Miss the fair? Well, you don’t have to miss the food. The 901 Fair Food Fest begins Oct. 21 and goes through Oct. 28. If it’s a funnel cake you crave, it’s yours. Turkey legs, Polish sausage, deep-fried Oreo — all there.

2020 Mid-South Fair canceled due to COVID

This was originally planned as a drive-thru at Agricenter, but that fell through and it was rescheduled for Landers Center, 4560 Venture Dr. in Southaven.

Now it’s a socially-distanced, walk-up event. You’ll have 6-foot markers for standing in line, and while there will be some tables available for eating, it sounds like you’re on your own with distancing there. The recommendation is to space yourselves at tables or only sit with your own group when possible. You can always get your food to go, or just have a little picnic at your car.

So have at it. Go get your roasted corn, your corn dogs, Philly cheesesteaks or whatever it is your carnival-loving palate desires. It opens 4-9 p.m. Oct. 21 and is open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily after that. Just go to Landers Center and follow the signs. You can find out more by clicking here. There’s no admission fee.

On Oct. 22, head over to the Memphis Botanic Garden, 5-8 p.m., for the last Twilight Thursday of the season. For the cost of regular admission ($10 for adults), you can explore the garden after dark and enjoy dinner from the food trucks that will be around. Just show up; click here for more information. Fido is welcome as long as he’s on a leash.

Celtic Crossing tasting to feature 60+ whiskeys

Get your tickets now for the Oct. 29 Whiskeys of the World tasting at Celtic Crossing. This is a fun event, whether you do it in person or follow along on Zoom, and the choice is yours.

You buy your tickets by clicking here. If you want to stay in and participate through Zoom, go to the pub Oct. 27-29 to pick up your whiskey samples. Check your email for the Zoom link and just follow along.

As long as the weather is nice, the tasting will be held on the patio at Celtic, 903 Cooper. It’s three whiskeys per tasting and this time there’s Benjamin Chapman 7-year whiskey, the first Canadian whiskey in the series.

Waterford Single Farm Origin is the Irish whiskey for the night, and Highland Park Cask Strength, one of host DJ Naylor’s favorites, is a Scotch that is 126.6 proof. No worries — there will be water for getting it your taste. As Naylor will explain, that’s the beauty of a cask strength whiskey (or whisky, in this case as it’s Scotch.) It starts at 7 p.m. Get your tickets now. 

Ronnie Grisanti’s at 6150 Poplar is celebrating the 111th anniversary of the first Grisanti’s restaurant in Memphis, but this year there’s no big party because — well, you know why. Instead, the restaurant will donate $1.11 for every dine-in guest to the Mid-South Food Bank through the month of October. Call 901-850-0191 for reservations.