Tuesday News Update: Free Potatoes, Buried by the Bernards, Trivia Talks..Ain’t It Good?

If you need a soundtrack while you read this quick roundup of positive and happy stories from around Memphis—check out our theme song, “Ain’t It Good?!”, by Eddie Floyd and Mavis Staples.

SUBMIT YOUR GOOD NEWS TO [email protected]

And now, the good news:

MEMPHIS HISTORY IS BLACK HISTORY!

Memphis history is Black history, period, and we aren’t limited to a special month to celebrate it. But, as MLK50 reports, the month is an important chance to focus on the history of Black Americans whose stories have been left out and purposefully excluded. With all that in mind, here are just a few resources for Black History in Memphis—this month and year-round:

– New Virtual Tours At The Stax Museum
– Virtual Book Talk with the National Civil Rights Museum
– Shelby County Schools Black History Month Events
– University of Memphis Black History Month Events
– Book A Tour Of Possibilities
– Tune In To Hattiloo Theater’s “Say It Loud” Series
– Donate to MLK50’s Justice Through Journalism Mission
– Plan to Visit the Slave Haven museum once it reopens
– Visit the I AM A MAN Plaza and other Black History sites

MEMPHIS SCIENTIST WINS A NASA GRANT

Dr. Firouzeh Sabri, associate professor and chair at the University of Memphis Department of Physics and Materials Science, announced in October that she won a $125,000 grant from NASA STEM. This will fund a program that helps local K-12 educators give their students a deeper trip into the sciences of space. Students will have access to tons of learning materials as well as the opportunity to talk with an astronaut aboard the International Space Station! —EH

OLIVE GARDEN DONATES TO THE MID-SOUTH FOOD BANK

Darden, Olive Garden’s and LongHorn Steakhouse’s parent company, is partnering with Feeding America and Mid-South Food Bank to increase access to food in Memphis. Along with 4 other states, Mid-South Food Bank will be obtaining a a 26-foot refrigerated truck for their mobile food pantry programs. Food insecurity has increased to impact one out of every six Americans, making this generous donation incredibly impactful to our Memphis community. —EH

NEW TRIVIA EVENT FEATURES INTERESTING MEMPHIANS

Cerrito is at it again, bringing all of us starved-for-entertainment pandemic quarantinees another fun and different virtual event. This one, called Trivia Talks, is two nights of interactive talks with Memphians like Chef Kelly English, DJ Alpha Whiskey, Jimmy Ogle, and more. A portion of the ticket proceeds benefit restaurant workers, and the prizes are purchased restaurant gift cards, too.

Read more and sign up your team for Trivia Talks. The sessions are on February 20th and 27th.

WELCOME, TRAVEL WRITERS! (IN 2022!)

TravelCon, a travel blogging conference that helps people learn the skills needed to develop a profitable and sustainable career in the travel industry, is coming to Memphis April 29 – May 1, 2022! Hosted by Memphis Tourism, TravelCon will be three days of content, advice, hands-on workshops, and most importantly, fun. For more information visit travelcon.org. —EH

DON’T LOOK A GIFT POTATO IN THE MOUTH

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Idahoan Foods (@idahoanfoods)

Local residents have been confused and even concerned about the random packets of instant potatoes appearing in our mailboxes lately. While I can understand the concern, let’s not look into this too deeply—it’s free carbs, people!

If you are curious, though, the potatoes come as a “thank you” gift from Idahoan Foods company, who said that Memphis was the # 1 consumer of Idahoan potatoes in the U.S. In fact, our spud loving city purchased more than 8.5 million servings of the instant potatoes last year.

Idahoan Food is sending out 300,000 packets to Memphis city residents, and they’re donating about that many more to the Mid-South Food Bank. I spoke with local writer and podcast host Joe Sills on this important topic. Joe has not only received his free bag ‘o taters, but has already eaten them with a pork chop. “I didn’t even ask questions about this,” he told me “I already ate the shit out of mine.” Well done, sir.

If you’ve received yours I want to hear about it, so Tweet at me or tag me in your photo with how you cooked them. I love getting excited about random free carbs, even if it is a marketing thing. —HW

CONGRATS TO MEMPHIS ARTISTS SOUTHERN AVENUE AND DON BRYANT

Local band Southern Avenue and artist Don Bryant are nominated for Blues Music Awards! The 42nd BMAs will be presented as a virtual event on Sunday, June 6, 2021 starting at 4 p.m. CT. The world is invited to watch the celebration, which will be streamed on the Blues Foundation Facebook and YouTube channel. —EH

$18.95?!?! BURIED BY THE BERNARDS COMES TO NETFLIX THIS MONTH

If you haven’t seen the now famous R. Bernard Funeral Service commercial, do yourself a favor:

Of all the crazy things that happened in the last year, a Memphis funeral home that offers drive-thru visitation getting a Netflix show was somehow not on the forefront of my mind. R. Bernard Funeral Services new show, “Buried by the Bernards” will premiere on February 12. I promise you won’t want to miss this lively family doing the absolute most at all times. —EH

SOME QUICK HOUSEKEEPING

My colleague Elizabeth Hornor and I work together on this weekly update, so going forward you’ll see that reflected by the sign-off initials for each bit of news. PLEASE submit your local good news by emailing her [email protected] with the subject line “Ain’t It Good”. **

** More about submitting: We’re looking for nonprofit successes, random victories, acts of kindness, rescued baby animals, positive national news coverage of Memphis…any thing that brings joy and brags a little on the people of our city. Send it in, and your story could appear on a future blog post!

Ed. Note: Special thanks to Kevin Brewer for the “Ain’t It Good” song suggestion and to Elizabeth Hornor for her assistance with this article.