4-3-26 We love going to the festival every year. The environment of see people enjoying the music,…read morefood, small games, face painting and merchandise vendors. The food vendors are the most highlighted with many different types of food vendors. It is the first weekend of every May.

The fair is always interesting to walk around. It was smaller this year for some reason. I always…read moreenjoy coming here for the funnel cakes. Note to self, I do NOT like the funnel cakes with strawberries on them. I keep thinking I do but I really don't. I did like the ice cream nachos we got from one of the foodtrucks- I forgot the name of it. Also, I totally forgot to hit post so just to clear up confusion, this happens in May each year.

Cooper Young Festival. How I love you so. You might be getting too big for your britches though…read more This year was by far the busiest I have ever seen it. We got there about noon and parked .81 miles away from the entry point on the south side by the Tabernacle. When we left at 4:00 or so, the streets were lined miles further away than we were. It was really kind of crazy how many where there. I am sad to say I didn't find a damn thing other than food and beer to buy this year. Not a damn thing. I already have all of the shit that peaked my interest. My wife did want a painting for my kid, but hesitated and said she would come back for it. When we got back, it was gone and she was bummed. We talked to the artist about commissioning a new piece, so maybe. It was the best piece of art in the festival. I should have just bought it myself when we liked it. I'll be back next year, hope someone with some nice art will tempt me. Just a heads up, snack wise.... Stick Em' food truck and Butterific cookies for the win no matter m what here. For real.

Our first time going to this festival and it was packed. First time we went was around 11am and it…read morewasn't as bad then but the second time we went around 4pm and it was shoulder to shoulder. The parking was bad. I think we parked almost 2 miles away. So many booths yet not many food options. Guess I expected a lot of options. I did however find something great, a place called Wild Bills. The place sold sodas in tin mugs with unlimited refills. We bought the barrel mug for 15 bucks and we probably refilled it 6-7 times. Easily got my money back with those refills. Overall we had a good time.

Wonderful fair! Amazing committed people working the tents and booths. Wonderful music and…read moreentertainment. There's food and beverages to meet everyone's taste. And they have tons of gorgeous authentic souvenirs and items for sale. They have jesters, musicians that fit the era, jousting, archery, Pirates, gypsies, an tons of people in epic costumes! Come out here and bring the whole family! They're only here this weekend and the next!

If you like chicken wings - hot or otherwise - you shouldn't miss this. Several dozen teams enter…read morethis festival, which benefits the Ronald McDonald house. You pay an entry fee (by the way, buy your ticket the day before as it will be five to $10 cheaper), visit the tent of one of the teams, donate a buck or two and they'll give you a wing or three. The proceeds go to the charity. You're free to donate more as I believe the highest donations indicate the "winner". Not sure why some of my favorite commercial establishments (D'Bos) don't participate, but there were a few names that I recognized which have food trucks. The tents with lines generally indicate the more popular groups, but don't let that be the only criteria for choosing. This year my favorite wings belonged to a group that didn't have a line and was right next to one of those more popular groups.

So fun! And not at all like Memphis BBQ Fest! Because here, you get to eat wings regardless of…read morewhether you know someone in a tent or not! Just throw a few bucks in a donation bucket, and eat until your heart is content (is that the saying...sounds weird...stomach is content? no, that can't be it...)! Oh, and it benefits Ronald McDonald House - an AMAZING non-profit!! So eat away, y'all! Eat for those kids! There were so many more teams this year and I LOVED the entertainment! There were musicians, belly dancers, a clown for the kids, basically, something for everybody. I can't wait for next year. I wish the festival lasted the whole weekend instead of just Saturday!

9-12-26 We are regulars every year and the festival is always pretty busy as well as being fun. The…read morearts and crafts is good for people who are looking for certain things. Kids playground area is fun the kids. Music is good and fun to listen. They have other vendors specialized in selling or giving out free stuff. Food and drinks are good. They have an annual Wennie dog race contest.

You have free transportation from a business to the festival. Free admission, things for the kids,…read moregreat concession stands with every food you can imagine. Arts and crafts galore. It is huge and so much fun. A wonderful day for a family outing or friends.

Loved this festival! Loved it so much it will be on the festival going once a year list for this…read morehousehold. The best part? It's free. No paying to park (unless you park in a garage downtown somewhere) and no hugely inflated entrance fee. There are some phenomenal bands here- jazz, blues, rock, country, rock-a-billy, hip hop- everything. Not to fret, they have it all marked out for you on their website. You can find out where everything is happening and head on over to that stage whenever your band of choice is playing. They also have some phenomenal food vendors. I'm from Chicago- and back home we have The Taste of Chicago. Being a Chicagoan, I rarely went- you tend to stay away from downtown when that is happening. What I thoroughly enjoyed about the Taste was that the vendors were all local restaurants and food establishments. It was a great way to get a "taste" of what the city had to offer. You could sample different things (for exorbitant prices) and figure out which restaurants you wanted to visit in the future and which were not worth your while. Well, Memphis does just that with this festival. There were folks from Mesquite Grill, Las Delicias, Mississippi Mud Coffee, and Bluefin to name a few. They were all not only giving out samples of their food, but also teaching folks what it takes to prepare said items. Memphis, you just gave Chicago a run for its money! They also had stages with dancers, arts & crafts, "talkers" telling stories of Memphis past and a rather large amount of things in the way of kids. What I loved most about all of this was it was located on Main Street, so we were amongst all the downtown store fronts and lined up on the cobble stoned street enjoying Memphis culture at its finest. That's just what it is. It isn't some run of the mill fair with no history or culture- rather it is a way to make Memphis history fun and new for the Memphians who choose to partake. Job well done!

September 4 and 5, 2010 - A stellar free 2-day festival featuring the Music, Dance, Food, Stories…read moreand Culture of the South, with special emphasis on Memphis' role in Southern Culture. Multiple stages of performers. Featured performers include: Bobby Rush, Kate Campbell, Sid Selvidge, Jason D. Williams + the best of Gospel, Rock-a-Billy, Bluegrass, Hip-Hop and much, much more. More info at http://southernfolklore.org

This was a good festival…read more The lineup wasn't bad, but the flow of everything was extremely chaotic. The bathroom situation is what it is since it's a music festival.

The festival was at Tom Lee Park this year. I enjoyed the music but I won't attend this festival in…read morethe future for the following reasons: -The bag policy was clearly stated in the FAQ. Bags over 9x9 had to be clear. A member of my group was denied entry by an overzealous worker at the bag check area. The bag was 8.5x9. We had made sure. The worker refused to measure the bag stating "We don't have rulers." She refused to listen to reason and called security who backed her up. It was arrogant, unreasonable, mean and she was 100% incorrect. IF YOU HAVE A BAG SIZE POLICY, THEN HAVE A RULER ON HAND. -There was absolutely no accommodation for the disabled or seniors. No shuttle from the ADA parking, which was ridiculously far from the venue. No shade. Nowhere to sit but you weren't allowed to bring a chair. There were some benches away from any entertainment. At night they were in absolute pitch black darkness. -The food trucks were repetitive and unappealing. The lone taco truck was by the furthest entrance. The venue was a mile long. Nobody wanted to walk that far for tacos. -The porta potties we're set up in a row along the riverfront. As we sat waiting for a band at the VW stage, we hoped for a riverfront view and breeze. We got a porta potty view. This entire festival was set up thoughtlessly...or should I say that there was one thought...to get as much money out of festival goers as possible without considering their comfort. When the headliners are Robert Plant and Earth, Wind and Fire, you're attracting older people who can no longer sit on the ground or eat corn dogs.

Fair fair fair food food food and more food games and rides…read more Days visit Large ice icy Lemonade Juicy sweet Carmel candies apples Popped up corn popcorn's in the big bucket and large crispy fries these fries were long as my big boy pointed how long the fries were Oh how did I forget about the snow cone yep icy cold snow cones too

Loved the fair this year! The only thing that was a disappointment was there was no Ring of Fire,…read moreSky-wheel, YoYo, Rock it 360 and no Hurricane ride. Overall very fun! I just hope they bring some of the classic rides back but overall loved it! I know they'll be back again next year. #DeltaFair2024

Mid-South Fair is a joke. It use to be the best in when in the area. It was great when it was in…read moreMemphis. All they have is bad food that is mostly pre-cooked and lukewarm. The Turkey legs were dry and no seasoning. The Corn on the cob was small and tasteless. Nothing was fresh at all. The rides and games were fine. Little to no entertainment whatsoever. It's a change of time that it time to say goodbye to once a great fair.

This was our first year at the Mid-South fair and we had a great time. We actually went in two…read moreseparate days. First, the pig racing events were awesome. The announcer was fun, lively and great at getting the audience involved. I'd never seen pig racing, think horse racing on a tiny track...but with pigs. The Fearless Flores family was awesome too. The best way to describe them is...fearless...and talented, entertaining and super friendly. The fair offered a lot of food and drink vendors so there was plenty of selection. All fair type foods but that is what we like. Additionally, there were a variety of rides to entertain adventure seekers if all ages and risk capacities. :-) On our first evening there, there was not a lot of people which was nice. On night two the lines were long but the vendors, carnies, etc. had their game tight and lines were glowing. I'm excited for next year. See you there!

The Memphis Italian Fest has been offering a eclectic variety of vendors,cooking demos &…read moreentertainment since 1989. Leaving festival-goers with a wonderful experience Memphians & visitors alike will remember for a lifetime that they'll return next year for another wonderful experience. When it comes to Festivals in the Memphis area i've always enjoyed The Memphis Italian Festival compared to Music Fest & a variety of others which seem to offer very little or nothing in entertainment value. This is the one festival I look forward to every year as I enjoy the games vendors, food, family & fun every last weekend in May. Whenever I attend festivals such as the Memphis Italian Festival. I'm always going around to each vendor & see what each vendor offers. I'm always left amazed discovering a vendor that I've never heard about before. The vendors I discovered in years past I still shop with some of them or refer them by word of mouth like here on Yelp or social media outlets. What also impresses me being & is a highlight for me would be the cooking demos & every year they start out with last year's sauce winners who'll do a cooking demo of their favorite Italian dish. When the demonstration is over audience members get to sample what was cooked by the cooking team. When the cooking team is done they'll be a local restaurant ready to give the audience a demonstration of their dish. The chefs from the restaurant that are representing will show everyone how they cook their appetizers or entrees. After they've finished showing the audience on how they made their dish everyone gets to sample what was cooked & enjoy it. The biggest closer to a majority of Festivals would be the bands they've asked to perform for festival-goers. Every year Memphis Italian Fest will always have a big name band perform at the end of the night closing out the festival. This year's band happened to be Ingram Hill & I thoroughly enjoyed the show as they're my favorite band. Every year is hit or miss when it comes to the music acts but for the past 3 years I've enjoyed Gin blossom Train and of course Ingram Hill. That's just a small variety of what is offered & I would recommend to anyone looking for a simple inexpensive ($10-$15 admission) festival to attend. This would be the festival to enjoy with your family and friends. I have thoroughly enjoyed it every year regardless of what some yelpers on here had to say comparing it to other festivals in a unfair comparison. I would like to say in closing enjoy the festivities & make memories with others around you to remember for a lifetime Be sure to like Memphis Italian Festival on FB and tell a friend. https://www.facebook.com/MemphisItalianFestival/

My new favorite festival! And not just because I got to judge aka eat delicious free food all day…read more This baby has A LOT going on and there is absolutely no way you can be bored. Between the music, dancing, vendors, contests, and FOOOOOOD, I wanted to spend the whole weekend here. Yeah, it might rain, but this is Memphis and it is May...so you kinda expect it...and deal with it. Plus, it gives you the chance to wear those cute rain boots you bought for 50% off that one time. If you haven't been, you're missing out so remedy it ASAP. Go ahead and put it on your calendar since it only happens ONCE A YEAR!!!!