Get a little culture in your Life!

So, in my 20's I was a club girl. Come to my city, which was Atlanta at the time and I could escort you to the hottest clubs in town, get us drinks for free, and you were guaranteed a good time! For sho!

Now, that I'm in the 30s club I'm trying to cultivate my cultural side. Most recently, I went to the Metropolitan Opera and I took my boyfriend with me kicking and screaming. It was really cool and such a great experience. My next goal is to finally see an Alvin Ailey Dance company performance. I must be the only black person in NYC that hasn't seen them and it's getting kind of embarrassing. If they come to Memphis you must check them out. So anyway, I found a great event happening this weekend in Memphis that will help you "get your culture on" as well. I mean, how long are we going to try to go clubbing and unfortunately Memphis doesn't offer many lounge type settings.

So, the full details are below. If you attend, please hit me on memphisnoir@gmail.com to let me know how it was. Have fun!

MEMPHIS, Tenn.– Memphis modern dance collective Project: Motion is hosting a fundraiser event on Friday, April 24 from 6:00-9:00 p.m. at EmergeMemphis on 516 Tennessee Street downtown. The event is titled “Forward Motion: The Dance Stimulus Project” and will feature appetizers, cocktails, a silent auction and live music by singer/songwriter Bryan Hartley and String Theory.

Three local chefs will provide palate-stimulating, budget-friendly appetizers. David House is a native of the Mid-South and has worked with Raji and Karen Blockman. He enjoys bringing the restaurant experience into the homes of his clients with his dinner staging company “House in your Home.” David Thornton is the chef/manager of Cordelia's Table at Miss Cordelia's grocery located in Harbor Town Square. He also writes about his culinary experiences for publication. Michael Nabors has worked in the Memphis restaurant industry for 15 years. He is an event supervisor at Another Roadside Attraction Catering and has a side business focusing on smaller, more intimate events.

The work of Memphis photographer Monty Shane will be featured at the fundraiser. Shane was born in rural Arkansas and moved to Memphis in 1999 to pursue a B.F.A. in Graphic Design from the University of Memphis. He discovered a passion for photography, and has a unique process of visualizing the composition of a photograph before shooting it and then processing his work in the darkroom using the whole negative.

The event will benefit Project: Motion, a nonprofit organization devoted to deepening the presence of modern dance in Memphis through concerts and community outreach. On May 22-24 and 28-31, 2009, Emerge 2: Set in Motion will showcase the artistry of seven emerging choreographers at TheatreWorks in Midtown Memphis.

Memphis is in Fashion!

Information:

Join Mr. and Mrs. Curtis Givens Friday, May 15 as they present their First Annual Benefit Runway Show at Le Pavillon. This will be unlike any fashion event Memphis has seen. Enjoy fashion by up and coming designers and boutiques in an upscale environment hosted by Memphis' own Elise Neal. Professional models as well as special guest models will present the designs. Doors open at 7pm with cocktails and light hors d'oeuvres and the fashion will begin at 8pm. Tickets are available for purchase at the LEVEL II box office Monday 12-4pm and Tuesday-Friday 10am-6pm. Proceeds to benefit Dress for Success Memphis. *Dress for Success Memphis promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.

Our address: 5020 American WayMemphis, Tennessee 38115

Fashion is in the air!!

Spring 2009 Runway Show

Host:
Runway Boutique & STRUT
Location:
Runway Boutique & STRUT522 South Main & 524 South MainMemphis, TN 38103 US View Map
When:
Friday, April 24, 7:30PM to 10:30PM Add to my Outlook Calendar
Phone:
901-525-0024 & 901-522-9722

From Memphis to New York

If you haven't guessed all ready, I am a Memphis girl that is now moonlighting as a New Yorker.

Monday morning I woke up at 5:30, no more like 6:00 am and went jogging in Central Park around the Reservoir. Whenever you come to New York, this is a must see. It is so peaceful and beautiful. You look out and all you see are larger than life buildings. It is a great place to dream and brainstorm. It's kind of like walking along the Mississippi River, but with more grandeur. I just love being around water period! Maybe its the Pisces in me. I don't know.

So, today I left work and decided that I didn't want to go home just yet. In NYC weekdays are the best days to hangout. The weekends are usually left to the bridge and tunnel people and tourist. (Bridge and Tunnel means anyone that has to travel into the city via a bridge or tunnel. This is anyone other than those of us living on the island of Manhattan.) I know it sounds a little snooty, but it is what it is. So tonight, I went to St. Marks to have dinner and a drinks. St. Marks is surely a place that you wouldn't know about unless you lived in NYC or if you were escorted by a New York resident. It's real low key, very artsy, ecletic, and CHEAP! If you don't know a normal drink cost in New York is about $15 - $20. Yep, that for a martini, a henny on the rocks, or whatever. The first time I came to NYC which was on my 25th bday, I couldn't believe my ears when the bartender quoted my bill as $28 for 2 cosmos! Now, that I've been here for almost 4 years, I'm getting used to it. After leaving St. Marks having appetizers and sharing a bottle of wine with my boyfriend, I decided to take the subway home and I got absolutely lost in WWD's recp of the top 10 Fall 09 fashion collections. You can call me a fashion show junckie! I love them. Give me food or a fashion show and I'll take the show. Sleep or fashion show. I'll take the show.

How could it be that a girl growing up in Memphis, TN could love fashion so much. It wakes me up, keep me moving, gives me inspiration , and motivation to keep it moving. Well, I've found out that success and life has nothing to do with where you are from, but all do with where your heart and passion lies.

So, in 2007 I launched a fashion show production company in NYC. My first show "The New Renaissance...Harlem's Fashion Row" was a huge hit and I owe it all to God. You know that He's here in New York :)!!! Yeah, I had to remind my dad that God is in New York because Lord knows he didn't want me to move here. Anyway, I'm at it again working on another show with no budget, no money, no confirmed designers, but with passion, love for fashion, and most imporantly FAITH. I will make sure that I take you along on the journey, but in the meantime in enjoy the pics from the '07 show. Also, I posted a picture of the Resevoir in Central Park.

Talk to you soon!

Memphis to New Yorker

I LOVE LOVE LOVE HOTWINGS

There was one stop that I would make before even going to the house on the way home from college. It wasn't that I wanted to make a stop before going home, but it was that i HAD to make this stop. I would think about this place, imagine the smell of it, taste of it, and then get to the point where the desire for it was too much for me to bear....CRUMPYS!

So, people ask me all the time "why did you move to New York"? There are many reasons, professionally mostly, however one reason I NEVER give is "because the food is better in NYC". Call me crazy, but I will take my good old Memphis home-cooked food over this New York shee shee food any day.

I am so mad that no one ever told me about this event that I happen to find today on the web.....Southern Hotwing Contest and Festival happening this Saturday. Did you all know this festival has been going on for 7 years now? Crazy right? The cost is only $3, but I don't think that includes the cost of the wings. Check it out and let me know how it was.

Details:

7th Annual Southern Hotwing Contest and Festival
Saturday April 18, 2009
South Main Street (b/t Linden Street, St. Paul Avenue)

The 7th Annual Hotwing Contest and Festival will bring cooking teams from the Mid-South and surrounding areas to compete for the grand prize of Best Hotwing of 2009. To enter the event go to www.southernhotwingfestival.com print the team application and mail to address listed. All you need to be compete is a grill. In addition the Contest and Festival will include 9 live bands from the Memphis area throughout the event on stage, a silent auction, beverages and of course some of the best hotwings in the South. The Contest and Festival is a benefit for the Ronald McDonald House of Memphis.

Wine Tasting - Sounds Fun - Friday April 17, 2009

Okay, so you may be looking for the perfect date venue or maybe you just want to hang out with the girls and do something different. The Dixon museum is having a wine-tasting this Friday.

Details:

Date: 4/17/09

Time: 6:00 - 8:00 pm

Cost: $30.00 for non-members, $20 members

Address: 4339 Park Ave

Website: www.dixon.org

What is there to do in Memphis?

There are many opportunities for cultural enrichment, fun, and activity in any city, however what I hear so often is "there is nothing to do in Memphis". I am from Memphis. I grew up in Whitehaven, graduated from East High, and worked as a buyer for Catherines for a short period of time. I've had the full experience of the city. What I realize is that there is not a lack of activity in Memphis, however there is a lack of people willing to try new place, new event, and new venues in Memphis.

Working at Catherines, I learned more about what Memphis had to offer than in all my years living there. Why? Because vendors coming from New York would research restaurants, etc. and ask to be taken there. This was my big exposure to MY CITY.

I started this blog because I want to expose my fellow Memphians to YOUR CITY as well as the movers and shakers that have decided to use their Memphis training to take over the world. Welcome aboard Memphis Noir!