A Day of Merrymaking 2016 Recap
We had another year of great fun in the sun at June 4’s Day of Merrymaking festival. The rain held off until after the event, and everyone who attended enjoyed a record number of vendors and food trucks, a water slide and rock wall, arts and crafts, cornhole and Bubble Ball, plus fantastic music from Martha Kelly, Mariachi Guadalajara, and Chinese Connection Dub Embassy. And this was our most successful year yet in raising critical funds for the park. We netted well over $35,000 this year thanks to our sponsors, vendors, and all who donated at the event!
Check out the full photo album on Flickr. Thanks so much to Phillip Van Zandt for helping us capture the day!
We have to express our utmost gratitude to our presenting sponsor, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, for their support of this event. They also brought along their Mega Brain, which is as educational as it is fun to look at!
Our newest major feature this year was a beer garden, generously stocked by Memphis Made Brewing Company. The structure was custom-built by our landscape contractors at Echo Systems, and the beautiful signage was created by our friends at Youngblood Studio. The beer garden was such a hit that we can’t imagine doing another Merrymaking without it!
Thanks to our other wonderful sponsors as well: The Commercial Appeal, The Daily News, Hollywood Feed, Hyde Family Foundations, A2H, The Art Project, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Community Trust, Boscos Cycling, Central Gardens Association, Classic Event & Tent Rentals, Cooper-Young Community Association, The Curb Market, Ecco on Overton Park, The Eclectic Eye, Evergreen Historic District Association, Evergreen Yoga Center, Hein Park Neighborhood Association, Huey’s, inbalance FITNESS, InCity Realty, Independent Bank, MLGW, Regional One Health, Teresa Sloyan, SunTrust Bank, Utopia Animal Hospital, Wagner General Contractors, and West Cancer Center.
Special thanks to FedEx for lending us three shuttles for the day (as well as lots of great volunteers!), and to Bike Walk Memphis for providing bike valet. Thanks to Memphis Police Department, Pro-Tech Security, and Memphis College of Art for their help with security and safety. We appreciate everyone who volunteered with setup, event work, and teardown–we couldn’t do it without you, especially in the summer heat!
Liberty Soccer kicked off the day by showing off their skills.
Bubble battles went on all day long.
Aunt Key’s Apothecary — one of the dozens of fabulous local vendors.
Mariachi Guadalajara entertained both on- and offstage.
Never a dull moment at the Beer Garden.
One of the best ways to cool off in Midtown in early June!
Food trucks offered everything from kebabs to empanadas to traditional fair food. We may have had first lunch, second lunch, aaaaand a snack.
We enjoyed scoping out everyone’s cornhole skills from the Conservancy booth!
Chinese Connection Dub Embassy is one of Memphis’ treasures, and they brought good vibes and rock-and-roll all afternoon long.
We love watching kids soar above the park on the bungee wall.
Our very favorite thing about A Day of Merrymaking, though, is watching everyone meet their neighbors. Overton Park is such a perfect gathering space for people from all over the city, and there’s nothing we love more than seeing everyone have a great time together. Thanks to all who came and celebrated with us. We can’t wait to start planning next year’s event!
