Take a cue from us: There's no better time to visit this river city. Come for the music, culture, and world-class barbecue.

The smoke doesn't curl up from Tom Lee Park--it billows. For three days, a blue-gray fog hovers above an encampment of the most talented barbecue gurus in the country. And this is just one of the city's festivals in May. From wailing guitar riffs to the multicolored glares of fireworks, you'll know the event by what swirls in the air above it. There's no better time to be in Memphis than now.