Boo-tiques, Bites, & Beautiful Rides

A horse parade on the Downtown Square, three Ocala Downtown Market events in three days, Jeeptoberfest and a free Hocus Pocus screening headline Ocala's Oct. 9-11 weekend.

Crews are driving bridge piles for the new I-75 interchange at NW 49th Street, but Buc-ee's now says its Ocala travel center will open in 2029. Here is the location, the site plan and the timeline.

The Forge, a multi-restaurant complex in downtown Ocala's former WMOP radio building, is open with The Blind Eye speakeasy, Ignite, The Hammock and five more tenants. Here is every restaurant, the hours and the history.

Canceled in January after about 50 years, the McIntosh 1890s Festival was rescued by a volunteer board a week later. It returns Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, with 250+ vendors under the live oaks.

Ocala Breeders' Sales cataloged 378 yearlings for its October sale on Oct. 6-7, after 2025's sale rose 27% and an OBS graduate won the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby.

FUNDELIVERED, the Ocala mystery-box company founded by Rebecca Dallman and Jena Butler, pitches on ABC's Shark Tank Season 18 premiere on Wednesday, Sept. 30, with MrBeast as a guest Shark.