Things to Do in Memphis

A piggy bank covered in polka dots, a platter celebrating Mother’s Day complete with each of her children’s handprints, a ceramic replica of Sesame Street’s Ernie—these are just a few of the projects that have emerged from Seize the Clay, a hands-on art studio specializing in pottery painting. In addition to embellishing various bisque pieces with unique designs, visitors can create glass-fused pendants, multihued mosaics, and silver-clay jewelry personalized with the initials of their beloved mail carrier. They can also try their hands at the potter’s wheel, hold birthday parties, or attend an interactive summer camp.

Although painting is a solitary experience for many artists, it becomes a color-strewn party at ArtJamN. Enthusiastic staff members encourage participants to interact, inspire each other, and even collaborate on the same canvas. Painters are outfitted with a bevy of paints and textures that add dimension to magnum opuses and make it easier to crawl into someone else's painting and take a nap. Both regular painting sessions and private parties introduce burgeoning artists to a cornucopia of artistic styles as they intermingle and sip from their own stash of adult beverages.

The Memphis Symphony Orchestra has been breaking strings and the hearts of screaming fans since its inception in 1952. This year, the orchestra will once again resonate throughout the elegantly crafted Cannon Center, sending seasonal shivers down the tickled spines of all audience members. The Home for the Holidays performance includes vocal joys from soprano Ashley Brown, best known for her portrayal of Mary Poppins on Broadway, in addition to a medley of carol-worthy classics performed by the Memphis Symphony Chorus and the University of Memphis Concert Singers. The evening's combination of power and cheer will cause many to be moved to tears, which will likely form puddles in the theater, making exiting nearly impossible without an inflatable raft.

Each 90-minute jaunt covers more than half a century of Music City magic six days a week while cruising through the heart of the entertainment district. Pulling in for pick-up, each bus, like the time-traveling Miss Clawdy, captures the spirit of classic Memphis. Your tour begins with an all-aboard call, sung in the key of enthusiasm, by your musically gifted guide. Armed to drop both beats and knowledge, each Backbeat MC brings the city's landmarks to life with a blend of comedy, history, and participatory live performance. Passengers are kindly asked to remain in their seats with provided bongos, tambourines, and shakers properly secured in 4/4 time.

Thrill-seekers of all ages weave through Golf & Games Family Park’s 40-acre mini metropolis of indoor and outdoor attractions. Scampering legs can dart and dash through the neon-clad, 6,000-square-foot indoor laser-tag arena. A burbling waterfall streams through the park’s 54-hole mini-golf course, hemmed by lush landscaping and statues of various jungle-inhabiting creatures. Bumper boats bob in cerulean waters churned by colliding vessels as they circle a central, life-size elephant statue, and two go-kart courses cater to future and present-day adults. Guests can engage in more conventional contests such as volleyball, basketball, and horseshoes within the bucolic tree lines that frame the open picnic pavilions or hone various swing types at the park’s batting cages, 120-stall driving range, and spacious putting green.

Bead Towne's classes range in price from $10 to $30 and possibly more, depending on supplies; a variety of options are offered for fledgling-finding fumblers and bead-wielding artisans alike. Classes are often created with customer suggestions in mind; request a specific type of class, and Bead Towne will do its best to accommodate you. Past offerings have included earring workshops ($15), pearl rope bracelets ($38), and making swirl beads with polymer clay ($20). Learn the basic skills of jewelry construction from seasoned instructors. Then you can go to town customizing bracelets and rings into towering, hubris-laden stacks of glittering crystals that threaten to buckle the knees of their wearers. The store stocks everything from Czech glass and fire-polished crystals to semi-precious gems and Swarovski crystals, as well as the tools needed to construct accessories for your bridesmaids or your bejeweled boatswain. Classes usually take place on Thursday and Saturday, but if you have a group of three or more who want to take a class together, you can arrange a girl's night out for a Friday night.