Harriman-Jewell Series presents The King’s Singers in Holiday Concert, Dec. 19 at the Folly Theater. (Photo by Frances Marshall)


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. Check out kcstudio.org/calendar for more great cultural arts events.


Music

Lucy Yeghiazaryan Duo
Dec. 2 and 3, 7:30 p.m.
Lied Center of Kansas
www.lied.ku.edu

Kansas City Chamber Orchestra: “The Joy of the Holidays”
featuring Vivaldi’s Gloria and the Cardinalis professional choir
Dec. 3, 7:30 p.m.
Old Mission Methodist Church
www.kcchamberorchestra.org

Cirque Musica Holiday Wonderland
Dec. 4, 7 p.m.
Lied Center of Kansas
www.lied.ku.edu

Kansas City Chorale: “Wintersong”
Dec. 5, 6 p.m.
The Nelson-Atkins Museum
www.kcchorale.org

Friends of Chamber Music: Isidore String Quartet
Dec. 6, 8 p.m.
1900 Building
www.chambermusic.org

Heartland Men’s Chorus presents their “All Is Bright” concert, Dec. 6-8 at the Folly Theater.

Heartland Men’s Chorus Presents “All Is Bright” concert
Dec. 6 and 7, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 8, 3:30 p.m.
Folly Theater
hmckc.org

Kansas City Symphony: “Handel’s Messiah”
Dec. 6 – 8, times vary
Kauffman Center
www.kcsymphony.org

Soul of Santa 6th Annual Holiday Benefit Concert featuring Blair Bryant and Friends
Dec. 6, 7 p.m.
Gem Theater
www.www.thesoulofsanta.org

UMKC Choirs present “A Season for Giving” – Annual Holiday Concert
Dec. 7, 7:30 p.m.
Visitation Parish Church, 5141 Main St.
www.calendar.umkc.edu/conservatory

Park ICM Orchestra Holiday Concert
Dec. 7, 7:30 p.m.
Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel, Park University
www.icm.park.edu

KU School of Music 100th Annual Vespers
Dec. 8, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m.
Lied Center
lied.ku.edu

Harriman-Jewell Series: Joyce DiDonato, mezzo-soprano with Kings Return and Craig Terry, piano
Dec. 9, 7 p.m.
Kauffman Center
www.hjseries.org

“Christmas with The Celts”
Dec. 10, 7:30 p.m.
Midwest Trust Center
www.jccc.edu/midwest-trust-center/

Spire Chamber Ensemble and Baroque Orchestra: “Handel’s Messiah”
Special Guests: The Youth Orchestra of Kansas City
Dec. 11, 7 p.m.
Kauffman Center
www.spirechamberensemble.org

Kansas City Symphony: The Texas Tenors: “Deep in the Heart of Christmas”
Dec. 13, 8 p.m.
Kauffman Center
www.kcsymphony.org

Kansas City Chorale: “A Christmas Carol”
Dec. 13, 7:30 p.m.
Asbury United Methodist Church, Prairie Village
www.kcchorale.org

Kansas City Civic Orchestra: Sounds of the Season
Dec. 13, 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 14, 2 p.m.
Atonement Lutheran Church
www.kccivic.org

Kansas City Chorale: “A Chorale Family Christmas”
Dec. 14, 1 p.m.
St. Michael the Archangel, Overland Park
www.kcchorale.org

Bach Area Soloists: Annual Holiday Concert
Cameron J. Rolling, guest baritone
Dec. 14, 7:30 p.m.
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
www.bachariasoloists.com

“Holiday Harmonies – Central Standard and Vocal Standard”
Dec. 14, 2:30 p.m. with special guest, Liberty Middle School Blue Notes and 7 p.m. with special guest, Liberty High School JayBlues
Folly Theater
www.follytheater.org

Kansas City Chorale: “Holiday Pops!”
Dec. 15, 2 p.m.
Country Club United Methodist Church
www.kcchorale.org

St. Joseph Community Chorus: Christmas at the Cathedral with the Fountain City Brass Band
Dec. 15, 3 p.m. and Dec. 16, 7:30 p.m.
Cathedral of St. Joseph
www.stjoechorus.org

Te Deum: A Precious Child, featuring David Lang’s “The Little Match Girl’s Passion”
Dec. 16, 7 p.m., St. Mary’s Episcopal Church
Dec. 17, 7 p.m., Village Presbyterian Church
www.te-deum.org

Ashley Davis: Winter Solstice Celebration
Dec. 18, 7:30 p.m.
Lied Center
lied.ku.edu

Harriman-Jewell Series: The King’s Singers in Holiday Concert
Dec. 19, 7 p.m.
Folly Theater
www.follytheater.org

Kansas City Symphony and Chorus: Christmas Festival
Dec. 19 – 22, times vary
Helzberg Hall
www.kcsymphony.org

Ensemble Ibérica: “Sin Fronteras”
Dec. 28, 7:30 p.m.
MTH Theater
www.ensembleiberica.org


Theater

“Nunsense”
Through Feb. 2, 2025, times vary
The New Theatre and Restaurant
www.newtheatre.com

The Black Repertory Theatre of Kansas City: “Hip Hop Cinderella”
Through Dec. 8
Spencer Theatre (UMKC Campus)
www.brtkc.org

Photo of the cast of KCRep’s 2023 production of a Christmas Carol; the 2024 production runs from Nov. 23 – Dec. 28 at the Spencer Theatre. (Photo by Don Ipock)

Kansas City Repertory Theatre: “A Christmas Carol”
Through Dec. 28, times vary
Spencer Theatre
kcrep.org

Ebenezer Scrooge’s Big KCMO Christmas Show
Through Dec. 22, times vary
Unicorn Theatre
www.unicorntheatre.org

“The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show” plays Dec. 12 at the Midland Theatre. (Photo by Jacob Ritts)

KC Melting Pot Theatre: Jawbone Crack Quick
Dec. 5 – 14, times vary
Just Off Broadway Theatre
kcmeltingpot.com

“It’s a Wonderful Life: a live radio play”
Dec. 5 – 23, times vary
Music Theater Heritage
www.musictheaterheritage.com

“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”
Dec. 6, 7, 8, 12 – 15, 19 – 22, times vary
Theatre Lawrence
www.theatrelawrence.com

Theatre in the Park: “Seussical the Musical”
Dec. 6 – 23, times vary
Black Box Theatre, Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center
www.theatreinthepark.org

“The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show”
Dec. 12, 8 p.m.
Midland Theatre
www.boxofficeticketsales.com


Exhibitions

“See Kansas” Art Project
Through Dec. 7
Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center
www.jcprd.com/1209/Art-Exhibits

“Actions for the Earth: Art, Care & Ecology,” “Gabriel Mills: Aunechei,” “Emilio Villalba: Everything is Something”
Through Dec. 8
Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art
www.nermanmuseum.org

Holidays at the Belger Crane Yard Gallery Exhibition
Through Dec. 31
Belger Crane Yard Gallery
www.belgerarts.org

Katsushika Hokusai’s woodblock print, “Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura),” is part of “Hokusai: Waves of Inspiration from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston” at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art through Jan. 5. (Credit: William Sturgis Bigelow Collection/ Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)

“Hokusai: Waves of Inspiration from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston”
Through Jan. 5, 2025
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
www.nelson-atkins.org

“Free to Be…A 1960s Fashion Revolution”
Through Jan. 11, 2025
Johnson County Museum
www.jcprd.com

“Still Performing: Costume, Gesture, and Expression In 19th-Century European Photography”
Through Jan. 12, 2025
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
www.nelson-atkins.org

“Sacred Service,” ongoing
“The Little War” through Feb. 9, 2025
“Votes and Voices” through April 2025
“Mail Call” through June 2026
National WWI Museum and Memorial
www.theworldwar.org/exhibitions

“Infinite Regress: Mystical Abstraction from the Permanent Collection and Beyond”
Through Feb. 23, 2025
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
www.kemperart.org

“Portraits of Childhood: Black Dolls from the Collection of Deborah Neff”
The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures
Through March 3, 2025
www.toyandminiaturemuseum.org

Atrium Project: Lucía Vidales: Hambre
Through July 13, 2025
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
www.kemperart.org

Charlotte Street Visual Artist Award Fellows • 2024
Through Aug. 10, 2025
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
www.nelson-atkins.org

Holiday Tree in Kirkwood Hall
Nov. 29, 2024 – Jan. 6, 2025
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
www.nelson-atkins.org

“La Onda: Sana, Sana”
Charlotte Street
Dec. 13, 2024 – Jan. 25, 2025
charlottestreet.org


Dance

Cirque du Soleil: ’Twas the Night Before…
Nov. 27 – Dec. 1, times vary
Kansas City Music Hall
www.cirquedreams.com/tickets

Lady of Guadalupe Celebration with Indigenous Dancers
Dec. 6, 5 to 8 p.m.
Monarca Art Space
1225 Union Ave, KCMO

Kansas City Ballet Dancer Sidney Haefs as the Snow Queen in “The Nutcracker,”
Dec. 6 – 24 at the Kauffman Center (Photo by Kenny Johnson)

Kansas City Ballet: 2024 Nutcracker Ball
Dec. 7, cocktail hour 6 to 7 p.m., ballroom opens at 7 p.m.
Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center
balletball@kcballet.org

Kansas City Ballet: “The Nutcracker”
Dec. 6 – 24, times vary
Kauffman Center
www.kcballet.org

Owen/Cox Dance Group: “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”
Dec. 13, 7 p.m. and Dec. 15, 2 p.m.
Polsky Theatre, Midwest Trust Center
www.jccc.edu/midwest-trust-center/events/

Lawrence Art Center’s “The Nutcracker, A Kansas Ballet 2024”
Dec. 13, 14 and 15, times vary
Lawrence Arts Center
lawrenceartscenter.org

Störling Dance Theater: Immanuel: Christmas Concert
Dec. 15, 2 and 6 p.m.
Heartland Community Church, 12175 S. Strang Line Rd., Olathe
www.storlingdance.org


Jazz

Kansas City Jazz Orchestra: “A Charlie Brown Christmas”
Dec. 10, 7 p.m.
Helzberg Hall
www.kcjo.org


Children

The Coterie: “Disney and Pixar’s Finding Nemo”
Theatre for Young Audiences version
through Dec. 30, times vary
www.thecoterie.org

Theatre for Young America: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Nov. 29 – Dec. 24, times vary
Union Station City Stage
www.tya.org

Kansas City Symphony: Home Alone ™ In Concert
Film and Live Orchestra
Nov. 29 – Dec. 1, times vary
www.kcsymphony.org

Kansas City Ballet: Sensory-Friendly Nutcracker
Dec. 5, 6 p.m.
Kauffman Center
www.kcballet.org

What If Puppets – “Shiver Me Paintbrush: A Pirate’s Adventure in Art”
Dec. 6, 6 p.m. and Dec. 7, 10 a.m.
Midwest Trust Center
www.jccc.edu/midwest-trust-center

Kansas City Ballet: “Sugar Plum Fairy’s Children’s Ball”
Dec. 7, Children’s Ball 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Nutcracker 2 p.m.
Muehlebach Tower of the Kansas City Marriott Downtown
www.kcballet.org

Kansas City Symphony Frozen ™ In Concert (Film and Live Orchestra)
Dec. 23, 7 p.m. and Dec. 24, 11 a.m.
Kauffman Center
www.kcsymphony.org


Holiday Lights and Fun

Winter Magic on N Platte Purchase Drive drive-thru lights experience
through Jan. 5, 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday-Sunday; 6 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays
10400 North Platte Purchase Drive, Kansas City, Missouri
$20 + taxes & fees/vehicle on Monday – Thursday; $30 + taxes & fees /vehicle on Fridays and Sundays; $40 + taxes & fees/vehicle on Saturdays
www.wintermagickc.com

Evergy Festival of Lights
Nov. 29, 30, Dec. 1, 5, 6, 7, 11 – 14, 19 – 23, 16 – 29, Jan. 2, 3, 4
Powell Gardens
powellgardens.org

Holiday Movie Classics at the Extreme Screen: “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” “Elf,” “Polar Express”
Through Dec. 19
Union Station
unionstation.org

“Holiday Reflections,” Holiday walk-through village
through Jan. 1
Union Station
unionstation.org

Laser Holiday Magic
Arvin Gottlieb Planetarium, Union Station
Through Jan. 5, times vary (no shows Nov. 28 and Dec. 25)
www.unionstation.org

The 95th Annual Plaza Lighting Ceremony will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Nov. 28 at the Country Club Plaza.

95th Annual Plaza Lighting Ceremony
Nov. 28, 5 – 8 p.m.; view lights 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. through Jan. 12
Country Club Plaza
www.countryclubplaza.com

Electric Glow 2024
Nov. 26, 27, Dec. 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 20, 21, 23, 26, 27, 28, 30, 5 to 9 p.m. (last entry at 8 p.m.)
Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens
Tickets from $12 to $17
www.artsandrec-op.org

This year’s Soul of Santa Christmas Tree Lighting will be held Nov. 27 at The Shops on Blue Parkway, 4209 E 50th Terr., and Dec. 6, 18th and Vine. (Soul of Santa)

Soul of Santa Christmas Tree Lighting
Nov. 27, 5 to 6:30 p.m., The Shops on Blue Parkway, 4209 E 50th Terrace
Dec. 6, 18th and Vine, 5 to 6:30 p.m.
www.thesoulofsanta.org

Luminary Walk 2024
Nov. 29, 30, Dec. 6, 7, 13, 14, 5 to 9 p.m. (last entry at 8 p.m.)
Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens
Tickets $12 to $17
www.artsandrec-op.org

Free Outdoor Holiday Pop-Up Celebration
Nov. 30
Union Station
unionstation.org

Adults-Only Candlelight Stroll (18+) 2024
Dec. 5, 12, 19, 5 to 9 p.m. (last entry at 8 p.m.)
Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens
Tickets from $12 to $17
www.artsandrec-op.org


Works by Brad Friedman will be part of the JCDS Holiday Sale, Dec. 4, at the Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center. (JCDS Emerging Artists)

Holiday Sales

JCDS Emerging Artists Holiday Sale
Dec. 4, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center
8788 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park

Lawrence Lithography Workshop 2024 Holiday Print Sale
Through Dec. 21, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Wed. – Sat. and by appointment
2011 Tracy Ave.
www.lawrencelitho.com

KC Clay Guild Holiday Pottery Sale and Studio Tour
Dec. 6, 5 to 9 p.m.; Dec. 7, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Dec. 8, noon to 4 p.m.
Holiday Sale: South Broadland Church, 7850 Holmes Rd.; Tour: various locations
www.kcclayguild.org

Kansas City Art Institute End-of-Semester Exhibition and Sale
Dec. 6, 5 to 8 p.m.; Dec. 7, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Dec. 8, noon to 5 p.m.
Kansas City Art Institute
www.kcai.edu

Lawrence Art Guild 2024 Holiday Art Fair
Dec. 14, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Dec. 15, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Cider Gallery, 810 Pennsylvania St., Lawrence
lawrenceartguild.org

Irma Starr Ceramic Artist Holiday Appearances
Nov. 29, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Hall’s Crown Center
Dec. 6, 7 and 8, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Studio Sale, 610 W. 51st St., Kansas City, Missouri
Dec. 14, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Dec. 15, noon to 4 p.m. at The Kansas City Museum
Ornaments also for sale through Christmas at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and Made in KC

KC Studio

KC Studio covers the performing, visual, cinematic and literary arts, and the artists, organizations and patrons that make Kansas City a vibrant center for arts and culture.

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