Ocala Arts Festival Oct. 24-25: Council Approves Downtown Drinks in the Street; Closures Start Oct. 23

Update, Oct. 21, 2026: Ocala City Council adopted Resolution 2027-4 at its Oct. 20 meeting, so participating licensed businesses inside the Downtown Event Zone may sell beer, wine and liquor for consumption in the zone from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 24 and 25. The motion, made by Council Member Barry Mansfield and seconded by Council Member James P. Hilty Sr., carried on a 4-0 roll-call vote, according to draft action data in the city's Legistar system. The public page for the Oct. 20 council meeting does not yet show results, and the minutes are not final.

The 59th annual Ocala Arts Festival fills downtown Ocala on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 24 and 25, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days, with free admission. This year, for the first time, festival-goers may carry a drink from a participating downtown business into the street.

Ocala City Council took up Resolution 2027-4 at its meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at City Hall, 110 SE Watula Ave. The resolution lets on-premises licensed businesses inside the city's Downtown Event Zone sell beer, wine and liquor for consumption on streets, sidewalks and public parking areas in the zone during festival hours. It was a quasi-judicial public hearing, item 9c on the council agenda, and city staff recommended approval.

Digitally generated illustration of an artist painting at an outdoor booth. Not a photo of the Ocala Arts Festival.

At a Glance

• Festival: Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 24-25, 2026, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., downtown Ocala, free admission


• Council vote: Resolution 2027-4 adopted Tuesday, Oct. 20


• Drink hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both festival days, only from participating licensed businesses


• Street closures: set up by early Friday morning, Oct. 23; no-parking signs run from midnight Oct. 23 through 10 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25


• Organizer: Fine Arts For Ocala (FAFO)

What the Resolution Allows

According to the staff report and draft resolution, Section 6-9 of the city code allows alcohol to be possessed and consumed on streets, sidewalks and public parking inside the Downtown Event Zone during a special event, but only if council approves the event by resolution at a public hearing. Sales are limited to businesses already licensed to serve on their premises inside the zone. Fine Arts For Ocala, the organizer, asked for the exception from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days.

The staff report says this would be the second event approved to use the Downtown Event Zone, but the first to actually happen. Council approved a "Christmas in July" event from Black Sheep on Broadway for July 25, 2026, but the applicant did not go ahead with it. The Ocala Police Department reviewed the request and says officers will be on site throughout the festival. FAFO also gave the city a sample of the drink cup: a clear plastic cup with a festival sticker, according to the agenda attachments.

The festival's conditional permit requires "No Alcohol Beyond This Point" signs on the fence at Citizens' Circle and at eight intersections on the barricades, and makes the organizer responsible for keeping alcohol inside the event zone.

Participating and Non-Participating Businesses

The draft resolution in the agenda packet lists 18 businesses selling drinks for the event zone:

• 18 South Restaurant & Saloon


• Bank Street Patio Bar


• Baron's Creek Vineyards


• Big Hammock Brewery


• Black Sheep on Broadway


• Brick City Southern Kitchen & Whiskey Bar


• Cantina Tex Mex


• District Bar & Kitchen


• Downtown Billiards


• First Avenue Bar & Bistro


• Ivy on the Square


• La Terazza


• Marion Cultural Alliance


• Marion Theatre


• Mellow Mushroom


• Mutiny Ocala


• O'Malley's Alley


• Tipsy Skipper

Four licensed businesses will not participate or are outside the festival's zone: Hilton Garden Inn Ocala Downtown, Mark's Prime Steakhouse, The Thirsty Cobbler and Mooyah Burgers.

Street Closures and Parking

The city's conditional permit for the festival lays out the schedule:

• Wednesday, Oct. 21: digital signs go up downtown announcing the festival and the street closures from Oct. 23 to 25.


• Thursday, Oct. 22: no-parking signs go on meters and spaces in the event zone, reading no parking from midnight Oct. 23 through 10 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25.


• Friday, Oct. 23: a police officer and city staff meet on the Downtown Square at 5 a.m. to move parked cars out of the zone, and road closures are set up by 6 a.m.


• Sunday, Oct. 25: artists break down after 5 p.m.; barricades and signs are picked up after the event.

The no-parking signs cover SE Broadway Street between SW 1st Avenue and SE Osceola Avenue, Fort King Street between SE Magnolia and SE Osceola avenues, SE 2nd Street between NE 1st Avenue and SE Osceola, SE Magnolia Avenue between Silver Springs Boulevard and Fort King, NE 1st Avenue between Silver Springs Boulevard and SE 2nd Street, and SW 1st Avenue between Broadway and Fort King. The downtown splash pad is turned off from 5 a.m. Friday through 10 p.m. Sunday. ADA parking spaces are marked in the city parking garage. Portable toilets go in the Marion Theatre parking lot, on the O-Trak by the parking garage and in the lot across from the post office, with hand-washing stations at the first two.

The permit lists free admission and free parking. For garages and lots, see our downtown Ocala parking guide.

About the Festival

Fine Arts For Ocala says on its festival page that the 59th annual event brings more than 140 artists from around the country, with paintings, photography, sculpture, ceramics, jewelry, glass, fiber, wood and mixed media, and $27,000 in prize money. It also has student artwork, live local performances and food trucks. FAFO says the festival draws about 30,000 visitors a year; the city permit estimates attendance at 25,000. This year's featured artist is Justin Alsedek of Gypsea Arts, and Palm Chevrolet is the presenting sponsor.

The festival is on our events calendar. For the rest of the weekend, see Ocala events this weekend and fall festivals in Ocala. Out on SR 200, Potbelly holds its grand opening the same Saturday morning. Other items on the Oct. 20 council and CRA agendas are covered in our council meeting roundup.

Sources: City of Ocala Legistar file RES-2027-4 (agenda item 9c, Oct. 20, 2026 City Council meeting), including the staff report, draft resolution, participating business list, conditional special event permit, site map and cup samples; Fine Arts For Ocala festival page (fafo.org/festival). Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Outcome: City of Ocala Legistar draft action record for the Oct. 20, 2026 City Council meeting, item 9c, checked Oct. 21, 2026.