The sounds and colors of Christmas are fast upon us.

Whether you want to confine your Christmas arts adventures to Winchester or want to explore the season in Lexington or elsewhere in central Kentucky, there is much to do and enjoy.

Winchester and Clark County

The Winchester Chorale will perform its annual Christmas Concert at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7 and Sunday, Dec. 8, at First Christian Church, 24 E. Hickman St.

The group’s special guest this year is The Peace of Bluegrass Band.

The concert is free; donations will be accepted.

Madison County

Celebrate an 18th Century Christmas at Fort Boonesborough this Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 4p.m.

The fort will be festively decorated with candles and greenery.

Refreshments will be available.

Entertainment will feature “living history interpretations of the traditions of various ethnic groups and nationalities during the season,” along with music and dance.

Admission is $8 for adults and $5 for children 6 to 12. Children younger than 6 are free.

For more information, call 859-527-3131 ext 216 or email Fort Manager Bill Farmer at  bill.farmer@ky.gov.

Lexington

Beginning Friday evening, Waveland State Historic Site will feature Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”

This is a one-hour presentation of the classic tale of how miserly Ebenezer Scrooge learns to embrace the spirit of Christmas.

Twenty performances are scheduled for Friday and Saturday evenings Dec. 6-21. Individual performances are limited to audiences of 30.

Directed by Greg Adams, an English teacher at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, the performances feature Karl Shannon as Marley and Lew Bowling as Scrooge.

There is no intermission. Audience members will stand for the entire performance as a narrator leads the audience from room to room.

A few of the performances are sold out. However, tickets for most shows are still available at $20 for adults and $10 for students.

Advance reservations can be made by calling 859-272-361. Should you reach their answering machine, leave a message with a call back number.

“The Blind Boys of Alabama: Christmas Show” is at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11, at Singletary Center for the Arts. Tickets start at $68.

The Concert at the Cathedral at 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, features The Lexington Singers and the Lexington Philharmonic in a seasonal collaboration of sacred orchestral and choral works in the magnificent Cathedral of Christ the King, 299 Colony Blvd.

University of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra Conductor John Nardolillo is the concert’s guest conductor. Tickets are $30 to $80, and are available at lexphil.org.

Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill

Illuminated Evenings will be held each Saturday evening in December (7, 14, 21) and feature “holiday music, roaring fires, twinkling lights and special visits with Mrs. Claus!”

Every event features different programs and performers.

Instead of the usual $5 donation, visitors can bring new scarves, mittens, gloves and non-perishable foods be contributed for families in need.

Renfro Valley

Christmas in the Valley features concerts by Exile at 7 p.m. Dec. 13; the Platters, Drifters and Coasters at 7 p.m. Dec. 14; and the Oak Ridge Boys at 5 p.m. Dec. 15. Tickets start at $35 and can be reserved online at renfrovalley.com/headliners.

Bill McCann is a playwright, poet, flash fiction writer and teacher who writes about arts events and personalities. Reach him at wmccann273@gmail.com.