Random musings on festivals in Memphis

Just read a story in my paper (The Memphis Daily News) discussing the economic impact of the Indie Memphis film festival.

I don't know if this is good to admit as I write about the positives of this film festival. But I've never attended Indie Memphis. I don't really consider myself a film buff. Actually, I have not been to a movie in a theater in two years (the last was "Juno").

Having a toddler son tends to keep me from attending events such as this. I end up being very selective with what local arts events I support because of my time.

But I don't need to attend the festival, or read a story telling me that it attracted 7,000 attendees last year to know it's a good thing for Memphis. Utah's Sundance draws six times the amount of visitors as does Indie Memphis. But one of the beauties of the Memphis arts scene is the variety.

You want a music festival? We have several, from the large Beale Street Music Festival, to the smaller benefit concerts such as the two-day Rock for Love held in August. We have great visual arts shows, pottery events, theaters; Memphis is a great arts city.

Back to the economic impact from these festivals. The Daily News story cites a study by Utah’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research that showed "the 2008 Sundance Film Festival injected $92 million into the local economy. That figure was based on attendance of more than 40,000 people.

"The festival created nearly 2,000 jobs and netted nearly $4 million in state tax revenues. For the year ending February 2009, Sundance generated media attention valued at more than $8 million."

Indie Memphis is no Sundance, but garnering just a fraction of that economic impact isn't a bad thing. There are so many jobs that exist in Memphis, and many cities for that matter, that are thanks to the dollars generated from visitors and locals alike enjoying events such as music and film festivals.

That brings me to my next thought. Memphis long has been regarded as a festival town, largely centered on Memphis in May. Many people, including myself, were not impressed when the lineup for the Memphis in May Beale Street Music Festival was announced Thursday. Bonnaroo it is not.

But the attendance numbers usually don't argue with the festival's success. Even in down years, it usually draws 80,000 or so attendees over the three days. I haven't decided if the acts I do enjoy who have been announced for the festival are worth purchasing a ticket to see. But I know many Memphians and visitors enjoy those bands. And I'm very happy we have events such as Beale Street Music Fest to enjoy.

Anywhere is worth traveling to

"You can get as much out of a trip to Western Kansas as Laos. If you try."

This statement came from a list of "44 little things about travel" from Robert Reid, the New York-based U.S. travel editor of Lonely Planet. (It's posted on his blog reidontravel.blogspot.com.)

I did not expect to come across this when I was just now perusing this post, but I am glad I did. I had a lot of topics in mind that I wanted to write about today, but when I read this statement, I immediately knew this was for me.

This statement defines my travels probably more than any I've seen. I've never been to Western Kansas or Laos. But I'd like to think that if/when I visit either place that I could get a great deal of enjoyment out of the two locales. The research that can be done online before and during a trip certainly makes traveling to obscure locales more enjoyable. But just stumbling upon something can be just as fun.

I sometimes hear friends who travel for work complain about having to travel to a city not as glamorous as Los Angeles or New York. But I can think of many worse things in this world than to have to travel to Tampa, Fla., or even Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Small towns have unique restaurants, shops and their own history to view. I recall an overnight visit a few years back to Corinth, Miss., about an hour and a half southeast of Memphis. Corinth isn't known for much other than its Civil War-related sites.

But my wife and I had a great time walking the quaint downtown with its local shops and eateries. The next morning as we checked out of our bed and breakfast, it was snowing. We enjoyed a driving tour of Corinth's many historic homes as they were covered in white.

I certainly understand the trepidation in driving through a town and not wanting to stop in at just any random spot for lunch. But that can be one of the true great joys of travel. I can count many more great random dining experiences on travels than I can bad ones.

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DRAFT 150 Best Bars: Mississippi

DRAFT 150 Best Bars: Mississippi

The Keg and Barrel in Hattiesburg is the only bar listed and I wholeheartedly agree. I've only been there once, but it is one of my favorite beer bars in the world. The cozy, old house charm of the bar is great, especially on a cold winter evening.

I sat at the S-shaped bar in a room that seems like it once was a dining room or living room in this old house. A fireplace is in the corner, and across the hallway is an open room filled with tables. A couple of TVs are discreetly mounted.

The winner here, though, is the beer. Mississippi's own Lazy Magnolia Brewing from nearby Kiln is plentiful here. There are also plenty of other choices, including other regional selections, including some brews I had never heard of from Covington, La. 

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Tips on Tipping in Europe

Tips on Tipping in Europe

I've been to Europe a couple of times and always find myself confused about tipping. This blog post from cheapoair.com is great.

Andy Warhol travel regret

I try not to have regrets for past actions or remorse for lost opportunities, especially when it comes to my travels.

There is one minor regret I have, though, and it could have been avoided if I would have just had $5 on me.

See, I have this thing about not carrying enough cash with me. I like to use a rewards credit card for every purchase. I don't carry much cash and it usually isn't a problem.

But on a baseball trip through Cleveland and Pittsburgh a few years back, my wife and I decided to make a side trip to the Andy Warhol Museum while everyone else had breakfast. I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to let my artist wife enjoy her passion while on this trip to make another step in fulfilling a goal of mine to visit every major league ballpark (I've hit 10 teams, 12 parks).

The museum is in a bustling riverfront neighborhood adjacent to PNC Park, home of the Pirates. So I dropped her off to get a head start while I searched for either free street parking or a garage that would take my credit card. That's because by this point, the last day of our two-day trip from our base of Columbus, Ohio, I was broke. But after circling both sides of the river and getting an actually great tour of a very beautiful downtown, I had no luck.

So while she enjoyed Warhol, I saw Pittsburgh through a windshield. I crossed a couple of bridges. I drove through the empty streets of a Sunday morning. Even found the original Primanti Brothers, where we would later have a postgame meal. But I did not see the works of America's modern art genius.

The game was good, the ballpark was beautiful and the weather was perfect. It made for a nice Sunday afternoon in May. But it certainly would have been nice to enjoy Warhol.

Lesson: It's OK to be cheap (that's who I am), but have enough cash to enjoy the trip. And maybe more importantly, parking garages charge when you exit, not upon entrance. I could have borrowed cash from my other travel companions to pay for parking, which is what I ended up doing.

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Memphis mayor squashes 'miserable city' reputation

Forbes recently named Memphis one of the most miserable cities in the U.S. Some might agree while I think many others, especially Memphians who enjoy this great city, would disagree. It was very nice to see the letter Mayor A C Wharton Jr. sent to Forbes. Here's the link.

Consider this St. Jude story, donation

This is not my usual travel-related post, but it is related to Memphis' own St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. I came in contact with the Atwell family about a year ago through a potential freelance story I was considering that ultimately fell through. I recently received an e-mail from them and thought I would share it here in its entirety.

You can read Katelyn's story at this link, but a quick summary is that in 1999, after being diagnosed with cancer at age 12, she developed an infection in her brain that no one had ever survived for more than 48 hours. She would ultimately spend a year and a half in a coma before recovering.

Dear Family and Friends,

 

I have some great news to share with you. This April 19 will be the 10th Anniversary of the Katelyn Atwell/ St. Jude Golf Classic. The big news is that I will be playing for the very first time in my own tournament. This is a goal that I set 5 years ago and now it will become a reality.

This year we really wanted to make it a big year being the 10th and we had passed

around some ideas. Since the passing of my Uncle Duane I have really made it a mission to honor his memory and try to make this the biggest and best year yet. I have some surprises up my sleeve but there is one that is just too big not to share, check out the web page listed

http://www.prweb.com/releases/warrior-custom-golf/st-jude/prweb3615154.htm

 

I also had another idea. I was looking at our local Kroger ad and they have this big 10 for 10 sale going on. I wondered if maybe some of my family and friends would be willing to donate $10 for 10 years. The kids at St. Jude depend on every dollar and I know that it would be the best $10 you may spend all year.

So with that in mind if anyone reading this would like to help me please make a check out to St. Jude Children's Hospital and send it to Katelyn Atwell/St Jude Golf Classic 923 Arkenstone Drive, Jacksonville, FL 32225.

Please feel free to send this out to everyone you know. Can you imagine how much we could raise if everyone just sent in $10. I know money is tight and that makes it even harder to raise money, but the kids are still being diagnosed and still need to be cured.

I was reminded yesterday that God spared my life and told me that it would not be easy. I have to put in the hard work in order to continue to heal and get stronger. I have to keep up the fight for the other kids that are in the

middle of their battle. You can make such a huge difference.

 

If anyone knows of a company that might be willing to donate please let me know. I have set a goal to get 10 $1,000 donors. So far I have two with a possible 2 more. I will be willing to contact and send a letter.

Also if there are any of you who would like to golf just let me know I can send a

registration form to you. I would love to have the golf course full. We are already getting some great door prizes. You have been so faithful in supporting all of my efforts to raise money and following me on this journey. I hope you will consider doing it again.

 

Thank you and God Bless

Katelyn