| A strip of green along the banks of The Big Muddy, Tom Lee Park is a mecca for frisbee-throwers, kite-flyers, boat-watchers and picnickers. Throughout the warmer months-- and in Memphis there are plenty--the park also hosts music festivals and concerts. |  |
Tom Lee was an African-American living in Memphis who became a hero when he saved 32 people from a sinking steamboat in 1925. Even though he could not swim, he rowed a small boat into the strong currents of the Mississippi River to rescure the victims. The park, which stretches for a mile and half along the banks of the river, is dedicated to this hero and contains a monument to him.
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  Enhancement of these buildings gives one a perspective on transformation. Riverside Drive (clearly in view above) is closed the entire month of May. |
 Memphis in May International Festival takes it over...for the month (this image) World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest (average number of teams competing: 250) (also, The Beale Street Music Festival and Sunset Symphony) Check out: memphisinmay.org for schedule of events |
This event claims to be the largest pork
barbecue-cooking contest on Earth. They call it the "Superbowl of Swine," and
then perhaps over-egg the metaphors by continuing "The College of Pig Knowledge"
and "The Grandaddy of Grills." It takes place on Tom Lee Park as part of the
annual Memphis in May conglomeration of festivals. Vegetarians, you have been
warned!
The competition offers more than US$60,000 in prize money, so the
stakes (or should that be steaks?) are high. The park is the site for not only
the competitive cook-a-thon, but also entertainments on the main stage. These
include world-class music and the Ms Piggie contest, sporting grown men in
snouts and tutus (?!).
However, woe betide anyone who thinks they don't
take their competitions seriously down south. Applications need to be in by
early February and there is a great deal of planning in dressing up the grills:
expect anything from fire trucks, airplanes and piggy banks to pot bellied
stoves. And then there are the 90,000 who annually gather to gawp as well as
grill.... No wonder the contest is a favourite for state and national TV and
radio. Source: http://events.skyteam.com/sisp/index.htm?fx=event&event_id=92217
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