NO MORE RATE HIKES P5 JON HASSELL REMEMBERED P12
OUR 1966TH ISSUE 10.29.26
FrEe
CHRIS McCOY
SOUL FOOD ON WHEELS P16
FrEaKs & FiEnDs,
DeMoNs & HaInTs A GRAB BAG OF HORRIFIC HALLOWEEN HAPPENINGS AROUND THE MID-SOUTH THIS WEEKEND.
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OUR 1966TH ISSUE 10.29.26
FrEaKs & FiEnDs,
DeMoNs & HaInTs A GRAB BAG OF HORRIFIC HALLOWEEN HAPPENINGS AROUND THE MID-SOUTH THIS WEEKEND.
SHARA CLARK Editor-in-Chief ALEX GREENE Managing Editor, Music Editor BRUCE VANWYNGARDEN Senior Editor KAILYNN JOHNSON News Reporter CHRIS MCCOY Film and TV Editor MICHAEL DONAHUE, JON W. SPARKS Staff Writers KIMBERLY HAM Calendar Editor, Copy Editor JESSE DAVIS, EMILY GUENTHER, COCO JUNE, ANDRIA LISLE, PATRICIA LOCKHART, STUART J. MITCHELL III, KATHLEEN MURRAY, FRANK MURTAUGH, JAMES PALEY, LINDSEY D. RHEA Contributing Columnists SHARON BROWN, AIMEE STIEGEMEYER Grizzlies Reporters KRYSTION PEGUES, DYLAN “RJ” RAND Editorial Interns
PHOTO: CHRIS McCOY
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Mended Therapy
JANICE GRISSOM ELLISON, KAREN MILAM, DON MYNATT, TAMMY NASH, RANDY ROTZ, LEWIS TAYLOR, WILLIAM WIDEMAN Distribution KENNETH NEILL Founding Publisher THE MEMPHIS FLYER is published weekly by Contemporary Media, Inc., P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101 Phone: (901) 521-9000 Fax: (901) 521-0129 memphisflyer.com CONTEMPORARY MEDIA, INC. ANNA TRAVERSE Publisher LYNN SPARAGOWSKI Controller/Circulation Manager JEFFREY GOLDBERG Chief Revenue Officer MARGIE NEAL Chief Operating Officer KRISTIN PAWLOWSKI Digital Services Director
National Newspaper Association
Association of Alternative Newsmedia
The Veil as a Metaphor
This month, the veil between us and the spirit realm thins; so does the one between our conscious and subconscious minds.
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PHOTO: JOHNATHAN KAUFMAN | UNSPLASH
NEWS & OPINION THE FLY-BY - 4 AT LARGE - 6 COVER STORY “FREAKS & FIENDS, DEMONS & HAINTS” BY FLYER STAFF - 8 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT WE RECOMMEND - 11 MUSIC - 12 AFTER DARK - 13 CALENDAR - 14
From Fayette County to Memphis Tennessee’s long struggle for voting rights.
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PHOTO: © DR. ERNEST C. WITHERS, SR. | COURTESY WITHERS ARCHIVE ENTERPRISES | VISIT THE WITHERS COLLECTION AT 333 BEALE ST. TO SEE MORE
NY TIMES CROSSWORD - 14 WE SAW YOU - 15 FOOD - 16 SPIRITS - 17 METAPHYSICAL CONNECTION - 18 ASTROLOGY - 19 FILM - 20 NOW PLAYING - 21 CLASSIFIEDS - 22 LAST WORD - 23
Ashley specializes in working with LGBTQ+ populations and mood disorders. For more information or to book an appointment, visit mendedtherapypllc.com. Now taking clients for Mended Therapy Group. Please go to the website for more details. She currently accepts most insurance plans. Self-pay is $125 for individual sessions
m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m
KELLI DEWITT, CHIP GOOGE, SHAUNE MCGHEE Senior Account Executives
Combining mental health with a love of fashion, creativity, and sustainability, Mended Therapy was born. Ashley wants to show that although things may seem like they cannot get better, there is hope. Just like a mended piece of clothing is brought new life, the same can be said of us. She is here to walk with you through this journey with laughter, creativity, and challenging your beliefs about yourself. She is MENDED (and constantly mending). She hopes you will let her join you as you MEND.
CONTENTS
CARRIE BEASLEY Senior Art Director CHRISTOPHER MYERS Advertising Art Director NEIL WILLIAMS Graphic Designer
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THE
fly-by
MEMernet Memphis on the internet.
October 29-November 4, 2026
LYING MOTHAF*CKAS A video with over 100,000 likes shows a woman expressing why she came to a Memphis City Council meeting. “I came here to tell them — they some lying mothaf*ckas.” POSTED TO TIKTOK BY She then said @LONESTAR4LIFERRRRR that she didn’t come to “play with you b*tches” before leaving the meeting. I-240 SPILL Social media videos showed the aftermath of a wreck involving an 18-wheeler on I-240 southbound. The resulting spillage blocked the roadway. Though ofPOSTED TO TIKTOK BY ficials did not @JBECTON611 state what the debris was, netizens believed it to be “milk and yogurt.” A user named on @mah.love22 TikTok commented, “Oooooweee t[hat] s[h*t] finna stank.” NEW YORK, NEW YORK
POSTED TO TIKTOK BY @RAEEXQUEEN
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TikTok user @Raeexqueen recorded the moment they finally made it to “New York.” The video shows the Statue of Liberty holding a Bible and wearing a crown. “Haters gonna claim it’s Memphis,” they added.
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Questions, Answers + Attitude Edited by Kailynn Johnson
W E E K T H AT WA S By Flyer staff
Council Moves, MSCS, & SpaceXAI Council action, schools takeover “temporarily blocked,” and SpaceXAI lawsuit continues. MEMPHIS CITY COUNCIL The Memphis City Council took action on several agenda items during its October 20th meeting. The body passed a resolution calling for the removal of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the National Guard from the city. The action preceded a vote on a proposed 18-month data center moratorium, which had been held over from previous PHOTO: DYLAN “RJ” RAND meetings. The Community members came out in force to urge the Memphis City Council ordinance, sponsored to vote “yes” on the 18-month data center moratorium. by a number of council members, would have paused acceptance and processing of data center of Memphis-Shelby County Schools, days after a federal developments in the city. The council voted 6-6 on the judge allowed a state-appointed board to seize control. ordinance — resulting in the item failing. The body instead This decision comes as a federal suit regarding the passed legislation that would enact a 135-day pause. Prior constitutionality of the state takeover remains ongoing. to voting, council member Jerri Green said councilors had According to oversight board Chair Billy Orgel, the only recently received the ordinance, and were not able ruling came “10 minutes” before a scheduled virtual to see what was “new and different” as it was a substitute. meeting of the body. “Hopefully this will be resolved soon During the convening, residents condemned the council for so all of us can get together and improve our system,” Orgel producing an ordinance the community had not seen until said in a statement to Chalkbeat. the meeting. Residents said this erased the community input many advocated for in data center regulation discussions. SPACEXAI LAWSUIT An attempt by the United States Department of Justice PEARSON LAWSUIT (DOJ) to dismiss a lawsuit against Southaven’s SpaceXAI Rep. Justin J. Pearson and other residents and organizers plant was blocked by the U.S. District Court for the were allowed to attend the October 20th city council Northern District of Mississippi. The National Association meeting, following legal action. Pearson and community for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) brought members filed suit against the Memphis City Council suit against the company earlier this year for its use of after the parties received letters saying they were “banned” gas turbines at the site located at 2875 Stanton Road. The from the next two council meetings in the aftermath of the group said SpaceXAI violated the Clean Air Act. The DOJ October 6th meeting. intervened and said the NAACP’s lawsuit should be thrown Judge Thomas L. Parker said while the council has the out due to national security concerns. On Monday, October ability to set “reasonable and viewpoint-neutral” limitations 19th, the District Court said the DOJ could not “block the on speech at meetings, banning residents from the October case.” According to the Southern Environmental Law Center 20th meeting was “unreasonable.” (SELC), the court said the DOJ could indeed intervene, Pearson said Parker’s ruling marked protection of their but “[w]hat the United States can and cannot do after free speech. intervention, however, is another matter.” Chalkbeat Tennessee contributed to this report. Visit the News Blog at memphisflyer.com for fuller versions MSCS STATE TAKEOVER PAUSE of these stories and more local news. A local judge “temporarily blocked” the state takeover
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CITY REPORTER By Kailynn Johnson
‘No More Rate Hikes’
“Please do not burden our citizens anymore,” a community advocate said.
“We cannot claim to be fighting poverty while making it more expensive to be poor,” Smiley said in a statement. “We cannot talk about attracting families to Memphis while making it harder for the families already here to stay.” Smiley called on fellow councilors and Young to intervene on the proposed rate hikes. He also asked them to urge MLGW to “review its spending, operational efficiencies, infrastructure priorities, and alternative funding sources.” “I’m calling on Mayor Young and my colleagues on the city council to draw a line in the sand,” Smiley said. “No more rate hikes on the backs of Memphis families.” This request comes after community groups asked MLGW to look at a number of options prior to its board approving the increase. Protect Our Aquifer (POA) recently delivered a petition of more than 1,000 signatures calling for changes in the company’s whole water-rate structure and
GRACELAND LIVE CONCERTS AT GRACELAND
THIS THURSDAY
OCT 29
m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m
PHOTO: SASIKAN ULEVIK | UNSPLASH
to stop “regressive discounts” for “major industrial water users.” POA executive director Sarah Houston appeared in front of MLGW’s board prior to its vote on Wednesday. Houston believed the company could look at how other cities have constructed their water rates. “We understand that MLGW needs revenue to maintain and modernize its infrastructure, and that’s something we’re not debating,” she said. “We want to look beyond how much a revenue rate-increase generates, and ask how that revenue is collected and whether a rate structure encourages responsible water use.” Glenda Hicks, co-founder of 21st Century Memphis or Bust!, said she was “deeply concerned” by the proposal for rate increases. Hicks acknowledged MLGW’s service improvements, but noted customers still face “consistent” outages. Hicks called for a more equitable system for residential customers. “We come on behalf of the citizens asking that there be more alignment in fairness to cost-peruse of our water,” Hicks said. “Please do not burden our citizens anymore.” Doug McGowen, CEO of MLGW, said the company has previously suffered from not having consistent rate increases. The company’s systems and service rely on revenue, and McGowen said recurring investment is key. McGowen said not increasing rates would mark zero investment into their system and a “cutback on spending.” A one-year rate increase would make rates higher than the three-year proposal. “I can say with 100 percent certainty that MLGW has suffered from a lack of recurring and regular rate increases that kept pace with the costs of goods and services that prevented necessary investment in our system to provide the reliability and quality of service that customers should expect,” McGowen said. The CEO added that their fee structure is built to maintain “equity” between commercial and residential customers. He said the three-year increase is “thoughtful” and allows MLGW to organize its spending “over a long period of time.” Following approval by the board, MLGW’s budget and rate-increase proposal will appear in front of Memphis City Council for consideration.
NEWS & OPINION
C
ommunity advocates and elected officials are asking decision-makers to “reject” proposed Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) rate increases. The utility company is looking to raise its gas and water rates from 2027 through 2029. The increase was approved by MLGW’s Board of Commissioners during its Wednesday, October 21st, board meeting. On Thursday, city council member JB Smiley Jr. asked his fellow council members and Mayor Paul Young to refuse proposed gas and water increases from the utility company. The councilman said it’s important for the city to sustain its infrastructure, yet the responsibility should not come at a financial impact on families. He noted Memphis residents are facing increasing grocery and housing prices.
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A T L A R G E B y B r u c e Va n W y n g a r d e n
One Hand Clapping Finding the center when your mind won’t stop.
October 29-November 4, 2026
I
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n the mid-1970s, after I’d (finally) graduated from Mizzou J-School and decided I had no interest in a journalism career, I got a job driving school buses in Columbia, Missouri. It was a perfect gig for me at that nascent stage of my life: I got up with the sun, drove a big yellow bus out into the lovely Missouri countryside, picked up kids of all ages, and schlepped them to their various schools in town. After returning my bus to the garage, I had the day off until 3 p.m., when I did it all again, only in the other direction. It paid good money for those days. I even had to get a chauffeur’s license. I was a laid-back, long-haired guy, and the kids liked me. It was honest work. I didn’t need a damn career. During my daily free time, I mostly practiced guitar and read. I became enamored with Zen Buddhism and bought several books on the subject. I sat for what felt like long periods of time and meditated, trying to center my restless brain, trying to find “beginner’s mind,” a state wherein we experience things as if for the first time — neither looking ahead nor to the past. Be Here Now by Baba Ram Dass was one of the books I read — the title of which basically summarized its entire contents. Most of the more authentic Zen books were filled with puzzling “koans” (Chop wood, carry water. No pushing, no seeking. What is the sound of one hand clapping?) and simple but deep stories about ancient Asian monks, with lots of ink-wash drawings. I was trying to achieve satori, man. But of course the whole trick was that you weren’t supposed to “try,” and you couldn’t get there by reading about how to get there. A slippery thing, this enlightenment stuff. Try but don’t try. Achieve, but there is nothing to achieve. Sometimes in the middle of a song at band practice, I felt like I got close, but it was probably the pot. All this was brought to mind the other day when I unpacked a box of
my old books, and there amongst them was a hard-cover copy of the classic Zen Flesh, Zen Bones. I remember I bought it at a hippie co-op (probably along with some rice noodles). On the spine, written in blue ballpoint, was “$3.78,” the price I must have paid for it. It included “112 centering techniques,” and I know I tried them all. (Original hardbound copies of Zen Flesh, Zen Bones are going for $150 online now. Talk about enlightenment.) But I digress. Sort of. I’m getting to a point soon, I promise. Oh, here it is. Last Friday, I was walking along a gravel road through some woods with my two dogs. My mind, as it sometimes does, finally slowed down and offered me the realization that instead of savoring the gorgeous October day, I’d been caught up in thoughts about work and (argh!) politics, about picking up a prescription at CVS, about getting my rear tires changed. Mundane crap. It was then that the old mantra came back: Be here now. I began paying attention to the flights of autumn leaves swirling through the bright air and gathering themselves on the ground in piles of brown, orange, yellow, and red — the autumn palette making its annual announcement that summer is gone and winter is on its way, pal, like it or not. I started feeling philosophical, which can happen when you’ve experienced seven decades of autumns. It’s such a transitive time of year — beautiful and quick, sort of like, well, life itself. I stopped walking and stood still. My dogs sat quietly, already centered. I relaxed my jaw, dropped my shoulders, and took a cleansing breath. I stopped speculating and planning and worrying and just opened my senses — letting in the rustling leaves, the birdsong, the color, the light, and the aroma of the forest. I looked around and savored the moment I’d been given. The woods, lovely, crisp, and deep. The clear blue sky. The sound of one hand clapping.
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COVER STORY By Flyer Staff
FrEaKs & FiEnDs,
DeMoNs & HaInTs
A GRAB BAG OF HORRIFIC HALLOWEEN HAPPENINGS AROUND THE MID-SOUTH THIS WEEKEND.
October 29-November 4, 2026
T
he Bluff City has a long, tortured history of hauntings by restless souls who wander our streets and homes seeking eternal peace — or maybe just mystified mortals ripe for having the bejeezus scared out of them. This Halloween season, they all come creeping out of the woodwork, and if you’re looking for a terrifyingly terrific time, there’s sure to be an option for you and your friends — or fiends, as the case may be. Our Flyer staff has scoured the local demonsphere for places where the veil grows thin and the undead walk among us, questing for treats, sweets, and novelty cocktails. If you’re hoping to join them, look no further. Below are the finest, freakiest, and most frightening destinations for horrific fun in the city and beyond. But beware: Once you pass through the veil to the realm of the undead, you may never want to come back (depending on how Election Day goes).
THE HAUNTED MAZE When he started it in 2001, Justin Taylor had no idea that The Mid-South Corn Maze would be such an enduring project. “This is the 26th season,” he says. “We 8 had no concept that it would go for more than just even a season. It’s been a surprise
year after year that it’s become one of those rites of passage for the fall season for Memphians.” Every summer, usually in late July, Taylor and his crew plant a field of corn, then carve out the twisty paths of the maze before it has a chance to grow. Seen from above, the maze forms a work of art. “This year was a Peter Pan theme. It’s got the Lost Boys flying through the sky and says ‘Stay lost!’ — which sort of has a double meaning in the corn maze world.” This year, The Mid-South Corn Maze, like all Tennessee agriculture, has been dealing with drought. “It has not rained in all of October, so it’s dustier than usual. The corn is trying to hang on. It’s a drought-resistant variety of corn, so it was able to grow in spite of not having a whole bunch of water.” One annual tradition that started soon after it opened is the Haunted Maze. On weekend nights in October, the corn maze stays open late and transforms into a haunted house. There’s nothing quite like being lost in a maze at night, pursued by chainsaw-wielding psychos and dark specters. On a Friday night two weeks before Halloween, kids and parents were lined up to get into the scary area long before the official opening.
PHOTO: CHRIS MCCOY
The Haunted Maze It takes a big cast of costumed actors to stalk such a sprawling maze. Taylor says he has a dependable — and dependably scary — crew. “They have been assembled through the years. There’s a bunch of volunteers. We have a couple of families who started back in 2002, when [the Haunted Maze] first started and now their kids are 18 and they’re out here scaring with them. We’ve got a saying: The family that scares together, stays together.” The Mid-South Corn Maze at Agricenter International will be haunted Friday and Saturday, October 30th and 31st, beginning at 6:30 p.m. After that, Taylor and his crew will start the harvest and begin preparing for next year. — Chris McCoy PROJECT [S]WAMP On Halloween night, Swamp Bar will turn itself into the ultimate 2012 house party. The Creole-fusion bar and lounge located at 2146 Monroe Avenue will offer Jell-O shots, a beer pong tournament, a costume contest, and all the makings of an epic bash — reminiscent of the film Project X. Sam Reeves Hill, assistant general manager, says the idea came down to creating
something memorable for Halloween and their goal of simulating a house party. “Halloween in Memphis is always a fun time,” Reeves Hill says. “We were like, ‘What could we do that’s a little different?’” Swamp Bar’s iconic themes, mixed with its attractiveness as a community business, provide the perfect elements for a “really cool party.” And with Halloween falling on a Saturday, this has all the makings of a night to remember. “We wanted something unique enough that people would be like, ‘I need to go see,’” Reeves Hill says. “Maybe they’ll have such a good time they won’t want to leave.” In addition to having the nostalgic elements of a “parents are away” bash, Swamp Bar will have DJ Bizkit and Khi Da Godd curating vibes from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. — Kailynn Johnson CEDAR HILL’S HAUNTED FARM Not only are you going to jump when ghoulish creatures and glowing skulls suddenly pop out at you on the Trail of Terror, you’re going to be amazed when you experience the surreal aspects of Cedar Hill’s Haunted Farm in Hernando, Mississippi.
PHOTOS: (BELOW): MICHAEL DONAHUE
Cedar Hill’s Haunted Farm (RIGHT): BRITTANY SCALES
Hood Rave (LOWER RIGHT): SHINE AND ROLL MANAGEMENT TEAM
The night I was there, 47 fire pits were burning on the haunted estate that encompasses more than 100 acres. Hundreds of people grilling hot dogs, setting up elaborate picnics, or just milling about, were gathered. A woman made s’mores at a table near a stack of pumpkins for sale. And a band on an outdoor stage performed music that wafted across the area. And, to make it even better, an almostfull moon shone over everything. “It’s its own little world,” said emergency medical responder Barney Moore. My biggest fear wasn’t the creatures with hatchets, chainsaws, and scythes who approached me a little too closely for comfort in the dark, shadowy spaces. No, I felt the most apprehension before I arrived: Would I be able to find this place out in the country? Would I find a parking place? But those fears were unfounded. Cedar Hill’s Haunted Farm is at 8 Love Road right off Hwy. 51, about five miles south of Hernando. I quickly found a parking spot. When darkness fell, it was time for the attractions: Trail of Terror, where “no children under 48 inches are allowed in,” according to a Cedar Hill post on my phone; the Haunted Barn — Sensturbia; the Haunted Hayride; the Flashlight Corn Maze; and the Zombie Paintball Target Shoot, where people can shoot 100 rounds of ammo with a semiautomatic paintball gun. (“No live actors firing back” was the comforting stipulation in the post.) The Haunted Barn was the most terrifying attraction for me. It was like being in my house without a flashlight during a power outage. Guttural voices periodically yelled, “Get out!” Someone else asked, “Are you ready to die?” One of the ghouls had to lead me out of
the barn because I felt like I was in a four-sided wooden box with no exit. But all the trailblazers in my group — as far as I know — made it out of the Trail of Terror unscathed. I asked medical responder Moore if he had to assist anyone at these attractions. He said he recently had to help one of the “scarers” (the folks who frighten people). “She just got dehydrated,” he said. My biggest fright of the night was when I discovered that the large corndog I was going to order would cost me more than $10. But my fear of overspending vanished after I tried it. It was one of the tastiest corndogs I’ve had in a long time. I almost bought two. But that might have been too scary. — Michael Donahue Visit hauntedfarm.ms for details. SOUL JAM 3 Soil 2 Souls is an “intergenerational cultural enterprise and collective of South Memphis residents” aiming to “capture our community’s stories through the lens of food” and priding itself on giving back to the community through “love, legacy, and land.” This Soul Jam event connects that mission with all the fun of Halloween, and after the success of previous Soul Jams, the collective is honoring this Halloweekend with even more activities than before. On Friday, October 30th, from 6 p.m. to midnight at 999 Ford Place (behind The Four Way Restaurant), children, teens, and adults are invited to enjoy Halloween festivities with local DJs, vendors, trunkor-treating, food trucks, and costume contests. Tickets are $10 for adults; kids under 18 are admitted free until 7:30 p.m.
Trunk-or-treating will end at 7:30 p.m., and “spooky hours” will begin at 8 p.m. “We’ll have DJs and music the entire evening,” says JoElle Thompson, project lead of Soil 2 Souls. “We also might have some special performances from local artists.” Soul Jam 3 will be another chance to connect with South Memphis residents and allow their backyard to be a space for many to dance, relax, and eat in a joyful, safe environment. Attendees are encouraged to bring items that will enhance their experience, but are reminded to be responsible and safe. Security will be strictly enforced to ensure the safety of all jam-goers. — Krystion Pegues To learn more about Soil 2 Souls or Soul Jam 3, visit @Soil2Souls on Instagram and click the link in their bio. HOOD RAVE Maarifa Arnett says Hood Raves are a “congregation of free people in rhythm.” It’s all about letting it out on the dance floor. As he describes the dance party series, he notes that the events aren’t really planned and follow somewhat of an “irregular schedule.”
“Me, my wife, sister, [and] brother-in-law — if we’re affected by something, then it affects all of us,” Arnett says. “The regularity of the party has been [reflective of] what we feel the city needs, and also what we need or can have as a capacity as a family.” Arnett and his family are currently navigating grief as they mourn the passing of his mother, Sadio Arnett. He said it “rocked” their family, but he remembers that she instilled joy in them — especially as an act of rebellion. He sees joy in the midst of grief as rebellion, which is what moved him and his family to host the sixth Hood Rave on Halloween. He sees the celebration as both cathartic and communal. “This isn’t a party with sections, ‘bottle girls,’ or exclusivity,” he says. “It is about collective release. We really care about creating an environment of healing so people feel comfortable enough to have that public release.” Arnett says community members will be the “center of attention, the focal point, and the reason for the season,” at the Halloween Hood Rave. There will also be “high vibrational and spirit-lifting music.” And he hopes this sense of community will continue off the dance floor. “We need a spirit of unity and rhythm, and we are amplifying that at the Hood Rave.” — KJ Hood Rave will be held at 616 Marshall Avenue on Saturday, October 31st, from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. Tickets can be purchased at theblakfamily.com. SHINE & ROLL HAUNTED CAR WASH You may have already driven through Shine & Roll to get your ride spic and span, but you haven’t lived, or experienced the undead, until you’ve seen it transformed into the city’s first and only haunted car continued on page 10
COVER STORY m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m
Shine & Roll Haunted Car Wash
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continued from page 9 wash. Every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night through Halloween, from 7 to 10 p.m., it becomes “Memphis’ most terrifying — and most kid-friendly — Halloween drive-thru event.” Tickets are $50 per car, regardless of how many passengers are along for the ride. Each ticket includes a premium VIP graphene touchless wash, a full haunted experience, and candy. And if participants follow and tag the business (@ shineandroll_carwash) on Instagram while attending the experience, they’ll receive a $25 voucher. With this being Shine & Roll’s second year offering the attraction, the team behind the scares is grateful for the community’s love and positive reactions. “It feels amazing because we’re having fun while we’re connecting with everyone in the community,” says Hazem Shoman, owner of Shine & Roll Car Wash. “When we opened, we had an amazing reaction from the people, and as we started getting involved with the community, we talked to them about how [they would] feel about something like this. And the reaction we got from the community [was] that they loved it, and this is when we decided to give it a shot. So we decided to make it bigger and bigger every year.” With their ears to the ground, the team behind Shine & Roll wanted to highlight their neighbors’ voices and decided to
create a safe space for children to indulge in Halloween festivities while being in the comfort of their guardian’s car. The goal was for parents to “have full control of the situation versus other haunted places,” Shoman says. The haunted car wash is only the beginning for Shine & Roll, which will offer something similar for the upcoming Christmas season. — KP Visit the Shine & Roll Haunted Car Wash this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 7 to 10 p.m. at 3610 Centennial Drive. WICKED WAYS HAUNTED HOUSE During last month’s Gonerfest 23, most people approaching the Wiseacre Brewing Co. Cumberland Street entrance were gently accosted by gruesome, zombie-like figures who lurked in the shadows wielding oversized tasers and other weapons, springing out to inform newcomers of a haunted house just down the way. The ghouls were impressively committed to their bit, and, intrigued, I tried to learn more. Good luck getting the proprietors to respond to any calls or messages, though. I realized I simply had to go there. The mystery clearly was part of the experience. With my car creeping down a
PHOTO: ALEX GREENE
Wicked Ways Haunted House road lined with warehouses and loading docks, I approached what can only be described as a compound of terror. A ragged Quonset hut, marked “Zombie Defense Unit 926 Operations Site” in ragged letters, awaited at the end of the road, while a “U.S. Military” guard tower manned by a disfigured ghoul stood to one side, a half-decapitated figure climbing up the
back. As the sun set, I was getting nervous. I had obviously stumbled upon a Fallout-inspired hellscape come to life. Billed as the “largest indoor haunted house in Memphis,” Wicked Ways Haunted House should be irresistible for anyone seeking the most extreme Halloween experience possible. “These aren’t just attractions … they’re an all-out onslaught of terror, a sensory overload built to twist your mind, crush your will, and leave you begging for a way out,” promises their website, boasting not only a “Tormented (Torture Chamber) Extreme Virtual Reality Encounter” but a “Cannibal 5-Minute Escape Room” as well, both of which “have shredded nerves and shattered courage, pushing even the boldest souls past their breaking point.” Talk about threatening me with a good time! What more could a poor soul stuck in the mediocrity of this pedestrian, milquetoast existence ask for? But let there be no spoilers here! You’ll just have to gear up, brace your pitiful psyche, and head down to the compound yourself — if you dare. — Alex Greene For hours and other details, visit wickedwayshauntedhouse.com.
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steppin’ out
We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews PHOTO: PAULA CRAVENS
A spooky child’s grave
On Halloween afternoon, Memphians can get a little closer to the past — and perhaps the paranormal — during Shadows of the Past, a 90-minute guided tour through Elmwood Cemetery. The tour invites the morbidly curious to explore Victorian cemetery symbolism, hear stories from Memphis’ devastating yellow fever epidemics, and discover the lives of some of the city’s most fascinating residents. “The Shadows of the Past Tour is timed for the thinning of the veil between the world of the living and the dead — or so many cultures have believed over time,” says Kim Bearden, executive director of Elmwood Cemetery. Among the stops are No Man’s Land, the burial site of 1,500 yellow fever victims; the graves of two madams, including one known as the Mary Magdalene of Memphis; and the resting places of musicians, a notorious politician, and the South’s first Black millionaire. Visitors will also see the cenotaph of a man who disappeared in 1899. The tour explores the stories behind the cemetery’s elaborate monuments, too. Obelisks, urns, bronze statues, and other Victorian-era memorials reveal how 19thcentury Memphians used symbolism to honor their dead. The city’s yellow fever epidemics offer a particularly poignant chapter. Visitors will learn about Dr. R.H. Tate, one of Memphis’ earliest Black physicians, who had been born enslaved and later returned to the South to help fight the disease. He died of yellow fever roughly two weeks after arriving in Memphis. The tour also visits the Howard Association lot and memorial, where more than two dozen physicians who came from across the country to treat victims are buried. And what would a Halloween cemetery tour be without a little mystery? Asked whether she has ever seen a ghost, Bearden says she gets that question frequently — and promises to address it during the tour. No spoilers. Still, the cemetery’s purpose extends beyond the spooky season. Elmwood remains an active cemetery and place of remembrance, and tours help raise funds for its upkeep. “There’s a magic to it,” Bearden says of visiting a cemetery, describing a stirring mix of sadness, love, melancholy, and sentimentality. For those ready to experience Memphis history among towering trees and weathered headstones, Bearden offers two simple recommendations: comfortable walking shoes and a sense of wonder. SHADOWS OF THE PAST TOUR, ELMWOOD CEMETERY, 824 S. DUDLEY ST., SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 3 P.M.
VARIOUS DAYS & TIMES October 29th - November 4th MEMREN – Memphis Renaissance Festival Overton Park Greensward, Saturday, October 31-Sunday, November 1, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Step into a world of medieval magic at MEMREN – Memphis Renaissance Festival, making its debut at the Greensward in Overton Park. This two-day celebration of Renaissance-inspired fantasy invites guests to choose between the Queen of the Day and the Queen of the Night, join their courts, and compete in feats of strength, games of skill, and mental challenges. Dress in your finest medieval attire and mingle with princes, jesters, knights, and thieves while exploring an enchanting village of shoppes, enjoying a picnic on the grass, and gathering at the Queens’ table for the adults-only Rere Supper.
Rent University of Memphis Mainstage, Thursday, October 29-Sunday, November 1, 7:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. Jonathan Larson’s award-winning musical Rent tells a moving story of love, friendship, artistic ambition, and living in the moment. Set in New York City’s East Village, the Tony Award-winning musical and Pulitzer Prize-winning drama follows a year in the lives of a group of young artists and musicians struggling to survive while pursuing their dreams amid the HIV/AIDS crisis. Rent features a rock-inspired score and explores themes of identity, community, and resilience. Catch the production at the University of Memphis Mainstage with evening performances Thursday through Saturday and matinee performances Saturday and Sunday.
The Maze Agricenter International, through Saturday, October 31, noon-10 p.m. Enjoy and celebrate fall at The Maze, the Mid-South’s beloved corn maze at Agricenter International in Memphis. Families can navigate winding cornfield paths, roast s’mores around the bonfire, bounce on the jumping pillow, and take aim with the corn cannon. For extra thrills, The Maze transforms into a haunted attraction on Friday and Saturday nights in October, beginning at dusk. Wednesday nights feature Family Nights with a complimentary hayride and bonfire included with maze admission. Open through October 31st, The Maze offers seasonal fun for all ages.
MAKE YOUR CLOSET HAPPY, MANE. m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m
By Kimberly Ham
VISIT US AT
GRINDCITYDESIGNS.COM/ MEMPHISFLYER TO PLACE AN ORDER.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Shadows of Memphis’ Past
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MUSIC By Alex Greene
Jon Hassell’s Eerie Legacy The trailblazing trumpeter will be honored in a special Memphis Listening Lab event.
October 29-November 4, 2026
W
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hile many players who grew up in Memphis’ musical stew took the city’s inspirations further afield in the wider world, none of them did so as expansively as the late Jon Hassell. Though hardly a household name here, he’s a towering figure of innovation in international circles, emblematic of an element of Memphis music that’s not often recognized: its musos’ experimental tendencies. That impulse is embodied by the likes of MonoNeon or Charles Lloyd, giants in their own right, but even their music lacks the unique identity of the soundscapes created by Hassell. This Thursday, October 29th, at 6 p.m., however, Hassell will get his due, as Jared Boyd presides over a retrospective listening event at the Memphis Listening Lab that aims to demonstrate beyond a doubt just how inventive and galvanizing Hassell’s music was. Boyd is the perfect host for the event, having interviewed Hassell before his death in 2021. As he puts it, “Memphis music and horns have been so closely linked ... I wouldn’t say it’s more important than the guitar, but I think that the horn, the use of horns, really established what made the Memphis sound. And Jon talked about studying with [renowned Memphis trombonist] Jack Hale Sr., and admiring Bill Justis’ sound, yet we don’t think of him typically as someone who’s a quintessentially Memphis musician. He kind of zigged where everyone else zagged, and went further out than a lot of the jazz guys who probably grew up alongside him, and took it to other realms. So I think that Jon Hassell is just incredible for that.” Indeed, what other local horn player left Memphis after high school for the Eastman School of Music, then went on to study under composer Karlheinz Stockhausen? Many of the city’s great trumpeters admired Miles Davis, as did Hassell, but who among them went on to collaborate with Brian Eno, the Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel, Tears for Fears, or Ani DiFranco? Much of his appeal to such artists was based on the haunting harmonies he created by running his trumpet through effects pedals — a commonplace gambit these days, yet practically unheard of in the 1970s. Parallel to that, Hassell was expanding his listening far beyond America. He traveled to Germany in the ’60s to attend The Köln Course for New Music, where
Holger Czukay and Irmin Schmidt were his classmates before forming the experimental rock group Can. Then he worked with La Monte Young, with whom he traveled to India to study under raga master Pran Nath. And so, long before the term “world music” was coined, Hassell’s interest in imbuing his own compositions with what he called “Fourth World” influences led to the eerie soundscapes for which he’s known to this day. And, as Matthew Jones of the U.K.-based Warp Records, which administers Hassell’s personal Ndeya imprint, puts it, “In his archives, we found a box of cassette tapes that Jon listened to at home, and it was really eclectic. There were all sorts of things in there, like a Miles Davis record he’d taped, with Ornette Coleman on the other side. There was a mixtape of his favorite hip-hop tracks, and a few dub things. So yeah, he was a voracious listener.”
PHOTO: ROMAN KOVAL
Jon Hassell In a sense, Hassell took the beloved catchphrase, “Memphis, where everything is everything,” to heart, and those attending Thursday’s retrospective, featuring pivotal Hassell tracks selected by Ndeya, should be ready for anything. Some of the key material will be from Hassell’s final works, conceived as The Pentimento Trilogy, including the justreleased Music Is Invisible (Pentimento Volume Three), drawn from his final live performance in 2015. Furthermore, speaking to Hassell’s international tastes and impact, this week’s listening event will echo similar events going on around the world now, from the U.K. to New York, Los Angeles, and beyond. “It’s been a truly global thing,” says Jones. “There’s been an event in Taiwan, and two events happening in Japan. So having Chad at the Memphis Listening Lab reach out was perfect. We 100 percent wanted to do something in Memphis. Jon would have been really happy about that.”
AFTER DARK: Live Music Schedule Oct. 29 - Nov. 4 Halloween at Hi Tone
1st Sunday Gospel and Jazz Jam Munch A soulful Sunday gathering blending gospel and jazz. Sunday, Nov. 1, 2 p.m.
CENTER FOR SOUTHERN FOLKLORE
Alexis Jade and the Gemstones Saturday, Oct. 31, 6 p.m. SOUTH MAIN SOUNDS
Ayanna Justine
With Bo Adams, Faith Alexa. Friday, Oct. 30, 7 p.m. SOUTH MAIN SOUNDS
Hotel Pontotoc 120th Anniversary Halloween Party With Devil Train. Saturday, Oct. 31, 9 p.m.
THE DAME AT THE HOTEL PONTOTOC
The Orchestra Unplugged: The Planets Explore Holst’s universe of sound with Robert Moody and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. Friday, Oct. 30, 7:30 p.m.
Ayanna Justine
Saturday, Oct. 31, 3 p.m. CENTRAL BBQ
HI TONE
Basic Needs
“Haunted HOUSE” Featuring DJs Digital Tech + Qemist
With jump ball, Correction, Slip to Dust. Tuesday, Nov. 3, 7:30 p.m. HI TONE
Blac Youngsta Presents: The Sammie Krueger Fest Saturday, Oct. 31, 8 p.m. MINGLEWOOD HALL
Concrete and Terror Thursday, Oct. 29, 7 p.m. SOCIETY MEMPHIS
Gasolina Reggaetón Party
For ages 18+. Friday, Oct. 30, 9 p.m.
HALLORAN CENTRE
SATELLITE MUSIC HALL
Pure Prairie League, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Firefall
Grand Theft Audio
Country rock, Southern rock, classic rock, and soft rock hits. Friday, Oct. 30, 7 p.m. CANNON CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
Friday, Oct. 30, 6 p.m. LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM
G Wiz & the Soular System
With Moses Crouch, Black Magick. Friday, Oct. 30, 7 p.m. B-SIDE
With Boondocks Boys. Thursday, Oct. 29, 8 p.m.
Terry Greene & the Honey Golds Saturday, Oct. 31, 5 p.m. LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM
Indigo Girls
Buddy Guy 90
Makers of hits like “Closer to Fine” and “Kid Fears.” Monday, Nov. 2, 6:30 p.m.
One of America’s most influential guitarists. Thursday, Oct. 29, 7:30 p.m.
OVERTON PARK SHELL
SATELLITE MUSIC HALL
GROWLERS
WISEACRE OG
THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS
Día De Muertos Rave Sunday, Nov. 1, 8 p.m.
Future, Bailey Bigger. Friday, Oct. 30, 5 p.m.
Sterling Elza
Spooky sounds, heavy grooves, and all-night dancing. Saturday, Oct. 31, 8 p.m.
1884 LOUNGE
Friday, Oct. 30, 8 p.m.
Kyra Sims with Otto, her horn
1884 LOUNGE
Love in the Club 2000’s Hip Hop and R&B Party
Cosmic Charlie
PHOTO: COURTESY KYRA SIMS
With Deerfields, Magnum Dopus, T.V. Planet Phases, Keer, Magik Hours, One Stupid Reason. Saturday, Oct. 31, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 31, 8 p.m.
MLL Presents: Invisible Listening A journey through the life and career of Jon Hassell, hosted by Jared Boyd. Thursday, Oct. 29, 6 p.m. MEMPHIS LISTENING LAB
M!sF!rst
With Switchblade Kid, Soft Violence. Friday, Oct. 30, 8 p.m. HI TONE
Nightmare on Poplar Avenue
South Memphis Jeff, Qemist.
GRACELAND
Full Metal Racket Saturday, Oct. 31, 9 p.m. GROWLERS
No Place Like Chrome Friday, Oct. 30, 8 p.m. HI TONE
Otto in Antarctica
Kyra Sims and her horn in the most mysterious region of the world. Sunday, Nov. 1, 6 p.m. THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS
Ouija Macc
Billy Marchiafava, Darby O’Trill, Mikey Rotten. Wednesday, Nov. 4, 7 p.m. GROWLERS
The Pinch
Friday, Oct. 30, 9:30 p.m. LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM
Prof
Wednesday, Nov. 4, 6 p.m. SATELLITE MUSIC HALL
School of Rock Halloween Bash
1990s metal and hard rock. Thursday, Oct. 29, 8 p.m. HERNANDO’S HIDE-A-WAY
Jordan Dean (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Tribute) Saturday, Oct. 31, 8 p.m. HERNANDO’S HIDE-A-WAY
Saturday, Oct. 31, 1 p.m. LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM
Scott Sudbury Acoustic Thursday, Oct. 29, 6 p.m. LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM
Shell on Wheels: Hallow’s Eve
With DJ Kid Mestizo, Recent
Concerts in The Grove: Lina Beach
The singer-songwriter and guitarist is a rising star. Thursday, Oct. 29, 6:30 p.m. THE GROVE AT GPAC
SUPER SCIENTIFIC CIRCUS
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13th. 2026
2026
684 West Poplar Avenue, Collierville, TN 38017 901.853.7822 • sheffield-antiques.com
The Super Scientific Circus explores the fundamentals of how the world works with boomerangs, bubbles, beach balls, bull whips, and magic as their scientific tools. Watch as Mr. Fish and Trent the Mime use their incredible circus skills and comedic antics to teach important concepts like friction and inertia in a fun and engaging way. With lots of audience participation, this show promises to entertain and educate.
TICKETS @ BPACC.org
WINNER!
901.385.5588 — Box Office Hours — 10a.m. to 2p.m. Michael Bollinger — Artistic Director
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m
OCTOBER 31 @ 2P.M.
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CALENDAR of EVENTS: Oct. 29 - Nov. 4
ARTS A N D S P EC I A L E X HI BI TS
“Generations”
Exhibiting art from three artists: paintings by Lucia Dickinson, photographs by Steve Selvidge, and mixed media by Jimmy Crosthwait. Through Nov. 18. OTHERLANDS COFFEE BAR
Hamlett Dobbins: “The Window of My Studio” Send the date, time, place, cost, info, phone number, a brief description, and photos — two weeks in advance — to calendar@memphisflyer.com. DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS, ONGOING WEEKLY EVENTS WILL APPEAR IN THE FLYER’S ONLINE CALENDAR ONLY. FOR COMPREHENSIVE EVENTS LISTING, VISIT EVENTS.MEMPHISFLYER.COM/CAL.
Hamlett Dobbins employs painting and abstraction to process experiences of pure consciousness. He has often been described as a “painter’s painter” for his approach to shape and form, complex surface layering, and adept color orchestration. Through Nov. 21. DAVID LUSK GALLERY
B O O K E V E N TS
past comes alive. Saturday, Oct. 31, 3 p.m. ELMWOOD CEMETERY
FEST I VAL
Memphis Japan Festival
C L ASS / WOR KS HOP
Spooky Centerpieces at Ghost River
Join farmer-florist Marisa Mender-Franklin for a 75-minute workshop where you will learn to design your own spooky fall centerpiece. Thursday, Oct. 29, 6 p.m. GHOST RIVER BREWING
COME DY
The Pit Spooky Club Presents: Who Wrote That? Local comedians are forced to write jokes for each other and read them live. Thursday, Oct. 29, 8 p.m.
Come celebrate the history, culture, and people of Japan. A family-friendly, interactive, and hands-on experience of Japanese culture featuring food, entertainment, games, crafts, and more. Free. Sunday, Nov. 1, 9:30 a.m. MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN
MEMREN - Memphis Renaissance Festival
Hark, revelry and medieval merriment await! For two days and nights, this inaugural festival of Renaissance-inspired fantasy and delight will be in full effect. Saturday, Oct. 31, 10 a.m. | Sunday, Nov. 1, 10 a.m. OVERTON PARK GREENSWARD
FI LM
FLYWAY BREWING MEMPHIS
Dixon Club de lectura (Spanish Book Club) Este club de lectura del Dixon les invita a compartir sus experiencias de lectura en español a través del título seleccionado del mes. Tuesday, Nov. 3, 6 p.m. DIXON GALLERY AND GARDENS
CO M M UN I T Y
Shadows of the Past Tour
Crosstown Arts Film Series Presents: Creepshow
FA M I LY
Rhythm & Roots
Students explore drumming, dance, teamwork, and creative expression in a safe and inspiring environment. Wednesday, Nov. 4, 6 p.m.
A murdered patriarch, a mysterious meteor, a vengeful husband, a creature beneath the stairs, and an impossibly persistent army of cockroaches come together. Thursday, Oct. 29, 7 p.m.
MEMPHIS YOUTH ARTS INITIATIVE CENTER
Step into a world where history whispers through the trees and shadows dance among PHOTO: CHEERS PHOTO CO. headstones. Come experience an unforgetThe Newthe York Times Syndication Sales Corporation table journey through the cemetery, where the Night Queen Haylee Hearn at MEMREN
620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Saturday, August 24, 2019
CROSSTOWN THEATER
Feast & Film - The Nightmare Before Christmas
A magical movie night full of spooky fun featuring the unforgettable Jack Skellington. Friday, Oct. 30, 5:30 p.m. SWP EVENTS
H OLI DAY EVEN TS
Crossword ACROSS
October 29-November 4, 2026
No. 0720
30 Man’s name 45 Blues group?: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 that’s an alphabet Abbr. 15 16 run 46 It’s truly inspired 9 Ghost buster, of a 31 The Panthers of 17 18 47 Offerings from sort the A.C.C. Friskies 15 Fix without 19 20 21 32 Commonplace 50 Gradually cut off doctoring (from) 22 23 24 25 26 33 Passes, slangily 16 Many a magnet 54 1962 John has one 34 Comment 27 28 29 30 Wayne film of complete 17 Thought 31 32 33 55 Hit list contentment accompanying a light bulb 57 Handle, of a sort 37 ___ A. Bank 34 35 36 (men’s clothier 18 Like 58 Descended upon, 37 38 39 since 1905) speakeasies as mosquitoes and fridges, at might 38 Man’s name that 40 41 42 times means “the king” 59 “Another Bud, bud!” 19 One may be 43 44 45 46 39 Last word in copped 60 Comic con, e.g. many company 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 20 “Bandleader” names with a 1967 54 55 56 40 Tidbit for an DOWN #1 album echidna 57 58 1 Prime directive? 22 Dr. ___ 41 Tone-___ 2 Nebula Award 59 60 24 On the ___ winner Frederik 42 Of very poor 25 Go with the quality, in 3 Guy’s gal wind? PUZZLE BY SAM TRABUCCO modern slang 4 Pioneering 27 ‘ 12 Complained 44 1990s’ ___ 26 Opulence 43 Old Model M’s thrash metal Report loudly and 28 Big times and Model T-6s band with its own 27 Is perfect, publicly music festival, 48 Crop clothing-wise Gigantour ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE 13 Kir and Campari, 49 Something 29 It’s got its ups brought to a for two 5 Dating letters and downs D R Y L O O F A A S A N A supermarket 14 Stark family 6 Commencement J U M B O T R O N C A B O T 31 Mobile home? member on 51 City on a lake of E S C A P E K E Y E R N I E 7 Class in which “Game of the same name 32 Capital on the kids may learn D E A N S L I S T T O E S Thrones” Balkan Peninsula 52 Off-road rides, about sin? K I L N A V E N G E D 21 What the U.S. for short 34 Barely open and Canadian M A D E D O S K I N G A M E 8 Best-selling 53 Vote in the dollars had, 35 It’s going downhill E V A D E B L E D S T A T game with a Security Council roughly, in the hexagonal board N E T D E L I R I A I K E 36 Not a team player 54 Nucleus early 2010s A R I A G U M S L A V E R 9 College area 23 Made looser or 42 Often-reddish 56 Something C A N T L O S E W A D E R S of study with tighter, in a way quartz everyone’s doing E G G H A S H P E N S no application required? E P I C P O R T H O L E S Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 7,000 past B J O R K I M O N A R O L L 10 On the double puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year). M O O S E N A V A L B A S E Read about and comment on each puzzle: nytimes.com/wordplay. 11 Contents of a W E L T Y K N O P E F E W bowl or a pot 1 Junk dealers?
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Edited by Will Shortz
Boooooks!
Celebrate with a spooky library adventure. Stop by the library for a rave, spine-tingling stories, tricks, treats, and lots of other spooky fun activities. Friday, Oct. 30, 3:30 p.m. BENJAMIN L. HOOKS CENTRAL LIBRARY
Meet & Greet with Bluff City Witches
Meet the Bluff City Witches and enjoy fellowship, a potluck, a bonfire, foraging, and group updates. Free. Saturday, Oct. 31, 7 p.m. SHELBY FARMS PARK
Park & Treat 2026
Enjoy themed trunks and receive candy bags. Plus, learn fun pumpkin painting with Travis the “Paint Man” Hunter. There will also be a kids’ Halloween costume contest. Saturday, Oct. 31, 2 p.m. TOBEY PARK
Trick or Vote, Trunk or Treat
Enjoy decorated trunks and plenty of treats, free food and refreshments, music, and family-friendly activities. Halloween costumes are encouraged. Plus, there will be community resources and voter information. Free. Saturday, Oct. 31, 5 p.m. NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM
PER FOR M I N G AR TS
The Blood & Bass Revue
Classic burlesque performed live by Mercy Cerebellu, Sin Arta, and Marceline Vex. Friday, Oct. 30, 8 p.m. GROWLERS
T H EAT ER
If You Give A Mouse A Cookie
What begins as a simple act of kindness, offering a cookie, quickly spirals into an ever more ridiculous and hilarious chain of requests. Thursday, Oct. 29-Wednesday, Nov. 4, 10 a.m. THE CIRCUIT PLAYHOUSE
Rent
Set in the New York City’s East Village during the AIDS crisis, Rent is about falling in love, finding your voice, and living for today. Thursday, Oct. 29, 7:30 p.m. | Friday, Oct. 30, 7:30 p.m. | Saturday, Oct. 31, 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. | Sunday, Nov. 1, 2:00 p.m. UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS MAINSTAGE
U
nless I misunderstood her, one woman told me she’d been to 70 Widespread Panic shows. To which someone replied that he’d been to hundreds of them. Or something like that. But however many shows they’d seen, “Spread Heads” got a chance to share their memories and see two more shows if they attended this year’s Mempho Music Festival, which was held October 9th, 10th, and 11th at Radians Amphitheater at the Memphis Botanic Garden. It could have been dubbed “Mempho Botanic Garden” for those three days.
PHOTOS: MICHAEL DONAHUE
above: (left to right) Conner Lopez, David Christopher, Owen Ricketts, Jake McDonald; below: (left to right) Tay Gutta, Minni Mitchell, Chadd Carter; Dylan Waldrip, Kevin Waldrip; Chris and Ellen Bolam circle: Jayden Carter, Carrie Carter bottom row: (left to right) Chris, Cassie, Campbell, and Conrad Duncan; Griffin Allen, Will Klepper, Jack Haddad; Anna Claire, Kelly, Parks Jr., and Parks O’Neill
m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m
with michael donahue
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
We Saw You.
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FOOD By Michael Donahue
HEY YA’LL Soul Food on Wheels IT’S PANSY PLANTING TIME AND Food truck specializes in comfort food.
DAN WEST HAS A GREAT SELECTION PLUS VIOLAS, SNAPDRAGONS, WINTER KALE & MORE DON’T FORGET TO PLANT DAFFODIL, TULIP, CROCUS BULBS THIS FALL FOR A BURST OF COLOR NEXT SPRING! 2026
WINNER! 2 Locations: 4763 Poplar at Colonial • 767-6743 • 12061 Hwy 64 • 867-2283 • DanWestOnline.com
BEN’S FRIENDS IS...
A FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY SUPPORT GROUP OFFERING COMMUNITY, HOPE, AND A PATH FORWARD TO THOSE WHO STRUGGLE WITH SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND ADDICTION.
October 29-November 4, 2026
BEN’S FRIENDS MEMPHIS MEETING
MONDAYS AT 10 AM
GLOBAL CAFE 1350 CONCOURSE AVE, SUITE 157 FREE PARKING 2ND LEVEL & ABOVE
JO IN US! JOIN U S! BEN’S FRIENDS IS A COALITION OF SOBER F&B PEOPLE COMMITTED TO THEIR SOBRIETY IN AN INDUSTRY FILLED WITH DRUGS, ALCOHOL, AND STRESS. OUR ONLY PURPOSE IS TO HELP EACH OTHER FIND FREEDOM FROM THE BONDAGE OF OUR ADDICTION.
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M
ilton Bonds Jr. dreamed of a career in the NFL, but after an ACL injury in high school and a stint playing football in college, he realized that, regarding the question of what he would do with his life, “This wasn’t it,” he says. He ended up joining the Memphis Police Department, where he’s a lieutenant overseeing the digital forensics unit and the internet crimes against children and human trafficking task force. But police work still wasn’t completely it, either. “My passion was always owning a restaurant. Something on the side,” Bonds says. “That was the dream, ’cause I grew up with two great cooks in the family. And my wife is a good cook as well.” Bonds is now the owner of Bonds Kountry Kitchen food truck. He and his wife, Tameka, share the cooking duties. “Milton does all the frying,” says Tameka, who makes the sides and cooks meat. “I’m not dealing with any of the grease.” “As a policeman, you have to eat food on the go,” Milton says. “So I’ve probably tried every major restaurant where we would go in and out. On my off days from my beats, I would try different foods around the city. I just felt like I could probably do this.” He “didn’t have the resources” to open a restaurant, so he decided to open a food truck with his sister, Marsha Bonds, in 2024. “The concept was soul food on a food truck,” Milton says, adding, “Comfort food like fried chicken, grilled pork chops, greens, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese.” They joined Memphis Kitchen CoOp, where they could do their prep work for both the truck and catering jobs. The food truck business was slow going at first. “On the first day, we may have had 15 customers,” Milton says. It also had its drawbacks. “Someone stole our generator off the truck.” And Marsha had medical issues, so Tameka took her place on the food truck about a year ago. He and Tameka are “childhood sweethearts” who began dating when they were in the 11th grade, Milton says. “This journey was meant for us because Milton and I both come from a family of true cooks,” Tameka says. “Cooking gives me some breathing
PHOTO: MICHAEL DONAHUE
Tameka and Milton Bonds Jr. space. Joy. When I’m in the kitchen, I’m in my zone.” Growing up, Tameka and her sisters were required by their working mom to have the house clean and have “some kind of meat going” when she got home. Her mom would then finish the rest of the dinner. “Fast food wasn’t something we did often at all. Cooking was happening all the time at our house.” Tameka thought cooking was a chore until she moved out of the house at 18. “There were no limits to what I was cooking,” she says. “I was cooking heavy soul food like neckbones, pig’s feet, baked chicken, fried chicken.” Soul food is her specialty. “I feel like it really does reach the soul,” she says, adding, “Nothing about soul food is fast food.” Their biggest food truck day is between noon and 5 p.m. Sundays at the Kroger at Houston Levee and Macon in Cordova, Milton says, adding that their smothered pork chops and fried catfish are big hits. Tameka puts their menus together. A recent Sunday included homemade cornbread dressing, slow-simmered pinto beans, Southern-style spaghetti, sweet potato soufflé with a marshmallow topping, and Tameka’s “Big Bonds” seven-blend macaroni and cheese. “Every Sunday they come back and tell you how good your food was. It really drives you,” says Milton. Bonds Kountry Kitchen frozen items are also available at Amplified Meal Prep Marketplace at Memphis Kitchen Co-Op & Marketplace at 7940 Fischer Steel Road in Cordova. When he’s not at the police station or working with the food truck, Milton attends school one or two nights a week at the University of Memphis, pursuing his Ph.D. in urban affairs and public policy with a concentration in criminal justice. He’d like to eventually teach a collegiate level higher education class in, perhaps, urban affairs or public policy. As he puts it, “I just try to stay active, that’s all.”
SPIRITS By Andria Lisle and Kathleen Murray
Memphis, Neat Five stops, plenty of good drinks, and the unexpected pleasures of going out in Memphis.
S
ometimes the best weekend plans are the ones you barely make. We set out for an art opening and a pregame. We ended up discovering places worth revisiting, enjoying excellent hospitality, and making friends along the way. Here are our five stops, a collection of drinks ranging from familiar to unexpected, and one weekend that reminded us why we like going out in Memphis.
Archives at Hotel Napoleon (179 Madison Ave.) Archives wasn’t on our itinerary. We were looking for an open bathroom first and a place to have a quick drink second. Memphis nightlife occasionally rewards this kind of planning. Bartender Steve Townes poured us a vodka soda and a gin and tonic. The gorgeously appointed room was strangely deserted, which seemed a shame. The bar deserves a visit, and so does the bathroom, with its Pinterest-worthy wallpaper, astroturf, and emergency party button. We’re not sure what constitutes an emergency, but we appreciate having options.
Bar Limina (631 Madison Ave.) Farther up Madison in the Edge District, the craft cocktail-forward Bar Limina was our final stop of the night. We hadn’t visited the location since its Inkwell days and were happy to find it buzzing. We ordered a much-needed cheese plate and tried the White Gloves and the ‘Spresso Marg. The first was a briny, oliveoil-rich martini with Marcona-almondwashed gin; the second mixed a margarita and an espresso martini, with fresh thyme in for the ride. Both were more interesting than anything we were likely to mix at home, which was rather the point. Then bar manager Jenna Abu-Khraybeh showed up with two more cocktails in tiny cordial glasses. They were compliments of the next table, where owner Josh Conley was having drinks with friends. The smoky mezcal-and-Montenegro M&M packed a punch, while the lighter, herbaceous drink went unnamed in our notes. What we initially thought was an awkward mix-up turned into an impromptu tasting and a round of introductions. Another argument for going out! We ate, drank, and made merry. By the end of the night, we’d made several new friends — a pretty good return on two drinks and a cheese plate. Tonica (1545 Overton Park Ave.) Late Sunday morning, we decided we’d earned one more drink: Spanish coffees at Tonica, with a shared plate of steak and eggs. The cocktail is sublime: brandy, Licor 43, orange zest, cream, and enough caffeine to make us believe Sunday afternoon productivity was still possible. After Friday’s overindulgence (and Saturday’s laundry intermission), it was a fitting finale: a little treat, a big boost, and proof the weekend wasn’t quite over.
m e m p h i s f l y e r. c o m
Tops Gallery at Madison Avenue Park (151 Madison Ave.) Downtown, New York-based painter Steve Keene was showing his work at Tops’ Madison Avenue location, a tiny sliver of a gallery tucked into an alleyway between Little Petals and First Horizon Bank. Tim Prudhomme’s band Fake supplied the soundtrack, and an open cooler of beer handled refreshments. Wiseacre Ananda and a cold Budweiser hit the spot. No elaborate cocktail menu, just art, live music, a couple of cold beers, and a Downtown destination that got the basics exactly right.
PHOTO: ANDRIA LISLE
Jenna Abu-Khraybeh
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Memphis Whistle (2299 Young Ave.) Our designated warm-up, Memphis Whistle is an ideal place to shake off the workweek. We’d been meaning to return since owner Jef Hicks reclaimed his liquor license. The cocktails are delicious, and the ambiance is a rare combination of eccentric and homey: a neighborhood institution disguised as a Midtown bungalow. Usually we choose a table on the sidewalk, but on this visit, crisp fall air pushed us indoors, where we ordered medium-spicy margaritas. At $6 happy-hour prices, they’re a deal. No sad well drinks here: fresh lime, just enough sweetness, a kick of heat, and a rim of salt or Tajín. Don’t miss the crispy tots, a suitable foundation for an evening of drinking.
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The Veil as a Metaphor This month, the veil between us and the spirit realm thins; so does the one between our conscious and subconscious minds.
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very October, people begin talking about “the veil” as though the world itself is shifting. In many spiritual traditions, that veil is imagined as the boundary between the world of the living and the spirit realm. Even outside of religious or pagan frameworks, October has a way of making that metaphor feel relevant. The veil can be understood as something more personal: the thin, shifting boundary between our conscious mind and the deeper, quieter layers of the subconscious. As the season changes, the boundary softens. Intuition sharpens. Dreams take on new texture. Memories rise without warning. It’s as if the mind responds to the turning of the year by turning inward. Part of this comes from the environment. October carries a different kind of light, evenings arrive earlier, and things are quieter. That change in atmosphere affects us more than we realize. When the external world slows down, the internal world grows louder. We notice subtle feelings we might ignore in summer. We sense undercurrents in conversations. We pick up on moods and possibilities with a little more clarity. Intuition isn’t magic; it’s awareness. October encourages awareness. Dreams become more vivid during seasonal transitions. Sleep researchers note that changes in temperature, daylight, and daily rhythm can influence dream intensity. Beyond the science, there’s a symbolic truth: When the conscious mind relaxes its grip, the subconscious steps forward. Dreams become a kind of nighttime storytelling, weaving together fragments of memory, emotion, and imagination. This month, those stories often feel sharper, more colorful, or more meaningful. They reflect the season’s themes of transition, reflection, and release. This is also a time of year when unresolved feelings may surface. The subconscious is patient, but it is persistent. When life slows down, it brings forward what we haven’t addressed. A memory you haven’t thought about in years might suddenly appear. An old worry might resurface. A forgotten hope might tug at your attention. This isn’t regression; it’s integration. The mind uses quieter seasons to sort through what has been pushed aside. The metaphor of the veil helps explain this. The conscious mind is the part of us that handles schedules, conversations, responsibilities, and logic. The subconscious is the part that holds emotion, intuition, memory, and imagination. Most of the
year, the boundary between them is firm. But October softens it. The veil thins, not only between worlds, but within ourselves. Listening to that inner voice doesn’t require ritual or belief, just attention. One of the easiest ways is to pause when something tugs at your awareness. If a memory comes up, sit with it for a moment. If a dream lingers after waking, write down a few lines. If your intuition nudges you, notice what it’s responding to. Inner wisdom rarely shouts. It prefers whispers. Another technique is to create small pockets of quiet. A walk in the cooler air, a few minutes with a candle, or a moment of stillness before bed can help the subconscious speak more clearly. These aren’t rituals in the religious sense, they’re invitations. The mind needs space to reveal what it already knows. Journaling can also help thin the veil. Not structured journaling, but simple, unfiltered writing. Let your thoughts spill onto the page without editing. Often, the subconscious reveals itself in the words you didn’t plan to write. Most importantly, approach this season with curiosity rather than fear. The subconscious isn’t a dark forest; it’s a landscape of memory, creativity, and insight. When October thins the boundary between your inner layers, it offers a chance to understand yourself more deeply.
PHOTO: JOHNATHAN KAUFMAN | UNSPLASH
The veil is a metaphor, but a powerful one. It reminds us we are layered beings — logical and intuitive, conscious and subconscious, present and shaped by the past. As October settles and the world shifts toward shadow, let yourself listen to the quieter parts of your mind. They’ve been waiting all year for this time to speak. Emily Guenther is a co-owner of The Broom Closet metaphysical shop. She is a Memphis native, professional tarot reader, ordained Pagan clergy, and dog mom.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): How do the oldest trees live for so many years? What’s their secret to longevity? They’re very adaptable. During storms, they bend without breaking. During droughts, they slow down their growth. Cultivating alliances with fungi is one of their brilliant tactics. You’re in an opportune phase to favor this approach to strength and endurance, Taurus. Here’s what I propose: Weave gleaming strands of buoyant resilience into your fervent willpower. Experiment with yielding strategically rather than resisting reflexively. Boost your soulful power through flexibility and adaptability. For Halloween, be an ancient oak tree, forest guardian, or mushroom spirit. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): When archaeologists unearth a fresh batch of ancient artifacts, they never find a complete civilization in one dramatic moment. Each object or bone fragment helps explain another. A piece of pottery illuminates the meaning of an inscription. A broken staircase reveals why buildings were constructed as they were. Through educated guesswork and chains of association, knowledge accumulates. I invite you to wield your curiosity in the same way, Gemini. Treasure the sequence of little discoveries that gradually reshape your overall understanding. Have eager faith that every clue will lead you to further clues. For Halloween, be an archaeologist, paleontologist, or investigator of crime scenes. CANCER (June 21-July 22): Researchers studying wolves have found that play remains essential to them throughout their lives. Mature wolves wrestle, chase, and invent games that strengthen trust and sharpen cooperation. They never graduate from joyful experimentation. I hope their friskiness inspires you to remember, dear Cancerian, that serious responsibilities don’t require a terminally serious personality. That’s especially crucial to keep in mind now. I invite you to bring maximum amounts of playful intelligence into everything you value. Laugh during challenging conversations.
Invent rituals that nobody else would think of. Observe the true rule: Amused delight generates an atmosphere where meaningful work may become exceptional. For Halloween, be a playful wolf. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Peacocks’ extravagant feathers are beautiful displays that also communicate health, vitality, and genetic resilience. They’re excellent role models for you. You should never apologize for expressing your charisma with style and theatrical flair. As long as your outer brilliance reflects inner vitality, your radiance will nourish rather than intimidate others. Authentic glamour is a public service. For Halloween, be a sun deity, lion monarch, or glamorous ringmaster. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “Dear Oracle: I am obsessed with improving things. I tinker with systems that already work fine. I wake at 3 a.m. and catalog details I could have done better. My results are never ultimate enough. Please offer tips to help me find rest. — Drooping Purist. Dear Drooping: The autumn season is your teacher. The harvest is in; the fields are meant to lie fallow. Nothing more can be improved by force. Growth happens underground, invisibly. In that spirit, I invite you to practice the radical art of leaving at least one thing gloriously alone so it can work its magic outside the reach of your conscious awareness. For Halloween, be a scarecrow who stands serenely in the harvested field, watching over everything, accomplishing its whole purpose by being present. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): If you’ve spent years regretting the moment a friend took credit for your best idea, that sting may finally lose its hold on you. If an opportunity you earned was handed to someone else, you may soon receive recognition in a form you never anticipated. And if an ancient family legend claims you were doomed to repeat the same mistake forever, you can now break that pattern. The days ahead favor overdue adjustments. Watch for turns of fortune that don’t erase what happened, but change what it means, and what becomes possible next. For Halloween, be an exorcist. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Early balloonists had little control over the direction of their flights. They couldn’t steer horizontally. But they found that changing altitude allowed them to catch different winds moving in different directions. The smartest way to change course was to rise or descend. Keep that image close, Sagittarius. If you can’t alter external circumstances directly, shift your perspective or your social environment. A new current may be waiting higher or lower than where you’ve been drifting. For Halloween, be a hot-air
balloon pilot, comet rider, sky pirate, or bird god like the Hindu Garuda. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Life must both perpetuate itself and surpass itself. Capricorn philosopher Simone de Beauvoir said that. We need continuity, but we also need transcendence. This beautifully encapsulates your assignment in the coming months. Your fun job will be to continue honoring the commitments that anchor your life while also making room for an exhilarating experiment or two. Make stability your launching pad rather than your destination. For Halloween, be the person you will be three years from now. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Inventors often describe breakthroughs arriving after weeks or months of seemingly unproductive tinkering. Clearly, their subconscious minds kept working on the puzzles even while their conscious minds felt frustrated. Eventually, a fresh arrangement appeared as if by magic. I suspect you’re approaching a threshold like that. Your experiments have been subliminally educating your intuition. The solution that’s searching for you may be cleverer than the one you’ve been searching for. For Halloween, be a time traveler, benevolent extraterrestrial, or eccentric professor. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Travelers crossing dark marshes on foot may report eerie, flickering lights hovering over the bog. Science explains these will-o’-thewisps as gases from decaying matter that ignite in the night air. Folklore provides other theories: They’re spirit-lanterns, fairy lights, the lamps of the dead, or beckoning wanderers. I believe you’re in a similar liminal zone these days. Science and magic are both at work. Truth may take the form of both inexplicable mystery and fascinating anomalies that light your way. Be open to both! For Halloween, be a will-o’-the-wisp made flesh: a glowing spirit of the marsh draped in mist and lantern-light, beautiful and uncanny.
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ARIES (March 21-April 19): For centuries, Japanese craftspeople have cultivated an ethos called shokunin kishitsu: a devotion to skilled work, lifelong learning, and continual refinement. The pursuit of perfection is less about reaching a final state than about bringing ever greater care and precision to the work. In traditional carpentry, this can mean years of learning to make joints whose quality resides in their strength and durability even though no customer will ever notice. I suggest you try out this attitude, Aries. Pour extra focus into details, regardless of whether anyone will applaud them. For Halloween, be a blacksmith, artisan, or eccentric inventor.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): This is your high holy season, Scorpio, which also happens to be the time when the veil is thinnest between this world and the other world. Others find this eerie, but you’ve always been at home here. You know how to explore the deepest depths, how to abide with what’s buried and hidden, and how to find treasure in the dark. In the coming weeks, your natural power to perceive what’s concealed will be amplified. For Halloween, be a psychopomp: a keeper of the threshold, a soul-guide draped in shadow and starlight who walks comfortably between the living and the dead.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY By Rob Brezsny
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FILM By Chris McCoy
Wildwood Laika expands the boundaries of stop-motion animation to create an instant classic.
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October 29-November 4, 2026
f all the cinema arts, there are none more painstaking than stopmotion animation. The technique brought King Kong to life by moving and photographing a model one frame at a time. Like everything else, the digital revolution has changed how stop-motion is produced — just compare Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to an episode of Robot Chicken — but it will always be the most labor-intensive labor of love. Laika, a Portland, Oregon-based studio owned by Nike founder Phil Knight, has been at the cutting edge of stop-motion since 2009’s Coraline. Travis Knight (yes, Phil’s son) heads the studio, but he is also a filmmaker. His 2016 picture Kubo and the Two Strings is one of the greatest achievements in stopmotion since the days of Ray Harryhausen. Going in, Laika’s latest Wildwood already felt like a culmination of the studio’s mission to make stop-motion relevant in an increasingly computergenerated world. Stopmotion has a long history of being used as a special effects tool that is blended with live action. Even The Mandalorian and Grogu used it. But Wildwood is the longest pure stop-motion film ever made, and with a budget of $100 million, it’s also the most expensive. When people call something a “fairy tale,” they usually mean a children’s story that is innocuous and wholesome. But actual fairy tales are anything but. Grimm’s Fairy Tales, which collected fantastical tales from Central European oral tradition, features lots of murder, mutilations, child abuse, and war alongside the talking animals and charming princes. Wildwood is a contemporary fairy tale in every sense of the term. Based on a children’s book by Colin Meloy of The Decemberists and his wife, artist Carson Ellis, the story is intimately tied to the landscape of the Pacific Northwest, particularly the boundary where the city meets the forest. That’s where 13-year-old Prue McKeel (voiced by Peyton Elizabeth Lee) lives with her unreconstructed hippie parents (Jake Johnson and Maya Erskine). When her parents want to go to a craft fair, Prue gets the assignment 20 to babysit for her infant brother Mac (Arthur Knight), who, they stress, is
PHOTOS: COURTESY LAIKA
Prue McKeel takes flight to rescue her little brother from a land of dark magic in Wildwood.
not allowed to go outside. But once they’re gone, the headstrong teenager decides to take Mac to the playground. Their rollicking afternoon bike ride through Portland, complete with Powell’s bookstore cameo, is the film’s first tour de force. On their way to the playground, Prue runs into her classmate Curtis, a nerdy D&D player from her eighthgrade class who has a bit of a crush on her. At the playground, Curtis can’t help but notice a murder of crows who appear to be eyeing young Mac. When the crows pick up Mac and fly away with him, Prue and Curtis give chase until they reach the border of the Impassible Forest. Prue has been specifically forbidden to enter the forest by her parents, but that never stopped her before, so they press on through the curtain of mist which surrounds the trees. Inside, it’s as difficult to get around as advertised. Trying in vain to follow the murder, they encounter an astonishing sight: coyotes dressed as Napoleonic-era soldiers armed with muskets. Did I mention the coyotes can talk, and that the coyote commander is
voiced by Tom Waits, or did you just assume it? The coyotes give chase, and Prue and Curtis are separated. Prue gets a ride with a postman (Len Cariou) who is shocked to find out she is from outside the Wildwood, as only creatures born of magic are allowed to pass through the misty veil. Curtis wakes up in the coyote warren castle of Alexandra (Carey Mulligan), the Dowager Governess of Wildwood. Alexandra never recovered from the loss of her son, who disappeared into Wildwood years ago, and her husband, who died of grief soon after. After an experiment using dark magic to create a clockwork copy of her son was exposed in the most horrifying way possible, she was exiled, and now seeks to use brute force and black magic to reawaken the magical ivy which could overrun the forest and find her son. In Wildwood, the talking animals have their own complicated bureaucracy, the rest of the birds are not friendly with the crows, and Awkwafina plays a friendly rat bandit named Septima. The plot clearly shows the influences of epic fantasy, particularly C. S. Lewis’ Narnia stories. Chris Butler’s script pulls few punches. Injustice is rampant in the woods. Things go dreadfully wrong for our heroes. Characters are suddenly killed. The epic battle scenes make
a point of including the cost of war. But everything feels earned, and the scary moments are balanced out with messages of resilience and self-reliance in the face of adversity. I can’t overstate what an incredible artistic achievement this film is for the indefatigable team at Laika. Hundreds of characters fill the screen during the expansive set pieces. The General, an eagle voiced by Angela Bassett, is one of the most amazing stop-motion creations ever put to film. Cinematographer Caleb Deschanel’s camera soars over sets and countrysides that look infinite, even though they were all created in a suburban Portland studio. Everything has a handmade feel, even if “handmade” in this case includes machine shops and 3D printers. Laika took a huge risk by investing so much capital and time (the production was first announced in 2011) in an original story instead of a sure-fire legacy intellectual property. Lucky for us, the gamble has produced a modern classic. There’s little doubt that Travis Knight’s film is the instant frontrunner for the Best Animated Feature Oscar — and a strong contender for the greatest stop-motion film of all time. Wildwood Now playing Multiple locations
N O W P L AY I N G B y C h r i s M c C o y
The Mosquito Bowl After Pearl Harbor, four football stars (Nicholas Galitzine, Bill Skarsgård, Ray Nicholson, and Tom Francis) enlist in the Marines to fight the Japanese. But as train-
Clayface Mike Flanagan pens this origin story of one of Batman’s most intriguing villains. Tom Rhys Harries stars as Matt Hagen, a movie star who runs afoul of a mob boss and pays the price. Trying to recover his looks, he hooks up with Dr. Corr (Naomi Ackie), whose ideas about cosmetic surgery are far out. Instead of getting his face back, Hagen becomes a man of living clay who can take on any human form.
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You Can See Everything Nathan Fielder’s documentary hybrid tries to make sense of the story of Elizabeth Holmes, the Silicon Valley technologist convicted of fraud after the technology behind her Theranos blood test machine turned out not to work. As she’s about to go away for an 11-year prison sentence, she invites Fielder and his crew into her home to document her final days of freedom. But the closer Fielder looks at his subject, the blurrier the picture becomes.
ing and war take them places they never thought they would go, they never lose love for the game. Reunited on the Pacific island of Guadalcanal as they prepare for the invasion of Okinawa, the friendly rivals organize a football game which will become known as the Mosquito Bowl. Based on a true story.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Our critic picks the best films in theaters.
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T H E L A S T W O R D B y R e v . S t u a r t J . M i t c h e l l I I I a n d D r. J a m e s P a l e y
From Fayette County to Memphis
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A family beside a canvas tent during the Fayette County voting rights struggle
THE LAST WORD
In 1965, we were two Cornell University students who traveled to West Tennessee to support Black citizens fighting for a right that should never have been denied them: the right to vote. Sixty-one years later, we are asking Memphis voters to remember their courage — and exercise that right in November. The Fayette County Movement, which began in 1959 and continued into the early 1970s, was described by The New York Times as the nation’s longest sustained civil rights protest. Black sharecroppers who attempted to register to vote faced devastating retaliation. Families were evicted from homes where some had lived for generations. Many found shelter in a makeshift encampment that became known as Tent City. Others were denied access to groceries, fuel, medical care, and the necessities of daily life. One photograph from that era shows a family standing beside a canvas tent, children gathered close to their parents. It is a stark reminder that these were not statistics or footnotes in history. They were mothers, fathers, and children who endured displacement rather than surrender their claim to citizenship. These were not distant stories to us. We lived with sharecropper families whose generosity exceeded their means. Our volunteer organization paid a modest stipend, but our hosts offered us their best rooms. They were risking their homes, livelihoods, and personal safety simply to claim the rights promised by the Constitution. We had joined the Cornell-Tompkins County Committee for Free and Fair Elections, also known as the West Tennessee Voters Project, led by Cornell professor Douglas Dowd. Alongside local residents and other student volunteers, we worked on voter registration and freedom schools. We joined demonstrations against segregation, including a campaign to integrate the school system in Covington. Both of us were arrested and spent time in segregated jails. We witnessed threats, violence, and intimidation intended to keep Black Tennesseans from full citizenship. Yet what remains most vivid is not our own discomfort. It is the determination of the families who welcomed us and refused to surrender. We arrived imagining that we could help change their lives. In truth, they changed ours. Their courage shaped our subsequent careers in education, housing, and community development, and our understanding of what democracy demands of its citizens. Memphis author Alice Faye Duncan has preserved this history for younger readers in her illustrated children’s book, Evicted!: The Struggle for the Right to Vote. Her account of Tent City reminds us that the right to vote was won not through abstract debate, but through the sacrifices of ordinary families. Their children and grandchildren deserve to know what it cost. One family especially deserves recognition. John and Viola McFerren helped establish the Fayette County Civic and Welfare League in 1959. Their grocery and oil business became a gathering place for organizers and volunteers. Their daughter, Daphene McFerren, now executive director of the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change, has continued to explain why the hard-won protections of the voting rights movement still matter. The barriers facing voters today are not identical to those of 1965. We no longer confront the same system of literacy tests and poll taxes. But questions of fair representation remain urgent. Redistricting can weaken a community’s political influence even when its members can cast ballots. The reshaping of Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District has brought those questions directly to Memphis. People of good faith may disagree about candidates and policies; every voter nevertheless deserves a meaningful voice in choosing representatives. We have tried to connect the past with the present in a modest way. With the help of volunteers in Rochester, New York, and New Haven, Connecticut, we mailed more than 5,000 postcards to Memphis residents. Many carried handwritten messages encouraging participation in this election and a link to our fuller account of the Fayette County struggle. The response of our volunteers showed us how powerfully this history still resonates across generations and state lines. Our message is not that today’s election is a replay of 1965. It is that democracy never becomes self-sustaining. The people who lived in Tent City understood that voting was more than a private privilege. It was a way to protect their families, shape their communities, and insist that government answer to them. We ask Memphis voters, whatever their party or preferred candidate, to make a plan, go to the polls, and encourage neighbors to do the same. Remember the sharecroppers who lost their homes rather than abandon the ballot. Honor them not only by remembering their story, but by using the voice they struggled to secure. In 1965, the people of Fayette County taught us that democracy requires courage. In 2026, Memphis has another opportunity to show that it also requires participation. The Rev. Stuart J. Mitchell III is CEO emeritus of PathStone Corporation and currently serves as parliamentarian to the New York State Community Commission on Reparations and Remedies. Dr. James Paley earned his Ph.D. from Cornell University and has led Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven for more than four decades.
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Tennessee’s long struggle for voting rights.
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