Great Reads

Memphis, the unofficial capital city of the Mississippi Delta, is widely renowned for two things: blues and barbecue. The two Memphis institutions are tightly connected—each a result of the Great Migration of the early 20th century.

As a destination, Montgomery is a journey in contrasts. The Alabama capital is both a proud epicenter of the mid-20th-century civil rights movement and a landscape curiously steeped in Confederate memory. Here, history isn’t merely preserved; it is powerfully experienced.

Five years ago, New Orleans was turned upside down by Covid. Last year, however, confirmed a postpandemic renaissance and a tourism boom—a return for New Orleans as a prime destination location. The city had record or near-record attendance for Mardi Gras and the Jazz Fest, among other events, as if the entire world were crawling out of a dark cave and sought New Orleans as a place to bask in the glow of sunshine again.

When Hurricane Helene carved a path across the Southeast last September, it left what may be its deepest marks in western North Carolina. Here, tourism is king, pouring billions into the region’s economy, and Asheville’s unrealized fall season saw an estimated $584 million washed away. But today, six months removed from the devastation, Asheville and western North Carolina are welcoming visitors.

The Kentucky Bourbon Trail is a group of 56 northern Kentucky distilleries that offers tours, tastings, and other educational opportunities and exhibits. But since you can’t see them all in one day or even one weekend, we’ve plotted an itinerary of highlights.

Every year over Memorial Day weekend, against the backdrop of the bucolic Beaufort River and under the shade of swaying palmetto trees, the Beaufort waterfront comes alive with the colors, sounds, and tastes of West Africa. You can almost feel the music before you hear it—the pounding percussion of complex African American beats as history comes to life with The Original Gullah Festival at the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park.

In the ’80s and ’90s, Faye Yager operated the clandestine “Children of the Underground” network out of her home in Sandy Springs and helped hundreds of kids escape abusive homes. With her death in August, Yager took most of her secrets with her. But not all.

It only took 45 minutes to change Robert Kim’s life. One day, the retired Elvis impersonator took a karaoke machine to the nearby Kroger. He didn’t know how the Peachtree City suburbanites would react to, as he puts it, “a 74-year-old Asian guy singing Frank Sinatra in the parking lot.” But the audience stuffed his tip jar in less than an hour.

When Sean Schacke stepped out to confront the burger hustler, he peeled off in a Porsche SUV. The controversy increased demand, so much so that Evergreen Butcher and Baker had to pause the entire operation in late July, after other businesses on the block began complaining about the line.

It was fall 2020 and Jere Chang was stuck at home when she downloaded TikTok on a whim. An Atlanta public school teacher, Chang soon found herself on “TeacherTok” and decided to start creating her own classroom-themed videos. Six months later, she had reached 190,000 followers and secured her first brand deal.