Welcome back to The To-Do List where Daily Memphian staffers suggest their favorite events and activities for the coming week. 

This week, read in the Ravine with Cafe Noir, and try vegan dishes paired with music at Alex Wong’s Permission Party.

Suchitra Mattai’s ‘with abundance we meet’ at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, on view beginning Thursday:

Suchitra Mattai’s “phala” sculptures will be on view at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, beginning Thursday, May 22. (Scott Lynch/Courtesy Socrates Sculpture Park)

The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art’s latest rotunda installation is from Suchitra Mattai, an American artist of Indo-Caribbean descent. Mattai’s “with abundance we meet” consists of phala sculptures. “Phala” is the Hindi word for “fruit.” The phala are created from braided and woven vintage saris from India, Guyana (a Caribbean country) and the U.S. They invoke wombs and fertility spirits. Mattai’s work is meant to honor women’s and domestic labor, as well as her South Asian ancestry. For more on other art openings this week, check out our May visual-arts guide. On view during the Brooks’ regular hours. Included with museum admission. 1934 Poplar Ave. Click here for more on the show. — Elle Perry

‘Secrets in the Garden: Til Death Do Us Part’ at the Dixon Gallery & Gardens, Thursday:

You’re at a wedding, and someone gets murdered. But whodunit? That’s for you to find out. That’s the premise of the Dixon’s first immersive mystery event. Guests at this murder mystery are encouraged to dress like they’re attending a real wedding. They’ll snack on charcuterie and sip on wine or beer while they mingle with other guests and try to solve the crime before the “wedding” ends. 6-8:30 p.m. $50 general admission or $45 for Dixon members. 4339 Park Ave. Click here for tickets. — Phillips

‘Mildred Pierce’ at Crosstown Theater, Thursday:

Film noir or melodrama? Why not both? Two of the great genres of classical Hollywood cinema come together, perhaps more than ever before or since, in 1945’s “Mildred Pierce,” which gets an 80th anniversary screening as part of the Crosstown Arts Film Series. Michael Curtiz directed, three years after he did a little thing called “Casablanca,” adapting a 1941 work from signature American crime/noir novelist James Cain. Joan Crawford, one of the biggest movie stars of her era, won the Best Actress Oscar for the title character, who supports her two daughters as a waitress and baker after the dissolution of her marriage, drawing disdain rather than admiration from her status-conscious older daughter. Many twists follow from there. 7 p.m., $5. 1350 Concourse Ave. See here for more info. — Chris Herrington

Alex Wong Permission Party at Imagine Vegan Cafe, Friday:

Adam and Kristie Jeffrey own Imagine Vegan Cafe, which will host Alex Wong’s Permission Party on Friday, May 23. (The Daily Memphian file)

Musician Alex Wong tours the country with his Permission Party listening-and-tasting concerts, and he’s stopping in Memphis on Friday. He’ll play music from his latest album, “Permission,” which looks into Wong’s journey as a person of color learning how to take up space in America. And three songs will be paired with Chinese-inspired dishes. All dishes will be vegan. 7-10:30 p.m. $50. 2158 Young Ave. Click here for tickets. — Phillips

‘A Particle of Dread’ from New Moon Theatre Company at TheatreWorks, opening Friday:

The reimagined Sophocles tragedy, “A Particle of Dread,” weaves the ancient narrative with a modern twist. Written by Sam Shepard, the story transforms the familiar figures of Oedipus to Otto and Jocasta to Jocelyn and sets the timeline to the American West. Otto is a wheelchair-bound man entangled in a similarly tragic web, and the action unfolds like a crime thriller or forensic investigation. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays. May 23-June 8. $25. 2085 Monroe Ave. See here for more information. — Alys Drake

Great American River Run at AutoZone Park, Saturday:

Memphis in May’s Great American River Run is Saturday, May 24. (Ziggy Mack/The Daily Memphian file)

Now in its 10th year, Memphis in May’s Great American River Run will once again take runners on a tour of Downtown with sweeping river views and a struggle-bus of a climb up the A.W. Willis Bridge. As always, the race has half-marathon, 10K and 5K options, and there are cash prizes for the winners. A portion of this year’s race fees will benefit The Fisher House of Tennessee, which houses patients of the Veterans Administration Hospital and their families. (If you’re running, come say hi to me at the Memphis Hash House Harriers beer stop at miles two and 12.) 7 a.m. for the half, 7:30 a.m. for the 10K and 5K. $120 for the half, $88 for the 10K and $82 for the half. There are also special discounts for veterans. 200 Union Ave. Register here. — Phillips

AAPI Heritage Month Memphis student-art exhibition opening reception at Saddle Creek Gallery, Saturday:

The AAPI Heritage Month student-art exhibition opens at Saddle Creek Gallery on Saturday, May 24. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)

Works from the second annual AAPI Heritage Month Memphis student-art exhibition can be viewed in Germantown, after being on view at the Cossitt Library in Downtown Memphis. On display will be kindergarten through 12th-grade student art responses to the theme “Celebrate AAPI Stories, Traditions, and Identity.” The Saddle Creek reception will feature Feast & Graze food, Mane Celebrations drinks and live music from Michelle Shrader. 4-6 p.m. Free admission (RSVP here). 33 Front St. (Cossitt); 7509 Poplar Ave., Germantown. — Elle Perry

Water Lantern Festival at Shelby Farms Park, Saturday:

The Water Lantern Festival stops at Shelby Farms Park on Saturday, May 24. (Courtesy Water Lantern Festival)

At this touring festival, which stops in Memphis this weekend, attendees will launch hundreds of water lanterns onto Hyde Lake. But first, they can write inspirational messages (or whatever they want) on the lanterns. Before the launch, there’s a meditation session, and there will be plenty of food from local vendors, including The Genre and Pok Cha’s Egg Rolls. Arrive between 5:30 and 8 p.m. Meditation and launch instructions start at 8 p.m., and lanterns will be set free between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $57. 6903 Great View Drive N. Click here for more info. — Phillips

Miranda Lambert at AutoZone Park, Saturday:

Miranda Lambert will play at AutoZone Park on Saturday, May 24. (Amy Harris/Invision/AP file)

Miranda Lambert is the most consistent artist in mainstream country music, and maybe the “country” qualifier isn’t needed. Since debuting with her “light ’em up and watch ’em burn” 2005 single “Kerosene,” Lambert’s released nine solo albums and three with her great “girl group” Pistol Annies. None are less than fine; most are terrific, and no one else in her corner of the music world can stake such a claim. Perhaps part of Lambert’s secret is that she’s kept one foot in the Nashville country industry and one firmly rooted in the ornery singer-songwriter tradition of her native Texas. She leans into the latter on her most recent album, “Postcards From Texas.” This make-up concert, rescheduled from last September, starts at 7 p.m. 200 Union Ave. See here for ticketing info. — Herrington

Memphis Lemon Drop Festival at Court Square, Sunday:

When life gives you lemons, make a martini. Or, just go to this Lemon Drop Festival, where you can sample more than 20 variations on the sweet-and-sour lemon-drop martini (think strawberry, peach, blueberry, apple and more). There will also be vendors selling arts, crafts and other wares and food trucks so you can balance all that booze with snacks. Noon-6 p.m. $53. 62 N Main St. Click here for tickets. — Phillips

Zaire Love’s ‘Slice’ film screening and gallery talk at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Sunday:

Director Zaire Love’s “Slice” documentary screens at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art on Sunday, May 25. (Courtesy Zaire Love)

Memphis writer, director and musician Zaire Love’s documentary, “Slice,” focuses on “slicing,” a style of pool diving practiced by Black men and youth in Memphis. The film follows slicer Rico Golden and his friends’ water adventures. Love, a Spelman College, Houston Baptist University and the University of Mississippi, graduate leads the Southern Foodways Alliance film program and is the creative director at Scalawag Magazine. The event features a gallery talk with Love on Calida Rawles’ “Away with the Tides” exhibition. Rawles' hyperrealistic paintings feature Black Miami residents swimming in pool and ocean water. The ‘Slice” screening follows at 2 p.m., with a question-and-answer session after. 1-3 p.m. Free for Brooks members; $20 general admission. 1934 Poplar Ave. — Perry

‘Reading in the Park with Cafe Noir’ at The Ravine, Sunday:

Cafe Noir, a Black woman-owned bookstore and coffee shop, will be reading in the Ravine park, just a stone's throw away from its upcoming brick-and-mortar location. Designed to celebrate literature, community and connection, there will be food trucks, poetry readings and book vendors. Plus, catch the naming ceremony of the 2025 Memphis Youth Poet Laureate. 2-6 p.m. Free to attend. 484 Union Ave. Click here for more information. — Kelsey Bowen

OZone Live ft. Ozioma with special guests Alexis Norman and ADUBB at The Green Room at Crosstown Arts, Wednesday:

Ozioma (Submitted)

Memphis R&B singer and hip-hop artist Ozioma (Arniece Ibezim) graduated from the University of Memphis on Saturday, May 10. She’s capping her collegiate experience with a concert at the Green Room. Ozioma released her debut EP, “Sweet Exchange,” in October 2024 and is set to release her debut album, “The OZone.” Ozioma was featured on another Memphian’s single, Diamond V, featuring Houston hip-hop legend Paul Wall (“No Scrubs”) in March. The concert features Memphis singer, songwriter and engineer Alexis Norman. Norman released her debut EP “Sweet Exchange” in October 2024. The concert will also feature singer-songwriter, producer and trumpet player ADUBB (Asia Wilson). Wilson released her “XOXO” EP in May 2023. 7 p.m. doors, 7:30 p.m. show. $15 in advance, $20 at the door (plus fees). 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 280. — Perry

.....