Live music, art and more: Fun things to do this weekend in Ocala/Marion County

Ocala Star-Banner
·5 min read
The crowd enjoys live music on May 7 at the Levitt AMP Ocala Music Series.
The crowd enjoys live music on May 7 at the Levitt AMP Ocala Music Series.

The Levitt AMP Ocala Music Series

The Marion Cultural Alliance in partnership with the City of Ocala presents free, family friendly outdoor concerts to the public on Fridays through July 1 from 7-9 p.m. at the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Complex, 1510 NW Fourth St., Ocala. The series is sponsored in part by the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation, which funds and empowers communities to inject new life into underused spaces. The June 24 performer is scheduled to be Melvin Williams (Inspirational). For more information and concert schedule details, visit www.ocalafl.org/levittamp or call 352-629-8447.

Orange Blossom Opry

Friday Night Live at the Opry, 16439 SE 138th Terrace, Weirsdale, features former Sawyer Brown and Confederate Railroad member Bobby Randall on June 24 at 7 p.m. for an evening of rollicking country music with the Orange Blossom Opry Band. Tickets $16-$25. For more details, visit www.obopry.com.

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The Barbergators Chorus and Phabulous Phlegmtones Barbershop Quartet.
The Barbergators Chorus and Phabulous Phlegmtones Barbershop Quartet.

Barbergators Chorus

Ocala Civic Theatre presents its Spring fundraising event with Barbergators Chorus and Quartets featuring the Phabulous Phlegmtones in a special program of classic barbershop music and a touch of doo-wop, gospel, pop and comedy. The Barbergators have been entertaining in the Gainesville area for more than 40 years and take the stage at OCT June 25 at 2 p.m. Tickets $10 for age 18 and younger, $20 for adults. For more information and purchasing, visit www.ocalacivictheatre.com.

Ongoing:

'Music Moves'

This Marion Cultural Alliance member exhibit, featuring music-inspired art and multiple performances by musicians, will be featured through June 25 at the Brick City Center for the Arts, 23 SW Broadway St., Ocala. For a full performance schedule and more information: 352-369-1500 or ashley.justiniano@mcaocala.com

'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. In 2021, during the annual Festival at Fort King at the Fort King National Historic Landmark, the City of Ocala’s Cultural Arts and Sciences Division hosted a booth for the Ocala Calligraphy Guild. "While waiting for their hand-lettering pieces to dry before adding flower embellishments, attendees were encouraged to help create a community quilt by drawing on a 6-ft. by 9-ft. canvas using fabric markers," the city said in a news release. "Using nature-inspired stencils and the creativity of a few free-hand artists, participants took a modern approach to quilting by filling the fabric with a grid of colors." More at www.ocalafl.org/recpark, 352-368-5517, and @OcalaRecPark on Facebook.

Summer Kids Film Series

The Marion Theatre, 50 S. Magnolia Ave., Ocala, will host a Summer Film Series for kids each Wednesday-Friday through Aug. 5. Showtimes are 10 and 11 a.m. Films include "Shrek," "Aladdin," "Madagascar," "How to Train Your Dragon," "Where the Wild Things Are" and "Sing 2." Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children 12/under and include a summer Snack Pack. For showtimes, titles and to purchase tickets online, visit www.reillyartscenter.com/summer-kids-film-series or call 352-820-3049.

Summer Spotlight Exhibition

“Town and Country” is the theme for the Visual Artists’ Society Summer Spotlight, showcasing the work of local and regional artists in a variety of mediums. The exhibit is up at the College of Central Florida Webber Gallery, 3001 SW College Road, Ocala, through July 28 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 352-854-2322, ext. 1552 or visit www.cf.edu.

Steven Benson, “Under New Bridge,” Sandouping, China, 1999, Archival Pigment Print.
Steven Benson, “Under New Bridge,” Sandouping, China, 1999, Archival Pigment Print.

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.

'Encounter' by Tom Hundersmarck

An abstract and landscape painter based in Gainesville, Hundersmarck began painting as a child and has worked extensively as a psychologist with combat veterans. The exhibit is free and open to the public through July 19 at Ocala International Airport, 1770 SW 60th Ave., Suite 600, Ocala. For more information, contact the City of Ocala Cultural Arts and Sciences Division at 352-629-8447 or visit www.ocalafl.org/artincityspaces.

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Weekend entertainment in Ocala, Florida includes live music and art