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Festival
Residents pride themselves on southern hospitality, artistic homes, and eclectic restaurants and coffee shops. The Cooper Young Festival, hosted by the Cooper Young Business Association (CYBA), is a popular outdoor celebration in Memphis, Tennessee. It is one of Memphis' most highly attended festivals and is continuing to grow. The festival is the largest single day event in the city where people pack into the neighborhood. It is free admission. 400 artisans from around the country go to sell their music, arts, and crafts along Cooper Street and Young Avenue. The festival came about in 1977 when a group of 500 residents from the area organized and decided to have it. November 5th, 1977 was the date of the first festival. It was a community flea market with a stage and playground activities in the parking lot of Galloway United Methodist Church. It turned into a three day festival called Cooper Young Business Association Street Fair. Starting with 7,000 visitors, the festival grew to entertaining 100,000 visitors. Every year the festival is kicked off with a neighborhood art invitational. An artist from the Cooper Young neighborhood designs a poster to represent the unique style of the Cooper Young area. Bands are brought in to perform on three stages over the weekend.