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Because Memphis is music, year-round festivals include the international Memphis in May and the band-heavy Beale Street Music Festival.  With pro and college sports, acclaimed art exhibits, touring museum shows and even mega shopping extravaganzas, Memphis struts its stuff no matter what the season.  



Search our Memphis Events calendar, view a listing of Featured Events and download great package deals and coupons. We make it easy to party in Memphis. 

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Search Results: 17 records

 Featured Events

The Toymaker's Apprentice

The Circuit Playhouse
1705 Poplar Avenue
Memphis, TN  38104
Category: Performing Arts
Date: Oct 30, 2009 - Dec 22, 2009
901-726-4656
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Description:
The toy shop is a magical, extraordinary place! With Christmas just around the corner, the master toymaker Gideon realizes he needs help to get all the baubles, contraptions, gizmos, and whirly-gigs made. When he searches for an apprentice, two youngsters come forth both wanting to work in his wondrous shop. Gideon takes them on, promising the job to the one that creates the best toy. Unfolding with rich storytelling, this cheery holiday play is a timeless classic sure to warm your heart.

For ticket information, call the box office at 901-726-4656.

Narnia

Playhouse on the Square
51 South Cooper
Memphis, TN  38104
Category: Theater
Date: Nov 06, 2009 - Dec 22, 2009
901-726-4656
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Description:
Rediscover the wonder of Narnia. Four English children playing hide-and-seek accidentally wander through an enchanted wardrobe and into a land locked in a deep magical winter by the spells of an evil witch-queen. Only the fierce, benevolent lion Aslan (with a little help from the children) can vanquish the tyrant and bring summer back to Narnia and the talking animals who live there. This musical adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ classic novel The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is sure to delight audiences of all ages.

For more information, contact Playhouse on the Square at 901-726-4656 or visit www.playhouseonthesquare.org.

Cirque Dreams Holidaze

Orpheum Theatre
203 S. Main
Memphis, TN  38103
Category: Performing Arts
Date: Nov 17, 2009 - Nov 22, 2009
901-525-3000
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Description:
CIRQUE DREAMS HOLIDAZE is an original new musical extravaganza filled with spectacle, imagination and whimsical dreams.

Ornaments come to life as costumed characters who perform astonishing feats that celebrate the holiday season and showcase pageantry, ingenuity and breathtaking artistry.

An international cast of acrobats, aerialists, singers, dancers and musicians fill this Cirque Dream on stage, in the air and while dangling from a 24 foot tall magical tree.

Add to that the pomp, cirque-umstance and amazement of gingerbread men flipping through the air, toy soldiers skillfully marching on thin wires, snowmen daringly balancing, icemen sculpting powerfully, penguins spinning, puppets caroling and reindeer soaring high above a landscape of holiday wonderment and you will see why CIRQUE DREAMS HOLIDAZE makes the perfect gift of entertainment.

With over 100 dazzling costumes, an original musical score and some holiday favorites, CIRQUE DREAMS HOLIDAZE will have audiences of all ages mesmerized with its memorable tribute to the holiday season.

Order Tickets Now
Call: (901)525-3000 | Fax (901)525-5499

Come in:
Orpheum Theatre Box Office
203 S. Main, Memphis, TN
or
Davis-Kidd Booksellers (387 Perkins Road, Memphis, TN), all TicketMaster centers including: Schnuck Markets, FYE and Jackson, TN.

Ticketmaster: www.ticketmaster.com or (901) 743-ARTS

The Santaland Diaries

Playhouse on the Square
51 South Cooper
Memphis, TN  38104
Category: Theater
Date: Nov 20, 2009 - Dec 22, 2009
901-726-4656
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Description:
The elf is back by popular demand, and he’s taking over The Memphian Room! Surrounded by fake snow, tacky decorations, and elves serving drinks, audiences will be immersed in the Santaland experience. Join Crumpet, Macy’s grumpiest elf, as he recounts his training and his hilarious encounters with surly parents and their greedy children! With a healthy dose of sarcasm and snarkiness, Crumpet manages to reveal the shortcomings of the hustle and bustle surrounding the holidays, while gently reminding us of the true meaning of the season. This promises to be a night at the theatre like no other!

For more information, contact Playhouse on the Square at 901-726-4656 or visit www.playhouseonthesquare.org.

Zoo Lights

Memphis Zoo
2000 Prentiss Place
Memphis, TN  38112
Category: Holidays
Date: Nov 20, 2009 - Jan 02, 2010
Time: 5:30pm - 9pm
901-333-6500
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Description:
$5 Zoo members; $7 non-members

Visit the zoo this holiday season to see Zoo Lights - a Zoo family tradition. With over one million lights, activities for kids and carriage rides through the Zoo, the whole family will enjoy this event.

We're opening Zoo Lights even earlier this year! Experience a whole new SunTrust Zoo Lights this holiday season as we begin the festivities the weekend BEFORE Thanksgiving! This year we’re “Larger than Lights” with more lights, more activities and more ground to cover. Celebrate the holidays in the Tetons, China, the Farm, Egypt and Northwest Passage. We’re covering the entire Zoo in lights with all your favorite holiday activities in between. Enjoy Santa at Teton Trek, s’mores, kids karaoke, holiday shopping in our gift shops and that’s just the beginning! Don’t miss the biggest SunTrust Zoo Lights ever.

Purchase SunTrust Zoo Lights tickets for your group. When you purchase between 20 to 50 tickets, your tickets are only $6 each, plus two FREE chaperone tickets. When you purchase 50 tickets or more, your tickets will be $5 each, plus four free chaperone tickets. Call 901-333-6660 or 901-333-6668 to order.

Enchanted Forest Festival of Trees

Memphis Pink Palace Museum
Bodine Exhibit Hall
3050 Central Avenue
Memphis, TN  38111
Category: Exhibits
Date: Nov 21, 2009 - Dec 31, 2009
Time: See description
901-320-6320
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Description:
Admission to the Enchanted Forest (only) is $5 for adults and $4 for seniors and children (ages 3-12).

TWIGS of Le Bonheur presents this unique holiday tradition every year at the Pink Palace. This winter-wonderland has animated animals, gingerbread houses, dozens of beautifully decorated Christmas Trees and Santa, waiting to pose for pictures. Proceeds raised benefit Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center.

Mon-Sat 9am-5pm and Sun 12noon to 5pm.

Christmas at Graceland 2009

Graceland, Home of Elvis Presley
3734 Elvis Presley Blvd.
Memphis, TN  38116
Category: Holidays
Date: Nov 26, 2009 - Jan 08, 2010
Website: elvis.com
800-238-2000
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Description:
Graceland officially begins the holiday season on Friday, November 20th with the annual lighting of the lights and decorations on the mansion and plaza property.

After a countdown by everyone in attendance, the ceremonial switch is flipped at approximately 6PM CT as Graceland’s holiday splendor comes alive for another season.

The special lighting ceremony will take place at the front gates of Graceland. (*Please note that 11/20 is the Friday before the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.)

For those of you who can't be in Memphis for the ceremony, it will be streamed live on Elvis.com. More details and a link to the page will be posted when they are available.

The extensive spectacle includes hundreds of blue lights along the driveway, a life-size Nativity scene, Santa and his sleigh and much more originally displayed by Elvis and the Presley family. Santa will be available for pictures with the kids throughout the evening’s festivities.

The interior of Graceland mansion will also be decked in Elvis’s Christmas décor for the holiday season and includes his traditional red velvet drapes and Presley family Christmas artifacts on display around the decorated trees.

Following Elvis' own tradition, all interior and exterior Christmas decorations will remain in place through his 75th birthday celebration on January 8, 2010.

Graceland's Holiday decorations may be enjoyed as part of regular daily tours of Graceland in addition to the night of the lighting ceremony.

For more information and to book your holiday tour of Graceland or to see the holiday lights from the LIVE GracelandCam visit www.elvis.com or call 901-332-3322.

Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring the Rockettes (Touring)

FedExForum
191 Beale Street
Memphis, TN  38103
Category: Holidays
Date: Nov 27, 2009
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Description:
FedExForum will host the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, starring the world famous Rockettes, for the first time ever. Presented by Capital One, this beloved holiday show will delight the entire family when it hits the stage in Memphis for five performances over the Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend, with two shows set for Friday, November 27 that will be followed by three additional shows on Saturday, November 28.

Starry Nights

Shelby Farms Park
500 North Pine Lake Drive
Memphis, TN  38134
Category: Holidays
Date: Nov 27, 2009 - Jan 02, 2010
Time: See description
901-767-7275
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Description:
Starry Nights Returns to Shelby Farms Park

MEMPHIS- After more than a decade of darkness, Shelby Farms Park Conservancy (SFPC) announced the 2009 return of Starry Nights—the Mid-South’s most spectacular drive-through holiday light show. The event is presented by First Tennessee and will run from November 27 through January 2, and will feature dozens of enormous holiday displays illuminated with more than a million environmentally friendly LED lights.

Starry Nights, which was originally created by MIFA and ran each holiday season from 1994-1999, became a beloved holiday tradition for many Mid-South families.

“Beginning in late November, Shelby Farms Park is flooded with phone calls asking for the return of Starry Nights,” said SFPC executive director Rick Masson. “Since we assumed management of the Park in 2008, we’ve been planning the return of what is certainly one of the most beloved and most missed holiday events.”

Starry Nights, which was originally created by MIFA and ran each holiday season from 1994-1999, became a beloved holiday tradition for many Mid-South families.

“We are proud to be a partner in bringing this beloved family event and important community tradition back to Memphis,” said Charles Burkett of First Tennessee. “It is important to our community and we’re glad to support the work of Shelby Farms Park Conservancy as they enhance and manage one of our community’s most precious natural resources in Shelby Farms Park.”

Shelby Farms Park Conservancy will manage Starry Nights, with a special nod to it’s originators with a MIFA toy drop site. Ellen Westbrook, who helped to create the event in 1994 when she worked for MIFA, has returned as the volunteer chair of the event. The original displays were designed by Reb Haizlip of Haizlip Studios, who has also returned to design exciting new displays along with a few of the old favorites. Also on the team to recreate the event are Montgomery Martin, Tennessee Technology Center and DePouw Engineering.

Some of the new displays will have environmental and natural themes, along with traditional holiday features and fun, whimsical pieces. Also new to the event will be a major gift shop and holiday village and the special nights feature on designated Monday evenings, which will include events for non-vehicular use like bicycling, walking, and other features (will be posted on Web site as events are scheduled).

“Our vision for Starry Nights is to create something truly magical and unrivaled by any but the very best national holiday light shows,” said Masson. “And what better time than now to give Mid-Southerners a fun, affordable and unique holiday experience?”

Starry Nights will once again have a musical soundtrack, featuring local musicians coordinated by Dean Deyo of Memphis Music Foundation. Regena Bearden of the Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau is chairing the marketing committee.

“The return of Starry Nights is a great addition to Memphis’ regional attractions,” said Kevin Kane, president and CEO of Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It’s an opportunity to draw visitors to our city, boosting tourism and business during the holiday season. Starry Nights Memphis, like Shelby Farms Park, makes Memphis a better place to live, which makes Memphis a better place to visit.”

Starry Nights will open at Shelby Farms Park the day after Thanksgiving, November 27, and will run each evening until January 2, open from 6-10pm on Monday through Thursday and 6-11pm on the weekend. Prices will be $20 per car, $35 per shuttle/minivan, $50 for a minibus, and $150 for tour buses. Visit www.starrynightsmemphis.org, become a fan of Starry Nights on Facebook, or call (901)-767-PARK for more information.

Proceeds from Starry Nights will benefit the Shelby Farms Park Conservancy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working to help Shelby Farms Park reach its potential as a celebrated 21st century park that defines and shapes a great city. Get involved by calling (901) 767-PARK, visiting our Web site at www.shelbyfarmspark.org, or becoming a fan of the Park on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ShelbyFarmsPark.

Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker 2009

Cannon Center for the Performing Arts
255 N. Main Street
Memphis, TN  38103
Category: Performing Arts
Date: Dec 01, 2009
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Description:

Great Russian Nutcracker

Tickets for Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker 2009 tour are on sale now. To purchase tickets, visit www.nutcracker.com. Group rates are available by calling (800) 320-1733.

For advance ticket purchase discounts use promo code “SAVE.” New in 2009, Moscow Ballet is offering a special VIP premium seating package. Get the best seats in the house, located in the center orchestra section, and a Moscow Ballet canvas tote bag containing a retrospective souvenir book, CD, and tour poster.

Two simultaneous tours of the Great Russian Nutcracker will visit 70 cities in the United States and Canada. The Prince Tour will be lead by Ballet Master Vladimir Troschenko and feature Cristina and Alexie Terentiev. The Clara tour will be directed by Anatoli Emelianov and feature Ekaterina Bortykova and Akshol Mussakhova as Masha and the Nutcracker.

The Prince tour will star Gold Medalist Cristina Terentieva as Masha partnered by Alexei Terentiev as the Nutcracker Prince. Ms. Terentieva won the Gold Medal at the prestigious Varna International Ballet Competition in 2008. In Varna, the couple performed Radu Poklitaru’s award winning contemporary pas de deux “Lullaby,” for which Alexei was honored as Best Partner. Ms. Terentieva will star in the Nureyev International Ballet Festival in Russia May 20-24 2009.

The Clara Tour stars principal artists Akzhol Mussakhanov and Ekaterina Bortykova as the Prince and Masha. Akzhol Mussakhanov is a 2001 graduate of the State Choreographic School of Kazakhstan. He has danced for the State Opera and Ballet Theatre in Odessa, Ukraine, and has been a soloist at the State Opera and Ballet Theatre of Tatarstan in Kazan, Russia. Born in Kazan, Russia, Ekaterina Bortyakova graduated from the State Choreographic School of Kazan, Russia, in 1998. She has been a soloist the at State Opera and Ballet Theatre of Tatarstan, in Kazan; principal ballet dancer at Swansea Ballet Russe, in Swansea, Wales, UK, and has toured with Moscow Ballet numerous times.

Set against Valentin Fedorov's spectacular hand-painted backdrops and life-sized dancing puppets, the Great Russian Nutcracker delights audiences with a visual tapestry rich in detail and whimsy. It is especially distinctive for its unique setting of Act II in the “Land of Peace and Harmony” and for the introduction of a new character, a Christmas Dove. Mr. Fedorov, an Honored Artist of Chuvashia, was a protégée of the legendary designer Valery Leventhal of the Bolshoi Theatre. He is art director at the Chuvashia State Theater and has designed over 40 productions for opera and ballet.

Moscow Ballet features top graduates of Perm, Vaganova, Moscow State Academic Choreographic and Kiev schools. Acclaimed for exquisite dancing and gorgeous costumes, critics rave that Anatoli Emelianov’s Great Russian Nutcracker is “flawless,” “breathtaking,” and “dazzling.” Whimsical and imaginative storytelling blend with the richness of Russian classical ballet to make the Great Russian Nutcracker a memorable holiday treat for everyone.

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