This weekend
Jon Lovitz
The comedian and Saturday Night Live alum will perform live on July 22 at 7:30 p.m. at the Reilly Arts Center, 500 NE Ninth St., Ocala. Tickets start at $20.
Dueling pianos
Dueling Pianos is back July 22nd at the Reilly Arts Center, 500 NE Ninth St., Ocala. There will be two 90 minute sets at 6pm and 8pm at the NOMA Black Box. Guests can relax at a café table that seats four and enjoy an evening of music, cocktails and fun with friends. Tickets $27 per person and can be ordered online or purchased at the box office. Visit www.reillyartscenter.com or call 352-351-1606 for more information.
Old fashioned day picnic
Bring your picnic baskets and snacks to Joy Lutheran The Way Church, 200 Southwest State Road and Southwest 83rd Street, Ocala, for a Cruise-in and Car Show on July 23 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Free food, games and entertainment for all ages. Free and open to the public. For more information, call 352-895-8473.
New restaurant:Zella’s Pizzeria serves pizza and chicken wings in South Ocala near Belleview
Development plan:A luxury RV park could be built at Ocala International Airport
After the storm:Friends help Insomniac Theater Company founder fix his home in NE Ocala
Constantly:
“Transitional moments in the landscape of nature”
This art exhibition by Julijana Perst will be on view from July 21st to September. 30 at Ocala City Hall, 110 SE Watula Ave. It’s free and open to the public. The opening hours are Monday to Friday from 8.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. A Florida-based visual artist, Prest 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 Delights’
This art exhibition by Christine Dozier is on view through January 17th at Ocala International Airport, 1770 SW 60th Ave., Suite 600. Free and open to the public. Dozier, an Ocala resident and native of Memphis, works with oil and acrylic paints. More at www.christinedozier.com., 352-629-8447, artinfo@ocalafl.org or www.ocalafl.org/artincityspaces
“A Flowery Retrospective”
This exhibition of Gregory Dirr’s work is open through December 9th at the Clerk’s Office at Ocala City Hall, 110 SE Watula Ave. to see. Free and open to the public. Boca Raton-based Dirr is described in a City of Ocala press release as “an interdisciplinary visual artist who creates work as a cathartic response to his surroundings with an emphasis on environmental conservation.” The secretariat is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. More at www.gregorydirr.com, 352-629-8447, artinfo@ocalafl.org or www.ocalafl.org/artincityspaces
Spy Science Exhibit at the Discovery Center
Discover the history, science, and even the Hollywood connections within the spy industry with this new exhibit that immerses visitors in the world of spying. The exhibit is on view through September 17 at the Discovery Center, 701 NE Sanchez Ave., Ocala. Admission is $8 per person and $28 per group of four. The center is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For more information, call 352-401-3900 or visit www.mydiscoverycenter.org
Ocala Summer Hunter/Jumper Horse Show
The World Equestrian Center, 1750 NW 80th Ave., Ocala hosts the USEF sanctioned chasing/jumping competitions every weekend through August 14 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Free and open to the public. Visit https://worldequestriancenter.com/event for more information
“Journey to my Soul: Landscapes of my Mind”
This art exhibition by Kelley Batson-Howard is on view through September 13 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. to see. The opening times are Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free of charge and open to the public. According to a city press release, Batson-Howard is “a contemporary painter creating abstract works” who relocated 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 on view through January 12 at the Barbara Gaskin Washington Adult Activity Center, 210 NW 12th Ave., Ocala. The opening hours are from Monday to Friday, 9.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. Free and open to the public. In 2021, the City of Ocala’s Department of Cultural Arts and Sciences hosted a booth for the Ocala Calligraphy Guild during the annual Fort King Festival at the Fort King National Historic Landmark. “While waiting for their hand lettering pieces to dry before adding floral embellishments, participants were encouraged to help create a community quilt by drawing with fabric markers on a 6ft by 9ft canvas,” the city said in one message publication. “Using nature-inspired stencils and the creativity of a few free-motion 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 Children’s Film Series
The Marion Theater, 50 S. Magnolia Ave., Ocala hosts a summer children’s film series every Wednesday through Friday through August 5th. Game times are 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Movies 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 under 12 and include a summer snack package. For information on seasons, titles and to purchase tickets online, visit www.reillyartscenter.com/summer-kids-film-series or call 352-820-3049.
Summer Spotlight Exhibition
“City and Country” is the theme of the Visual Artists’ Society Summer Spotlight, showcasing the work of local and regional artists in a variety of media. The exhibition is on view through July 28 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the College of Central Florida’s Webber Gallery, 3001 SW College Road, Ocala. 1552 or visit www.cf.edu.
Photographs by Steven Benson
The Appleton Museum of Art, 4333 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala, is presenting Invented Observations: Photographs by Steven Benson, on display through November 6 at the Balcony Gallery for Florida Arts. Benson is a professor at Daytona State College and a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Midwest Fellowship. His work has been featured in numerous collections including the Museum of Fine Art Houston, the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Museet for Photographic Art in Denmark. For more information, call 352-291-4455 or visit www.AppletonMuseum.org.
“finding beauty”
This exhibition features costumes, set photos, interactive experiences and sketches, as well as a wealth of fabrics and videos of the costume design process. These objects from the Appleton Museum’s permanent collection inspired the art and design for the Ocala Civic Theater’s recent production of Beauty and the Beast. This exhibit runs through the winter of 2022. The museum is located at 4337 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala. Visit www.appletonmuseum.org for more details and admission prices.