Don’t Miss These December Events Across Flint’s Cultural Center

FLINT, Michigan — Throughout the cold months, the holiday season is made warmer by spending quality time with family, friends, and loved ones. Year after year, bringing out familiar decorations and planning festive get-togethers helps create memorable traditions. 

Flint has a full calendar of fun, festive, and free events to celebrate art, culture, and community. Here’s a roundup of events at Flint Institute of Arts, Flint Institute of Music, Applewood, Flint Cultural Center, Longway Planetarium, Sloan Museum of Discovery, Whiting Auditorium, and more. 

40th Annual Holiday Walk

It’s time for the 40th Annual Holiday Walk at the Flint Cultural Center. On Tuesday, Dec. 2, from 5 to 8 p.m., this free family-friendly event includes a tree lighting, Santa, caroling, live music, planetarium shows, arts and crafts, holiday activities, refreshments, and more. Enjoy a tree lighting ceremony at 5:15 p.m. in the Durant Plaza, in between Whiting Auditorium and Sloan Museum of Discovery. 

Applewood will have carolers, ice sculptures, and holiday lights, refreshments, and a reindeer petting zoo. At Flint Repertory Theatre, you can enjoy a musical cabaret of new and old classics. 

At the Flint Institute of Arts, there will be glass blowing demos, make-and-take art activities, a special cafe menu, holiday shopping opportunities in the Museum Shop, and art galleries open all night. 

Head on over to the Gloria Coles Flint Public Library for live music from a local high school orchestra, tap dancers, crafts, and refreshments. At Longway Planetarium, be dazzled with free sampler shows of Cosmic Christmas. The Whaley Historical House will have wandering lantern carolers, tours, crafts, and historic interpreters. 

Enjoy more live music at the FIM Dort Music Center with ensembles and improv squad performances. An adult flute ensemble makes the mood merry at the Sloan Museum of Discovery. See historic cars with their trunks and hoods open for a special once-a-year viewing in the Durant Gallery. 

A maker’s fair offers holiday shopping, in addition to refreshments at the Flint Cultural Center Academy. Take a photo with Mr. and Mrs. Claus and their elves for free at FIM Whiting Auditorium. There will also be food trucks — Northern Smoke BBQ and Bella Concessions & Catering on East Kearsley Street from 5 to 8 p.m. A map is available online to help you plan. 

Anne Mancour, the marketing manager for the Sloan Museum of Discovery and Longway Planetarium, looks forward to the annual Holiday Walk each season, which can attract 2,000 to 3,000 visitors. 

“This Holiday Walk community event has been done for 40 years, and it’s made completely free to the community as a service and a way to thank the community for their support over the years,” Mancour says. “Because it’s the 40th year, we’ve really stepped up the lights, and there’s a live 25-foot tree this year. We know that people look forward to this as a holiday tradition with their families. Personally, I love this event. It’s so festive and fun to see everybody out having a good time, walking through the lit campus.”

Mancour says it’s a unique time when many different nearby venues come together to offer something special for the community at no cost. 

“There’s not really anywhere else I can think of where you can go and get all of these art and cultural venues to come together and make an evening that’s just free and fun,” she says. 

Phillip Krapohl, marketing and communications manager at FIA, considers the annual Holiday Walk a premier event in Genesee County. 

“I think one of the most beneficial aspects of the Holiday Walk is the synergy it creates across the campus,” he says. “All of our institutions collectively create this one mass event that brings thousands of people out to enjoy the lights, the music, and the festivities of the season — but also to get a taste of what each venue has to offer throughout the year.”

While the free event is a great opportunity to give back to the community, it also allows the community to give to itself with a food drive.

“We are encouraging all Holiday Walk guests to get into the giving spirit with a donation to the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan,” Krapohl says. “People can find the link online, or they can text ‘holidaywalk2025’ to 855-800-4975. Even the smallest donation can make a major difference for someone.”

Sloan Museum of Discovery

From Dec. 20-23 and 26-30, try your skills out at a holiday escape room. The experience requires an add-on ticket for each timed entry. Each session accommodates up to 10 people. 

Adults 21+ are invited to enjoy a grown-up cookie night on Wed. Dec. 17 from 6 to 9 p.m. Decorate and enjoy holiday cookies and seasonal drinks, as well as a gift-wrapping station. 

Longway Planetarium

The center offers a few new holiday-themed shows throughout the season, including Laser Holiday Magic now through January 4. Enjoy stunning laser choreography, animations, and abstracts set to festive favorite classics. The Cosmic Christmas light show includes 16 songs and 4K visuals for kids ages 6+. There will also be workshops and winter camps held during the school winter breaks. 

Throughout the year, the Sloan Museum of Discovery and Longway Planetarium are both free for Genesee County residents. There is also a discount for families with a SNAP EBT card, through the Museums for All initiative. 

Flint Institute of Music

The FIM has a plethora of seasonal offerings, ranging from a classic performance of “The Nutcracker” to a Doo Wop Christmas to a controversial cult classic, “Die Hard” movie night. 

Tara Gragg is the chair of the dance department at Flint School Performing Arts and the artistic director of “The Nutcracker.” Gragg grew up training at the Flint School of Performing Arts from ages 4 to 18. Overseeing the dance program, curriculum, mentoring faculty, and artistic directing for the Flint Youth Ballet, Gragg knows what it’s like to be both on stage and work behind the scenes. 

On Dec. 6-7, “The Nutcracker” makes a return to Whiting Auditorium for a special 50th anniversary show. 

“The key to what makes this so special is the collaboration between the Flint Symphony Orchestra and the students at Flint School Performing Arts,” she says. “There are many professional companies that aren’t fortunate enough to perform with a live full symphony orchestra. We are very lucky to have that live music, it’s really not the same with recorded music. We also have professional guest artists who come from nationally and internationally renowned companies that cite having that live music as a highlight from them.”

Having these guest artists from Pacific Northwest Ballet and Dance Theatre of Harlem creates a mentorship between the professional guest artists and the student dancers. Two former students return as alumni to share their perspectives and professional experiences with students in this year’s “Nutcracker” cast. Ashton Edward, as the Sugarplum Fairy, and Hannah Adamczak, as Clara, return to the stage where they got their start. 

“It’s really special to see the excellence of our program and how it has trained dancers of the caliber to be hired as professional guest artists,” Gragg says. “It’s a really full-circle moment. ‘Nutcracker’ is about a young girl and her dreams, so student dancers having dreams to become a professional and return — it really just completes the circle in that way.”

Tickets for the 50th anniversary of “The Nutcracker” are available online, starting at $17 for Genesee County residents and $22 for non-residents. 

On Dec. 12, the Capitol Theatre steps back in time with The Doo Wop Projects in a “Doo Wop Christmas” at 8 p.m. This holiday concert revisits harmonization on stoops, subways, and street corners. The show features reimagined versions of today’s biggest hits and holiday classics from The Drifters, The Temptations, and Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Tickets range from $30 to $40. 

Maybe the age-old question of whether “Die Hard” is actually a Christmas movie or not will finally be settled on Wed. Dec. 17. The Bruce Willis cult classic/unconventional holiday flick will be shown at The Capitol Theatre. Ugly sweaters are encouraged, and snacks and festive drinks await. Tickets range from $4 to $7. 

If you’re looking for something a little more classic and less cult, then round out your holiday season with the Flint Symphony Orchestra’s “Holiday Pops” concert on Saturday, Dec. 20. Some of the most beloved melodies are performed live by the Flint Symphony Orchestra, Flint Symphony Chorus, Flint Youth Chorus, and Fenton High School Ambassadors Show Choir. Tickets range from $17 to $22.