Events at a Glance

December 2025

Events at a Glance

 

“Only in Ann Arbor” Event of the Month

U-M students hold an “Art Tank Pitch Competition” to convince curators to add to the U-M Museum of Art’s collection on Dec. 1. Spectators welcome. See listing Dec. 1.

Concert Music (classical, religious, cabaret)

• 146th Annual Handel’s Messiah performance (University Musical Society), Dec. 6 & 7
• Formosa Quartet, adventurous string quartet (EMU Music), Dec. 8
• Chamber Orchestra of Europe, all-Brahms program (University Musical Society), Dec. 11
• 61st Annual Community Handel’s Messiah Sing, sing- and play-along, Dec. 13
• “A Boychoir Christmas” (Boychoir of Ann Arbor), Dec. 13 & 14

Vernacular Music  (pop, rock, jazz, & traditional)

• “Popstronauts in Space” playful 100-member orchestra (U-M Pops Orchestra), Dec. 3
• “The rePercussions” popular U-M student percussion ensemble (U-M Groove Performance Group), Dec. 5
• Yonder Mountain String Band, progressive bluegrass quintet (The Blind Pig), Dec. 5, see Nightspots
• Racing Mount Pleasant, chamber folk-rock septet at the Power Center (U-M Music Matters), Dec. 6
• 26th Annual Ann Arbor TubaChristmas, outdoor brass performance, Dec. 7
• Ebird & Friends Holiday Show, new and old holiday music (The Ark), Dec. 11–13, see Nightspots
• Holiday Pops Concert (Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra), Dec. 20
• Maurice “Mobetta” Brown, veteran NYC-based trumpeter with urban-contemporary jazz (Blue Llama), Dec. 21, see Nightspots
• “Jeff Daniels: Onstage & Unplugged” folk-flavored originals (Purple Rose Theatre Company), Dec. 26–31
• “New Year’s Eve with Pete Siers” jazz trio (Kerrytown Concert House), Dec. 31

Theater, Opera, & Dance

• “Norma & Wanda” Jeff Daniels’ 2005 comedy (Purple Rose Theatre), Sept. 25–Dec. 21
• “Frozen” musical based on the 2013 Disney movie (The Encore Musical Theatre Company), Dec. 4–Jan. 11
• “The Gondoliers,” Gilbert & Sullivan’s 1889 operetta (U-M G&S Society), Dec. 4–7
• “The Thanksgiving Play,” Larissa FastHorse’s 2018 satirical comedy (Penny Seats Theatre Company), Nov. 21–Dec. 7
• “Oklahoma!” U-M students in the 1943 Rodgers & Hammerstein musical (Golden Theatre Company), Dec. 5–7
• “The Tragedy of Carmen” U-M opera students in Peter Brook’s 1983 adaptation of the Bizet opera (U-M Chamber Opera), Dec. 5 & 6
• “A Man for Christmas” Kristin Ann Danko’s 2019 Hallmark Christmas musical parody  (Neighborhood Theatre Group), Dec. 5–7 & 11–14
• “DJ Whittington’s Kool Kat: A Hip-Hop Panto” Carla Milarch & R. MacKenzie Lewis’s annual seasonal panto comedy (Theatre Nova), Dec. 5–Jan. 4
• “Dhamaka: Ignite the Night,” Indian music & dance (U-M Indian American Students Assoc.), Dec. 6
• “The Nutcracker” L.A.-based dance company (World Ballet Company), Dec. 16
• “The Nutcracker” local company (iBallet Studio), Dec. 19 & 20

Comedy, Storytelling, & Performance Art

• Rory Scovel, acclaimed South Carolina stand up comic (The Blind Pig), Dec. 7
• Jordan Klepper, comic and Daily Show correspondent (Live Nation), Dec. 12
• Rob Haze, deadpan Atlanta-based comic (Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase), Dec. 26–28

Festivals, Fairs, & Shows  

• “Hometown Holiday,” parade, Santa (Chelsea Area Chamber), Dec. 5 & 6
• “KindleFest,” live music, vendors, crafts, Santa (Kerrytown District Assn.), Dec. 5
• “Midnight Madness,” silent disco, carolers, Santa (Main Street Area Assn.), Dec. 5
• “Christmas in the Village,” parade, crafts, Santa (Manchester Chamber), Dec. 5 & 6
• “Christmas at the Mansion” Gordon Hall holiday events (Dexter Area Historical Society), Dec. 5–7, 12, & 14
• 50th Annual Holiday Parade, tree lighting, Santa (Saline Area Chamber), Dec. 6
• Dexter Light Parade, lighted floats and vehicles, Santa (Dexter Chamber), Dec. 6
• 17th Annual Lucy Ann Lance Hometown Christmas Radio Show, Dec. 13

Family & Kids’ Stuff

• Pick-Up Robotics Championship, high school robotics teams (AADL), Dec. 6
• Living Nativity, a camel and more (First Congregational Church), Dec. 24

Lectures, Readings, & Forums

• “Fifty Years of Flight Before the Wright Brothers” (Michigan Flight Museum), Dec. 3

Miscellaneous

• Food Gatherers’ “36th Annual Rockin’ for the Hungry,” live outdoor broadcasts by radio station 107one DJs collects donations at the Kroger on Maple Dec. 2–6
• “Ari’s Best of 2025 Tasting” Zingerman’s cofounder Ari Weinzweig with taste samples (Zingerman’s Delicatessen), Dec. 2 & 9
• “One Light for Justice: Celebrating Hanukkah, Diwali, and Sigd” community celebration (Jewish Community Center), Dec. 4
• “30 Years of Saturday Morning Physics!” hands-on family-friendly physics (U-M Physics Dept.), Dec. 6
• “Holiday Hustle” competitive 5K and half-marathon, plus a 1-mile fun run (Running Fit Events), Dec. 6
• U-M Ice Hockey vs. MSU, top-ranked teams face off (U-M Athletics), Dec. 6
• “Jane Austen’s 250th Birthday Ball” English Country dancing, costumes (AADL), Dec. 16