MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Now that the curtain closed on the Beale Street Music Festival in downtown Memphis, we caught up with attendees and those who oversee the developed Tom Lee Park as Memphis in May events continue.
Once the month wraps, construction crews will put on the finishing touches.
What we are finding is that the Beale Street Music Festival was a kind of tease to what we could see in the future at Tome Lee Park. Having seen some of the renovations and spent time at the park, many are anxious for its completion.
There is no place like home. For the first time since the pandemic, the Beale Street Music Festival was back at Tom Lee Park.
“I think it was nice, nice vibe, nice people,” said Kamesha Vinson, a Minnesota resident visiting Memphis.
The park is currently undergoing renovations, so this was Mid-South residents and visitors’ first peek.
“I felt like there was a lot of room. I didn’t feel like it was overpopulated,” said Savanna Russell, a festival-goer from Minnesota. “It was really nice, really spacious, clean. There’s wasn’t a lot of trash, a lot of litter. There were spots to sit down if you wanted to rest your feet.”
Carol Coletta is Memphis River Parks Partnership President and CEO. She said with this being the first event in the park since renovations began, she’s happy with the response.
“Looks like the festival-goers loved the new layout. They love the shade. They love the new pathways and ways to circulate through the park,” said Coletta.
She said they did run into landscape damages, mainly due to vendors.
“We have not yet been able to fully evaluate the damage that was done primarily with load in, load out,” said Coletta. “However, it looks like the patrons were, gratefully, very respectful of the park. That, we so appreciate. People seem to walk into an elevated space and treat it in an elevated way.”
It is an elevated way that even the descendants of Tom Lee, such as Charmeal Neely, is proud to see.
“To me, I think bringing life to it, every inch, it really makes a difference,” said Neely. “Tom Lee Park is something that is now, I believe, standing up to his name.”
“I definitely would want to come back and see the ending of Tom Lee Park because I know it’s going to be beautiful,” said Vinson.
Only 80% of Tom Lee Park’s renovations are complete. Construction crews still have to add park furniture, benches and other touches before it fully opens to the public Labor Day weekend.
In the meantime, Memphis River Parks Partnership said they won’t fully know how the Beale Street Music Festival impacted the park until after the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. That’s when they’ll be able to make a full assessment.