Ocala is dusting off its sidewalk chalk and tuning up its poetry mics for 2027. The city announced it is bringing back the Tuscawilla Art Park Series with three events spanning visual, performing and literary arts, kicking off in late January and running through mid-April.
The City of Ocala confirmed the lineup in an announcement dated Oct. 29, saying the series “will feature three events highlighting visual, performing and literary arts,” according to ocalafl.gov. As reported by WFTV, the city is also accepting applications from vendors, nonprofit organizations and food trucks interested in setting up at the events.
Chalk Artists Take Over the OTrak
First up is the OTrak Chalk Walk, set for Jan. 30 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Tuscawilla Art Park, per ocalafl.gov's event page. It's a free event, and the station's report adds that it will feature live music, performances, local vendors and food trucks.
Professional and student artists will create chalk artwork for the competition, with participants assigned 6-foot-by-6-foot squares marked out along the OTrak leading to the park, the city's event page states. The seed facts note that artists will compete for awards, though this year's categories and amounts haven't been detailed. In the 2024 edition of the chalk walk, artists competed for Best in Show, Second Place and People's Choice honors, according to Ocala-News.com. That outlet's coverage of the 2026 Chalk Walk also noted the event drew local artisans, craftsmen, nonprofits and food trucks, and that attendees could pay $5 in cash to try their own hand at a chalk drawing in the park.
Brunch, a String Trio and Bus Tours Downtown
The series moves to Ocala Union Station on Feb. 20 for Art Outside the Lines, a ticketed event built around brunch, an arts panel and guided bus tours of Ocala's public art collection. The station's report notes the event will also include a performance from an Ocala Symphony Orchestra string trio. Tickets are priced at $40 and go on sale Nov. 16.
The format echoes earlier editions of the series — the 2024 Beginning of Bolted Art brunch, for instance, featured music, mimosas and an artist panel for $35 admission, per Ocala-News.com's account of that year's lineup.
Poetry Festival Closes Out the Series in April
The Tuscawilla Art Park Series wraps April 10 with the Art Park Literary and Poetry Festival, back at Tuscawilla Art Park. It's a free, family-friendly event described by organizers as inviting the community to “celebrate the power of language through literature, poetry, and the spoken word,” according to the Ocala Gazette. WFTV's report lists poetry readings, author workshops, local and regional writers, live music and food trucks among the planned activities.
The literary festival appears to be a relatively new piece of the series. The Ocala Gazette notes that the city, in partnership with the Marion County Public Library System, presented the event as its first annual Art Park Literary & Poetry Festival. Past editions of the broader series have been staged at the Tuscawilla Art Park address of 213 NE 5th Street, according to Ocala-News.com's 2024 coverage.
