April Showers

Technically, the first day of Spring was last month, but it certainly feels as though Spring has finally sprung. The weather so far in 2021 has been odd, considering the citywide shut down due to record snow and ice that occurred in February that left thousands in Memphis without clean water. Since then, the weather was consistently cool until April hit - where the temperature has slowly but surely crept up to be between 75 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

That being said, weather and COVID-19 permitting, we may even see a Memphis in May festival this year with perfect weather if the current trend continues. Currently, it is expected that the World Championship Barbecue Contest will occur as well as the River Run. As of right now, the next Memphis in May Music Festival is scheduled for 2022. A surprising new addition to Memphis in May in 2022 will be an International Cultural Festival with a focus on Ghana.

Back to April of this year, we have plenty to look forward to in addition to the first steps of the "new normal." For example, tax day has moved again this year. Typically held in mid-April, it has moved to May 17th . Please note that the extension may not apply to trust income tax returns or gift and estate tax returns so if you have those, you may want to go on and file by April 15th. Why was the date extended? That's right, COVID-19. The IRS is responsible for sending out the COVID relief checks to Americans, that combined with President Joe Biden's recent changes to relief and taxes the IRS is having an interesting time keeping up. Speaking of COVID-19, roughly 20% of the U.S. population has now been fully vaccinated. There has been some mention of using the vaccination cards as a "wellness" passport for travel, but that is yet to be determined. More to come in May.