Memphis good news does not keep a schedule. Sometimes it lands as one big headline, and other times it turns up in four corners of the city before lunch, like this time around. The lineup: a brand new basketball court, a clubhouse where the next generation of Memphis golfers will learn the game, a national food symposium with a Memphis icon at the center and a film festival with a hometown opening night. Roll call, please 🎉
Four Pieces of Memphis Good News Worth Passing Along
Grizzlies Dream Court No. 2 Lands at Northeast Prep Academy 🏀
Sept 25 ● Northeast Prep Academy ● Memphis
New hoops, new benches and hand painted artwork from Memphis artist Siphne Sylve 🎨 The Memphis Grizzlies unveiled their second Dream Court on Friday, September 25, at Northeast Prep Academy, and this one was built from the ground up.
The Dream Court Series launched in 2025 with a mission to renovate basketball courts across the city, and the Bernal E. Smith Boys and Girls Club got the first one last year.
🏀 Hat tip to Action News 5 for the original story
Loren Roberts Clubhouse Breaks Ground at Audubon and First Tee Gets a Home ⛳
Sept 29 ● The Links at Audubon ● Opening fall 2027
First Tee Tennessee Memphis is getting a permanent home! 🏌🏾 The City of Memphis and the Tennessee Golf Foundation broke ground Tuesday, September 29, on the Loren Roberts Family Clubhouse and Learning Center at The Links at Audubon. The $7.5 million City investment is joined by four $1 million commitments from FedEx Corporation, the Brad Martin family, Bill and Amy Rhodes, and First Horizon Bank and the First Horizon Foundation.
Kids as young as 5 will learn golf while building confidence, integrity, respect, perseverance and the habit of setting goals. A Hall of Fame style lobby will celebrate Memphis golf greats, and the short course and practice areas will be named the Martin Family Junior Golf Grounds. Inside, the main lobby will be the Rhodes Family Champions Lobby and the FedEx Skills Lab will support hands on learning. The First Horizon Financial Literacy Academy, taught by employee volunteers, will be the first financial literacy component of its kind in a First Tee facility.
At the groundbreaking, 69 players from the FedEx St. Jude Championship added a $10,000 gift to the Loren Roberts Scholarship Fund. The facility is named for Loren Roberts, a 21 time professional tournament winner who moved his family to Memphis in 1992. The Links at Audubon has been a public course since the 1950s and hosts about 40,000 rounds a year. Construction starts right away, with an opening planned for fall 2027.
⛳ Original story from the City of Memphis, with a tip of the visor
Southern Foodways Symposium Comes to Memphis to Honor Alcenia's 🍽️
Oct 10 and 11 ● Halloran Centre for Performing Arts ● Downtown
The Southern Foodways Alliance is bringing its annual symposium to Memphis, only the third time in nearly 30 years the gathering has happened outside Oxford, Mississippi 🍴 The two day event, called Memphis Movements, follows food and movement through time, from the Mississippi River to Interstate 40, Stax Records to Beale Street, and the People's Grocery to the I AM A MAN campaign.
At the heart of it all is BJ Chester-Tamayo, owner of Alcenia's at 317 N Main St, who is being honored with the Southern Foodways Alliance 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award. Alcenia's has been feeding Memphis since 1997. See the symposium details.
🍽️ Pulled up a chair thanks to The Daily Memphian for the original story
Indie Memphis 2026: The Lorraine Opens the Festival 🎬
Preview Party Sept 30 ● Festival Nov 5 to 8 ● Metal Museum and Downtown
Lights down, Memphis 🍿 The 2026 Indie Memphis Film Festival opens Thursday, November 5, at the Halloran Centre by the Orpheum with The Lorraine, a new documentary from director Sam Pollard about the Lorraine Motel, the Memphis landmark that is home to the National Civil Rights Museum today. The festival continues November 6 to 8 at the Malco Powerhouse Cinema Grill and other Downtown venues, with a focus on vibrant regional storytelling. Pollard also helped direct Mr. Soul, the festival's 2018 opening film.
The full lineup gets announced at the Preview Party on Wednesday, September 30, from 6 to 9 PM at the new Metal Museum location, 1930 Poplar Ave. Doors open at 6 for cocktail hour, with announcements and trailers starting at 7:15 PM. A $10 advance ticket covers light bites and complimentary drinks from 6 to 7:15 PM, including cocktails made with Old Dominick liquor, beer from Hampline Brewing Company and soda, followed by a cash bar. Guests must be 21 and up for alcohol, with ID checked at the door. Passholders get priority access to film tickets before they go on sale to the public on Monday, October 5. Get Preview Party tickets.
🎬 Roll credits for the original stories from the Memphis Flyer and We Are Memphis
Good news travels fast in the 901, and the Choose901 team likes to keep up. Send it to contact@choose901.com 💌
