“This was a new concept to Memphis and libraries. I wanted to make sure that to some capacity, we were able to function as a restaurant/cafe and, at the same time, to be of service to people.”

As always when it’s pre-show, contestants on cooking competitions can’t tell you much.

But Tamra Patterson, aka Chef Tam and the owner of Chef Tam’s Underground Cafe, can share this about her Sunday, May 7, appearance on “Alex vs America” on Food Network.

“I can tell you that my Memphis grit and grind showed up,” she said.

The new Tom Lee Park is mostly complete, and construction has now paused to allow for Memphis In May events to take place by the river.

George Abbott, director of external affairs for the Memphis River Parks Partnership, said the park was 80% complete during a tour for media and members of Downtown Memphis Commission boards Tuesday.

He said the park is on track for a grand public opening over Labor Day weekend. Final work will take place over the summer after any damage from the festival is repaired. While some fencing has been put up to protect planted areas and other park sections, Abbott added he “has great confidence in Memphians” not to cause a huge amount of damage and to “protect the asset that we built.”

A 1,500-acre park across the river from Downtown Memphis has new funding, new leadership and a new name: Ducks Unlimited Park.

The park is a wetland restoration effort with recreational amenities on the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River, and Ducks Unlimited — the country’s largest wetland conservation organization, headquartered in Memphis — is spearheading conservation work on the land.

Vegan restaurant Plant Based Heat packed the Renasant Convention Center for its first Vegan Brunch Sunday, March 26.

The afternoon offering was prepared by five local and national chefs and restaurants, including Da Guilty Vegan, Shroomlicious, Christopher “Mr. super chef” Beavers and baker Lydia Muhammad.

The brunch included a large spread of plant-based food, with pancakes, portobello steak, fried oyster mushrooms, fruits and fresh juices among the options for attendees.

Memphis will have an array of special visitors October 2023 to July 2024 — including a demon in stripes, French revolutionaries, half-a-dozen historic ex-wives and a green witch.

On Monday, March 27, the Orpheum Theatre announced its 2023-2024 Broadway season, which includes eight musicals: “Funny Girl,” “Beetlejuice,” “SIX,” “Company,” “Les Misérables,” “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “Wicked” and “Mamma Mia!”

“I always try to bring the newest and the biggest and the best of Broadway,” Orpheum CEO Brett Batterson said. “This year that’s shows like ‘Beetlejuice,’ ‘SIX’ and ‘Mrs. Doubtfire.’”

Not too far south of the southernmost Memphis In May stage is a growing canopy of trees overlooking Tom Lee Park’s ongoing redesign.

The area is a reminder that the city’s parks are springing to life in many ways.

Some of the parks’ new elements reflect and acknowledge larger changes in the communities around them. Others are transitions – seasonal and otherwise.

Few are getting the attention of the reemergence of Tom Lee Park, which will host the 2023 Memphis in May International Festival as it nears its formal completion as a landscape of hills and trees where it was once flat and treeless.

Memphis, Tennessee, is a city with a rich and vibrant history that has been shaped by its famous music scene and cultural landmarks. If Beale Street could talk, it would have countless stories to tell about the musicians who have graced its stages and the crowds of music fans who have flocked to its bars and clubs over the years.

But Memphis isn’t just a city for music lovers; there are endless things to do and see here for people of all interests. For fans of the King, no trip to Memphis would be complete without visiting Graceland; This must-see destination offers an enthralling glimpse into the life and legacy of the iconic home of Elvis Presley.

On Tuesday, the Temptations come to Memphis — in the form of a Tony Award-winning musical.

When that musical, “Ain’t Too Proud — the Life and Times of the Temptations,” takes to the Orpheum Theatre stage, one of those Temptations will be a native Memphian.

Told from the perspective of Otis Williams, the last living founder of the Temptations, “Ain’t Too Proud” follows the vocal group from their early beginnings in Detroit to international stardom.