There are 84 article(s) tagged Memphis In May International Festival:

• May 2025

  • Sound Bites: Memphis in May returns to Liberty Park

    Hosting a major barbecue competition is no easy feat, but the small team at Memphis in May International Festival pull it off year after year.

    By The Daily Memphian Staff May 06, 2025

• January 2025

  • Raising the steaks: Memphis in May barbecue contest adds beef competition

    The one-day addition to the MIM barbecue contest at Liberty Park is tied in with the Fort Worth, Texas based Steak Cookout Association.

    By Bill Dries January 24, 2025

• December 2024

  • Memphis in May chooses South Korea as 2025 honored country

    Greater Memphis Chamber President and CEO Ted Townsend said the announcement highlights the growing economic partnership between Memphis and South Korea. 

    By Sophia Surrett December 04, 2024

• May 2024

  • Calkins: Memphis is on the verge of a food fight. That doesn’t have to be bad

    Mack Weaver, the new president and CEO of Memphis in May, was asked about “the competition” in BBQ contests this year. “There’s another contest going on?” he deadpanned. Yes, Memphis, there certainly is.

    By Geoff Calkins May 13, 2024

  • Riverbeat Music Festival reimagines what a Memphis riverfront fest can be

    How will the new Riverbeat Music Festival play out in the new Tom Lee Park, in the sound and on the ground? We’re about to find out. 

    By Chris Herrington May 02, 2024

• February 2024

  • Mack Weaver becomes Memphis in May CEO

    Weaver has been with the festival for 25 years, most recently as chief financial officer. The MIM board announced the decision Thursday, Feb. 1, as longtime president and CEO Jim Holt officially retires.

    By Bill Dries February 01, 2024

• January 2024

  • Memphis Tourism buys Memphis in May HQ

    The $1.5 million sale expands office space for Memphis Tourism, which keeps its office just 120 feet away and allows Memphis in May to remain in its headquarters after a year of big changes in the festival.

    By Bill Dries January 19, 2024

• November 2023

  • Memphis in May CEO Jim Holt to retire

    Holt has been leader of the 46-year-old festival for more than 25 years. His retirement, effective at the end of January, comes after a series of fundamental changes to the set of month-long events.

    By Bill Dries November 28, 2023

  • Mempho challenges Memphis in May with rival barbecue contest

    The producers planning a May music festival in Tom Lee Park announced they are planning a barbecue contest there the same month — and at the same time as Memphis in May’s barbecue contest at Liberty Park.

    By Bill Dries November 24, 2023

• October 2023

  • Mempho producing a new music festival in Tom Lee Park in May

    The group that started the Mempho festival is behind the effort and in recent years has branched out to booking a variety of other music events beyond the festival.

    By Bill Dries October 14, 2023

  • Memphis in May reports record $3.48 million loss

    Attendance figures for the Beale Street Music Festival hit a 30-year low, according to the report released Tuesday, Oct. 3. The festival’s annual report promises further word on the 2024 festival’s future in the coming days.

    By Bill Dries October 03, 2023

  • MIM survey: Most barbecue teams want to move to Liberty Park

    More than three-fourths of those who participated in an email survey said they want to move Memphis in May’s annual barbecue contest to Liberty Park.

    By Bill Dries October 02, 2023

• September 2023

  • Memphis River Parks sues Memphis in May

    The lawsuit over damages to Tom Lee Park seeks $675,000 on a $1.425 million bill due in mid-August. The other $750,000 is covered by a damage deposit paid by the city and the festival.

    By Bill Dries September 08, 2023

• August 2023

  • Oui, c’est vrai! MIM chooses France as 2024 honored country

    The choice is the first by the Greater Memphis Chamber. France was last honored in 1990 by Memphis In May. 

    By Bill Dries August 31, 2023

  • Chamber takes over Memphis in May international activities

    The Memphis in May International Festival was founded to promote foreign business investment in the city. The tradition will continue with the Greater Memphis Chamber announcing the 2024 honored country next week.

    By Bill Dries August 26, 2023

  • Memphis in May is looking for a new location

    In an email to its barbecue teams, Memphis in May President Jim Holt says the festival is “exploring venue options other than Tom Lee Park for the future.”

    By Bill Dries August 15, 2023

  • Tom Lee Park damages from Memphis In May top $1.4M

    A report verified by a third-party arbiter and reviewed by the city administration shows 252 separate items of damage totaling $1.4 million, most of it incurred during the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest.

    By Bill Dries August 03, 2023

• June 2023

  • A legend takes a curtain call: Melissa Cookston hangs up her barbecue fork

    Melissa Cookston says goodbye to competition after this year’s Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. “I don’t want to be Brett Favre,” she says.

    By Jennifer Biggs June 02, 2023

• May 2023

  • A look at Memphis in May: most polled liked return to the river

    Another Memphis in May International Festival is in the books, and most of the Daily Memphian readers who responded to a social media poll were happy with the return to the river.

     

    By Bianca Phillips May 31, 2023

  • The To-Do List: Dolph’s cars, Inkwell’s birthday and powwow music

    This week, celebrate Southern soul food at Slave Haven, learn to skate at the River Garden and catch an Academy Award winner at Comeback Coffee.

    By Bianca Phillips, Chris Herrington, Elle Perry, Kelsey Bowen May 25, 2023

  • MIM Guide: How to run your best race at the Great American River Run

    Memphis in May wraps up this weekend with the Great American River Run. We’ve got tips for runners in the half-marathon, 10K or 5K races, plus tricks to up your spectator game.

    By Bianca Phillips May 25, 2023

  • The best-kept secret of barbecue may be the VIPit Pass

    You can do Barbecue, capital B, with the hoi polloi or, for $500, you can get a concierge experience to the festival with the VIPit crew.

    By Jennifer Biggs May 19, 2023

  • Swine time: Ms. Piggie Idol 2023 in pictures

    Daily Memphian photographer Patrick Lantrip was on hand during the Ms. Piggie Idol competition on the second day of the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest in Tom Lee Park on May 18, 2023.

    By Patrick Lantrip May 19, 2023

  • The To-Do List: Bikes, drag, ‘Serial Mom’ and Joyce Cobb

    This week, take a “mammoth” hike at Shelby Farms, meet the musicians buried at Elmwood and explore a revamped South City during MEMFix.

    By Bianca Phillips, Chris Herrington, Elle Perry, Kelsey Bowen May 18, 2023

  • See the scene: Barbecue Fest 2023 begins with wrestling

    Daily Memphian photographer Patrick Lantrip captures the sights (but fortunately, not the smells) of Sauce Wrestling on the first day of the 2023 Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest on Wednesday, May 17, 2023.

    By Patrick Lantrip May 17, 2023