Memphis Town in May kicks off tonight with the first of several events meant to bring the community together.
Ward 4 Councilman Turner said Memphis Town in May, organized by the Memphis Town Community Builders, has been held for seven years. The event, spread across the weekend and next week, is a chance for the community to come together and enjoy family-friendly fun.
“It’s like a neighborhood reunion,” Turner said. “People come back here from out of town. Some people move to east Columbus or Caledonia or New Hope. They all come back to enjoy seeing people they haven’t seen in years.”
Tiffany Sturdivant, who also helped organize the event, said events begin today at 7 p.m. at Hunt School with the “Talent Explosion,” featuring a dance group from the Lowndes County Dance Company; McKenzie Ellis, from Starkville; the Dazzling Dolls, from West Point; Passion Elite, from Columbus; and the Face Gang, from Starkville.
The rest of the events are at Turner’s home at the intersection of 15th Avenue North and 23rd Street North.
At 7 p.m. Saturday, there will be a community fish fry. At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, there will be a “Scene on the Green” that will feature a showing of “The Avengers: Age of Ultron.” Sturdivant said people are invited to bring blankets and lawn chairs, and that free popcorn will be provided. Turner asked that people bring canned goods for donations to local food pantries.
Memphis Town in May continues next Friday with a “Blast Night” featuring local DJs at 7 p.m., and ends on Saturday, May 28, with a music festival at 1 p.m. featuring singer Tre Williams, and Three 6 Mafia’s Project Pat.
All of Memphis Town in May’s events are free.
Turner said Memphis Town in May started as an effort to get the community together after neighborhood residents banded together to remove some of the “bad elements” from Memphis Town a few years ago.
“We’re bringing hope to the community,” he said. “A lot of the problems with crime and that stuff is that people lost hope. We’re trying to bring hope back through fun–people can start forgetting about how to laugh and have fun.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.