HYPERLOCAL NEWS HUB BY THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS DEPARTMENT OF JOURNALISM

Goods and Activism: A little of everything at the CY Festival
By Ed Arnold/MicroMemphis contributor plus stories from contributors Shaunitra Ingram and Sheila Guerrero
Sept. 19, 2011

This year’s Cooper Young festival looks to be the biggest ever and that’s cause for optimism for the many artists, community organizations and craftspeople who make up the over 400 vendors at the festival. 

Kim Gurley has been setting up her booth at the CY fest since 2006. “I just love it. It’s a great way to enjoy the festival,” said Gurley. “It always pays for itself and these are my people.” 

Gurley’s spends her days as associate art director at the downtown advertising agency Red Deluxe but once a year breaks out her personally designed baby onsies and tote bags. She sells them all year round on her website gurleygurl.com but only sells them in person at CY fest.

This is local artist Daniel Tacker’s third year at the Cooper Young Festival, though it hasn’t been consecutive. “We missed it last year for our wedding,” said Tacker.

 His distinctive style is a blend of graphic design, collage and graffiti-inspired techniques. Tacker hopes that the combination of the increased size of the festival along with his current Dixon gallery show title “The City Loves You” will lead to his biggest year yet. 

Bright and smartly designed ‘Thank You’ cards and writing pads sit edge to edge with nature shot prints and posters at Lindsey Turner’s “Theogeo Design and Photography” booth near Cafe Ole. 

It's Turner’s first year as a vendor at the festival and she’s cautiously optimistic.

 “We don’t know what to expect, “said Turner. “Here’s hoping.”

Shopping for a Good Cause

Aside from arts, crafts and goodies available at the festival, community organizations also see the CY fest as an opportunity for outreach. 

Planned Parenthood Memphis Greater Region has a booth at the festival distributing condoms and other health information. They also partner with the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center (MGLCC) to offer free HIV tests to anyone at the festival. 

“We’ve been offering HIV testing at the Cooper Young Festival since 2007,” said Director of Comunity Affairs Joan Carr,“ It is a great way to promote our regular weekly after-hours testing that we offer there. Planned Parenthood personnel do the testing and MGLCC provides the location. MGLCC welcomes anyone to be tested either during the Cooper Young Festival or any Wednesday night.”
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The Shoppers
By Sheila Guerrero/MicroMemphis Contributor

Many of the residents in the Cooper Young district only had to walk a few feet from their homes to take part in the festivities. Several lined their drive-ways and sat along the curbsidesto enjoy music from local performers.

However, there were visitors like Eva Lantrip and Mary Waller who traveled from Nesbit, Mississippi to join in on the fun.  The two laughed as they compared their items in a white plastic bag filled with purchased goodies.

 “I purchased this blue doggie blanket for my dog named Blue,” said Waller.

“And I purchased a black vase set and black kitty from Utopia and I even had a Pronto Pup.  We come every year and the crowd just seems to get bigger and bigger,” said Lantrip. 

The Cooper-Young Festival also brings out people who are considering signing up as vendors for next year.  Sharon Turner, an Atlanta native and business owner said, “I’m thinking about moving to Memphis and the festival will be a good benefit for networking, we can all benefit from each other.”  

Conversation with a Woodworker
By Sheila Guerrero

From Journalism to Jewelry
By Shaunitra Ingram/MicroMemphis Contributor

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Lil McKinnon Hicks showing customers who jewelry












This massive annual festival brought together crafters, bands, and community-minded citizens. There were booths featuring the wares of 400 artisans from around the country.

University of Memphis alumni Lil McKinnon Hicks graduated from Memphis back in 1985 with a journalism degree.  She is now the CEO and president of her own jewelry company LILMcKH

“I did the journalism thing for so long,” Hicks said. “I guess I just got burned out.”

A lot of business owners attended the festival mostly for business, others for fun. For Hicks it was all about the business.

“I got here at 6 a.m. to set up,” Hicks said. “I never left my work station. I ate a hot dog and Coke on the hood of my car that was parked right behind my station.” Hicks said. “Although I enjoyed talking to all types of people, this event was mainly about my business.”