A Day of Merrymaking 2018 Recap

While the cooler temperatures didn’t follow A Day of Merrymaking to the fall, we still had a blast hanging out with thousands of folks on the Greensward! All our visitors were treated to amazing entertainment, creative projects, and a market of local artists, businesses, and food and drink.

To see a photo album of this year’s event, visit our Flickr page. Thanks to Jay Adkins for helping us capture the day!

We’re especially grateful to our presenting sponsor, Hollywood Feed, who continue to support both this event and the maintenance of Overton Bark. This year they also presented a fashion show featuring adorable (and adoptable) models from the Streetdog Foundation, followed by a costume contest full of creatively outfitted pups.

This year’s entertainment, presented by The Commercial Appeal, was a treat for the eyes and ears, beginning with an energetic performance by the Snowden School Marching Band. The Overton High School Concert Band brought the sounds of Stevie Wonder to the park, followed by a colorful and graceful performance by the Company d dance troupe. The Rusty Pieces brought their eclectic folk music to the stage, followed by the visually stunning choreography of Danza Azteca Quetzalcoatl de Memphis. Chinese Connection Dub Embassy closed the day on a happy note, returning for their second Merrymaking festival. We loved having our friends from DeafConnect of the Mid-South offer ASL interpretation throughout the day.

Thanks also to FedEx for lending us shuttles so that we could offer free transportation to attendees and introduce riders to the General Services Area, which will become a part of Overton Park within the next few years. We were also thrilled to get great ideas from more than 100 attendees for our park master plan, and we loved imagining the future of the park with you.

Thanks once again to TVA for providing us with the funds to purchase reusable water bottles, which cut down the use of plastic dramatically. We’re also grateful to Clean Memphis and Get Green Recycleworks for being our partners in recycling at the event and helping to make A Day of Merrymaking more low-waste every year.

Here are some of our favorite photos:

Kicking things off with the Snowden School Marching Band.

Parachuting on the Greensward.

The Overton High School Concert Band shows off its command of Stevie Wonder’s catalogue.

The food court offered lots of ways to find refreshment.

The dancers of Company d performed original choreographed works of ballet, jazz, and modern dance.

The bungee wall and bubble ball kept kids laughing all day.

The winners of Hollywood Feed’s costume contest dressed as the flying monkeys from The Wizard of Oz. (You can see all the costumes in our Flickr album.)

Good vibes from The Rusty Pieces.

Kids could choose between freeform painting at The Art Project’s canvas, or a paint-by-numbers scene created by Memphis College of Art and sponsored by Eclectic Eye.

Danza Azteca mesmerized the crowd with dances inspired by the ancestral peoples of Mexico. You can see them again at Brooks Museum’s Dia de los Muertos celebration on October 27.

We always love having Chinese Connection Dub Embassy bring us home.

Thanks to everyone who made this year’s event a wonderful time in the park!

Thanks to our other major sponsors, A2H, ArtsMemphis, Crosstown Concourse, Eclectic Eye, Independent Bank, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, MLGW, and the Tennessee Arts Commission, for their support, and to Echo Systems and Memphis Made for another great year in the beer garden.

And we’re so grateful to the many community supporters who sponsored the event: Art Center Memphis, The Art Project, Belleair Woods Neighborhood Association, Celtic Crossing, Central Gardens Association, Cooper-Young Community Association, Dumpsters.com, East End Neighborhood Association, Evergreen Historic District Association, Huey’s Restaurants, Lipscomb & Pitts, M. Palazola Produce Co., Mahaffey Event & Tent Rentals, Midtown Memphis Development Corporation, MLGW, Morningside Neighborhood Association, Pinnacle Perpetual Services, Utopia Animal Hospital, Wagner General Contractors, and Young Avenue Sound.