Bicentennial Events
There’s always something new happening at the Libraries! Join us as we celebrate the Memphis Bicentennial and shed light on the two hundred year history of the city of Memphis. The Library will be hosting programs showcasing some of our unique, historical material and sharing stories from our city’s past. Check here to see what events are coming up next!
Bicentennial Events @ Your Library Branch
Check out our events calendar for Bicentennial programs across our 18 library branches. Bicentennial events will be taking place all the way throughout May.
When: April through May
Where: Various Locations
Bluff City 200
As part of the celebrations of our hometown's bicentennial, we're turning the Memphis & Shelby County Room into a museum exhibit for a day, complete with display cases full of hundreds of items significant to Memphis history. From Elvis’ high school yearbook, W.C. Handy’s sheet music, posters from Beale street shows, diaries written by Yellow Fever survivors, programs for Dr. Martin Luther King’s last march, menus from classic Memphis restaurants, Goldsmith's brochures, Keep X-Way Out of Overton Park bumper stickers, Memphis Mardi Gras invitations, Liberty Bowl programs; don’t miss this chance to learn how we became who we are. View the event on our calendar!
When: Saturday, July 20, 2019 from 11AM to 5PM
Where: Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, 4th Floor Memphis Room
The Original Memphian
Interested in hearing about Memphis before it was Memphis? Join local historian Jon Fox as he tells, among others, the story of Benjamin Fooy, who navigated immigration, exile, and colonial intrigue to become our city’s earliest settler. This is part of a series of programs celebrating the two hundred year history of the city of Memphis. View the event on our calendar!
When: Saturday, June 29, 2019 from 2PM to 4PM
Where: Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, 4th Floor Memphis Room
Bluff city 200 from Memphis Public Library on Vimeo.
Memphis Area Authors' Festival
Bicentennial Celebration of Memphis
This year, Bookstock 2019 celebrated the Memphis Bicentennial! Bookstock brings 50 local authors together, along with fun events for all ages. This year we had several fun events centered around the Memphis Bicentennial.
When: April 13th, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
BIRTH OF THE BLUFF PART II, 1865 to 1900
Come see how Memphis became the city it is today. Join us as we take a tour through the history of the bluff city. Using drawings, photographs, and historical maps from the library’s collections, we’ll explore the streets of Memphis as the city reeled from the effects of war, yellow fever, and bankruptcy. This is the second in a series of programs celebrating the two hundred year history of the city of Memphis.
When: March 23rd, 1:00 PM
Where: Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, 4th Floor Memphis Room
BIRTH OF THE BLUFF PART I, 1819 to 1865
Come see how Memphis became the city it is today. Join us as we learn the early history of the bluff city. Using drawings, photographs, and historical maps from the library’s collections, we’ll explore the streets of Memphis as it grew from a sleepy hamlet along the Mississippi River to a bustling boomtown on the eve of the Civil War. This is the first in a series of programs celebrating the two hundred year history of the city of Memphis.
Missed Part I of Birth of the Bluff? An encore offering of Part I will occur during Bookstock.
When: January 26th, 1:00 PM
Where: Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, 4th Floor Memphis Room