Your Memphis weekend: Indie Memphis opens, the Tigers tip off downtown, and a free iron pour in Overton Park

Hey Memphis 👋 It's Thursday, Nov. 5. The storms are behind us: sunny and 70 today once the morning fog lifts, then it cools off, low 60s Friday and upper 50s Saturday and Sunday, sunny all weekend, with nights in the upper 30s. Jacket weather, finally.

Five picks for tonight, then the weekend day by day.

Indie Memphis opening night: The Lorraine — Halloran Centre, reception 5, film 6:30, $20. The 28th festival's opening film, with the party after at Old Dominick at 9. Singles all weekend are $15. Details

U.S. Air Force Shades of Blue Jazz Ensemble — Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center, 3800 Central Ave., 7 PM, free with a reserved ticket. An 18-piece Air Force big band plays swing through modern jazz ahead of Veterans Day. Details

Anthony Hewitt, piano — Calvary Episcopal Church, 102 N. Second St., 7–8:30 PM, free. The Friends of Music at Calvary bring the pianist downtown for an evening of Romantic-era favorites. Details

The Faint with Cloudland Canyon — Growlers, 1911 Poplar Ave., doors 7, show 8, $28–$32. Omaha's dance-punk veterans on a Thursday night in Midtown. Details

Free poker and $5 pints — Meddlesome Brewing, 7750 Trinity Road, Cordova, 6–10 PM, free to play. The River Rat Rounders deal free poker while every beer is $5. Details

FRIDAY

Gold In Our Bones — Centenary United Methodist Church, Friday 7 PM, Saturday and Sunday 2 PM, free. A new Orpheum-commissioned play with music, made with Soulsville and South City neighbors. Seating is limited, and an RSVP doesn't hold a seat. Details

Grizzlies vs. Thunder: HBCU Night — FedExForum, 7 PM, tickets through FedExForum. The third home game of the week, and the Forum's HBCU Night. Details

High school football playoffs, first round — home-team stadiums across the metro, 7 PM, $8 in advance on GoFan, $10 at the gate. More than a dozen Memphis-area schools host a state playoff game. Details

Where Salt Meets Soil opening reception — Levy Gallery, Buckman Arts Center, 60 Perkins Extended, 5–7 PM, free. Painter Mary Beth Smith opens a new show in the Buckman's lobby gallery. Details

SATURDAY

Tigers men's basketball home opener vs. VCU — FedExForum, 2 PM, tickets through FedExForum. The first game at the Forum this season, on a Saturday afternoon. Details

Metal Museum Community Day and Iron Pour — Metal Museum, 1930 Poplar Ave., 11 AM–4 PM, free. Hands-on metal projects and live smithing at the new Overton Park campus, with the iron pour from 2 to 4. Details

901 Hot Wing Festival — Grind City Brewing, 76 Waterworks Ave., 11 AM–6 PM, free admission, wings $1–$2 each. Twenty teams compete for People's Choice, and every wing donation goes to the Memphis Child Advocacy Center. Details

Renaissance Faire at Wiseacre — Wiseacre OG, 2783 Broad Ave., Saturday and Sunday from noon, free, all ages. Merchants, staged medieval battles and minstrels take over the Broad Avenue taproom for the weekend. Details

Arlington Holiday Market — 12090 Forrest St., Arlington, 9 AM–2 PM, free. Arlington's first holiday market, with local makers and handmade gifts. Details

Terence Blanchard: Miles + Coltrane Centennial — GPAC, 1801 Exeter Road, Germantown, 8 PM, tickets through GPAC. The trumpeter marks the Miles Davis and John Coltrane centennials in Germantown. Details

Clownvis Presley — Hernando's Hide-A-Way, the South Memphis juke joint, doors 6, show 8, $15–$20. Part rock 'n' roll, part comedy, all Elvis in greasepaint. Details

SUNDAY

Indie Memphis closing night: The Man I Love — Halloran Centre, 7:15 PM, $20. The festival's last night, after a Sunday that includes Junebug at 12:30. Details

Diva Closet — Ugly Art Co., 635 Madison Ave., 1–6 PM, free. Twenty-plus vintage, Y2K and boutique clothing vendors in an Edge District gallery. Details

The Merrycrest Sessions #200 — Hi Tone, upstairs, 282 N. Cleveland St., doors 4, show 5, $13.50. The long-running Sunday series hits its 200th show. Details

Puppy Pals Live — Harrell Performing Arts Theatre, 440 W. Powell Road, Collierville, Saturday 3 PM, $35, $20 under 12, plus fees. Rescued shelter dogs from America's Got Talent climb ladders, jump rope and land a backflip in a 70-minute show. Details

Nutcracker Story Time with Ballet Memphis — Novel, 387 Perkins Ext., Saturday 10:30 AM and 1 PM, free, one family ticket admits up to four. Kids act out the Nutcracker, dance a little and meet a Ballet Memphis ballerina. Details

Fire Pit Friday: Cocoa & Crafts — Visionary Grove, Tom Lee Park, Friday 4–6 PM, free. The riverfront's new fire-pit series opens with hot chocolate and coloring by the fire. Come early for the free s'mores. Details

Movie night on the Greenway: Hoppers — Wolf River Greenway, 1320 N. Mud Island Road, Friday 5:30 PM, movie at 6, free. A free outdoor screening of Pixar's Hoppers, with Mempops treats starting at 5:30. Details

Physics Playground — Rainbow Lake Pavilion, Overton Park, Sunday noon–3 PM, free. Rhodes College physics students run hands-on science demos for school-age kids. Just drop by. Details

Barbecue teams, today's the day: applications for the 50th Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest (May 12–15 at Liberty Park) open today, along with registration for the Great American River Run. (via Memphis Flyer)

A new downtown bar is coming next week. Hu. Lobby opens Thursday, Nov. 12, at the Hu. Hotel, 79 Madison Ave., from Bar Limina's Josh Conley and Ugly Art Co.'s Anderson Goin. (via Hu. Hotel)

Veterans and active-duty service members get into the Memphis Botanic Garden free on Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11. (via Memphis Botanic Garden)

Taste of the City: Latin Fusion Edition — The Dame at Hotel Pontotoc, 69 E. Pontotoc Ave., Sunday 6–8 PM, $25 ticket, credited to your bill. Guest chef Marco Navarro cooks a multi-course Latin-fusion tasting at the hotel bar, with optional cocktail pairings. Details

Jodeci: 35th Anniversary Tour — the Orpheum, Tuesday, Nov. 24, $71.65–$175.30. On sale now. Details

Ballet Memphis: The Nutcracker — the Orpheum, Dec. 12–20, $38.55–$178.20. If Saturday's story time hooks the kids, the full ballet opens Dec. 12 at 2 and 7:30. Details

Memphis Holiday Parade — Beale Street, Saturday, Dec. 12, 11 AM, free. Marching bands, steppers, twirlers and floats on Beale. Details

Going to Indie Memphis? Reply with the film that got you, the one you'd tell a friend to catch at the encores Nov. 9–10, and we'll share the picks.

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

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

— Josh