How was your weekend, Memphis? Here’s our weekly rundown of local happenings you need to know about, from circus clowns to Republican senators…

Both U.S. Senators representing Tennessee will be in Memphis Saturday for the Shelby County Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Day Gala, historically the local party’s largest annual fundraising event.
Sen. Bob Corker is the keynote speaker with Sen. Lamar Alexander as a special guest.
The Lincoln Day gatherings are county-by-county events across the state that can extend far beyond the shadow of Presidents Day: A few of the Lincoln Day dinners have been known to find a place on the calendar in April.
This is the 41st Lincoln Day event in Shelby County, which puts the local event’s origins squarely in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, a low-point for Republican fortunes nationally after the state’s modern Republican party was formed and prospered in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The event always comes with a large helping of local candidates testing the political waters among the dinner tables between podium speeches.
This year, the Shelby County event is sure to feature partisans from the various Republican presidential campaigns because of its place on the February calendar during the early voting period before the March 1 election day.

Speaking of early voting, it expands Monday to 20 satellite locations across Shelby County.
The early voting period opened Feb. 10 at the Downtown Election Commission location only. With more locations, look for the turnout numbers to increase as well. The campaigns, Republican and Democratic, watch the early turnout numbers closely for an indication of where the early voters are and clues to who they might be casting ballots for.
Election Commission data on early voters includes everything but who they voted for. But the guesses during a period that runs through Feb. 25 amount to a chance to change at least who takes the early vote over several weeks, an opportunity not present on election day.

The University of Memphis has an American Athletic Conference game at 6 p.m. Wednesday at FedExForum vs. the University of Central Florida. And the Memphis Grizzlies will emerge from their NBA All-Star Break hibernation with a 7 p.m. game Friday vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves at FedExForum.

The Center City Revenue Finance Corp. on Wednesday will consider a refinancing request from the operators of the James Lee House. The operators are seeking a $1.7 million loan from Iberiabank to lower monthly payments for loans from Triumph Bank, the Center City Development Corp. and Loeb Properties.
The historic home in Victorian Village, at 690 Adams Ave., reopened as a bed and breakfast in 2014. The CCRFC and CCDC are affiliate boards of the Downtown Memphis Commission. The meeting will take place at DMC headquarters, 114 N. Main St., at 9 a.m.

The clowns are coming. No, not the 2016 presidential candidates, but real-live circus clowns. The Al Chymia Shrine Circus will be in town Thursday through Sunday at Agricenter Showplace Arena. Call 800-745-3000 for tickets or go online at ticketmaster.com.

Art lovers will want to check out the Canvasses Art Auction on Friday to benefit Mid-South Sober Living. Bid on more than 60 prints, paintings and photographs. The Farmer’s Mac Edwards is providing “artful” hors d’oeuvres and artist Jay Etkin will create a live custom work. Program runs from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Church Health Center Wellness, 1115 Union Ave. Call 901-481-8030 for more information or go midsouthsoberliving.org.

The “Make a Strike” Bowl-A-Thon for Junior Achievement will be held this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, and again the following weekend, Feb. 27-28. The event will be held at bowling alleys throughout the area. To sign up a team call 901-366-7800 or go to bowlathon.org.

Lisa Mac is a Memphis artist, photographer, singer, businesswoman and a few other things we’re probably forgetting that this renaissance woman excels at. She’s sharing one of those skills with the public this week, via a free workshop Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Lisa (on instagram, @itslisamac) is hosting the event at her Midtown studio, 688 S. Cox St., to show how to grow a business or brand through Instagram.
She’ll go over things like how to stage visually interesting shots, how to keep a consistent voice that represents your brand, how to have a genuine voice through social media and more.
Wine and light snacks will be provided. Tickets are available here. 

The Beale Street Tourism Development Authority meets Thursday afternoon and look for some discussion about the firms that have applied to manage the entertainment district on a day-to-day basis. Four firms have submitted proposals.
Hiring a firm to manage the district is the next big step in the authority establishing itself. With the end of the year approval of its lease with the city of Memphis, the authority is in control of the three-block district between Second and Fourth streets. That includes day-to-day control of the district through an interim agreement with the Downtown Memphis Commission until the management firm is selected and in place.
The authority could make its choice Thursday or discuss further. Even if a decision is made Thursday, there will still be negotiations on the contract’s financial terms.

Rhodes College is hosting an interesting discussion about how important the arts are to Memphis’ identity. Artist Mel Chin will be the keynote speaker as part of the Communities in Conversation series, and Rhodes is teaming up with local leaders, artists and more to host conversations Thursday through Saturday about the role of arts in the city. Sessions will be held at Rhodes and in the Crosstown, Edge and Orange Mound neighborhoods. The conference is free, though there’s a cost of $5 for an optional ballet performance you can attend. Head here to register. https://www.rhodes.edu/content/memphis-center-conferences

The renowned film competition Louisiana Film Prize is kicking off its first sister competition. This summer, the Memphis Film Prize will award $10,000 to the best short film shot in Shelby County. The winner heads to Shreveport to compete for the grand $50,000 prize.
Meet the key players in bringing the competition to Memphis at the kick-off party, starting at 6 p.m. at Local on the Square on Thursday. The event is free and open to the public, especially interested filmmakers and crew members.

Other tidbits:

• As Memphis City Council members meet Tuesday and during committee sessions, Mayor Jim Strickland is likely to have a better timeline for the rollout of police body cameras.

• The Memphis and Shelby County Economic Development Growth Engine meets this Wednesday at 2 p.m. at the DoubleTree Hotel, 5609 Sanderlin Ave. On the agenda is an update on the PILOT amendment process and a presentation from the Greater Memphis Medical Device Council.

• And how about this, “the stuff dreams are made of” – the Malco Paradiso is screening the Humphrey Bogart classic “The Maltese Falcon” Sunday as part of the 75th anniversary of the 1941 film.

The Daily News staff compiles The Week Ahead for you, our readers, every week. You'll receive it as part of our Monday online edition. Email associate editor Kate Simone, at ksimone@memphisdailynews.com, if you have items for consideration.