’Tis the Season: Holidays at MIM

Craft: Handbells
9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
South El Río
Make a handbell and play along with the day’s performances.

Photo Booth
9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
El Río
Have your picture taken in our hands-free photo booth! Digitally share your pictures and tag us with #MIMphx for a chance to be featured on our social media.

Pop-Up Performance: West Valley Youth Symphony String Quartet
9:30–9:45 a.m.
Central El Río
Enjoy gentle holiday music in this pop-up performance from a string quartet from the West Valley Youth Symphony.
Part of the Sweetwater Student Showcase Series, supported by Sweetwater

Historic Steinway Pop-Up Performance: Jonah Mars
10:15–10:30 a.m.
Upper El Río
Hear local pianist Jonah Mars perform festive music that reminds him of the holiday season on MIM’s 1886 Steinway Model C parlor concert grand piano.

Curator Talk: Matachines
10:30–11:00 a.m.
Event Room 3
Across the Southwest, matachines dancers and musicians perform a tradition rooted in the Middle Ages to celebrate Catholic feast days. Learn about this important regional practice and its multicultural significance in a talk with curator of education Mike Silvers.

Pop-Up Performance: Dickens Carolers
10:30–11:30 a.m.
El Río
Join the Dickens Carolers for a stroll along El Río and listen as they sing spirited seasonal carols.

Performance: Mariachi Alma de mi Pueblo
11:30 a.m.–noon
Main Courtyard
Listen to holiday classics from an award-winning mariachi group.

Orchestrion: Holiday Playlist
Noon and 3:00 p.m.
Mechanical Music Gallery
Enjoy unique versions of familiar holiday tunes played by MIM’s largest instrument: the orchestrion!

Youth-Led Mini-Tours
12:15–12:45 p.m. and 1:00–1:30 p.m.
Upper El Río
Follow MIM’s Junior Museum Guides on a short, informative tour of the galleries with a special focus on bells from around the world.

Youth-Led Music-Making Workshop
12:15–12:45 p.m. and 1:00–1:30 p.m.
Event Room 3
Join the Junior Museum Guides in performing a mummer’s holiday play with singing and dancing, culminating in a parade through El Río. Mumming is a winter solstice tradition found in various parts of Europe and the Americas involving masked stock characters and sword fights in a battle between good and evil.

Performance: Rural Street Klezmer
1:30–2:00 p.m.
Main Courtyard
Celebrate Hannukah, the “Festival of Lights,” with a klezmer performance.

Kwanzaa Community Drumming Workshop: Frank Thompson
2:00–2:30 p.m.
Event Room 2
Explore the principles of Kwanzaa in an interactive drumming workshop facilitated by professional teaching artist and drummer Frank Thompson.

Dance Workshop: Scandinavian Folk Dancers of Phoenix
2:30–3:00 p.m.
Founders Room
Learn and dance along with traditional Scandinavian Christmas folk dances with the Scandinavian Folk Dancers of Phoenix!

Performance: Las Palomas del Norte Handbell Ensemble
3:15–4:00 p.m.
Main Courtyard
Ring in the holidays with a festive handbell performance.