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 “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
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
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
“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: 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
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
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
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