Festivity, fun and inspiration is everywhere this holiday season, especially at BYU.
Whether you're seeking a family-friendly activity, a chance to revisit classic Christmas films, or an enthralling musical experience, chances are there's an event at BYU that's just right for you.
FUN FOR ALL AGES
Christmas at the MOA, free
Date: Thursday, Dec. 11
Time: 7-9 p.m.
Location: Museum of Art, BYU
Details: Enjoy a festive, art-focused evening at the BYU Museum of Art this holiday season, featuring Brian Kershisnik's exquisite "Nativity" painting and other religious works now on view. Join us for some fun activities in the religious art gallery, refreshments, Christmas music, director Q&A with Mark Magleby about Kershisnik's "Nativity," and a special holiday gift from the MOA!
Christmas in Nauvoo Family Home Evening, free
Date: Mondays, Dec. 1 and 8
Time: 7 and 8 p.m.
Location: Education in Zion Gallery, Joseph F. Smith Building, BYU
Details: Educators dressed as prominent historical figures in the LDS Church, Eliza R. Snow and Wilford Woodruff, will share Christmas-related stories from historic Nauvoo and guests will join together to sing Christmas carols and enjoy hot chocolate. Groups with tour reservations will have priority.
Reserve a spot: Call 801.422.6519
-----------------------------------
MUSIC + CONCERTS
Christmas Around the World: Timeless Stories (dance)
When: Friday and Saturday, Dec. 5 and 6
Time: 7:30 p.m.; with a 2 p.m. Saturday matinee
Where: Marriott Center, BYU
Location: Featuring BYU’s International Folk Dancers and Living Legends, this holiday tradition showcases the rich ethnic diversity of the world through music and dance and features more than 200 dancers, singers, and musicians, colorful costumes and captivating choreography.
Tickets: $10-$20, available at the BYU Ticket Office in the Harris Fine Arts Center or Marriott Center, call 801.422.2981 or visit byuarts.com
Celebration of Christmas (choir)
Date: Friday and Saturday, Dec. 5 and 6
Time: 7:30 p.m.; with a 3 p.m. Saturday matinee
Where: de Jong Concert Hall, Harris Fine Arts Center, BYU
Location: The BYU combined choirs and Philharmonic celebrates the sounds of the holiday season with a concert featuring performances by BYU Singers, Concert Choir, Men’s Chorus, Women’s Chorus, BYU Philharmonic.
Tickets: $16, $5 off with BYU or student ID, $1 off for senior citizens and BYU alumni. To purchase, visit byuarts.com.
BYU Jazz Voices Holiday Favorites
Date: Wednesday, Dec. 3
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Madsen Recital Hall, Harris Fine Arts Center
Details: An evening of jazz standards, holiday favorites and an ugly Christmas sweater contest. Program will include: “Summertime” by George Gershwin, “Counting Stars” by One Republic, “When She Loved Me” from Toy Story 2, “I Want You Back” by Michael Jackson, “Let It Snow”, “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear”, “Silent Night” and “Mary Did You Know?”
Tickets: $6, to purchace, visit byuarts.com.
TubaChristmas, free
Date: Saturday, Dec. 6
Time: noon
Location: Madsen Recital Hall, Harris Fine Arts Center, BYU
Details: Musicians who usually are relegated to the back row of the band or orchestra will have their opportunity to shine at the 35th annual Utah TubaChristmas. The unusual sound of a choir of tubas, baritone horns, and euphoniums is a delight. Music lovers seem to always be surprised that the music produced by many large brass instruments is not loud or harsh, but is rich, warm, and all engulfing. The concert will include performances by a massed tuba-euphonium ensemble of over forty musicians, the BYU Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble, BYU Tuba Quartet, and the BYU Jazz Legacy Band specializing in New Orleans-style jazz.
French Choir Christmas Concert, free
Date: Wednesday, Dec. 3
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: 3228 Wilkinson Student Center
Italian Choir Christmas Concert, free
Date: Monday, Dec. 8
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Auditorium, Maeser Building
Free Song Download from BYU Men's Chorus
Date: available beginning Friday, Dec. 5
Location: SetApartAlbum.byu.edu
Details: The BYU Men's Chorus is giving away a free hymn download for the Christmas season: Come, Lord Jesus.
-----------------------------------
EVENING EVENTS
Date Night: Christmas Around the World
Date: Saturday, Dec. 6
Time: 7-9 p.m.
Location: Museum of Peoples and Cultures, 100 E 700 N, Provo
Details: Experience Christmas traditions from northern Europe. Activities will include competing against other couples in trivia games, decorating edible Christmas trees, and enjoying European Christmas Desserts against the backdrop of a traditional European Christmas Market.
Tickets: $12 per couple, available at the Wilkinson Student Center Information Desk, starting Monday, Nov. 24.
BYU Planetarium: The Star of Bethlehem
Date: Friday, Dec. 5
Time: shows at 7 and 8 p.m.
Location: Eyring Science Center, 4th Floor, BYU
Details: Come to BYU's Royden G. Derrick Planetarium and explore with Dr. Eric Hintz, of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, as he demonstrates the astronomical events consistent with the Christmas star.
Ages: 8+ (it's a somewhat technical demonstration)
Tickets: $2, at the door, cash or check only
Adventsingen, free
Date: Sunday, Dec. 7
Time: 8 p.m.
Location: de Jong Concert Hall, Harris Fine Arts Center, BYU
Details: Adventsingen is a fireside of traditional Austrian, German and Swiss Christmas music and readings. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the popular event which immerses the audience in beautiful seasonal music and the rich cultural traditions of German-speaking countries.
-----------------------------------
FLIM SHOWINGS
Christmas in Connecticut, free
When: Friday, Dec. 5
Time: 7 p.m.
Where: Harold B. Lee Library Auditorium
Details: A popular New York City food columnist—who can’t cook—must host a war hero and her unknowing publisher at her mythical Connecticut country home for Christmas. The single writer must also have a husband and a baby. Having written herself into this career-threatening corner, she must think fast.
Warner Bros. 1945. 1 hr. 42 mins, featuring Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet and Reginald Gardner. Director: Peter Godfrey.
Miracle on 34th Street, free
When: Thursday, Dec. 11
Time: 7 p.m.
Where: Harold B. Lee Library Auditorium, BYU
Details: Edmund Gwenn is Kris Kringle, and the motion picture industry agreed when it awarded him the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his winning portrayal of Christmas’s kindly benefactor. This contemporary tale is set around Macy’s department store in Manhattan, its annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and a “modern” mother and daughter jaded to the notion of Santa Claus. The film also won an Oscar for its writer, Valentine Davies, for Best Story.
Writer: Paige Vogt
