At MIX Illumination, take a lantern tour of the Art Museum’s collection while learning more about Colum & Stripe, their new YP group

Over the last couple of months, the Cleveland Museum of Art has been — well, literally — mixing things up when it comes to drawing in new audiences to the museum.

The Art Museum’s First Friday MIX events take attendees on a unique trip of the museum every month. Whether it’s your first or nth time at the museum, these monthly happy hours each focus on a different aspect of the museum’s collection.

For instance, at last month’s MIX, guests could go on a scavenger hunt of the museum’s collection and solve a “mystery.” It also showcased the beautiful, brand-new atrium. After exploring the Martin Creed Half the Air exhibit, I was happy to escape the purple sea of balloons into the spacious atrium. Just hand me a gin and tonic to relax.

Bad hair day at the Cleveland Museum of Art! What a room full of balloons does to my hair.

At the Museum’s MIX: Illumination on Dec. 7, 5-9pm, dust off your holiday cardigan (mine’s getting a lot of work this year) and celebrate the season with warming winter drinks, live music and festive art activities.

After going on a lantern-led tour of the collection, relax in the MIX holiday lodge and take part in the museum’s White Elephant gift exchange (gift exchange for first 100 guests).

Advance tickets for MIX: Illumination are only $8; $10 day of event. And it’s free if you’re a member. Call (216) 421-7350 or visit clevelandart.org/MIX.

While the longtime University Circle mainstay has always been popular with younger audiences (best free date night in Cleveland, in my opinion), MIX is one part of a larger campaign to engage Cleveland’s recent college graduates and young professional crowd to the museum.

Complementing MIX is the Art Museum’s new YP group Column & Stripe. The new philanthropy group is a great way for the next generation of Cleveland’s artists, arts consumers and philanthropists to enjoy behind-the-scenes content about what’s going on at the Museum.

Members who want to get more involved with the museum also have the opportunity to sit on a committee and the Museum’s Emerging Leaders Board.

After launching at this year’s Solstice Party, they’ve been busy planning programming for 20/30-something Clevelanders. Check them out at this month’s MIX, where they’ll be sponsoring the holiday lodge with games and spiked hot chocolate.

And if you can’t make it Friday, Column & Stripes’ Holiday Party takes place on Thursday, December 13, from 6-10 p.m. If you’re a member or interested in learning more, join them for a trip to Great Lakes Brewing Co.’s tasting room for drinks and food. While tickets are free, limited space remains and reservations are required.

Membership for C&S starts at $50 per person with existing museum membership. Visit ColumnandStripe.org for more details.