Belleview's Trunk or Treat Outgrew Lake Lillian, but December Still Belongs to the Lake

"We have officially outgrown the Lake Lillian grounds." That's how the City of Belleview announced that its annual Trunk or Treat is moving this year. On Saturday, October 24, from 4 to 7 p.m., the event takes place at the Belleview Sports Complex instead of the lake.

The rest of the season is staying put. Six weeks after Trunk or Treat leaves, Belleview's two biggest December events land back at Lake Lillian on back-to-back days. A brand-new 5K finishes at the lake's pavilion, and parade crews pick up their packets there in November. The October move makes room for one event that got bigger. December still centers on Lake Lillian.

What the Sports Complex Gives Trunk or Treat

The city's reasons for the move are practical. The bigger site means better parking, more room for trunk or treating, and space to grow the activities that have become part of the night.

Here's the 2026 lineup:

• A selection of food trucks
• Music with a DJ
• Foam pumpkin decorating
• Inflatables and activities
• A haunted maze presented by the Arts District
• Knockerball Ocala
• An expanded haunted hayride

The word "expanded" next to the hayride matters, because the city is recruiting people to work it. Anyone who wants to join the haunted hayride cast can email [email protected] for details.

The city credits Gary Yeomans Ford - Ocala & Villages and a long list of local partners with the event's growth. The list includes Graphicten, Gregg Smith Automotive, FreeUp Storage Belleview, Baseline Tires, MidFlorida Credit Union, Toomey Tools, the Lions Club of Orange Blossom Gardens/Lady Lake, Bradley Blessing State Farm Insurance, Shepherd's LightHouse, McKenney Chiropractic and Seminole Feed. Many of those names are businesses you pass on a normal Belleview errand run. That's part of why the event got too big for the lake.

The city's event page doesn't list a street address for the Sports Complex. Marion County's parks directory has a Belleview Sportsplex at 6501 SE 107th St., with baseball and softball, basketball, football, soccer and tennis facilities, a playground, a picnic area, concessions and restrooms. That appears to be the same place, but check the city's flyer or social posts before you set your GPS on the 24th.

Why the Lake Keeps December

Lake Lillian is a different kind of space. It's a community park with paved and dirt fitness trails, a dock, small and large pavilions, picnic tables, a playground, and a stage with seating. A crowd of trunk-or-treaters lined up car to car outgrew it. A stage, a pavilion and a shoreline under holiday lights are still exactly what a December evening needs.

The city has kept holding big community days there. Belleview's 2026 Founder's Day was at Lake Lillian on Saturday, May 2, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. And this December, events don't just use the lake once. They come back to it again and again over a single weekend.

One Weekend, One Shoreline

Lay the dates side by side and it's clear how much of Belleview's holiday season runs through one stretch of SE Robinson Road.

1. Tuesday, November 17, 5:30 p.m. Mandatory packet pickup for parade participants at the Lake Lillian Community Center.
2. Saturday, November 21, 1 p.m. The last of the packet pickup meetings, held at the Lake Lillian Park picnic pavilion. The other two sessions are at the Ocala Police Department community room. Every parade participant has to attend one meeting or send a representative.
3. Saturday, December 5, 2 to 7 p.m. Light Up Lake Lillian at Lake Lillian on SE Robinson Road, with vendors for holiday shopping, visits with Santa, free cookie decorating, arts and crafts under the lights, and food.
4. Sunday, December 6, 1:30 p.m. The inaugural TLC Jingle Jog 5K starts 30 minutes before the parade. The route runs through the neighborhood off 110th Street and finishes at the Lake Lillian pavilion. All proceeds benefit Transitions Life Center.
5. Sunday, December 6, 2 p.m. The Belleview Christmas Parade starts at Lake Lillian/Robinson Road and ends at 110th Street.

The Light Up date above comes from Visit Ocala/Marion's 2026 holiday events guide. The city's own December calendar didn't list the event yet when we checked, so confirm closer to the date. Don't go by last year's date either. In 2025 the event fell on December 6, and in 2026 it's the Saturday before the parade.

This year's parade has a theme tied to the national calendar. The official Belleview Christmas Parade site lists it as "A Red, White, and Blue Christmas, in Honor of America's 250th Birthday." According to the Voice of South Marion's October 8, 2026 issue, the Belleview City Commission approved the parade that week. Sue Mosley is coordinating it again and is taking nominations for this year's Grand Marshal. The commission's approval also lets the Belleview Police Department coordinate the road closures. Applications to march in the parade are open now on the parade website.

Those road closures are worth planning around. The jog starts half an hour ahead of the parade, and the parade route runs from the lake to 110th Street. If you live between those two points, plan any Sunday-afternoon driving for earlier in the day.

The Smaller Dates That Fill the Gaps

The big weekends get the crowds. The city's calendar also has steadier, smaller events running through the same months at the Belleview Community Center. Mayor Dobkowski hosts Storytime with the Mayor on the first Tuesday of each month, with activities, a light dinner, and a free book for kids from Goodwill BookWorks of Central FL.

What the city calendar doesn't show, as of mid-October, is a Veterans Day ceremony or a holiday market in November or December. Those may still be announced. For now, the dates above are the ones on the books.

The Road That Ties It Together

One more thread runs through the season, and it goes back to Robinson Road. The city's new "Belleview Helping Belleview" program spotlights a different nonprofit every two months. Its first drive, running through November 30, benefits Shepherd's LightHouse at 5930 SE Robinson Road, the same road as Lake Lillian.

The Voice of South Marion lists what the organization needs:

• Diapers and Pull-Ups
• Children's socks
• Household supplies
• Grocery, gas and general-purpose gift cards

Shepherd's LightHouse is also on the city's list of Trunk or Treat partners this year. So the same organization connects the event that left the lake to the drive that runs along the lake's road. Drop off a bag of socks in November, and you're giving to a group that helped put on October's party.

Belleview's season starts at the Sports Complex on October 24, and then everything comes back to Lake Lillian for the first weekend of December.

At The Table Team, we love seeing our town fill a park, a ball field and a parade route with neighbors. That kind of connection is what our Inner Table program is built around. If you have questions about life in Belleview, or you'd like to talk through a move with someone who keeps up with these events all year, we'd be glad to save you a seat. Schedule a Consultation, and maybe we'll see you on Robinson Road on December 6.