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.

Founded by Jack Belz (chairman and CEO of Belz Enterprises and Marilyn Belz, the Belz Museum of Asian & Judaic Art has displayed its collection of paintings, sculptures, textiles, and more from Asian and Judaic artisans since 1998, when it was originally called the Peabody Place Museum. Old-school art lovers can spend hours perusing Belz's collection of pieces from the Chinese Qing and other dynasties, including a 19th-century scene intricately carved in ivory tusk, or studying elaborate pottery from the Han dynasty. In addition to the four admissions, the deal also includes four collection catalogs ($6 each), so exhibition scrutinizers can study up on the museum's collections.