What's on in Memphis, United States through the year

Busy — Winter / Christmas break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in February.

Busy — Spring break in United States

• Hazard

  Spring storm season

  15 Mar – 31 May · usually

  Late winter and spring bring the line squalls that flood the streets and take the power out for days, and the Mississippi runs its highest in the same weeks. It is a few afternoons, not a season indoors. Source ↗

Busy — one of its best months for weather

• Festival

  Beale Street Music Festival

  1–3 MayMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Three days in Tom Lee Park on the river, the first weekend of May, and the opening act of Memphis in May. The park is grass and the river is right there, so a wet year turns it into a mud festival. Source ↗

Still on: Spring storm season (15 Mar – 31 May (usually))

Peak crowds — Beale Street Music Festival, World Championship Barbecue

• Festival

  World Championship Barbecue

  13–16 MayMajor festivalCrowded

  Hundreds of teams cooking whole hog, shoulder and ribs over four days in mid-May, most of it behind team tents you need an invitation to enter. The public side is smaller than the smoke suggests. Source ↗

Still on: Spring storm season (15 Mar – 31 May (usually)), Beale Street Music Festival (1–3 May)

Busy — Summer break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in June.

Busy — Summer break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Peak crowds — Elvis Week, Summer break in United States

• Festival

  Elvis Week

  8–16 AugMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  The week around the anniversary of his death on 16 August, ending in a candlelight vigil that files past the grave at Graceland all night. Whitehaven hotels sell out and rates near Graceland double. Source ↗

Busy — Summer break in United States

Nothing new starts in September.

Busy — one of its best months for weather

• Nature

  Fall colour

  25 Oct – 20 Nov · usuallyAutumn colour

  Later than most of the Midwest: Overton Park's old-growth forest and the bluffs above the Mississippi turn through the first half of November, well after the fairs have packed up.

Busy — Thanksgiving break in United States

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Fall colour (25 Oct – 20 Nov (usually))

Busy — Winter / Christmas break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in December.