Equestrian events, live music and more: Fun things to do this weekend in Ocala/Marion
World Equestrian Center - Ocala Dressage
Ocala Dressage XIV and XV are official qualifying competitions for the 2022 Great American/USDF Regional Championships. Trials are held Aug. 26-28 all day at the World Equestrian Center, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala. If you love horses and enjoy watching this exacting precision sport, bring your family and spend the day! Food and beverages available from various on-site restaurants. For more information, visit www.worldequestriancenter.com or call 352-414-7900.
Orange Blossom Opry
Friday Night Live at the Opry, 16439 SE 138th Terrace, Weirsdale, features former Sawyer Brown band member Bobby Randall on Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. for an evening of rollicking country music with the Orange Blossom Opry Band. Tickets from $25. For more details, visit www.obopry.com for venue information and purchase.
Delta Rose Band
Hang out at the Town Square at Circle Square Commons, 8405 SW 80th St., on Aug. 27 from 7-10 p.m. for an evening of dancing and live local music with the Delta Rose Band! Food trucks, vendors, kiosks, shopping and fantastic fun for adults and families! Free and open to the public, weather permitting. For more information, visit www.circlesquarecommons.com.
Good deals: As inflation vexes, Earth Fare drops prices on 200+ items to make healthy food accessible
'Southern food with soul': Family owned and operated Big Man's Cafe opens in NE Ocala
The champion: Ocala BBQ king Rashad Jones of Big Lee's wins Food Network contest, becomes 'Master of 'Cue'
Ongoing:
Art of Aging Exhibit: The Secrets of Life
This exhibit is up Aug. 5-27 at the Brick Center for the Arts, 23 SW Broadway St., Ocala. It celebrates aging in photos, poetry and paintings from 27 Marion Cultural Alliance artists who are older than 55 and also features work by local photographer Ralph Demilio. Free and open to the public. More at mcaocala.com
CF Webber Gallery Presents Competitive Printmaking
The 2022 Extreme Pressure Biennial of American Prints is an inaugural competitive national exhibition organized by the Webber Gallery of the College of Central Florida, 3001 SW College Road, Ocala. It will be up through Sept. 22 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday-Thursday. Open to all forms of traditional printmaking, this exhibition presents a celebration and examination of contemporary printmaking by artists from across the United States. Admission is free. Call 352-854-2322, ext. 1664 for more information.
'Transitional Moments in Nature’s Landscape'
This art exhibit from Julijana Prest is up through Sept. 30 at Ocala City Hall, 110 SE Watula Ave. It is free and open to the public. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday. Prest, a Florida-based visual artist, has shown her work in New York, Missouri, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. For more information: 352-629-8447, artinfo@ocalafl.org or www.ocalafl.org/artincityspaces.
'Colorful Pleasures'
This art exhibit from Christine Dozier is up through Jan. 17 at the Ocala International Airport, 1770 SW 60th Ave., Suite 600. Free and open to the public. Dozier, an Ocala resident and Memphis native, works in oils and acrylics. More at www.christinedozier.com, 352-629- 8447, artinfo@ocalafl.org or www.ocalafl.org/artincityspaces
'A Floral Retrospective'
This exhibit of Gregory Dirr's work is up through Dec. 9 at the Clerk’s Office in Ocala City Hall, 110 SE Watula Ave. Free and open to the public. Boca Raton-based Dirr is described in an Ocala city news release as "an interdisciplinary visual artist, creating work as a cathartic response to his surroundings with a focus on environmental conservation." The clerk's office is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. More at www.gregorydirr.com, 352-629- 8447, artinfo@ocalafl.org or www.ocalafl.org/artincityspaces
Spy Science Exhibit at Discovery Center
Discover the history, science and even the Hollywood connections within the spy industry with this new exhibit, which takes visitors inside the world of espionage. The exhibit is up at the Discovery Center, 701 NE Sanchez Ave., Ocala, through Sept. 17. Admission is $8 per person and $28 per group of four. The center is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 352-401-3900 or visit www.mydiscoverycenter.org
'Journey to My Soul: Landscapes of My Mind'
This art exhibit from Kelley Batson-Howard is up at the City of Ocala Recreation and Parks Administration building, 828 NE Eighth Ave., and the Eighth Avenue Adult Activity Center, 830 NE Eighth Ave., through Sept. 13. Hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free and open to the public. According to a city news release, Batson-Howard is "a contemporary painter creating abstract works" who moved to Central Florida in 1988. More at www.Kbatsonart.com, 352-629-8447, artinfo@ocalafl.org or www.ocalafl.org/artincityspaces.
'Squares Without Stitches'
This exhibit is up at the Barbara Gaskin Washington Adult Activity Center, 210 NW 12th Ave., Ocala, through Jan. 12. Hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free and open to the public. More at www.ocalafl.org/recpark, 352-368-5517, and @OcalaRecPark on Facebook.
Photographs by Steven Benson
The Appleton Museum of Art, 4333 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala, presents “Invented Observations: Photographs by Steven Benson,” on exhibit through Nov. 6 in the Balcony Gallery for Florida Arts. Benson is a professor at Daytona State College and is the recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Midwest Fellowship. His work has been displayed in numerous collections, including the Museum of Fine Art Houston, Detroit Institute of Arts and Museet for Fotokunst in Denmark. For more information, call 352-291-4455 or visit www.AppletonMuseum.org.
'Finding Beauty'
This exhibit features costumes, set photos, interactive experiences and sketches, along with a plethora of fabrics and video of the costume design process. These objects, from the Appleton Museum’s permanent collection, inspired the art and design for the Ocala Civic Theatre’s recent production of "Beauty and the Beast." This exhibit runs through the winter of 2022. The museum is at 4337 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala. For additional details and admission fees, visit www.appletonmuseum.org.
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: List of fun in Ocala, Florida includes event at World Equestrian Center
