the 2022-2023 HOME Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) set-aside funds to increase the amount available for homeowner rehabilitation in the amount of $142,774.35 in the event SCDH is unable to solicit viable CHDO Request For Proposal responses. In addition, if no viable responses to requests for proposals are received, after June 30, 2026 SCDH will reprogram PY2024/FY2025 CHDO funds in the amount of 15% of the actual allocation to increase the budget available to homeowner rehabilitation.
Persons wishing to comment on the FY 2026 Annual Action Plan may do so by writing to Dana Sjostrom via email dana.sjostrom@shelbycountytn.gov or mail Shelby County Department of Housing, 6465 Mullins Station Road, Memphis, TN 38134. For additional information contact the Department of Housing at 901-222-7600 or TTY at 901222-2300.
The Shelby County Department of Housing does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability in employment or the provision of services. Equal opportunity/equal access provider.
Para mas información en Español, por favor llame al 901-222-7601.
Lee Harris Mayor
Scott Walkup, Administrator Shelby County Department of Housing
We Saw You.
with MICHAEL DONAHUE
Trolley Night kicked o with a bang. e March 31st event, the rst of the season, was “the busiest Friday night we’ve had in years,” says South Main Association president Joe Simon. “Almost every shop and restaurant and bar was completely crowded. To where there were many stand-up areas, it was so busy.”
Trolley Night is held from 5 p.m. “until” on the last Friday of every month on South Main. People stroll up and down and drop in on establishments, some people buying, some just looking.
e only change this year was the starting time moved up to 5 p.m., Simon says. “Just to get an early start. Happy-hour style.”
ey were “highly successful” with the time move, he says. “A lot of bars and vendors appreciate that. People getting o early on Friday, it gives them a chance to start the night early.”
Simon adds, “We’re still partnering with DMC [Downtown Memphis Commission] even with the trolleys not running. MATA says they’re going to have them back up and running by late summer.”
their dog Ranger; Carol Coletta and John Montgomery
their dog Max; Camilla Curran and Maxx Redd
PHOTOS: MICHAEL DONAHUE above: Erica Haskett, Will and Bethany Goodman, and Gali Du circle: Tawanda Pirtle below: (le to right) Janice Singleton and Brandon Cox; Robert Johnson; Max Kaplan bottom row: (le to right) Josh and Brenna Clark and
with
above: Mike, Nora, Michael, Rami, and Armina McCa rey circle: Migueal Grandberry
below: (le to right) Izzy Brewer and William Trotter; Marvin Roddey; Brooke Starnes and Tyler Mitchell
right row: (top and below) Susan Holloway and Glynn Holloway; Izy Tran with Travis, Nidya, and Pete Brady bottom le : John Bowers and Tawnie Simpson
NEWS OF THE WEIRD
By
the editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication
Crosstown Concourse Plaza and Atrium on June 7th! Shop 100+ of the most talented local makers and artists, enjoy delicious craft tastes at our Crafts & Drafts Beer Garden, and partake in all of the fun of Crosstown Concourse!
It’s a Dirty Job
Nath Wyld is a star at Magic Men, a strip club in Prahran, Australia — or at least, he was, until he discovered a more lucrative line of work. Metro News reported on Feb. 10 that Wyld makes about 20,000 pounds a year by posting videos of himself passing gas on TikTok. The onetime carpenter joined OnlyFans in 2017 and soon made enough with his X-rated videos to quit his daytime job. About two years in, he got a request for a fart video, which he initially refused. “I was blown away (no pun intended) by the demand and I have been making them ever since,” Wyld said. “Some want to see my facial expressions; others just want to see me from far away,” he said of the custom videos he makes. Wyld said he “starts bloated — kind of part of the process — and go through the video until I feel lighter by the end. … I’ve been doing this long enough to know that everyone’s into their own thing, and that’s cool.”
Awesome!
a fish bigger than herself. The massive sturgeon weighed 180.5 pounds and was more than 79 inches long. “It was very exciting, did not feel real,” she said. “I was in disbelief.” She and her boyfriend buried the beast in the snow behind their house and plan to deep-fry or smoke it. “We’re probably going to get a replica … and hang it up in the house because it’s … a memory that’ll never be forgotten,” Herzig said.
It’s Come to This
Visitors to the Chengdu Snow Village in the Sichuan province of China were left with a “bad impression” of the tourist attraction in early February, Reuters reported. Because of unseasonably warm weather, project coordinators had to improvise the “snowy” atmosphere, stapling cotton sheets to the rooftops and scattering white sand, cotton batting, and soapy water to simulate snow throughout the property. Snow Village organizers said entry fees would be refunded, and the village has closed.
It’s a Mystery
• When Loretta, a 104-year-old resident of the Avon Nursing Home in Geneseo, New York, was asked what she wanted for her birthday, she replied that she’d never seen the inside of a jail. So, WHAM-TV reported on Feb. 11, the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office obliged, inviting her to the station and giving her a good look around, then celebrating with cake and coffee. Loretta paid back the favor by sharing some wisdom with Sheriff Thomas Dougherty: “Mind your business.”
• Officials in the Czech Republic had been planning to build a dam on the Klabava River for more than six years, Yahoo! News reported on Feb. 11, but were stymied by negotiations over land use. Instead, some industrious beavers solved the problem for them and saved taxpayers $1.2 million. “They built a wetland with pools and canals,” said Bohumil Fiser of the Czech Nature Conservation Agency. “The area is roughly twice larger than planned. They do a brilliant job.”
Investigators in Munich, Germany, are stumped by the sudden appearance of more than 1,000 small stickers on grave markers in three different cemeteries, the Associated Press reported. The stickers feature a QR code that, when scanned, reveals the name of the person in the grave and the location within the cemetery. “The stickers were put both on decades-old gravestones and very new graves that so far only have a wooden cross,” said police spokesperson Christian Drexler. Police are investigating property damage as well because when removed, the stickers leave discoloration.
Repeat Offender
Fish Story
It took Hayley Herzig, 22, of Van Dyne, Wisconsin, six years to harvest her first sturgeon, but when she did, it was newsworthy. WLUK-TV reported that on the first day of sturgeon-spearing season at Lake Winnebago, Feb. 8, Herzig landed
For the second time in a month, a teenager in the Bronx has been charged with trying to take a subway train for a joyride on Feb. 18, Pix11-TV reported. Police said the 15-year-old tried to operate the No. 2 train from the Prospect Avenue station. He was arrested in late January with a group of kids who drove the R train in Brooklyn. He was charged with reckless endangerment and criminal trespassing.
Jack Black builds a better world in A Minecra Movie
First of all, for the record, yes, I have played Minecra I know I’m an Old, fellow teenagers. I come from the rst generation of video gamers, and I know what it is to be obsessed with moving pixels on a screen. I like to at least try the latest and greatest games from time to time, so a few years a er it was released, I paid my own money for a copy of Minecra . It sounded fun in theory. Dropped into a procedurally generated open world, you have to gather resources and use them to create the tools you need to survive. It’s kind of like playing with Legos, only with a computer.
Once I got started, I could see the appeal. Combining di erent resources in di erent ways results in novel items, and it’s fun to learn how to use them. Watching complexity arise from very simple elements was the original appeal of Minecra . But I gotta admit, it didn’t stick. I got frustrated wandering around looking for things and getting attacked by creepers, and lost interest. I guess it just wasn’t my kind of game. Also, it’s time for me to admit that I kinda suck at video games.
My experience was far from typical. With 350 million copies sold, Minecra is the most popular game of all time, and it’s not particularly close. In second place by more than a hundred million is Grand e Auto V — although GTA V is, by some measures, the most pro table entertainment product of all time, having earned $8.5 billion on a $260 million budget. ( at’s roughly four times Avatar’s take or seven times Barbie, for those keeping score.)
In the recent Apple TV+ series e Studio, Seth Rogen is promoted to head a major lm studio, but the rst assignment thrust upon him by the chairman of the board (a hilariously orange Bryan Cranston) is to make a movie based on Kool-Aid. Rogen’s chagrin must have been familiar to the parade of people
who have tried and failed to exploit the Minecra IP over the last decade. Five people have writer credits, and three received “story by” credits. It’s a di cult nut to crack because Minecra famously doesn’t have a story. It’s an open-world sandbox game. Granted, many quests have been added to the game over the years, but many, if not most players are content to clear out a few blocks and build a cool little house for themselves. Or, if you grind out a lot more cra ing hours, you own a personal amusement park. Or maybe a Turing-complete difference engine, aka a primitive computer within a computer, which is a feat for extremely advanced nerds.
My level of gamer is represented by Garrett “ e Garbage Man” Garrison (Jason Momoa), a neon-sunglassesand pink-leather-jacket-wearing fugitive from 1989. Actually, he’s not my level of gamer because he was once really good at it. He was the 1989 World Champion of Hunk City Rampage, a ctional beat-’em-up arcade cabinet that I admit looks kind of fun. ese days, he’s the owner of Game Over, a video game and nostalgia store in Chuglass, Idaho. Trying to rescue his failing store, Garrett has a side hustle buying the contents of abandoned storage lockers at auction. In one, he spies the Atari Cosmos, a ( ctional) rare game console from the ’80s that sells for big bucks. He digs deep to buy the lot, only to be frustrated when the box is empty. But what he does nd among the junk is a pair of crystal cubes that t inside each other like nesting dolls.
Also stuck inside of Chuglass are Natalie (Emma Myers) and her brother Henry (Sebastian Hansen), who moved to town when their mother passed away. Natalie’s got to raise her little brother, while adjusting to a new life as a social media manager for the local potato chip company.
A er a bad rst day of school, where
Jack Black brings all the personality to A Minecra Movie
Henry’s experimental jet pack destroys the potato chip factory mascot (don’t ask), Henry retreats to e Garbage Man’s store, where he discovers the crystals and wonders what they do. As you might have guessed, when combined, the crystals create a portal where our heroes, plus their (don’t ask) real estate agent Dawn (Danielle Brooks), are sucked into the Overworld of Minecra , Tron-style. e real star of the show, and the only thing that makes A Minecra Movie something other than an wildly successful corporate branding exercise (Variety reported more than 40 tie-in promos!), is Jack Black as Steve, one of the skins players can choose to represent themselves on the map. e person who nally caught the falling knife and got the assignment to direct this lm is Jared Hess, who also directed Napoleon Dynamite and, crucially, Nacho Libre, a completely over-the-top cringe comedy starring Black as a friar who secretly moonlights in the wrestling ring as a luchador. Black and Hess are on the same manic wavelength, and the Tenacious
D star outshines literally everything in this sprawling production. Despite some nominal attempts to give them personalities, or at least motivations, Henry, Natalie, and Dawn are blank slates. Maybe that’s the intention, in an e ort to make them more relatable to a wider audience. But it’s Black’s job to take these nonentities on a tour of the Minecra universe, gesturing wildly at points of interest and dodging arrows from the minion of Malgosha (voiced by Rachel House). e leader of the piglins rules the Nether, a hellish underworld that looks a lot like the Mines of Moria from Lord of the Rings, only, you know, in Minecra . She is the avowed enemy of creativity and just wants to enslave everyone to collect gold.
Imagine that, a country ruled by a piggish tyrant who only values money, and wants to destroy and subjugate everything to feed their megalomania. I dunno, sounds bad.
A Minecra Movie
Now playing Multiple locations
Our critic picks the best films in theaters.
The Amateur
Charles Heller (Rami Malek) is a mildmannered CIA cryptographer. Then his wife Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan) is killed in a terrorist attack. But finding the terrorists who did the attack is not a priority for his boss (Laurence Fishburne), so Charles decides to take matters into his own hands. Can he off the terrorists before his own agency finds him?
Warfare
Ray Mendoza was the military advisor for Alex Garland’s 2024 film Civil War During the production, the two decided to make a film based on Mendoza’s experiences in the Iraq War. Reservation Dogs’ D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai stars
as Ray, a radio operator and air attack controller who has to learn the hard lessons of war. Shōgun’s Cosmo Jarvis co-stars.
Drop
Smartphones. Let’s face it, they’re scary. But what if they were scarier? Meghann Fahy stars as Violet, a single mother who is trying to find love by going on a date with Henry (Brandon Sklenar). But while they’re at dinner, Violet gets a weird message via AirDrop. The anonymous sender is holding her son Toby (Jacob Robinson) and sister/babysitter Jen (Violett Beane) hostage, and if Violet ever wants to see them again, she will have to follow their increasingly violent and depraved instructions. And you thought your dating life was hard.
Saturday, May 31st, 2025
3-6pm at Overton Square
Sample from the city’s best margarita-makers, vote on your favorite, and we’ll crown an audience winner at the end of this best ‘rita fest!
