Holiday Community Day (Free First Saturday)

The first Go and Gobble 5K runs Thanksgiving morning, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2026, at 8 a.m. on the grounds of the Florida Horse Park in Ocala. Registration is $40 through Nov. 21 and includes a long-sleeve shirt and finisher medal.

World Equestrian Center says The Shoppes Off 80th, an outdoor shopping district with 32 storefronts next to The Riding Academy Hotel, is expected to open later in 2026, with a wine shop, two Thoroughbreds boutiques and a second Mr. Pickles & Sailor Bear Toy Shoppe.

From Nov. 4 to Dec. 23, World Equestrian Center Ocala stacks four weeks of hunter/jumper shows, the Ocala Food & Wine Festival, the WEC Vaulting Premiere over Thanksgiving weekend and Winter Wonderland. Here are the dates, prices and what is free.

A 105-acre mixed-use project called NW 49th Street Gateway, on the west side of the new I-75 interchange that will serve the Ocala Buc-ee's, goes to the Marion County Commission on Oct. 20 after the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval.

A batch of Florida laws took effect Oct. 1, 2026. Here is what changes for Ocala and Marion County drivers, renters, landlords and smoke shops, from the new $2,000 crash-report threshold to the nitrous oxide ban.

Bricks & Minifigs, the buy-sell-trade LEGO franchise, is opening a store at Six Gun Plaza, 4901 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala, and holds its first Buy Day on Saturday, Oct. 3, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.