Rooftop poetry, a free museum Monday, and dinner at The Dame

Hey Memphis 👋 It's Monday. Sunny and 99 with nothing in the forecast to blame it on — a day for shade, air conditioning, and plans that start after five. We found eight anyway, and six of them are free.

☀️ Today in Memphis

Sunset Poetry — The Hu. Rooftop, Downtown, doors 6:30, show 7 PM, from $10. Keeping It P's rooftop series puts poets and musicians over the skyline at golden hour — the rare Monday plan that comes with a view of the river. Details

Piece of Me: Poetry & Open Mic — PizzaMe!, 2857 Kirby Road, 7–9 PM, free. And if the rooftop's not your speed, the same Monday poetry energy is running for free at a pizza shop on Kirby — low-stakes stage time, RSVP and go. Two poetry nights, one Monday; pick your altitude. Details

Free Period Mondays — National Civil Rights Museum, 3–6 PM, free for Tennessee residents. The one big museum that's open on Mondays — and every Monday, a TN ID gets you in free from 3 until the 6 o'clock close. Dixon, MoSH, and the Children's Museum are all dark today; this is the museum play. Details

Chicago Stepping with Ray — Levi Library, 3676 S. Third St., 2–3:30 PM, free. The Westwood-area branch runs a beginner-friendly stepping session every Monday into December — smooth, social, and the listing's own motto says it best: "every step is a step towards a healthier you." Details

Hustle & Flow Pilates — Sunset Canopy, Tom Lee Park, 6–7 PM, free. A Pilates class named like a Memphis movie, on the riverfront, for free — and it lets out just in time to walk up to Sunset Poetry. Details

Taste of the City with Chef Mo — The Dame at The Hotel Pontotoc, Downtown, 6–8 PM, about $31. A chef-led tasting dinner tucked inside the hotel's own bar — the kind of Monday dinner plan that feels like a secret, two blocks off South Main. Details

Kingdom Quest, day one — Kroc Center, 800 E. Parkway S., 9 AM–noon, free. The Kroc's vacation Bible school week starts today and runs free mornings through Friday for ages 4–17 — registration is a quick form at the front desk, so sign up rather than just showing up. Details

LEGO Dino Day — Cossitt Library, 33 S. Front St., 4–5:30 PM, free. The riverfront library opens its LEGO Castle for an evening of building mini dinosaurs — creations go on display all summer, ages 0–12, no registration. It's dinosaur week across the whole library system, so check your branch too. Details

Also free at your branch today, all drop-in, no registration: Unearth a Story at Orange Mound (10:30 AM), Dinolympics at South (1 PM), watercolor for ages 5–12 at Hooks Central (2 PM), Bug & Nature Explorers at Whitehaven (2:30), and a Jurassic Park–Indiana Jones double feature for tweens at Cordova (5 PM). The full day

Want the whole verified list, updated daily? It lives at heymemphis.co/events.

📰 The Rundown

Muddy's Bake Shop has a new owner, and it's a familiar face: Stacy Hinkle, co-owner of Belltower Coffee, takes over from founder Kat Gordon, who's stepping back after building the bakery since 2008. The whole team stayed on, and the oatmeal cream pies aren't going anywhere. (via StyleBlueprint)

The old Railgarten corner at Cooper and Central is coming back to life: Stomping Grounds, a family clubhouse with indoor and outdoor play, breakfast-to-bedtime hours, and self-serve taps pouring everything from kombucha to beer, is slated for 2026 on a one-price-per-household membership — founding sign-ups are already open. (via StyleBlueprint)

The Brooks is spending its final stretch in Overton Park before the move downtown, and chef Karen Carrier is cooking it a proper goodbye: her Legacy at the Table dinner series honoring the old Memphis College of Art wraps with a final dinner at the museum September 23. (via Memphis Flyer)

Southaven is landing 187 new jobs: SIP Manufacturing announced a $100 million plan to turn an existing building into a beverage co-packing plant, canning flavored waters, seltzers, and energy drinks for other brands. (via Action News 5)

🍽️ Food & Drink

Dog & Bone British Pub — Midtown finally has a proper British pub: bangers and mash, fish and chips, and sticky toffee pudding at 2116 Madison Ave, and their site says it plainly — now open. One honest heads-up: hours aren't posted yet, so peek before you trek. (via StyleBlueprint) Details

🎟️ Looking Ahead

8Ball & MJG and Bun B, with an orchestra — Memphis rap royalty plus the Renaissance Orchestra at the Orpheum, September 11. Tickets went on sale Friday. Details

Collierville's summer concert finale is Thursday — Generation Gap closes the Town Square gazebo season July 30, 7–9 PM, free. Last one until next summer, so bring the lawn chairs. Details

SUFFS is down to days — last Monday we called it two weekends out. Now the Tony-winning musical about the women who won the vote opens Friday at the Orpheum, July 31 through August 2. Details

🏡 Community Corner

Patio season, verified. We asked last week which patio you'd been waiting all month to get back to, then went and did our own homework — with one rule for a week like this one: the shade has to be real, not implied. Four places actually publish it. Wiseacre's beer garden on Broad Ave is tented year-round. Slider Inn in Midtown splits its patio covered and uncovered, so you pick your sun. The Wiseacre downtown on B.B. King is semi-covered. And Loflin Yard has two covered decks with a creek running underneath — worth planning for midweek, though, because they're closed Mondays and Tuesdays. The longer list, rooftops included, lives at heymemphis.co/rooftop-bars-memphis. What did we miss? Hit reply and we'll run your picks.

And the tip line never closes — a pop-up, a band, a yard sale worth bragging about — no gatekeeping — send it to hey@heymemphis.co.

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

— Josh