Downtown Winchester will be filled with the sounds of holiday cheer the first weekend in December, thanks to two days of special performances, including the annual Christmas Parade.

This year’s parade theme, “A Magical Musical Christmas,” was inspired by Clark County’s musical heritage and the Martin Family Circus who will headline a performance at the Leeds Center for the Arts Dec. 1. The band will also serve as the grand marshal of the parade at 6 p.m. Dec. 2.

Other performances during the weekend include local country music artists Chris Carpenter and Lauren Mink.

Parade registrants are asked to capture what a magical, musical Christmas means to them with their entry. The parade committee anticipates floats reflecting Winchester’s musical traditions, favorite holiday movies and carols.

There will also be special performances during the parade by the GRC band and others. Mink will perform songs from her upcoming Christmas album on the courthouse steps beginning at 5 p.m., followed by the tree lighting on the courthouse lawn at 6 p.m., which signals the start of the parade.

The Martin Family Circus has deep roots in Clark County. Led by Grammy-winning Winchester native, Paul Martin “this self-contained vocal-driven melodic band of two parents and four kids packs a punch with their rich stack of family harmonies in a soaring blend, which Rolling Stone magazine calls ‘exuberant.’”

Reflecting on his career, which included a decade with the chart-topping band Exile, Martin said, “Even though I have lived in Nashville for over 25 years, I have taken Winchester with me everywhere my travels have taken me in the states and abroad. My parents [the late Bill and Texas Martin] had a recording studio in Winchester the entire time I was growing up, which is the reason I am doing what I do to this day.”

That musical legacy continues not only with Martin’s children, but also with Martin’s nephew and Winchester native, country singer Chris Carpenter who will open for the band.

The Christmas parade is presented by the award-winning Masons of Right Angle Lodge No. 233 F&AM. The lodge recently received the Excellence Award from the Grand Master’s Lodge for the second year in a row.

Tickets for the Martin Family Circus performance are available now at leedscenter.org.