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The Winchester Downtown Program Corp. is stepping up to the plate Friday to get residents into the Christmas spirit with its second ’Tis The Season event on the Square, featuring a special concert by HunterGirl, the 2022 “American Idol” contest runner-up.

‘Tis the Season will be held from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, and the Square will be closed to through traffic beginning Thursday evening to get the area prepared for the event, according to WDPC Executive Director Ricky Tipps.

Tipps, who is organizing the event with Oldham Theatre owner Montana Medina, said the objective of ’Tis the Season is to engage the public in a fun event that includes activities youths and adults alike will equally enjoy.

Medina said that efforts to have a Christmas event in Winchester have been successful, but the entertainment field had room for improvement, and that’s what this year’s event is all about.

“We wanted to do it in a bigger way, and we started planning early for it,” she said.

A special tree-lighting ceremony will be held at 6:30 p.m., followed by a performance by HunterGirl, also known as Franklin County native Hunter Wolkonowski, who finished as the 2022 “American Idol” runner-up in the reality TV competition’s 20^th season.

In addition to the HunterGirl concert and tree-lighting ceremony, ’Tis the Season will feature a live nativity scene and a petting zoo with monkeys and wallabies to add an international flair to the event.

A special Christmas event wouldn’t be complete without Santa and reindeer, and Tipps said ’Tis the Season is taking the latter a step further by featuring live reindeer. A special segment of the event has been dedicated to reading letters to Santa.

A chainsaw artist carving wood holiday sculptures will also be featured, Tipps said.

Christmas trees will also be for sale with proceeds going to benefit Isaiah 117 House, which provides support for children who are going into foster care.

Offerings from other nonprofit organizations will also be on display, and information about their programs will be available.