Starting at an early age, Blue C. M. Dingman dreamed of assembling her own Christmas village. “I’ve always loved villages, since the time I was little, watching them get assembled for department stores in holiday movies on our families black-and-white television set,” said Dingman, the artist behind Blue’s Christmas Village at the 1874 Bradley Home this December. What started as a childhood memory signifying the holiday season quickly grew into 102 hand-painted homes, storefronts, hospitals and even a cemetery.

The Midland Center for the Arts is starting dialogue and presenting programs around the role women have played in history, and their achievements that are impacting tomorrow. Connecting these themes with the bi-annual (Be)causes & Effects symposium, the Midland County Historical Society welcomes award-winning author Daisy Hernandez as keynote speaker to share current disparities in today’s culture on Feb. 1 in the Center Lecture Room below the Alden B. Museum of Science & Art.

Imagine if Albert Einstein had met Pablo Picasso, sat down at a local watering hole in 1904 and both disclosed what would soon become their most brilliant ideas. What would happen if these two struggling artists, geniuses you might say, shared tales and new discoveries? Welcome to the brilliant and witty writing of other legendary artist and playwright, Steve Martin.

Midland Center for the Arts has launched a new educational program, Beginning Stages, to develop theatrical skills for youth with all levels of experience. As part of Center Stage Theatre, a community theatre company housed within the Center, Beginning Stages offers weekly educational workshops in performance and backstage skills for kids looking to explore the art of live theatre.

The biggest night of the year is approaching as we celebrate the start of 2020, and the Midland Center for the Arts is open for a special New Years Eve celebration for the entire family! The Museum of Science and Art will be open for special hours on Tuesday, December 31 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with free admission for museum members, $10 for adults and $7 for children.

As Midland Center for the Arts quickly approaches its 50^th anniversary next year, Center programs are seeing exciting growth. In its latest edition, Pollstar Magazine ranked the Center as one of the top theatre venues in the world based on ticket sales. Over the past few years, new programs highlighting shows and artists from around the world, as well as newly formulated community-produced events have contributed to the Center’s increasing audiences and growing notoriety within the arts industry.

Don’t just sit inside this holiday season while your students are home for the holiday break, go outside and explore the wilderness. At the Midland Center for the Arts, they are bringing creativity and imagination to families looking to explore Midland history through the current exhibit, Forever Forest.