Calendar

Virtual theater packages for families. Enjoy a professional children's theater show at home! 

Virtual Show Titles: 

• Anne of Green Gables
• From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
• Chicken Dance

Packages Include:

• Access to a recorded children's theater show you can stream at home.
• A brand-new copy of the book that inspired the show.
• A $25 Market Street gift card - use for a ready-made meal or snacks to share while enjoying the show.
• A bag of authentic Paramount Theatre popcorn delivered to your door*
• Written instructions for show-related crafts, games, and activities.
• Fun video extras - meet the cast, author or director, learn a song or dance (varies by show).
• One or two surprises!

*Within Abilene city limits.

Local 4-H and FFA members have shown their prize winning animals at the Taylor County Livestock Show for many years. Raising, caring and showing animals teaches the youth many life skills such as responsibility, financial considerations and showmanship. Shows included the following: goats, heifers, lambs, poultry, rabbits, steers and swine!

Enjoy BBQ and live music by Katelyn and Colton Black on the patio.

Zak Webb & Frank Lopez live at Heff’s in the mall of Abilene! Don’t miss this phenomenal entertainment combined with the best burgers around!

Join West Texas Rehabilition Center live at the Abilene Convention Center or by tuning in virtually through their live stream of the evenings events.

Singers can sign up for an audition time at AbileneIdol2021.chorusabilene.net. All genres and decades of music are encouraged. The Top Ten adults and Final Five juniors will be announced at the end of auditions, after judges confer, at the Mall of Abilene and on Facebook Live.

As in the past, scoring of performances on the evening of the Feb. 6th Finale will be composed of three components: an unlimited amount of $1 'pre-votes,' audience member votes on Feb. 6th, and a three-judge panels’ consensus. Besides winning the coveted title, adult winners receive $600/1st place, $400/2nd place, $200 3rd place; junior winners receive $300/1st place, $200/2nd place, and $100/3rd place.

Air It Out Passing Camp provides young quarterbacks, receivers, running backs and tight ends with the best instruction in skill development. The football camp also focuses on faith, character and leadership development, drug and alcohol awareness that will help young men be successful both on the playing field and in the game of life.

Enjoy BBQ and live music by Boone Dugan on the patio.

Enjoy music on the patio featuring Morgan Reatherford.

Enjoy food, beverages, golf and live music on the patio featuring Matt Stapp.

This photography workshop will teach you how to finally master your camera and start shooting like a pro! Not only will you get 4 hours of hands-on camera training, guided shooting downtown and editing tips, you’ll also get to connect with some amazing people who are just as passionate about photography as you!

Enjoy great food and live music featuring Seth Merritt at Sharon's BBQ South.

Meet at Abilene Christian University in Fry Band Hall for a virtual masterclass conducted by Abilene Philharmonic's principal trumpeter, Ben Fairfield.
You can also tune in virtually by registering here: https://forms.gle/gEY9RzJrU2a6vvfSA

This course fulfills the requirements set forth by the TX DPS for classroom instruction and proficiency demonstration/qualification for first-time CHL/LTC applicants. Each participant should pre-register individually online via www.warriorfitathlete.com/ltc.

Raise a glass to french toast at Kao Lounge! 

Join the South Branch Library for Once Upon A Storytime as they welcome some very special royal sisters who love reading! Dress up like your favorite princess or prince, or character and enjoy stories, songs, games, and crafts at this majestic storytime. Picture opportunity with meet and greet to follow. The whole family is invited!

Enjoy BBQ and live music by Holt Jones on the patio.

Join Vagabond for a night of food and wine as they 'travel' through the European countryside. They will be putting a Vagabond spin on traditional fare from five European destinations and pairing it all with a few of their favorite wines.

Below are a few precautionary procedures in place for our event:

1. Two seatings are planned; one at 5:30 pm and the second at 8:00 pm to allow plenty of cleaning time inbetween groups.
2. Less folks at each seating to allow for appropriate distance between tables.
3. No shared tables with folks you don't know (or plan to see here). Each table will be set for the number of folks specifically in your party.

The Micro Wrestling Federation is a full-scale, WWE type event supported by an entire cast under five feet tall. It’s going to be pandemonium as the Micro Wrestlers body slam, bear hug, and headlock throughout an evening of nonstop action. Here is what you can expect:

Two Single Matches: Who are the toughest Micro Wrestlers? 

Micro Brawl: Body slams, suplexes, and punches to the face can take place anywhere in the venue! Get ready for up-close and personal Micro action!

Micro Royal Rumble: All the Micro superstars enter the squared circle and stand tiny toe to tiny toe against one another in the main event! The belt is on the line and only one Micro wrestler will leave as champion.

Enjoy music on the patio featuring Keith O'Dell.

Schönberg Transfigured Night. Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings. Corporate Sponsor: Condley and Company. Visit website for more details.

Enjoy food, beverages, golf and live music on the patio featuring Ariel Hutchins.

Key City Volleyball exists to develop volleyball athletes in Abilene and surrounding communities.

Enjoy music on the patio featuring Amelia Presley.

This event is for 4-H and FFA youth of Texas to show their haired steers one last time before the slick shear season begins. Find show information and the schedule here. 

Come out and enjoy food, drinks, and great live music featuring the Haydn Bartlow Band!

The top ten adults and final five juniors announced at the end of auditions will perform to win it all! 

As in the past, scoring of performances on the evening of the Feb. 6th Finale will be composed of three components: an unlimited amount of $1 'pre-votes,' audience member votes on Feb. 6th, and a three-judge panels’ consensus. Besides winning the coveted title, adult winners receive $600/1st place, $400/2nd place, $200 3rd place; junior winners receive $300/1st place, $200/2nd place, and $100/3rd place.

Men's and women's collegiate cross country invitational hosted by McMurry University. 

Mark your calendars for Kolby Cooper featuring Corey Kent at Tequilas Night Club!

A sinister con man, Roat, and two ex-convicts, Mike and Carlino, are about to meet their match. They have traced the location of a mysterious doll, which they are much interested in, to the Greenwich Village apartment of Sam Hendrix and his blind wife, Susy. The con man and his ex-convicts, through a cleverly constructed deception, convince Susy that the police have implicated Sam in the murder of a woman, and the doll, which she believes is the key to his innocence, is evidence. She refuses to reveal its location, and with the help of a young neighbor, figures out she is the victim of a bizarre charade. A deadly game of cat and mouse ensues between and Susy knows the only way to play fair is by her rules, so when darkness falls she turns off all the lights until the game ends. By Fredrick Knott and directed by Nenna McLain.

A comedic play about misunderstandings, love and deception. Benedick and Beatrice don't love each other but then they do. Claudio and Hero love each other but then they don't but then they do again. Everyone gets married. By William Shakespeare, directed by Amanda Keith.

Abilene Christian University ACU Invitational Softball Tournament. Collegiate softball competition.

Enjoy an evening of live music featuring Amelia Presley at Sockdolager Brewing Co.

Based on Truman Capote's novel, this is the story of a young woman in New York City who meets a young man when he moves into her apartment building. He is with an older woman who is very wealthy, but he wants to be a writer. She is working as an expensive escort and searching for a rich, older man to marry.

 Over 70 events for alumni, students, family and friends. Highlights include the homecoming luncheon, All-School SING, reunion gatherings, alumni awards, activities for children and youth, and athletics events all culminating in the annual alumni-led worship service on Sunday morning.

This 1-mile run/walk hosted by the McMurry University Track and Field and Cross Country teams is to remember former McMurry cross country runner, Kristin Mitchell. In doing so, they would like to raise awareness to the importance of mental health and suicide prevention. All entry fees and donations go directly toward New Horizons. Register here.

As the result of the curse of a once-beautiful witch, a baker and his wife are childless. Three days before the rise of a blue moon, they venture into the forest to find the ingredients that will reverse the spell and restore the witch's beauty: a milk-white cow, hair as yellow as corn, a blood-red cape, and a slipper of gold. During their journey, they meet Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Jack, each one on a quest to fulfill a wish. Into the Woods is a modern twist on the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tales and one of Sondheim’s most enchanting and popular works. A musical by Stephen Sondheim. 

A comedic play about misunderstandings, love and deception. Benedick and Beatrice don't love each other but then they do. Claudio and Hero love each other but then they don't but then they do again. Everyone gets married. By William Shakespeare, directed by Amanda Keith.

Abilene's one and only dirt track for car racing. On Friday the pits open at 4 p.m. and racing begins at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, pit gates open at 3 p.m. and racing gets underway at 7 p.m.

American Southwest Conference collegiate men's and women's tennis competition.

From the Gibson Girl to the Flapper, women's fashion evolution from the early 1900s to the 1920s in the United States was due to new economic and social factors for women. These three decades were a defining time as many women fought for the right to vote, joined the work force during World War I, and changed the traditional social norms for women from the previous century.

Capturing a likeness goes back to the earliest of times, however, with the invention of cameras in the 1800s, portraits became more popular and easily attainable. Cartes-de-visite and Cabinet Cards were albumen prints mounted on small cards, typically portraits of the subject. The Cartes-de-visite, invented in France, were smaller cards made between the 1860s and 1870s. A larger portrait, called the Cabinet Card, was popular up until the late 1900s. Professional photographers typically took photographs in their studios and made several copies of the cards for the individual to give to friends and family. Tintypes, popular from the 1850s until the 1890s, were sometimes a cheaper option than earlier daguerreotypes for those part of the working classes.

The photographs in this exhibition are from the permanent collection of The Grace Museum. Although most of the individuals in the photographs (besides those of the royal family) are anonymous, their clothing, their pose, their gaze, all are signs of the Victorian Era they lived in.

Photographer David H. Gibson met David McManaway in 1964. A long friendship followed and in 1993 Gibson began documenting McManaway’s extraordinary studio. A visit to McManaway’s studio was akin to stepping into one of McManaway’s works of art; walls, ceilings and table tops covered with carefully selected cultural castoffs silently awaiting a second chance as fine art. Gibson’s photographs of the studio, dismantled after McManaway’s death in 2010, are as close as we can get to walking into McManaway’s unique, (Mojo) Jomo themed amusement park.

The fine art of found objects defied the status quo to become a major art movement in the last decades of the 20th century. Inspired by Picasso and Braque’s 1912 experiments with paper and print and Marcel Duchamp’s “readymades”, Dada and Surrealism made anything and everything a medium for serious art making. Appropriation of images from popular culture took the form in realistic paintings of objects, collage work and printmaking. Subsequently, the appropriation of found objects into two and three-dimensional mixed media assemblage work became the bedrock of 21st century, interactive, art installations. This exhibition presents a selection of art work based on appropriated found objects in a variety of media selected from The Grace Museum permanent collection by Kirk Hayes, Robert Rauschenberg, Vernon Fisher, Linda Ridgway, Martin Delabano, William Farr, and Clint Hamilton.

The story of women's suffrage is a story of voting rights, of inclusion in and exclusion from the franchise, and of our civic development as a nation. Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence, a poster exhibition from the Smithsonian, celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment and explores the complexity of the women's suffrage movement and the relevance of this history to Americans' lives today.

The crusade for women's suffrage is one of the longest reform movements in American history. Between 1832 and 1920, women citizens organized for the right to vote, agitating first in their states or territories and then, simultaneously, through petitioning for a federal amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Based on the National Portrait Gallery exhibition of the same name, Votes for Women seeks to expand visitors’ understanding of the suffrage movement in the United States. The poster exhibition addresses women's political activism, explores the racism that challenged universal suffrage, and documents the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment which prohibits the government from denying U.S. citizens the right to vote on the basis of sex. It also touches upon the suffrage movement's relevance to current conversations on voting and voting rights across America.

Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence is organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery. This project received support from the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative.

The Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative, Because of Her Story is one of the country’s most ambitious undertakings to research, collect, document display and share the compelling story of women. It will deepen our understanding of women’s contributions to the nation and the world. More information about the initiative is available at womenshistory.si.edu.

Christian Robinson, emerging, millennial, Black illustrator, [and] all around incredible human is passionate about telling stories with pictures. Born in Hollywood, California, in 1986, he grew up in a small one-bedroom apartment with his brother, two cousins, aunt, and grandmother. Drawing became a way to make space for himself in a world crowded with loving others. 'Picture books especially are many children’s first introduction to the world. Seeing yourself is almost like a message, it’s saying: you matter, you are visible, and you’re valuable.' – Christian Robinson

Create your own Christian Robinson-inspired FREE art project at home, using the same materials he used in some of his beautiful books, including 'You Matter', 'Another', 'Just in Case You Want to Fly', and more. Give the NCCIL a call and let them set you up with what you need for this fun family activity! P: 325-673-4586

This exhibition will highlight the early history of the State Epileptic Colony in Abilene through over 50 photographs from The Grace’s permanent history collection. In 1904, the institution was founded to help individuals with epilepsy through research, care, isolation, and offering a place to work and live. The complex consisted of an administration building, a power plant, a women’s and men’s hospital, four cottages, and a home for the superintendent. The hospital was a state of the art facility and housed 200 patients by the fall of 1904. By the 1920s, the state of Texas expressed the desire to include individuals with mental health disabilities and renamed the colony the Abilene State Hospital and added a recreation building, x-ray laboratories, twin dormitories, and a warehouse. The named changed to Abilene State School in the 1950s and later the Abilene State Supported Living Center. The current living center is dedicated to treatment, rehabilitation, independence, and helping individuals feel safe and healthy.

Peer Led Expressive Activities specifically for Veterans, Veteran Spouse, or Veteran's Adult Children. ArtHEALs uses creative methods to help veterans, active duty, and their caregivers both individually and as a group address social, behavioral and emotional issues. Activities include guided artistic expression to music, discussion and sharing.

In 2018, The Grace Museum was privileged to acquire Margo Sawyer’s acclaimed 1998 sculptural installation BLUE through an unprecedented collaboration with The Contemporary Austin and the Blanton Museum of Art at The University of Texas Austin. For this exhibition Sawyer installs BLUE in response to The Grace Museum’s unique historical galleries and creates REFLECT featuring new work as an ongoing conversation with the past and present. The site-specific installation BLUE was originally created during Sawyer’s 1998 Austin Museum of Art residency program at Laguna Gloria. BLUE has been described as a miniature city, an Oriental carpet, an ocean and a garden just out of reach with thousands of hand crafted elements arranged to reference Sawyer’s world travels to exotic places like the Indian city of Jodhpur, where blue doors, windows and steps follow the Brahmin tradition. Upon closer inspection, universal visions of blue skies and bodies of water are interrupted with earth elements, objects and reflective surfaces that tease the eye and broaden focus to include the beauty and transcendence of abundance, diversity and individuality of the complex world we inhabit.

Celebrate the power of story and value of children’s picture book art at the 6th Annual Storybook Ball. This event honors those who passionately work for the National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature's mission and vision. Join the fun for a magical night of dining, dancing, and celebration surrounded by the playful artwork of illustrator Christian Robinson.

Join The Center for Contemporary Arts for their Virtual ISAC Reception & Awards! They'll announce this year's winners at this event.

Kick off the new year with a virtual Art Like a Local! Mary K. Huff will lead everyone in creating a Found Object masterpiece.

Supplies provided by the Center for pick-up:

• Art panel
• Gel medium adhesive
• Brush
• Small assortment of found objects*

*Participants are encouraged to also gather and use their own found objects for this activity.

Objects like paper clips, yarn, bottle caps, screws, trinkets and knick-knacks of all kind. Just about ANYTHING goes!

ArtWalk is a monthly mini arts festival downtown hosted by the Center for Contemporary Arts. Bring the entire family to historic downtown where restaurants, shops, museums, galleries and entertainment await you! The February ArtWalk theme is 'Love is in the Air' featuring a poetry reading and a love-themed paint off! Adult Beverages available for purchase thanks to The Local. Special thanks to Lone Star Dry Goods for sponsoring live music from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. 

David Small works with watercolor, pen and ink, and pastels. His later works have a much softer look, but they continue to include his trademark attention to small details that beg to be poured over again and again. This 2021 exhibition will be the last public display of Small’s work before it transitions to a private collection.

This virtual celebration will showcase the Center for Contemporary Art's new exhibit featuring works from talented Black artists from Abilene and other regions of Texas. 'A Better Tomorrow' is a special exhibition that opens during Black History Month and runs through April 3. Join in for this virtual event to see the art and hear from some of these incredible artists!

See the artist lineup at center-arts.com/tomorrow.

Youth Art Month is a national celebration of the visual arts.  Each March, the Grace Museum hosts this art exhibition of approximately 1,000 students from all over the Region 14 service area.