OCALA, FL (352today.com) – It was the perfect way to kick off the events leading to the nation’s 250th anniversary. Marion County Day 2026 at the McPherson Governmental Campus was a celebration of all things Marion County and of what makes our country great.

The event itself was an opportunity to bring the community together. Marion County is getting ready for July 4th to celebrate the nation’s semiquincentennial with Marion County Celebrates America 250 Liberty Lives Here and the community like they’ve never done before, said Carl Zalak, III, Marion County Commission Chair and Marion County Celebrates America 250 chair. Marion County Day has turned into a festival featuring not only educational and informational booths, but vendors, food trucks and so much more.

“Marion County Day started off as an inspiration of trying to bring all of our departments together, so as people are coming to this community or if they’ve been here for a long time, they can engage,” said Zalak. “They can see what a lighting signal looks like. They can go to a building department and understand what a building permit looks like. They can adopt an animal. We wanted to bring all 27 departments together and have a festival where people can learn about all of the services that are available to them. They live here and we love this place. My kids love coming here every single year. The Kids Zone is free. You have kids riding up and down on the utility trucks. They can jump in a fire truck for the first time and feel what it’s like to maybe be a fire fighter and catch that inspiration. They can go into a SWAT tactical team apparatus and feel what that looks like. My kids just love the experience of living in a place like Marion County, and I think that’s what inspires us to say liberty lives here.”

Reptile Boarding Bungalows and Dog Boarding Bungalows’ Blair Lassiter has a lot of her own reptiles, and they needed boarding and she couldn’t find what she wanted or needed, so she started the reptile boarding facility in Howey-in-the-Hills.

“I had a reptile and we were camping and biking a lot, and we wanted to take our bearded dragon with us, so I created [a little bag for her bearded dragon, so the reptile would be able to accompany her in her travels and activities], because I couldn’t find what I liked,” said Lassiter. “I figured if I needed it, people might need it.”

And for those looking to board their reptiles, it’s good to have someone with experience and knowledge to be charged with that responsibility when the situation calls for it, said Lassiter. They decided to add the dog boarding component because people who have reptiles often have dogs as well. There are two different buildings, with the animals receiving personal attention.

A woman sits in front of a large, white canopy with black shelves lining a wall inside. On the shelves are multiple wood carvings with small characters drawn on each one.
A band of two men and a woman play under a white canopy on a low stage.
Bounce houses are in a grass field with blue tarps in front of them. People sit around the inflatables while kids play inside.
A woman demonstrates how to milk a cow with a wood cut out in the shape of a cow.
A woman stands behind a checkout counter decorated in sunflowers in a small shop with rags and decorative items for sale.
Small slings for carrying lizards are hung on a wooden wall. The sling are a variety of colors and patterns.
The West Port drumline performs for a crowd of guests.
A man eats a turkey leg in front of a food truck while other guests look at the menu. Behind the food truck is an open grass field.

Becky Shea of Shea’s Personalized Creations in Ocala has been in business for the past five years, and it was her sarcasm that led to creating a line of different items with sarcastic sayings, and she began by making different things for herself and her family with the business expanding from there, where she has clever indignations on tumblers, cups, hats and t-shirts. She also has seasonal stuff and carries items with holiday themes.

“Right now, I’m on Facebook, but I’m on the process of creating a website,” said Shea. “It’s definitely a fun thing to get creative. I never thought I would make cups, but then I found out how fun and easy it was, and now I make them for everybody. I love personalized things. You can’t always find stuff with your name on it.”

The milking cow station provided attendees the opportunity to participate in an interactive experience, where Marion County Day 2026 attendees could sit down on a stool, and have the experience of what it would be like to milk a cow, placing their hand on an artificial utter that was under a wood cutout of a cow, with the milk going into a bucket placed under the utter.

“Not everybody gets the opportunity to milk cows,” said Adrianna Anglemyer, Marion County Parks and Recreation sports coordinator, who demonstrated the process of milking a cow. “This is an opportunity for the kids to have some fun and learn about where milk comes from. We have so many opportunities. We have over 55 parks. We have the Southeastern Livestock Pavilion that has multiple events, horses and 4H is always there and the Southeastern Youth Fair.”

One of the vendors had woodcuts that they’ve made of familiar characters, Bluey, Spiderman, Marvin the Martian, Michigan J. Frog and a Patriotic Gnome, Ginger Cruze is an artist at heart. She paints murals and was looking for something to do where she wasn’t up on her feet all day long. Clint Howard and Ginger Cruze also make woodcuts from pictures and convert the image into a caricature of the person or people. They’re based in Dunnellon and they have an online presence, ARTscapes by Ginger, where people can view their work and purchase the art.