Your Memphis weekend: the Zoo's lanterns light up, Lyle Lovett at Graceland and the Stray Cats at the Orpheum

Hey Memphis 👋 It's Thursday, Nov. 12. Sunny and 62 today, down to 37 tonight. The weekend stays cold: sunny and 51 Friday and Saturday, partly sunny and 53 Sunday, nights in the 30s. Find the real coat.

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

Overton Square Fall Movie Night: The Grinch — Overton Square courtyard, 7–9 PM, free. The last free outdoor movie of the Square's fall series. Bring a blanket. Details

Throwback Thursday: Platoon — Malco Studio on the Square, 7 PM, $5 plus tax. Oliver Stone's Vietnam drama, the night after Veterans Day. Rated R. Details

Speaker Box Slam: Open Mic Night — Hattiloo's Culture Box, 37 Cooper St., sign-up 6:30, show 7, $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Ten poets a week, building to a $200 finale. Details

Medium Build: The King of Having Fun Tour — Satellite Music Hall, doors 7, show 8, all ages, tickets through Satellite. This week's Thursday rock pick. Details

Free Poker Night — Meddlesome Brewing, 7750 Trinity Road, Suite 114, Cordova, 6–10 PM, free to play. Plus $5 beers for Thirsty Thursday. Details

FRIDAY

Memphis Zoo Lantern Festival opens — Memphis Zoo, Friday through Sunday, 5–9:30 PM, $25 ($23 members), online only. Opening weekend. Tickets are date-specific, so pick your night first. Details

Discover Germantown Metal Art Kickoff — Municipal Park, 1900 S. Germantown Road, drop in 2–7 PM, free. Metal Museum artisans pour molten aluminum live to kick off a hunt for nine bronze wolf sculptures. Details

Memphis Potters' Guild Holiday Show & Sale — St. Anne Catholic Church, 706 S. Highland St., Friday 4–8 PM, Saturday 10 AM–5 PM, Sunday 11 AM–4 PM. Handmade mugs, bowls and ornaments from the potters who made them. Details

Paul Oakenfold + The Crystal Method — Minglewood Hall, 1555 Madison Ave., doors 7, show 8, all ages, tickets through Minglewood. Two electronic-music names on one bill. Details

SATURDAY

Peer Power Big River Crossing Race — Martyrs Park, half marathon and 10K at 8:30 AM, 5K and family walk at 8:45 AM, $28.73–$82.21 with fees until prices step up Friday evening. The half and 10K cross the Big River Crossing into Arkansas and back. Details

Main Street Collierville Holiday Open House — Collierville Town Square, 10 AM–3 PM, free to attend. The square's shops kick off holiday shopping season. Details

Free Sound Healing in the Pool — Orange Mound Community Center Pool, 2590 Park Ave., 10:30 or 11:45 AM, free, 18+, register ahead. Memphis Parks leads breathwork and meditation while you float. Bring a suit and towel. Details

WIENERMANIA — Hi Tone (upstairs), 284 N. Cleveland St., doors 5, show 6, free. A hot dog cook-off with samples, hot-dog cornhole and an eating contest. Bring the family. Details

Grizzlies vs. Nets: Big Memphis Night — FedExForum, 191 Beale St., 7 PM, tickets through FedExForum. Denim hats for the first 3,000 fans. Details

Lyle Lovett and His Small Large Band — Graceland Soundstage, 8 PM, reserved seating, $70–$148.50. Details

Cyrena Wages album release with Boys Club for Girls — Hernando's Hide-A-Way, 3210 Old Hernando Road, doors 6, show 8, $28.20 in advance, $33.38 day of show. A Memphis singer-songwriter's album release at the South Memphis honky-tonk. Details

SUNDAY

Tigers men's basketball vs. Louisville — FedExForum, noon, tickets through FedExForum. Details

Opera Goes to Broadway — Opera Memphis, 216 S. Cooper St., 3 PM, $30. Opera singers take on Broadway. Saturday's sold out; Sunday isn't yet. Details

Stray Cats — the Orpheum, 203 S. Main St., 7:30 PM, $41.35–$162.75. Rockabilly to close out a rock-heavy week. Details

Disney's Frozen — Playhouse on the Square, 66 S. Cooper St., Friday 7 PM, Saturday and Sunday 2 PM, up to $40. Playhouse's holiday musical opens this weekend and runs through Dec. 20. Details

Burch Library Holiday Market — Burch Library, 501 Poplar View Parkway, Collierville, Saturday 10 AM–3 PM. Makers' gifts, live music, face painting and a Santa photo booth. Construction nearby, so the library suggests parking at Town Hall. Details

Curiosity Crew: Kids Overton Exploration — Overton Park, Saturday 2–3 PM, $5, ages 7 to 11, registration required. An hour of outdoor exploring with Conservancy staff. Details

Wolf River Arts Show Family Day — St. George's Collierville campus, 1880 Wolf River Blvd., Sunday noon–4 PM, free. Hands-on art and play to close the juried show. Details

Memphis Wrestling Thanksgiving Special — Memphis Wrestling WrestleCenter, 3296 Winbrook Drive, Sunday 1:30 PM, $14.90–$31.30. WWE's Little Boogeyman is on the card, and every ticket includes the meet-and-greet. Details

Red kettle season is here: the Salvation Army of Memphis & the Mid-South is out with a $901,000 goal, and volunteer sign-ups are open online. (via Action News 5)

Memphis Animal Services has a new full-time vet: Dr. Mary Manspeaker, a Memphis native with more than 30 years in practice and training in shelter medicine. (via City of Memphis)

Collierville says it's been named an Official 2026 Hallmark Christmas Town, with 250,000 lights on the Town Square and the Christmas parade set for Friday, Dec. 4. (via Town of Collierville)

Katie's Kitchen Thanksgiving orders — Katie's Kitchen, 9056 Poplar Pike, Suite 109, Germantown, order online. Sides, desserts and a Black Friday brunch menu. Order by Nov. 18 for Nov. 20–21 pickup, or by Nov. 20 for Nov. 23–25. Details

Le nozze di Figaro — Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center, 3800 Central Ave., Friday, Nov. 20 at 7 PM and Sunday, Nov. 22 at 3 PM, from $20. U of M's School of Music stages Mozart. Details

Collierville Christmas Tree Lighting — Collierville Town Square, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 5:30–8 PM. Hot chocolate, a concert, and the tree lights up at 7. Details

Winter Wonderland — Children's Museum of Memphis, daily Nov. 28–Jan. 3, included with $20 admission. The museum's holiday makeover. Details

Our one-week check-in asks new readers if we've helped them find something to do yet. Sheri J.: "Yes! Planning to attend Wing Fest tomorrow..." That's the whole point. Thanks, too, to reader MBC, who tipped us to the Germantown pour and the Potters' Guild sale.

Lights season starts next week. If your street goes all out, reply with the block and it goes in the lights roundup.

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