Curiosity, wonder and whimsy are in store for New Year’s Eve revelers this year at Mississippi Children’s Museum-Meridian’s annual Midnight at the Museum fundraiser.

The New Year’s Eve bash is slated to kick off at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 31 at the museum’s 22nd Avenue location and will run until 1 a.m.

With the theme of “Cirque du Curiosité,” the event looks to be an amusing, whimsical and fun-filled night.

“We have a lot of really fun surprises in store for the night,” said Kimberly Denison, who co-chairs the event along with Liz Wilson and Kim Bowers. They are the three founders of the children’s museum.

“We want to highlight the immersive and interactive nature of the museum and the exhibits in the museum,” she explained. “We want to focus on that, but we will have a lot of musical surprises that are going to be really fun.”

The planned surprises should spark the curiosity and imagination of attendees.

“Hopefully, from the moment our guests step foot in the door, they will feel transported to a whimsical playland of curiosities,” Denison said.

Last year’s Midnight at the Museum, an inaugural event, drew around 500 attendees and organizers hope to build on its success.

Denison said many elements planned for the night were inspired from her travels around the world as a luxury travel advisor.

“As we get older, it becomes more and more difficult for us adults to be really surprised and delighted so we are incorporating some fun elements that we have seen globally into the program,” she said. “Things like interactive art and musical surprises. I don’t want to give a ton away because we want people to come and be surprised.”

Midnight at the Museum: Cirque du Curiosité is open to the public. Attendees must be age 21 and older.

Tickets are $150 per person and include food and beverages.

A black-tie optional event, attendees come dressed in their best evening attire to dance the night away and enjoy savory food and curated cocktails.

“This year is a great year to make your attire whimsical because we are bringing in those fantastical elements to the event,” Denison noted. “If somebody wants to get creative, they are encouraged to do so.”

While a DJ led the countdown to midnight last year, a live band will provide entertainment this year. Unfazed Show and Band is a high energy party band from the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

“We have an amazing, nine-piece band coming up from the Coast. They will be leading our countdown and we have given them creative license,” Denison said. “We said do whatever you need to do to wow us, so we will know it will be fun.”

The Meridian trolley will be running back and forth between MCM-Meridian and the Threefoot Hotel between 8 p.m and 1 a.m. so partygoers can stay safe.

“If folks want to make it a staycation, they can go and drop their car at the hotel and just ride the trolley over,” Denison said.

Tickets for Midnight at the Museum: Cirque du Curiosité are now on sale on the MCM-Meridian website. Click on the celebration on the Events page, then click “Become a Host or Sponsor” to purchase a ticket.

There is also the option of joining MCM-Meridian’s Partners organization, which has four different levels of membership and include one or more tickets to Midnight at the Museum.

MCM-Meridian Partners is a group of volunteer members who are dedicated to supporting the Meridian children’s museum through their time and financial support.

Partners also work to raise money to bridge the gap between the admission price and the actual cost of a child attending the museum.

The actual cost of the museum experience is about $23 per person, but to be accessible to all children, the general admission price is $10 and $5 for field trip groups.

“As an organization, it has always been really important to MCM-Meridian that the museum is accessible to everyone,” Denison said. “The more we raise with this event, the more accessible the museum is to all of our children in the community.”

Last year’s event was a huge success raising about $179,000, she said.

Midnight at the Museum is being presented by BankPlus.

Signature sponsors include Meridian Coca-Cola Bottling Co., PJ’s Coffee in Meridian, Denison Travel, Mitchell Distributing and the WHOO-RAY-ERS.