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St. Patrick's Day celebration in Ocala to bring food, entertainment

Green and fun will not be in short supply in Ocala’s Historic Downtown Square this St. Patrick’s Day weekend.

The Irish spirit will be in full swing March 15 at the 11th annual O’Cala’s St. Patrick’s Day event.

Visitors and their families can take part in the festivities, which will include music, dance performances and Irish cusisine, from 4-9 p.m.

Irish dance groups from Gainesville, Williston and Ocala will perform throughout the event as well as bands An Triur, of Gainesville, and Seven Nations, said Stan Creel, special events supervisor.

There will be facepainting, jousting stands, a bounce house, arts and crafts and a dunk tank. United Way will receive the proceeds from the dunk tank, Creel said.

Vendors will sell Irish-inspired food such as corned beef sandwiches and cabbage.

Creel expects 4,000 to 6,000 people to come to the event, mostly because of Seven Nations' performance.

“They’re one of the tops in the country,” he said in regards to Celtic music.

Creel said for people to put 24 SE First Ave. into their GPSs, which will lead them to Harry's Seafood Bar & Grille, right across the street, and keep people off the main roads that will be blocked. Parking will be available.

A schedule of events can be found on Ocala’s website.

 

Breanna is a reporter for WUFT News and can be contacted by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news@wuft.org.