When mid-September hits in Memphis it signals many things, from a break in the scorching hot summer temperatures to college football to multiple festivals around the city. One of those festivals has become one of the biggest events in the city when everything that makes Midtown Memphis so eclectic and fun is celebrated at the annual Cooper-Young Festival.

Celebrating its 27th year in 2014, the Cooper-Young Festival has grown from a small neighborhood festival to one that now draws more than 125,000 people to the one-day event.

Cooper-Young Festival is a free, family friendly street festival that takes over this Midtown neighborhood, which has become one of the city's most unique destinations for dining, nightlife and unique shopping.

The festival is an all-day event, with a rain date set aside for the following Sunday, Running from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., the 2014 festival will be Saturday, Sept. 13.

The festival is set up mainly along Cooper Street running from Central Avenue south several blocks to Young Avenue and continuing south. The more than 400 vendors are set up mostly along Cooper, with food vendors and music stages set up on ends of Young Avenue.

The vendors include numerous local and regional artists selling their work, as well as unique items that only can be found in Memphis.

The three music stages run most of the day with a mix of below-the-radar Memphis acts and larger regional groups with strong followings. The important thing is there is such a strong Memphis flavor to the music being played.

There are a number of restaurants in the district that all will be open during the day, but there are also food vendors set up throughout the festival selling food and drinks, both of the alcoholic and non-alcoholic variety.

The event is family friendly, as seen by the zones dedicated to kids of all ages. The children's area is located at 902 S. Cooper St. where an assortment of bounce houses and games, a Memphis Grizzlies slide and obstacle course, games of chance and much more is put on annually by the Civitans. There is also a teenage fun zone located just south of the Art Trestle that will give teenagers the opportunity to participate in video game activities, a Wipeout game and the Human Gyroscope.

Getting to the festival has become harder as it grows in popularity. There aren't a lot of parking lots available in the area, forcing festival-goers to park on the neighborhood's residential streets, which tend to be packed by lunchtime.

There are new options being offered. Shuttle services are offered by Lindenwood Christian Church located at the corner of East Parkway and Union Avenue with drop-off at the festival entrance every 15 minutes. Memphis Hop is also working with Oak Court Mall in East Memphis to provide shuttles starting at 9 a.m. and running every two hours throughout the day, ending at 8 p.m.

And new in 2014 is a partnership with Lyft. If it's a user's first time to use the Lyft car service, the ride is free the day of the festival. 

In addition to the festival, there are two events that precede it. The CY Art Invitational is held the Thursday before the festival at the Jay Etkin Gallery at 7942 S. Cooper St. featuring art by local artists who live or work in the area. The event, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 11, features wine, beer and cheese, and local musician Davy Ray Bennett performing.

And every year on the Friday before the festival is the Cooper Young Festival 4-Miler, a race that begins at 7 p.m. at Bluff City Sports.

The festival is hosted by the Cooper Young Business Association. All proceeds from the festival are redistributed back into the neighborhood's nonprofit organizations in addition to being used to maintain its infrastructure and the neighborhood's promotion.

When the festival is not on, the Cooper-Young neighborhood is its own destination. The district is a thriving residential neighborhood with nearly 200 independently owned businesses ranging from coffee shops, bars and restaurants, to book stores, art galleries and so much more.