Fun in the sun

Last weekend’s Day of Merrymaking was a smashing success! Despite the rather cozy temperatures, more than 4,100 of you came out and celebrated Overton Park with us–that’s double last year’s attendance! And the really awesome thing is that the festival netted over $29,000 for the park. We’re so grateful to our sponsors and to everyone who donated, joined our membership program, or bought t-shirts for helping us keep this event free while still raising valuable funds to take care of the park.

Check out the full photo album on Flickr. Thanks so much to Phillip Van Zandt for helping us capture the day!

First of all, thanks so much to our presenting sponsor, Orion, for making the day possible and for having a booth that led to so many adorable moments. You can see many more of their great photos from the day here.

Thanks to our other wonderful sponsors as well: Art Center Memphis, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Camp Bow Wow, Hollywood Feed, Huey’s, Hyde Family Foundations, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Midtown Yoga, MLGW, Peddler Bike Shop, Regional One Health, Utopia Animal Hospital, and West Cancer Center. Special thanks to FedEx for lending us two shuttles for the day!

This year, Shenanigans the Hot Air Balloon made its Merrymaking debut, thanks to sponsorship from Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare. It was a totally new way of seeing the park!

The view from above.

As always, our furry friends had as much fun as anyone. With activities presented by Hollywood Feed and friends from Memphis Pets Alive!, Streetdog Foundation, Seize the Clay, Puppy Up!, and more, our doggie guests were well taken care of.

Fine form was exhibited by both the kids in the dunk tank and the crew from Midtown Yoga.

Memphis Drum Tribe entertained those who took a moment to relax in the Old Forest Lounge, with furniture provided by Family Leisure. Students from Rhodes College and the University of Memphis put on a scavenger hunt in the forest with tree-cookie medals as the prizes.

The park was full of sweet sounds as we were entertained by Ashley K. Davis & Kairos, ARTISTIK APPROACH, and Alexis Grace.

There was no better day for a picnic in the shade, with a dozen amazing food vendors selling everything from cilantro lime popsicles to barbecue in a cone! And the picnic tables were in great shape thanks to the volunteers from Medtronic who spent last Thursday sanding, painting, and sprucing them all up.

There were so many ways for kids to have fun, from browsing through treasures at our vendor booths to working on crafts with Art Center Memphis, The Art Project, and Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.

Thanks again to everyone who came out and made merry with us this year!  It was our biggest one so far, and we look forward to topping it again next summer!

Did you attend A Day of Merrymaking? Do you have a couple of minutes to give us some feedback? Pretty please!

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