By: Tripp Vistica
Aug. 21, 2020
Memphis did not get to hold it’s annual Memphis in May International Festival downtown in Tom Lee Park this year due to the obvious reason of COVID-19, but the members of festival’s board of directors is considering moving the festival to October. However, every Memphian I spoke to said they would not participate in October, and they all had one reason in common. They all mentioned that “The festival is held in May for a reason.”
Everyone I talked to have many reasons why they didn’t like the idea of holding the festival in October, but they all mentioned that the festival is in the month of May for a reason. Anyone who grew up in Memphis knows that Memphis in May is more than a festival, it’s a symbol. It’s a symbol for the beginning of summer, the school year coming to an end and the start of family and friends reuniting.
Alex Boggs, brother to the owner of HUEY’S Restaurant, has taken place in Memphis in May’s Barbecue Festival every year since he was a kid. “My family has had a tent and participated in the BBQ Fest contests for as long as I can remember,” said Boggs. “My sister and I will not participate if the festival is moved to October, because it just wouldn’t be the same. It wouldn’t mean as much to everyone, and it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun.”
Former Memphis Tiger Football Player, Cannon Smith, is the youngest son of FedEx founder, Fred Smith, and he shares the same sentiment as Boggs. Smith has always had an extravagant tent at BBQ Fest, whether it was his Dad’s, older brother’s or his own in recent years.
“I’m not wasting my time on an event in October that’s supposed to be in May. It wouldn’t be the same. It wouldn’t even be close,” Smith said. “It would be cold, and the temperature warming up for the summer is a big part of why the Memphis in May Festivals are in May. It’s not just a festival celebrating different nations every year, but to Memphian’s it’s a celebration of the beginning of Summer and warm weather.”
Smith is married to Collins Tuohy-Smith, and is the sister to former NFL offensive lineman, Michael Oher. Collins Tuohy-Smith was portrayed by actress, Lily Collins, in the movie, ‘The Blind Side’, starring Sandra Bullock. It is the story of how the Tuohy’s adopted Michael Oher into their family. After Collins married Cannon, Tuohy-Smith has pretty much taken over decorating her husband’s tent at BBQ Fest, but she plans her schedule for the event long in advance.
“There’s no way we’re doing BBQ Fest this year. I had my plans for this year’s tent and was working on scheduling time to do the setup,” Tuohy-Smith said. “After it was postponed, we immediately decided that we would not participate this year. I told my husband that I’m not going to rearrange my schedule around the coronavirus just work on a BBQ Fest tent, and Cannon didn’t even try to negotiate. He just agreed, and that was that.”
The other major Memphis in May Festival is Music Fest, which is geared towards people in their teens and early twentys. It is the first festival to take place during Memphis in May. Music Fest a great festival to start Memphis in May, because the festival always has three to five bands or singers that are known worldwide. In 2019, The Killers, Charlie Wilson and the return of Dave Matthews Band headlined Music Fest drawing massive crowds of people, including Kelsey Brown who had just recently graduated from the University of Memphis with degrees in English and in Journalism.
“It was cluster of people everywhere. You couldn’t move anywhere inside Tom Lee Park,” said Brown. “Despite the crowd, it was a blast. Everyone had fun, and Dave Matthews Band was amazing. My friends and I were there that night to see Dave Matthews Band, and they’re just as great today as they were in the 90’s and early 2000’s.”
This year’s Music Fest lineup included 2020 Grammy Award winner, Patty Griffin, and she would’ve drawn a huge crowd and gotten Memphis in May 2020 off to their strongest start in years. Due to COVID-19, not only did we not get to have Memphis in May this year, but even if the festival is moved to October, Patty Griffin and all the major attractions announced that they would not be a part of the festival due to the risks involved.
Moving the festivals to October just doesn’t seem like it would work at all, with the major attractions to Music Fest dropping out. Also, people that have participated in BBQ for their entire lives have said they wouldn’t go in October, so why is festival’s board of directors working so hard to move Memphis in May to October?
Memphis in May means something to many Memphians and trying to do the festival in October just seems wrong in many ways to most Memphians. The festival is not meant for just any month of the year, and that’s why it’s called ‘Memphis in May’.
Tripp Vistica 