Labor Day in Memphis: what's actually open

Hey Memphis 👋 It's Monday, and it's Labor Day. Sunny and 97, and for the first time in a week there's no heat advisory on the board — though the heat itself didn't get the memo, and Tuesday's index is back up at 103.

Most of the city takes the day. So this one's a little shorter than usual and built around what's actually open, running, or pouring — plus the last day for a few things summer's been holding onto.

☀️ Today in Memphis

Grind City Brewing, open for the holiday — 76 Waterworks Ave., Uptown, all day, $5 beers. Grind City is closed every Monday. Not this one: they're turning the lights on for Labor Day and pricing every beer at five bucks. They didn't post a door time, so check before you drive. Details

Labor Day Donut Ride — Memphis Hightailers, Campbell Clinic, 7887 Wolf River Blvd., Germantown, check-in 6:45, wheels roll 7:30, members free, $30 otherwise. A holiday ride that's run since 2017, on the theory that a long ride and a box of donuts belong to the same morning. Open road, helmets required, proceeds to She to Sea. Details

Memphis Jones, then the B.B. King All-Stars — B.B. King's Blues Club, Beale Street, 4 PM and 8 PM, $10 all day. Beale doesn't take holidays. Ten dollars covers both sets, and the club lets you step out onto the street and back in without paying twice. Details

Labor Day Sound Bath — The Broom Closet, 552 S. Main St., 6:30–8 PM, $20 plus fees, ages 16+. A sound bath built around the actual point of the holiday: crystal bowls, planetary gongs and a zero-gravity recliner with your name on it. Doors 6:15, and they mean it — no late entry. Details

Board Games, Bad Movies & Beer Bust — Hi Tone small room, 282 N. Cleveland St., 7 PM, free, 21+. Board games on the tables, a bad movie on the wall, a beer bust downstairs. No cover, no ticket, no plan required. Details

Thee Late Show comedy open mic — Canvas, 1737 Madison Ave., doors 8, mic at 9, free, 21+. For anyone who took the day off and isn't ready to give it back. Watch, or put your name on the list and try five minutes. Details

👶 With the kids

Splash pads, last day of the season — David Carnes, Douglass, Hollywood, McFarland, Orange Mound, Peabody and Whitehaven Parks, 10 AM–7:45 PM, free. We flagged it Thursday; now it's today. All seven shut off tonight and stay off until May. Details

Memphis Zoo — gates at 9. Open on the holiday, and it's the last day of the Zoo's own splash park too: $10 a session on top of admission, $8 for members, and then it's packed up until next summer. Details

Delta Fair — Agricenter International, 7777 Walnut Grove Rd., 11 AM–10 PM, $15, $10 for kids 5–12 and seniors, free under 5. Holiday hours, and Monday is one of the cheap wristband days: $31 for unlimited rides, against $36 on the weekend. Details

📰 The Rundown

What's closed: city and county offices, every Memphis Public Library branch, and trash pickup. Monday and Tuesday customers roll carts out Tuesday, and every suburb from Germantown to Hernando runs a day late all week. (via City of Memphis)

MATA runs a Sunday schedule today, and a round of route changes kicked in yesterday: Routes 8 and 36 move to every 45 minutes on weekdays, Route 2 splits into a separate Hudson-to-U of M leg, and Groove On-Demand now runs daily, 6 AM to 10 PM, for $1.25 a ride. (via MATA)

Open, with an asterisk: the National Civil Rights Museum keeps its doors open 9 to 6 on the holiday, but the Tennessee-resident free-after-3 Monday deal doesn't apply today. (via National Civil Rights Museum)

The Zoo has two new Sumatran tiger cubs, both girls, born August 12 — and it was only expecting one. They're behind the scenes for a couple of months yet, but you can name them now: six Indonesian names are up for a vote on the Zoo's site through September 15, winners announced at the Tigers game on the 19th. (via Memphis Zoo)

Playoff baseball is coming downtown. The Redbirds took the International League's first-half title and will host the championship series at AutoZone Park starting Tuesday, September 22, tickets from $9.01. Before that, the last regular-season homestand opens tomorrow night against Norfolk. (via Memphis Redbirds)

🍽️ Food & Drink

Medal Mondays at Wiseacre — 2783 Broad Ave., 4–10 PM, $4 pints. The original Broad Avenue taproom knocks its medal winners down to four dollars every Monday, and this week the list includes the Oktoberfest, freshly back on tap. It's on their calendar for today, holiday and all. Details

🎟️ Looking Ahead

Chance the Rapper — Satellite Music Hall, 1291 Autumn Ave., tomorrow, doors 7, show 8, all ages. The new room's first arena-sized name, four days after it opened. On sale now. Details

Mid-South Fair, $5 tickets end tonight — Landers Center, Southaven, October 1–11. Every ticket is five dollars online through today. Tomorrow adults go to $8, and it's $15 at the gate come October. Details

MEM Runway 5K — Memphis International Airport, Saturday, September 19. A certified 5K on an active runway, capped at 2,000 runners. Registration closes Sunday the 13th or when it fills, $45, $30 for ages 3–9. Details

🏡 Community Corner

The splash pads shut off tonight, the pools are drained, and the Zoo's splash park closes with them — which makes today the last official day of a Memphis summer, whatever the thermometer says. So: what's your end-of-summer ritual? The last swim, the last snow cone, the one thing you do before the calendar gets serious. Hit reply.

The tip line never closes — a pop-up, a band, a Saturday we missed. No gatekeeping — send it to hey@heymemphis.co.

That's it for today — see you tomorrow at 6.

— Josh