So, you think this is the “off-week” of the Memphis In May International Festival – the gap between the Beale Street Music Festival and the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. But, while Tom Lee Park gets a breather, there are plenty of cultural experiences to soak up across Memphis. Here's our weekly roundup of local happenings you need to know about...

 Let's start out with a couple of performances highlighting Memphis in May's 2016 honored country, Canada. On Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Les 7 doigts de la main will stage "Traces,” a contemporary circus-type show, at the Orpheum Theatre, 203 S. Main St.
The 2b theatre company of Canada is at the neighboring Halloran Centre, 225 S. Main St., on Saturday at 8 p.m. to perform “When It Rains.” This is NOT a play recounting past music festivals, despite the title. It is an adult-themed work described as a play in the form of a live-action existential graphic novel.
Tickets for both performances are available at orpheum-memphis.com. 

Brooks Museum

The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art formally marks its centennial Saturday during what will be a busy day in Overton Park. The 100th anniversary of the Brooks, as it is known, comes with the reopening of the museum after a recent renovation. Being billed as the Party of the Century, there will be live music, art-making, tours and surprises — including the grand opening of Inside Art, a new hands-on family art gallery. The party is from noon to 7 p.m. and is free. Call 901-544-6200 or go to brooksmuseum.org.

The annual Latino Memphis Festival is also Saturday on the Overton Park Greensward and the Memphis Zoo’s new Zambezi River Hippo Camp will be in its second weekend. Behind the scenes, the Overton Park Conservancy will be testing and trying out some of the park traffic and parking solutions in the recently released study of the park’s road system. Some of that will involve social media messaging about where parking is available at certain times as one event ends, but before another begins. There will be some signage in the park for that purpose.

On Friday and Saturday, the annual Memphis Greek Festival returns. Opa! Greek food, music, dancing, a marketplace, kids activities, food drive-thru and church tours are part of the festivities. Greek Festival runs from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Admission is free with three canned goods for Mid-South Food Bank. The festival is held on the grounds of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, 573 N. Highland St. Visit memphisgreekfestival.com for more.

Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell presents his budget proposal to Shelby County commissionersWednesday during committee sessions at the county building. The commissioners got the budget books with the numbers this past Friday. So with Wednesday’s presentation, the budget committee sessions reviewing line items can now begin.

The budget season is already under way at City Hall. The Memphis City Council’s budget committee begins its review of Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland’s operating budget proposal Tuesday after spending a couple of days last week on the capital budget proposal.
The full council meets later Tuesday with a relatively light agenda, which is usually the custom while the budget committee is working.

Blues Foundation president/CEO Barbara B. Newman at the Blues Hall of Fame

Feeling the blues? On Wednesday, check out the Blues Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. The 2016 Hall of Fame inductees will be at a cocktail reception, followed by a ceremony in Downtown's newest state-of-the-art performance venue – the Halloran Centre. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. Call 901-527-2583 or visit blues.org for more.
The next night, Thursday, is the Blues Music Awards. No red carpet. No black tie. No green room. But all the blues you can handle. This will include a cocktail reception, auction, dinner, awards and performances. Blues Music Awards begins at 5 p.m. at Cook Convention Center. Call 901-527-2583 or visit blues.org.

If you’re looking for fun at the old ballpark, the Memphis Redbirds will be in action at AutoZone Park with 6:35 p.m. games Monday through Wednesday and a 7:05 start on Thursday. The opponent is the Omaha Storm Chasers, Triple-A affiliate of the defending world champion Kansas City Royals.
The AutoZone Park box office is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday on non-game days and opens at 10 a.m. on game days. You can also call for tickets at 901-721-6000 or go to memphisredbirds.com for tickets and detailed information about promotions and discounts.

The nonprofit Let’s Innovate Through Education will hold its year-end pitch night on Friday. For the past school year, LITE Memphis has helped high school students develop social ventures that have the potential to change Memphis for the better. On Friday, the students will present their start-up pitches as part of the LITE Finalist Pitch Night.
The pitches begin at 6 p.m. at Hutchison School. The presentations are free with a paid reception afterward.

Ralph Perrey, executive director of the Tennessee Housing Development Agency, will be in Memphis this week. On Wednesday at noon, Perrey will speak to the Germantown Rotary Club about changing the public’s misperceptions about affordable housing.
There’s a lot of ground to cover with nonprofit housing provider Global Ministries Foundation coming under fire for keeping its Memphis apartments in poor condition. In early April, THDA temporarily de-authorized the Memphis Health, Educational and Housing Facility Board, which financed Global’s housing portfolio, from issuing bonds. Two weeks later, Perrey lifted the ban with the assurance that the board is under new leadership and will follow new measures.

Co-working space Studio688 will host a seminar on budgeting as a self-employed freelancer. The event will cover topics including money management anxieties, setting realistic goals for saving money and choosing apps or tools to help get finances in order.
The seminar will be held on Wednesday at 688 S. Cox St. starting at 6 p.m.