10 fun things to do in Wichita this weekend (Dec. 8-10)

If you like holiday concerts, you’re going to love this week’s installment of “10 Fun Things.”

This is perhaps the busiest weekend of the season for Christmas-themed concerts, as most groups tend to hold their concerts earlier in the month.

Since concerts were the most plentiful event in Wichita this weekend, you’ll get a lot of concerts.

Use this list to help plan your weekend in Wichita:

Victorian Christmas at Cowtown

6-9 p.m. Fri.-Sat., Old Cowtown Museum, 1865 W. Museum Blvd.

One of Wichita’s signature Christmas events, Victorian Christmas at Cowtown is now in its 42nd year. Even in the cold, there is plenty of magic to be found at Cowtown as costumed characters interpret Christmas in the Victorian era. The museum streets will be lamp-lit and carolers will perform holiday classics. In the one-room schoolhouse, storytellers will regale listeners with “The Night Before Christmas.” Bundle up for the cold weather, buy some hot cocoa, and take a trip to Santa’s workshop, set up to look like the North Pole.

$7.75 adults, $6.50 seniors age 62 and older, $6 youth ages 12-17 and $5.50 for kids ages 5-11. Children 4 and younger are admitted free. www.oldcowtown.org, 316-350-3323

“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”

6:30 p.m. Fri., 1 and 3 p.m. Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., Mark Arts, 9112 E. Central

This traditional holiday performance will be presented for the 34th time this weekend by the Wichita Children’s Theatre & Dance Center.

$7. www.wctdc.com, 316-262-2282

“Bethlehem, Kansas,” presented by Music Theatre for Young People

7:30 p.m. Fri., Sat., 2:30 p.m. Sun., Century II, 225 W. Douglas

This performance is the musical story of people finding love and peace in the miracle of Christmas. A Kansas Christmas Eve blizzard strands travelers at the Bethlehem Motel, and guests make efforts to help the motel proprietors Jack and Rachael as Joe and a very pregnant Mary arrive for their stay. The children panic about missing Christmas as Joe and Mary settle in, and Mary goes into labor just as things are calming down. This musical theater performance is family-friendly and a special Kansas twist on a traditional Christmas story.

Adults $12 in advance, $15 at the door; students $10. www.wichitatix.com, 316-264-9121

Trans-Siberian Orchestra: “The Ghosts of Christmas Eve”

8 p.m. Fri., Intrust Bank Arena, 500 E. Waterman

One of the most popular holiday shows in Wichita year after year, the ever-evolving Trans-Siberian Orchestra brings its winter tour to Wichita this weekend. This year’s tour is a newly updated staging of the show and features TSO’s trademark visual effects.

$48, $58, $68 and $78. www.selectaseat.com, 855-755-7328

Tommy Emmanuel CGP Classics and Christmas Tour

8 p.m. Fri., Wichita Orpheum Theatre, 200 N. Broadway

Emmanuel never plays the same show twice and improvises big chunks of every show. This one-night-only engagement is a spin-off of Emmanuel’s 2016 and 2011 holiday releases. The albums feature new arrangements for Yuletide classics and new original Christmas songs such as “Let’s Make A Christmas Memory” and “Artificial Christmas Tree.” Each show will feature two sets of music. The first set will be Emmanuel playing solo and the second set will include Emmanuel performing Christmas classics with Pat Bergeson, John Knowles CGP and Annie Sellick.

$39.50-$49.50. www.selectaseat.com, 855-755-7328

FREE: Kill Vargas, Tideway and The Cavves show

6-11 p.m. Sat., Crown Uptown Theatre, 3207 E. Douglas

These three up-and-coming local bands are joining forces for a mega-show at the Crown Uptown this Saturday, and the best part: admission is free. Kill Vargas and Tideway will release a split EP at the show and The Cavves will also release an album. The band Salt Creek, from Nebraska, will join the bands.

Free.

Chris Mann: “Home for Christmas”

7 p.m. Sat., Century II, 225 W. Douglas

This event is a little more expensive than most this weekend (unless you’re a student), but it promises to be a truly unique night. Wichita native and Southeast High School graduate Chris Mann comes home for an exclusive Christmas gala with the Wichita Grand Opera chorus, orchestra, and children’s chorus. Mann left Wichita to study vocal performance and Opera at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee and gained national attention on NBC’s “The Voice.” After his success as a finalist on the show, Mann has continued to create his own albums and has boosted his own name to the top of Billboard charts. For more information, visit www.wichitagrandopera.org.

$37-$85; $20 for students. www.selectaseat.com, 316-262-8054

Heart of America Men’s Chorus presents “Mistletoe Magic”

7 p.m. Sat., 4:30 p.m. Sun., De Mattias Fine Arts Center – Newman University, 3100 W. McCormick

The Heart of America Men’s Chorus presents its annual Christmas concert this weekend, “Mistletoe Magic.” The show should feature traditional holiday tunes as well as some new soon-to-be favorites. The event is family friendly.

$15, $5 students. www.hoamc.org, 316-708-4837

“Sounding Joy – Northern Lights” concert

7:30 p.m. Sat., 3 p.m. Sun., Plymouth Congregational Church, 202 N. Clifton

The Wichita Chamber Chorale’s annual holiday concert is this weekend at Plymouth Congregational Church. The show will feature traditional holiday classics as well as seasonal music from Scandanavia, Canada, and the Baltics.

$20, $15 seniors, $5 college students, free for high school, middle or elementary school students. www.wichitachorale.com, 316-712-2678

College Hill Trolley Holiday Light Tour

5:30-9 p.m. Sun., East Heights United Methodist Church, 4407 E. Douglas

The College Hill Neighborhood Association is once again putting its Holiday Light Tour by trolley this Sunday. It’s a quick way to get into the holiday spirit while seeing some of Wichita’s best-decorated homes for Christmas. Tickets will be sold at the church from 9 a.m.-noon Sunday, then starting again at 5 p.m.

$8 per person.

This story was originally published December 8, 2017 at 2:43 PM with the headline "10 fun things to do in Wichita this weekend (Dec. 8-10)."