Architect Mario Cartaya Talk on Cuban Architecture at CF Appleton Oct. 8

The Appleton Museum of Art, College of Central Florida, offers free admission on the first Saturday of each month with the popular Free First Saturday series.

The next Free First Saturday is Oct. 7. From 10 a.m.-5 p.m., visitors can enjoy the permanent collection and several special exhibitions, including “The Unscene South: Charles Eady Revisits History” and “Caught Up in History and Captured on Film: Randy Batista’s Photographs of Florida and Cuba.”

At 1 p.m., architect and author Mario Cartaya will give a free presentation in the Appleton auditorium called, “Across the Florida Straits to Cuba: A Living History of the Buildings Left Behind.” Cuba is a historical laboratory of buildings, streets and artifacts that have been mostly untouched since 1960 — allowing visitors to transport themselves into a time and space that has not evolved into modern times. In this historical presentation, Cartaya retraces and recalls six decades of friendly and cooperative Cuban-American relations and history.

Free First Saturday visitors can also visit the Appleton Artspace for art activities for all ages. The Smoked Biscuit Company food truck will be onsite from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Free First Saturdays are sponsored in part by Marion Cultural Alliance and CAMPUS USA Credit Union.

The Appleton Museum, Artspace and Store are open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday, noon-5 p.m. A campus of the College of Central Florida, the Appleton Museum of Art is located at 4333 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala, east of downtown on SR 40 (exit 352 east off I-75 or exit 268 west off I-95). Parking is free. For more information, call 352-291-4455 or visit AppletonMuseum.org.