Odessa Arts

Art Tales: Waiting
2025-05-07 13:00 - 13:30 (America/Chicago) | Ellen Noel Art Museum, 4909 E. University, Odessa, TX, 79762, United States
Join us at the Ellen Noël Art Museum for a delightful event tailored for art-loving preschoolers aged 3-5 and their grown-ups. At 1:00 PM, we invite you to immerse yourselves in a beautifully illustrated story and a fun art activity. This free event offers an engaging children’s story followed by a hands-on art project related to the tale.
Our featured book for this session is Waiting by Kevin Henkes. Young attendees will be entertained by the charming story of a group of animals waiting for various things. After the story, children will participate in an art activity inspired by the adventures. It’s a wonderful opportunity to foster a love of reading and creativity in young children while spending quality time together. We look forward to welcoming you and your little artists to the museum for this fun and inspiring event!

Alton Brown Live Last Bite
2025-05-07 19:30 | Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center, 1310 FM 1788, Midland, Texas
Alton Brown Live: Last Bite Alton Brown Live: Last Bite, the famed foodist reflects on his decades in food media, presents several of his favorite culinary mega-hacks, sings some of his funny food songs, and in general offers a culinary variety show the likes of which human eyes have never seen.

Read to Louie
2025-05-08 16:00 - 17:00, 2025-05-22 16:00 - 17:00 | Ector County Library
Felix is still on vacation, but his friend Louie is ready for you to grab a book and maybe scritch ears!
Félix todavía está de vacaciones, ¡pero su amigo Louie está listo para que tomes un libro y quizás le rasques las orejas!

Book Buzz
2025-05-08 18:00 | Ellen Noel Art Museum, 4909 E. University, Odessa, TX, 79762, United States
Join Penguin/Random House Representative, Liz Sullivan, for a lively discussion about new releases and interesting reads. We’ll also be searching for a future Book Talk Selection. Free! Drinks and snacks with be served. Ages 18+

The Last Five Years
2025-05-09 19:30, 2025-05-10 19:30 | Basin Theatre Works, 310 W. 42nd Street, Odessa, TX, 79764, United States
Discover the emotional journey of love in The Last Five Years, a captivating musical that follows Cathy and Jamie as they navigate the highs and lows of their relationship over five transformative years. Join us for an unforgettable experience that will resonate with anyone who has ever loved. Don’t miss your chance to see this extraordinary production live!

Midland Festival Ballet Presents Bach in Ballet
2025-05-10 18:30 | Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center, 1310 FM 1788, Midland, Texas
This year’s showcase is themed around Johan Sebastian Bach. The Baroque composer may seem old, and maybe even irrelevant, but many famous neoclassical ballets are set to Bach’s music – most notably Concerto Barocco by George Balanchine, which remains one of Balanchine’s most performed works around the world! Neoclassical ballet is all about making the music visual, a difficult skill we start teaching and refining even in our youngest dancers. We’re excited to work with them as they hear new melodies (and instruments!) and learn about some of these ballets (an important part of a dancer’s education) while demonstrating all they’ve learned this year!

The Great Arizona Puppet Theatre
2025-05-11 09:30 | Desert Botanical Garden, 1201 N. GALVIN PARKWAY, Phoenix, AZ, 85008, United States
DATE: May 11
TIME: 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
PRICE: Included with Membership or General Admission. Reservations required.
The Great Arizona Puppet Theater will be coming to the desert this year! Create a wonderful day at the Desert Botanical Garden. Enjoy an award-winning puppet show and spend time exploring our trails and the Cactus Clubhouse—our special play area for children and caregivers​
Old MacDonald’s Ranch | May 11 | Dorrance Hall | Performances at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m.
Join us for a special Mother’s Day event. Old MacDonald has moved off of the farm and onto a ranch right here in the Sonoran desert! Come along and meet all the native Arizona animals for this silly sing-along show. After each performance, stay to make your own puppet! Puppet Making 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Rhythm and Rhyme Storytime - CENTENNIAL
2025-05-13 11:00 - 11:30, 2025-05-20 11:00 - 11:30, 2025-05-27 11:00 - 11:30 | Midland County Library – Centennial Branch, 2503 Loop 250 Frontage Rd., Midland, TX, 79705, United States
Interactive storytime that includes early literacy fun with books, songs, fingerplays, and body movement. Child must have an accompanying adult. Ages 0-2.

Toddler Tales Storytime - CENTENNIAL
2025-05-14 11:00 - 11:30, 2025-05-21 11:00 - 11:30, 2025-05-28 11:00 - 11:30, 2025-06-04 11:00 - 11:30, 2025-06-11 11:00 - 11:30 | Midland County Library – Centennial Branch, 2503 Loop 250 Frontage Rd., Midland, TX, 79705, United States
Fun ways to help support toddlers’ developing literacy and cognitive growth by incorporating action rhymes, songs, and movement. Child must have an accompanying adult. Ages 3-5.

Toddler Tales Storytime - DOWNTOWN
2025-05-14 11:00 - 11:30, 2025-05-21 11:00 - 11:30, 2025-05-28 11:00 - 11:30, 2025-06-04 11:00 - 11:30, 2025-06-11 11:00 - 11:30 | Midland Library at the Plaza (Downtown), 301 W. Missouri Ave., Midland, TX, 79701, United States

Ballet Arizona presents Eroica: An Evening at Desert Botanical Garden
2025-05-14 20:00 - 2025-05-31 20:00 | Desert Botanical Garden, 1201 N. GALVIN PARKWAY, Phoenix, AZ, 85008, United States
DATE: May 14-31 | Tues. – Sat.
TIME: 8 p.m.
PRICE: Tickets at balletaz.org
Surrounded by the magnificent desert landscape with the setting sun as its backdrop, Eroica makes a comeback at An Evening at Desert Botanical Garden. Expect the unexpected as this ballet evolves, takes chances and challenges your emotional boundaries in the desert that we call our home.

Midland Dance Academy Presents "Under the Lights"
2025-05-15 18:00 | Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center, 1310 FM 1788, Midland, Texas
Delight in Midland Dance Academy’s performance of “Under the Lights.”
**Clear Bag Policy Is Enforced**

Auditions - Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamboat
2025-05-16 - 2025-05-17 | Basin Theatre Works, 310 W. 42nd Street, Odessa, TX, 79764, United States
Times and info on the QR code

Summer Reading Kick-Off!
2025-05-17 10:30 - 12:30 | Ector County Library
School is almost out and summer is coming and so is the Ector County Library Summer Reading Program – Color Our World. Join us for the kick-off event where you can sign-up for the summer reading challenge, get a free sno-cone, play some outdoor games, and see what our community partners have to offer as well. We hope to see you there!
Ya casi terminan las clases y se acerca el verano, con el Programa de Lectura de Verano de la Biblioteca del Condado de Ector: Colorea Nuestro Mundo. Únete a nosotros en el evento inaugural, donde podrás inscribirte en el reto de lectura de verano, obtener un cono de nieve gratis, jugar al aire libre y descubrir lo que nuestros socios comunitarios tienen para ofrecer. ¡Esperamos verte allí!

Art Tales: The Princess and the Pea
2025-05-21 13:00 - 13:30 | Ellen Noel Art Museum, 4909 E. University, Odessa, TX, 79762, United States
Join us at the Ellen Noël Art Museum for a delightful event tailored for art-loving preschoolers aged 3-5 and their grown-ups. At 1:00 PM, we invite you to immerse yourselves in a beautifully illustrated story and a fun art activity. This free event offers an engaging children’s story followed by a hands-on art project related to the tale.
Our featured book for this session is The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Andersen. Young attendees will be entertained by the charming story of a young princess who is challenged before she marries a prince. After the story, children will participate in an art activity inspired by the adventures. It’s a wonderful opportunity to foster a love of reading and creativity in young children while spending quality time together. We look forward to welcoming you and your little artists to the museum for this fun and inspiring event!

Sensory Friendly Storytime
2025-05-28 16:00 - 17:00 | Ector County Library
Share West Texas is back to help the Library present a Sesnory Friendly Storytime where we read a few books, sing some songs, and make a craft. Sensory bins are available to play with, too!
Share West Texas regresa para ayudar a la Biblioteca a presentar una Hora del Cuento Sensorial donde leemos algunos libros, cantamos canciones y hacemos una manualidad. ¡También hay contenedores sensoriales disponibles para jugar!

Read to Rusty
2025-05-29 16:00 - 17:00 | Ector County Library
Felix is going on vacation, but he has convinced his doggy friend, Rusty, to come let you read to him instead.
Félix se va de vacaciones, pero ha convencido a su amigo perrito, Rusty, para que venga a dejarte leerle.

Storytime
2025-06-05 10:30 - 11:00 | Phoenix Art Museum, 1625 North Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ, 85004, United States
TICKETS: Free for Members | Included in general admission for the general public
Advance registration recommended
Designed for our youngest PhxArt visitors (ages 0-5) and their parents or caregivers, Storytime is a wonderful opportunity to share the joy of early literacy, art-inspired play, and hands-on learning with family and friends. The Storytime series is offered on the first Thursday of each month inside the Museum.
Storytime is made possible by the Angela and Leonard Singer Endowment for the Performing Arts, The Discount Tire Endowment for Children’s Art Programs, the William Randolph Hearst Endowed Fund for Education Programs, and Traditional Legacy Schools.
