The Mid-South Fair opens free, Tom Lee's lantern parade, and cumbia at the Shell

Hey Memphis 👋 It's Thursday, Oct. 1, and summer gets one last word: sunny and 92 today. Then storms roll in Friday (an 80% chance), Saturday stays unsettled, and by Sunday night it's down to 60. That's the first real fall night of the year, so dig out a jacket.

The Mid-South Fair opens free tonight, the river gets a lantern parade Saturday, and Hispanic Heritage Month gets a big weekend. Five things tonight, then all three days.

Mid-South Fair, opening night — Landers Center, 4560 Venture Dr., Southaven, 4–10 PM, free admission, $5 parking. More than 50 rides on the midway; admission is the free part, and the fair doesn't post ride prices. Details

National Civil Rights Museum's 35th Freedom Award — Orpheum Theatre, 203 S. Main St., 7 PM, $236.80–$528.40. The museum's signature night, with a red carpet next door at the Halloran from 5:30. Details

Robert Macfarlane: Is a River Alive? — McNeill Concert Hall, Rhodes College, 6 PM, free. Registration is full, but Rhodes takes walk-ins: be there by 5:55 for any empty seats. A river city's kind of question, from the Underland author. Details

Concerts in The Grove: Southbound — GPAC, 1801 Exeter Rd., Germantown, 6:30 PM, $13, kids 5 to 18 $8, 4 and under free. Southern rock and blues on the lawn, gates at 5:30, food trucks on site. Details

Sonidero Gótico — Cameo, 8–11 PM, free. The goth-cumbia dance party's last Memphis night until 2027, with three DJs. Details

FRIDAY

Drivin N Cryin — Overton Park Shell, 1928 Poplar Ave., 7 PM, free. The "Straight to Hell" band from Atlanta. Storms should ease after 7, so pack a poncho with the lawn chair. Details

Amy Grant & Mac McAnally — Graceland Soundstage, 8 PM, $85.75–$122.50 with fees. Two songwriters, and a roof if the rain hangs around. Details

Mistletoe Merchants — Agricenter, 7777 Walnut Grove Rd., Friday 9 AM–8 PM, Saturday 9–5, Sunday 11–4, $10 a day, kids 12 and under free. About 200 vendors get the holiday shopping started early. Santa visits 1 to 3 on Saturday and Sunday. Details

Artist Narratives: Rivertown Artists — ANF Architects, 1500 Union Ave., 5–7 PM, free. An architecture firm's lobby gallery opens a show by nine Memphis-area women artists. Details

Bartlett Festival — W.J. Freeman Park, Bartlett, Friday 5:30–9:30 PM and Saturday 9 AM–5 PM, free. Music Friday from 6; Saturday brings a barbecue contest, kids' activities and the Mustangs of Memphis' 45th car show. Details

SATURDAY

Evergreen Street Fair — 1585 Overton Park Ave., 11 AM–3 PM, free, RSVP online. The first one closes the street to cars for The MD's, Mark Edgar Stuart, Cory Lou & DaVillage and Wyly Bigger, plus a kids zone. Details

Fall Native Plant Sale — Lichterman Nature Center, 5992 Quince Rd., 10:30 AM–5 PM, free to get in. 150-plus native species, most under $10. The Botanic Garden's free-to-enter sale also runs through Saturday, 10 to 6. Details

Tom Lee's Gumption Revival Lantern Parade — Tom Lee Park, 5–8 PM, RSVP on the page. Music at 5; at 7 the Lucky 7 Brass Band leads giant lantern puppets off Beale Street Landing. Rain or shine. Details

Hispanic Heritage Celebration — Overton Park Shell, Saturday evening, free. Los Kumbia Brotherz, DJ Mala Leche and Danza Azteca Xochiquetzal. We printed 7 PM Tuesday; the Shell's own listing says 6, so go early. Details

The Satin Hour — Growlers, 1911 Poplar Ave., doors 6, show 7, $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Four Memphis voices on one bill: DEDRICK, Alexis Norman, Ozioma and Ricky Davine. Details

Dolly night at Hernando's Hide-A-Way — the South Memphis juke joint at 3210 Old Hernando Rd., doors 6, show 8, $15–$20 ($20 at the door). A Dolly documentary from 6, then Alexis Grace sings Dolly at 8. Details

SUNDAY

Shout-Out Shakespeare: Love's Labor's Lost — Dixon Gallery & Gardens, 3 PM, free, no tickets needed. Ninety minutes, no intermission, and Sunday's rain chance is down to 30%. Bring a blanket. Details

Memphis Wrestling: Halloween SPOOKtacular — WrestleCenter, 3296 Winbrook Dr., bell at 1:30 PM, $14.90–$31.30. Arrive by 1:15 for a bonus match. Details

Hannibal Buress — Crosstown Theater, doors 6:30, show 7 PM, $35–$42 in advance plus fees. The one we flagged last week, in a close-up room. Details

Le Bonheur Zoo Boo — Memphis Zoo, 2000 Prentiss Place, Friday through Sunday from 6 PM, $23, members $20, online only. Costumes welcome; tickets are limited. Details

Art for Elephants — Memphis Zoo, Saturday 9 AM–4 PM, included with zoo admission. The elephants paint live at 10:30, then get a Mean Girls party at 2:30. It is, after all, October 3rd. Details

Theatre in the Park: The Ant & Mr. Q — Sea Isle Park, Saturday 11 AM–noon, free. Cazateatro's bilingual play (La hormiga y el Sr. Q) retells an Aztec legend. Details

Hispanic Heritage Celebration — Children's Museum of Memphis, 2525 Central Ave., Saturday 10 AM–2 PM, museum admission $20, under 1 free. Piñatas, kite-making, dancers and a biblioburro, the library that travels by donkey. Details

Night Rider Family Bike Ride — Cameron Brown Park, 8628 Farmington Blvd., Germantown, Saturday 6–8 PM, $10, helmets required. Decorate the bike, then ride the park at dusk with a police escort. Register by 5 PM Friday; no day-of sign-up. Details

The Tigers' basketball conference schedule is out. League play tips off at home on Wednesday, Dec. 30, against East Carolina, and the regular season ends at home March 7 against Tulane. (via Memphis Athletics)

Cordova's old IKEA, all 271,150 square feet of it, has sold to a retailer that doesn't have a Memphis store yet. The buyer's name and plans aren't public. (via Action News 5)

The city broke ground Tuesday on a new clubhouse and learning center at The Links at Audubon. It opens in fall 2027 as the permanent home of First Tee Tennessee–Memphis, with practice areas and a financial-literacy program for kids as young as 5. (via City of Memphis)

Oktoberfest at Wiseacre — OG Taproom, 2783 Broad Ave., Saturday, noon–10 PM. Stein fills of the World Beer Cup bronze-winning märzen (bring your own stein, up to a liter), the Mighty Souls brass band 3 to 6, and food trucks. Details

The next day class starts Oct. 12: Career Academy gets you CNA-certified in as little as four weeks for $1,350 all-in, and it's free to apply online.

If you've wondered whether your child could use a little speech, occupational or physical therapy, tell Midsouth Therapy Group about them and the Cordova team will reach out with next steps.

Sunday night's 60 is your warning shot: Cordova Heating & Air services furnaces and heat pumps from Collierville to Southaven, so get your furnace checked before the first cold snap.

Bartlett's Worthington Chiropractic has a $49 new-patient special that includes your first adjustment, so book it and mention the special.

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A note from Hey Memphis: Want your business in this list? We're booking spots now. Fill out our advertise form and we'll write back with what's open.

Mempho Music Festival — Radians Amphitheater at Memphis Botanic Garden, Friday through Sunday, Oct. 9–11, tickets on sale now. Widespread Panic, Spoon, Gary Clark Jr., Ziggy Marley, Pretty Lights and De La Soul lead the lineup. Details

Día de Muertos Parade & Festival — Saturday, Oct. 24, free, parade 11 AM–noon, festival noon–3 PM. Cazateatro's parade has a new downtown route this year, down Main Street from Court Square to the Halloran Centre. Details

Last call on breakfast: where in Memphis makes the best one, and what do you order there? Hit reply by tonight, and the best answers run tomorrow.

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