Future Stars Academy

DJ Matt Gray hosts the Ocala Christmas Festival on Sunday, December 6, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Ocala Downtown Market, 403 SE Osceola Ave. in downtown Ocala. The festival offers free digital pictures with Santa, holiday gift vendors, food trucks and live entertainment. Admission and parking are free. Vendor spots, food truck spaces and sponsorships are available through Matt Gray at 352-875-4224.

The inaugural Wings Over Ocala Florida Air Show takes place Friday, April 30 through Sunday, May 2, 2027, at Ocala International Airport, 1770 SW 60th Avenue in Ocala, headlined by the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. Friday is an afternoon, twilight and night show: gates open at 1 p.m., the Blue Angels fly their rehearsal demonstration in the afternoon, and the evening closes with a 300-drone show and a fireworks finale. On Saturday and Sunday, gates open at 9 a.m. and more than a dozen military and civilian acts, including a four-ship F-15 Eagle demo, P-51 Mustangs, an F4U Corsair and the Smoke-n-Thunder Jet Car, fly before the Blue Angels close each show. General admission is $45 for adults and $30 for ages 6-17, military and first responders, with children 5 and under free. Tickets and parking are sold online in advance only, with no gate sales. The show is produced by JLC AirShow Management with the Ocala/Marion County Visitors and Convention Bureau as title sponsor.

The Ocala Symphony Orchestra opens its season at the [Reilly Arts Center](/reilly-arts-center-ocala), 500 NE 9th Street in Ocala, with Pictures at an Exhibition: From Dalí to Mussorgsky on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 25 at 3 p.m. Music Director Matthew Wardell conducts the world premiere of The Hallucinogenic Toreador, a piece by GRAMMY-winning composer Michael Daugherty commissioned by the orchestra and inspired by Salvador Dalí's painting. The program continues with Rachmaninoff's Isle of the Dead and, after intermission, Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition in Ravel's orchestration. Both performances are on the AdventHealth Mainstage, and tickets for either performance range from $15 to $56 through the Reilly box office.

Appleton Museum of Art offers free admission for the November Free First Saturday, featuring guided tours of the Florida horse-themed art collections. Children can design and paint horse figurines in the studio.

Two-night live orchestral performance accompanying Disney's 1992 animated classic Aladdin at the [Reilly Arts Center](/reilly-arts-center-ocala).

US Road Running hosts the Gobbler 5K, 10K, Half Marathon and Marathon on Saturday, November 7, 2026 at the Baseline Road Trailhead, 4255 SE 58th Ave in southeast Ocala. The Thanksgiving-season race offers four distances, from a 5K up to a full 26.2-mile marathon, and every finisher receives a medal. Organizers describe the event as a small, relaxed local race that is easy for runners of all levels to join. Start times and registration fees are listed on the race page.