A pig, Miss Betty, and a goat have become inseparable friends at a farm in Mississippi. It is unusual as pigs can be aggressive when it comes to their food, they have also been known to eat anything, including goats.
MEMPHIS UKULELE FLASH MOB HOSTS MEMPHIS UKE-N-ROLL FESTIVAL
UPDATE: UKE FESTIVAL POSTPONED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS-THE FESTIVAL WILL BE RESCHEDULED FOR A LATER DATE. STAY TUNED….RETURNING IN 2021
Pete McCarty invites everyone to the Memphis Uke N Roll Festival in April of 2020. Come join the Memphis Ukulele Flash Mob as we have a four day party in Memphis that celebrates everything wonderful about the ukulele. For tickets go to www.memphisukenroll.com
What started out as a small group of friends getting together to jam has grown into a wonderful ukulele community in Memphis. The Memphis Ukulele Flash mob meets each week at Central BBQ on Summer Avenue in Memphis on Tuesday evenings from 6-8pm for a standing room only sing-a-long led Pete McCarty.
Memphis Magazine recently did a story on Pete and the Flash Mob calling them the Pied Piers of Happiness who “bring joy to the world.”
https://memphismagazine.com/culture/the-pied-pipers-of-happiness/
The all volunteer group also spend their time and talent spreading love around the community, playing for nursing homes, children’s hospitals, farmers markets and even holiday parades.
The festival will showcase talent from around the country, there will be workshops, open mic opportunities, sing-a-longs, fun and fellowship in the south main neighborhood in downtown Memphis.
Enjoy this photo gallery which will get you a sense of our city, Memphis, the city we love so much. You can also see some of the Memphis Ukulele Flash Mob members spreading some love. (Photos by Karen Pulfer Focht ©)
To see other videos and photos of the Memphis Ukulele Flash Mob look under “Ukulele Fun” Category on my blog.
Now, ya’ll come!
The Bald Eagle is Back!
A recent report on CBS Sunday Morning about “The Return of the bald eagle” highlights the success of the Endangered Species Act and the benefits to the bald eagle.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nature-up-close-the-return-of-the-bald-eagle-carl-mrozek/
I photographed this Eagle on Whidbey Island in Washington State, earlier in the week that this story ran. It was perched on top of a piece of driftwood alongside the water at dawn, waiting for its prey.
Memphis Summer
High waters on the Mississippi River roll past downtown Memphis on a hot summer night in Memphis, Tennessee.
https://memphismagazine.com/topics/memphis-magazine-august-2019/
See Memphis Magazine City Guide link above for a guide to all things great in Memphis!
Raising Funds For Boyd Station
I was honored to be one of the photojournalists asked to participate in a New York art gallery show where we raised money to help the next generation of photojournalists.
The Ki Smith Gallery held an auction this spring as a way to raise funds for Boyd Station in Kentucky. The exhibition "Witness: Beauty in Truth" amassed 70 images from some of today's more prominent photojournalists, many of the images rarely are for sale.
Boyd Station is a place for creatives, writers and visual story tellers to come away from it all, get away from distractions and focus on their craft without the distraction of the every day world. Boyd Station is especially set up to provide inspiration and assistance to aspiring local photojournalists.
This is becoming especially important in this day and time where many of todays struggling newspapers seem to be losing the art of long form visual story telling or are, sadly enough, often happy enough with iphoneography.
Great photojournalism is at risk. Great photojournalism is important. Great photojournalism changes hearts, minds and communities.
Boyd Station is positioned to teach the next generation about great photojournalism. This was the idea of longtime photojournalist Jack Gruber, who set up the nonprofit which aims to "cultivate the arts in the bluegrass of Kentucky" while documenting the community at the same time.
One of my most popular images, a signed copy of the late blues musician Mose Vinson’s hands on a piano, was auctioned off in the fundraiser. I shot it on film and it was shot for his album cover. We shot the photo on Beale Street in Memphis, where he used to play. The auction was hosted by the Ki Smith Gallery in New York City in March. The event showcased 40 of today’s most acclaimed and awarded photojournalist's.
Thank you Ki Smith Gallery for a successful auction and fundraiser.
Ki Smith Gallery
712 W 125th Street
New York, NY 10027
We were lucky to get a mention in Newsweek. Alexander Cavaluzzo did a write up about the exhibit. https://www.newsweek.com/big-apple-plants-bluegrass-roots-grow-future-art-1356914
A successful online auction of our photos was held a few months later through Paddle8, where proceeds once again befitted Boyd Station. Paddle8 is an online auction house based in New York City that sells fine art.
https://www.boydsstation.org/ to learn more about Boyd Station.
James Wiseman Celebration and Pep Rally
East High School in Memphis, Tennessee gave a hero’s parade and pep rally for James “Big Ticket” Wiseman at the school on Saturday, May, 25th, 2019. Wiseman is the #1 high school basketball recruit in the country and he has signed on to play with Coach Penny Hardaway and the Memphis Tigers in the fall. Wiseman is 7-feet tall with a 7-6 wingspan and he was an excellent student while at East High School
Wiseman is a true role model. "He was the only male to make the Principal's List, all A's and good conduct in all classes, every quarter for the past two years." said Dr. Newman C. Robertson, Principal of East High School.
VIDEO BELOW
Jubilee Schools Close in Memphis
Due to financial shortfalls, the Catholic Diocese of Memphis closed several of their jubilee schools this week. After a multimillion-dollar donation from an anonymous group of donors, the first Jubilee schools were opened in 1999 in hopes of educating some of the cities poorest children.
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