South Main Association’s Trolley Night began its 2024 season on March 29th with a taste of what’s in store for the monthly South Main district street party. Part of that taste was the free hamburgers from Earnestine & Hazel’s.
“This month was just a start of bringing everything together,” says South Main Association president Cori McCleskey. “Going forward we we will have themes as well as strategic partners.”
The Memphis Grizzlies and MATA will be the sponsors of April trolley night, which will be held April 26th. As always, Trolley Night is held the last Friday of the month. Trolleys will be decorated in Grizzlies gear “to connect with the theme.”
And, McCleskey adds, “We will have more music than we ever have had. Music will be played on the trolleys.”
South Main Association will also be activating its VIP area, next to Crave Cheesecake on South Main. The VIP area was open to the public with free Earnestine & Hazel’s hamburgers and music by DJ Tree Riehl during the March Trolley Night. “We’re still working on implementing the VIP area with new decor,” says McCleskey. “So it’s a bit welcoming. And using some lighting and, not just murals, but kind of artistic expression on the walls and grounds.”
In the future, McCleskey says, “We’ll have a different business cater each time. And there will be free beer and wine.”
To get into the VIP area, people must become a South Main Association member. “For an individual membership, it’s as low as $5 a month or $50 for the year,” says McCleskey. “And that gets you free access to the VIP area and the South Main Socials that are on the second Tuesday of the month. They always take place at some South Main hot spot.” And, she says, “New businesses are invited to speak and share the good news.”
The next South Main Social, on April 9th, will be held at Wiseacre Brewing Company at 398 South B. B. King Boulevard. The socials are from 6 to 8 p.m.-ish, McCleskey says.
The organization didn’t partner with anybody at the March Trolley Night because, McCleskey says, they wanted to “get in gear and work out the kinks. I think it was a great start, but we’re going to continue to make it bigger and better.”
