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

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 July 1 performance is scheduled to be the grand finale, with Miles Nielsen and The Rusted Hearts (Americana) and a patriotic performance with the Ocala Symphony Orchestra. For more information and concert schedule details, visit www.ocalafl.org/levittamp or call 352-629-8447.

Glimpses of India

The Marion Cultural Alliance presents a unique and immersive experience of the arts, music and traditions of India by local artist Dr. Sheni Meghani at the Brick City Center for the Arts, 23 SW Broadway St., Ocala, from July 1-9. Workshops, lectures and demonstrations enable the audience to enjoy a multi-sensory experience of a rich and storied culture. Free and open to the public. For details, visit www.mcaocala.org or call 352-369-1500.

Appleton Museum Free First Saturday

Admission is free for everyone at the Appleton Museum of Art, 4333 E. Silver Springs Blvd, Ocala, the first Saturday of each month. The museum is open 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Big Lee’s BBQ truck will be on site 11 a.m.- 2 p.m. For more information, visit www.appletonmuseum.org.

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Red, White, And Ocala Symphony Blue

Celebrate the nation’s 246th birthday with the Ocala Symphony with standards, film scores and a special salute to the troops for Independence Day Weekend. Bring your patriotic spirit to the Reilly Arts Center, 500 NE Ninth St., Ocala, July 3 at 3 p.m. For ticket information and details, visit www.reillyartscenter.com or call 352-351-1606.

Stone Creek Glee Club

Temple Beth Shalom presents a patriotic concert by the Stone Creek Glee Club at the Ocala Tree of Life Sanctuary, 8075 SW 63rd St., Ocala, at 4 p.m. July 3. Free and open to the public; all are welcome, especially veterans. For more information, call 352-629-3587.

WUFT Fanfares & Fireworks in Gainesville

This annual event will be July 3 at the University of Florida Bandshell, Flavet Field, 605 Woodlawn Drive, Gainesville. Picnic on the grass and enjoy live music and fireworks. Free and open to the public, but for safety reasons, no dogs allowed. Drones, sparklers, and alcohol are also prohibited. For additional details, visit www.wuft.org/fireworks.

Ongoing:

'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.

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: Live music tops list of fun things to do this weekend in Ocala, Florida