The Kansas City Symphony and Chorus Christmas Festival runs Dec. 15 – 18 at the Kauffman Center,
with a Family Series performance at 2 p.m. Dec. 18. (KC Symphony)
This holiday season is filled with great concerts, performances and exhibits by local, national and international artists. Peruse our holiday calendar and make your plans for a festive outing with family and friends.
MUSIC
Kansas City Symphony: Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8, With Prokofiev’s Second Piano Concerto
Nov. 25 – 27, times vary
Kauffman Center
www.kcsymphony.org
Paige Hernandez’s “Liner Notes: Music of the Civil Rights Movement”
Nov. 30, 7:30 p.m.
Lied Center of Kansas
lied.ku.edu
Kansas City Chorale: Wintersong
Dec. 1, 5:30 p.m.
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
www.kcchorale.org
Prelude to Christmas Music Concert
Dec. 1, 6:30 p.m.
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
www.PreludeToChristmas.com
Winnfield Quartet Concert
Dec. 1, 7:30 p.m.
White Recital Hall
www.umkc.edu/conservatory
Kansas City Symphony: The Doo Wop Project Christmas
Dec. 2, 8 p.m.
Kauffman Center
www.kcsymphony.org
Friends of Chamber Music: Hymns to the Virgin
Dec. 2, 7:30 p.m.
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
www.chambermusic.org
Midwest Trust Center Series: “A Feeling of Norwegian Christmas”
Dec. 2, 8 p.m.
Yardley Hall
www.jccc.edu/midwest-trust-center
Lyric Opera of Kansas City: “Amahl and the Night Visitors”
Dec. 2 – 5 and Dec. 9 – 11, times vary
Michael and Ginger Frost Production Arts Building
kcopera.org
Kansas City Chorale: A Christmas Carol
Dec. 2, 7:30 p.m., St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
Dec. 3, 7:30 p.m., 1900 Building
Dec. 9, 7:30 p.m., Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral
Dec. 11, 2 p.m., Liberty United Methodist Church
Dec. 16, 7:30 p.m., Country Club United Methodist Church
www.kcchorale.org
An Intimate Christmas with Park ICM Orchestra
Dec. 3, 7:30 p.m.
Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel, Park University
icm.park.edu
Tim O’Brien with Jan Fabricus
Dec. 3, 7:30 p.m.
Lied Center of Kansas
lied.ku.edu
Heartland Men’s Chorus: ’Tis the Season
Dec. 3, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 4 and 11, 3:30 p.m.
Folly Theater, Yardley Hall
hmckc.org
UMKC Holiday Celebration
Dec. 3 – 4, 7:30 p.m.
Visitation Church
www.umkc.edu/conservatory
Conservatory Wind Symphony Holiday Concert
Dec. 6, 7:30 p.m.
White Recital Hall
www.umkc.edu/conservatory
Canadian Brass Christmas
Dec. 9, 7:30 p.m.
Lied Center of Kansas
lied.ku.edu
Voctave Vocal Ensemble
Dec. 9, 7 p.m.
Folly Theater
www.hjseries.org
Kansas City Symphony: TubaChristmas
Dec. 9, noon
Crown Center Square
www.kcsymphony.org
Kansas City Symphony and Chorus: Handel’s Messiah
Dec. 9 – 11, times vary
Kauffman Center
www.kcsymphony.org
Kansas City Chorale: A Chorale Family Christmas
Dec. 10, 1 p.m.
St. Michael the Archangel Parish
www.kcchorale.org
Bach Aria Soloists: Annual Holiday Concert
Dec. 10, 7:30 p.m.
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
www.bachariasoloists.com
Wayne Escoffery Duo
Dec. 12 – 13, 7:30 p.m.
Lied Center of Kansas
lied.ku.edu
Kansas City Symphony and Chorus: Christmas Festival
Dec. 15 – 18, times vary
Kauffman Center
www.kcsymphony.org
Lee’s Summit Symphony: Sounds of the Season
Dec. 17, 3 p.m.
The Pavilion at John Knox Village
LSSymphony.org
Spire Chamber Ensemble and Baroque Ensemble: “Messiah”
Dec. 19, 7 p.m., Kauffman Center
Dec. 20, 7 p.m., Grace Episcopal Cathedral
www.spirechamberensemble.org/handels-messiah.html
Te Deum: “O Magnum Mysterium”
Dec. 19, 7 p.m., Village Presbyterian Church
Dec. 20, 7 p.m., St. Mary’s Episcopal Church
www.te-deum.org
Kansas City Symphony: Elf in Concert
Dec. 21 – 24, times vary
Kauffman Center
www.kcsymphony.org
THEATER
Kansas City Rep: “A Christmas Carol”
Nov. 18 – Dec. 24, times vary
Spencer Theatre
www.kcrep.org
“Fiddler on the Roof”
Nov. 29, 7:30 p.m.
Lied Center of Kansas
lied.ku.edu
“The Piano Lesson”
KC Melting Pot
Dec. 1 – 10, times vary
kc-meltingpot-theatre.square.site
“Nearly Lear”
Dec. 7, 7:30 p.m.
Lied Center of Kansas
lied.ku.edu
Living Room Theatre: “Milking Christmas”
Dec. 7 – 24, times vary
Black Box Theatre
www.blackboxkc.com
A Spectacular Christmas
Dec. 8 – 23, times vary
MTH Theater
www.musicaltheaterheritage.com
“Lightwire Theater’s A Very Electric Christmas”
Dec. 14, 7 p.m.
Lied Center of Kansas
lied.ku.edu
“Clyde’s”
Nov. 30 – Dec. 18
Unicorn Theatre
www.UnicornTheatre.org
EXHIBITIONS
“Called to Care: Legacy of Trinity Lutheran Hospital School of Nursing”
Through Dec. 2
Kansas City Public Library Central Library
kclibrary.org/exhibits
“The Daum at 20: Selections from the Collection”
Through Dec. 18
Daum Museum of Contemporary Art
www.daummuseum.org
“Holidays at the Belger Crane Yard Gallery”
Through Dec. 31
Belger Crane Yard Gallery
belgerarts.org
“Robert Stackhouse: Passages”
Through Jan. 7
Belger Arts Center
belgerarts.org/robert-stackhouse-passages
“American Art Deco: Designing for the People, 1918-1939”
Through Jan. 8
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
www.nelson-atkins.org
“Five Years and Counting: Expanding the Collection”
Through Jan. 8
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
www.kemperart.org
“Adorned”
Through Feb. 5
Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art
www.nermanmuseum.org
“Goya/Chagoya”
Through Feb. 12
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
www.nelson-atkins.org
“Christian Ruiz Berman: Hortus Inconclusus”
Through March 5
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
www.kemperart.org
“More Than Words: American Illustrations from the Collection”
Through March 19
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
www.nelson-atkins.org
“Family Ties”
Through March 27
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
www.nelson-atkins.org
“Between Myth and Reality”
Through April 29
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
www.nelson-atkins.org
Neapolitan Presepio Figures and Holiday Tree
Nov. 24 – Dec. 5 and Dec. 15 – Jan. 2
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
www.nelson-atkins.org
“Crowning Glory: Millinery in Paris, 1880-1905”
Dec. 3, 2022 – Dec. 3, 2023
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
www.nelson-atkins.org
DANCE
Kansas City Ballet: “The Nutcracker”
Dec. 7 – 24, ages 12 and up, times vary
Kauffman Center
www.kcballet.org
Nutcracker, All Jazz’d Up
Dec. 9 – 11, times vary
City Stage
www.unionstation.org
JAZZ
Midwest Trust Center Series: Winterlude – Doug Talley Quartet
Dec. 4, 7 p.m.
Polsky Theatre
www.jccc.edu/midwest-trust-center
“The Family” Featuring Lonnie and Chloe McFadden
Dec. 6, 7 p.m.
Kauffman Center
www.kcjo.org
FAMILY
“A Charlie Brown Christmas”
Nov. 15 – Dec. 31 (times vary)
Coterie at Crown Center
www.thecoterie.org
Holiday Reflections
Nov. 21 – Jan. 1, Monday-Sunday, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Union Station
www.unionstation.org
The Pout-Pout Fish
Nov. 22, 9:45 and 11:30 a.m.
Folly Theater
www.follytheater.org
“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”
Nov. 26 – Dec. 23, times vary
Theatre for Young America — Block Stage, Union Station
www.tya.org
Cinderella: Enchanted Edition
Dec. 2 – 18, times vary
Theatre Lawrence
www.theatrelawrence.com
The Nutcracker Tea Party
Dec. 3, 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.; Dec. 4, 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Fiorella’s Event Center
artsandrec-op.org
Mesner Puppet Theater: “Cirque du Wiener Dog”
Dec. 7 and 8, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Dec. 9, 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Dec. 10, 11 a.m.
Midwest Trust Center, Polsky Theatre
www.jccc.edu/midwest-trust-center
Kansas City Symphony: “Elf” (film and live orchestra)
Dec. 21, 22, 23, 24, times vary
Kauffman Center
www.kcsymphony.org
HOLIDAY LIGHTS AND FUN
Laser Holiday Magic
Arvin Gottlieb Planetarium, Union Station
Nov. 18 – Jan. 1, times vary (no shows Nov. 24 and Dec. 25)
www.unionstation.org
91st Annual Evergy Plaza Lighting Ceremony
Nov. 24, 5 p.m.
Country Club Plaza
www.countryclubplaza.com
Luminary Walk
Nov. 25 and 26; Dec. 2 and 3; Dec. 8 – 10; Dec. 15 – 17, 5 p.m.
Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens
www.artsandrec-op.org
Artful Gardens: Festival of Lights
Nov. 10 – Dec. 30,
Wednesday-Sunday, 4-10 p.m.
Powell Gardens
www.powellgardens.org
Holiday Reflections
Nov. 21 – Jan. 1
Union Station
unionstation.org/event/holiday-reflections
Christmas Tree Lighting
Dec. 2, 6 p.m.; Dec. 9, 6 p.m.
18th And Vine, Shops on Blue Parkway
thesoulofsanta.org
Listening Forest
Thru Jan. 1
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
www.crystalbridges.org
Many events and attractions are closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas. Check the websites for holiday closings.
