By The Shout

During the darkest time of the year, we're all looking for a little sparkle. Read on to learn about the most festive events of the season, plus catch up on arts and culture news from the SHOUT and other outlets in Kansas. We worked extra hard on this update as our little gift to you. Thanks for reading.

XOXO,

Emily Christensen & Teri Mott
Co-founders, the SHOUT

Make your holiday photos weird

Artist Hallie Linnebur will appear as Krampus a few times this season before taking an extended — maybe permanent — break from drag. Linnebur, aka Deadnettle, is a former National Monster Xtreme winner, gifted visual artist, and co-proprietor of one of Wichita’s best vintage clothing stores. They’ll perform on December 7 at Puppet Karaoke (18+) and on December 8 at XY Bar's Kansas Merry Christmas Pageant (21+). For a fee, you can have your photo taken with Krampus on December 14 during the Krampus Karnival or on December 15 at Linnebur’s shop The Hereafter. 

Wichita’s best parade happens in December

A bold statement perhaps, but the Riverfest Sundown doesn’t hold a candle to the pure joy that is the Guadalupe Festival parade, which will process through North Wichita roadways beginning at 11 a.m. December 7. You don’t have to be Catholic or Latino to appreciate the event, which honors La Virgen de Guadalupe. 

Last week we republished a story by Claudia Amaro, founder of the bilingual newsroom Planeta Venus, about Raíces de Mi Tierra, one of the many dance companies that performs in the parade. You can watch their 2023 performance via Gomez Photography on YouTube.

Find the full Guadalupe Festival schedule here.

Finding light in the darkness

We probably don’t need to tell you about Illuminations at Botanica and Wild Lights at the Sedgwick County Zoo. But do you know about Prairie Lights at Dyck Arboretum in Hesston, Kansas? And if you want your own personal light show, consider booking lighting artist Mason Talbott, aka Masonlitthat. (ICYMI: Talbott recently collabed with installation artist Meghan Miller for an exhibition at Butler County Community College.)

More merriment:

• The Forum Theatre presents Irving Berlin's classic musical "White Christmas." Performances take place Thursdays-Sundays from December 5-22. Tickets start at $34 plus fees.
• A renowned alumnus of the Wichita State jazz program will be back in town next weekend for holiday shows at Walker's Jazz Lounge. Catch Matt Wilson's Christmas Tree-O from 8-10 p.m. Friday, December 6 or Saturday, December 7. Tickets start at $43/21+.
• Nocturnal By Nature presents the Local Love Christmas Party with a lineup six Wichita bands on December 6. $10 at the door/21+.
• Wichita State's 61st Annual Candlelight Concert includes performances by Madrigal Singers, Concert Chorale, WuChoir, and ShockerChoir. It takes place at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, December 8. Adult tickets are $12.
• "Stroll along lamp-lit, carol-filled streets, warm up with a cup of hot cocoa, and check out the dancers" at a Victorian Christmas at Cowtown: 6-9 p.m. December 6-7 and 13-14. Adult tickets are $15, and you can buy them on the City of Wichita website.
• The Wichita Symphony Orchestra calls its free family holiday concert a gift to the community: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, December 10
• Ballet Wichita presents its 50th iteration of "The Nutcracker" December 13-15. Hard to believe the dance company has sent three generations of Claras across Wichita stages. Tickets start at $27 plus fees.
• Saprogenous, Pat Minotaur, Rotten Aura, and Hour/glass will be rocking the stage at the Fifth Annual A Very Metal Christmas, a fundraiser for the Wichita Children's Home. It's December 15 at Champ's 316 Bar & Grill. No cover/21+.
• Listen to a Christmas concert by Dean Roush on the Clock Tower Carillion at the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum. Best enjoyed from the sidewalks outside the historic downtown building, the concert will take place from noon-1 p.m. Friday, December 20.

[VISUAL ART]

We've published reviews of a number of exhibitions you can still go see. Jeromiah Taylor wrote a luminous review of "Robert Peterson: Somewhere in America" at the Wichita Art Museum (through January 5), Samantha Barrett covered a comforting and colorful show of works by Emily Winesberry and Tim Webb at CityArts (through December 22), and new contributing writer Abby Bayani-Heitzman wrote about a fascinating exhibition at K-State's Beach Museum that illuminates a little-known piece of Kansas art history (through May 31).

Canonizing Black American life: Robert Peterson at the Wichita Art Museum

More than 40 works about childhood, masculinity, domesticity, and protest constitute the artist’s first major museum exhibition, which is on view through January 5.

The SHOUTJeromiah Taylor

Comfort Through Color: Emily Winesberry & Tim Webb at CityArts

An exhibition curated by Anthony Joiner balances energy and tranquility with dynamic color and intricate composition. It’s on view in the Wichita art center’s main gallery through December 22.

The SHOUTSamantha Barrett

Tracing international connections in ‘Printing Beyond Borders’ at the Beach Museum of Art

The exhibition celebrates connections between K-State’s print program and contemporary printmakers from India. It’s on view at the university art museum through May 2025.

The SHOUTAbby Bayani-Heitzman

Selected First Friday gallery openings

• Two of Wichita's most interesting emerging artists, Dominique Joiner and Brittany Stewart, will both have work at Art House 310.
• Janet Jensen's paintings of "little spaces growing against all odds in an inhospitable world" are featured in "Terra Firma" at Gallery 12
• Alumni of Wichita's Artist Inc. program will show their work at Harvester Arts at the Lux.
• Photographer Ashley Michele Streid will present her first first-ever gallery show at Newman University's Steckline Gallery.
• Wade Hampton will have work on view (and for sale) at Local Roasters.

Find a complete and continually updating list of First Friday openings on our calendar using the Wichita First Friday tag.

[SHOPPING]

Most of us will spend significant time and energy searching for interesting doodads and/or priceless items to give our loved ones this month. Of course, we endorse purchasing gifts by local artists and small business. If you need help, we published a handy guide.

Want to support Kansas artists & makers this gift-giving season? Here’s how.

From cutesy to creepy & everything in between: our guide to pop-up markets and art sales will get you started on your hyper-local holiday shopping.

The SHOUTCecilia Green

Upcoming markets:

• Holidaze Pop-Up Market: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, December 1
• Family Friendly First Friday Pop-Up Art Market: 5-8 p.m. Friday, December 6
• First Friday Holiday Flash Art Sale at Vertigo 232: 5-9 p.m. Friday, December 6
• Curated Fine Arts Market: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, December 7
• Holiday Shopping Craft Fair: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, December 7
• Krampus Karnival & Oddities Market: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, December 14
• Artisan Market & Live Artist Competition: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, December 14
• 5th Annual Blitzen Bazaar: 3-6 p.m. Sunday, December 15
• The Solstice Spirit Fair: December 19-21

New downtown shops pop up just in time for the holidays

It is less a matter of opinion and more objective fact that some of the coolest ceramics in the entire universe are made right here in Wichita by Armando Minjarez and the Del Norte Studio crew.

The artist and activist who led the Horizontes Project just opened pop-up shop Luna Luna at Douglas Avenue and St. Francis Streets in the disco-ball-lighted space recently vacated by Espresso-To-Go-Go. The storefront is now chockablock with colorful tabletop pieces, plus local art and consumable goods from businesses such as Esperanza Coffee and Pinole Blue. Store hours will vary through the end of the year, but Minjarez tells us they'll be roughly noon-7 p.m. Thursday-Sunday. Check the Del Norte Facebook & IG pages before you go.

Even better news for Del Norte fans: Minjarez is set to expand his studio operation with the purchase of a new building in South Wichita. "Now, with two other team members, Minjárez said he is moving his 760 square-foot ceramic home studio to a 2,440 square-foot space that he bought at 1446 S. Ellis St., near Harry and Hydraulic." (Shaheer Naveed for the Wichita Business Journal) 

A new Black-owned bookstore celebrated its grand opening yesterday. Left on Read is the brainchild of LaTasha Eley Kelly, aka Dr. Tasha, aka The Millennial Black Professor. Over the past year, we've been privileged to be in a cohort with Kelly and Planeta Venus' Claudia Amaro, both of whom also received funding from the Wichita Foundation's Info Challenge. (Kelly launched her first podcast BLACK in One Piece in June.) The bookstore is much like its owner: warm, intelligent and detail-oriented. Find it at 612 E. Douglas Ave. Suite 200 off Gallery Alley.

"When other (kids) were getting their toys or games taken away ... they would take my books away (when I got in trouble). That's how much I read." (Stephanie Maniche for KAKE)

Even more holiday gift options: If board games are on your list, Gwen Ottenberg of Imagine That Toys has recommendations for competitors of all ages. (Suzanne Perez for KMUW). 

[MUSIC]

A Prairie Punk House Companion is a newish podcast hosted by Nick Scott and Jeremy Bennet. The local music history series is "a loving, 'I can’t believe I survived' sort of recollection, and both of the hosts are reflecting from a place of hard-earned stability," writes Kevin Kinder.

Old punks on the block

A new podcast warmly remembers a Wichita punk era nearly forgotten (even by its own members)

The SHOUTKevin Kinder

Sam Jack spoke with Timothy Storhoff, the new executive director of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, about his ambitions for the organization, which is celebrating its 80th season. "Even within our own cities, we have separate communities, and I think that live music, orchestral music, can play a big part in bringing us together," Storhoff says.

In its 80th season, the Wichita Symphony Orchestra brings on a ‘musical diplomat’ as its new leader

Timothy Storhoff is weeks into his tenure as the new executive director of the WSO, an organization he calls a ‘musical engine’ for the city.

The SHOUTSam Jack

[FILM]

Salina-area filmmakers Kristen Bush, Emily Railsback, and Rolf Potts recently screened a new short film at the Salina Art Center. "We wanted to showcase the absolute beauty of our property in Kansas and tell the story of a woman living very closely connected to the land and have a bit of mystery in there too," Bush says. The trio hope to screen the film on the 2025 festival circuit. (Jedd Beaudoin for KMUW)

[THEATER]

It may not be a holiday tradition exactly, but the "The Golden Girls" at Roxy's Downtown has a stranglehold on theater-goers at this time of year. The wildly popular drag homage to the friendship between Blanche, Sophia, Dorothy and Rose is still selling out — and adding shows — eight years in. Performances continue through December 29. Tickets are $37.07, and food and drinks are available for purchase before and during the show.

Talented local actor Nick Wetta will present Leonard Nimory's one-man show "Vincent." Wetta plays the role of Theo Van Gogh, the brother of the famous Impressionist painter. The prodution will take place on December 14 at Wichita State's CAC Theater. Tickets are free. "This is a passion project of mine that I have been working on for the better part of a year," Wetta says.

If you're into improv, the Flying Pig has relocated to a new space at 2320 E. Douglas Ave. in Wichita, and they have four shows scheduled this month ($15). New improv troupe Parking Lot Sushi will present their debut show on December 8 ($10 suggested donation, 18+).

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