Displaying items by tag: Clearwater

The City of Clearwater’s Community Redevelopment Agency received an Award of Distinction at the International Downtown Association’s 55th annual conference in Milwaukee this September. The award was given in recognition of the city’s active program to recruit new retail, business and restaurant enterprises, and for the Cleveland Street District, the new name of the city’s recently redeveloped downtown.

It has been announced that the unveiling of Ruth Eckerd Hall’s Commemorative Painting by nationally acclaimed artist Christopher M. Still will be Sunday, November 8, from 10 am to 2 pm.  This open house event is free to the public. 

The painting celebrates how the community came together to create what is considered to be one of the finest performing arts centers in the country.  The painting depicts many longtime Ruth Eckerd Hall supporters as audience members, as students from The Marcia P. Hoffman Performing Arts Institute bring the Hall’s logo to life on stage, while founders Jack and Ruth Eckerd look on from behind the curtain. 

“What an experience, to portray the warmth of this community and the history behind this very special center for the arts,” commented Christopher Still. 

“We look forward to the entire community joining us as we celebrate this masterpiece,” said Robert A. Freedman, President and CEO of Ruth Eckerd Hall, “this signature artwork is akin to the Chagall paintings that adorn the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.”

The event is sponsored by Progress Energy.

Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA) will launch of a new speaker series on Thursday, October 8. The first presentation, “All About Dolphins and More About Winter,” will include an in-depth look at how dolphins live, feed and breed in the wild. It will explore what we need to know in order to help them survive in the wild. CMA staff will also share how this organization works around the clock to rescue, rehabilitate and release animals back into the wild. Staff members will also discuss the story of Winter, a young dolphin who survived after losing her natural tail.

“Will there ever be a Delphi High School in Clearwater?” was the question posed rhetorically by Colin Taufer, Headmaster of Delphi Academy of Florida, at a school event in June. And it was his emphatic response to his own question that brought the audience to its feet, “Yes! There will be a Delphi High School in Clearwater!”

The 1st Annual Clearwater Super Boat Offshore National Championship and Festival is looking for volunteers to help out with the 80,000 people expected to attend over the weekend of October 2nd - 4th.

Nine-time Grammy® Award winner Natalie Cole returns to Ruth Eckerd Hall for the first time since her sold out performance earlier this year on Valentine’s Day with her Holiday and Hits show on Monday, December 21 at 8 pm.  Tickets go on sale Friday, September 18 at noon.

Natalie Cole has enjoyed success singing R&B, traditional pop and jazz during her incredible thirty-year career.  Unforgettable, her duet with her famous father, won a Grammy® for “Record of the Year.”  Miss You Like Crazy and When I Fall in Love were also big hits.  During her long career she has released more than 20 albums and has had numerous hit singles.  In September 2008, Ms. Cole released Still Unforgettable which included the timeless standards Walkin’ My Baby Back Home (duet with Nat King Cole), The Best Is Yet To Come and Something’s Gotta Give. The album reached #8 on the U.S. R&B album charts and #1 on the U.S. Jazz charts.  She was awarded her ninth Grammy® in 2009 for Best Traditional Pop Vocal album.

On September 3rd, the sculpture “Linear V” by Jarrett K. Hawkins was erected on Cleveland Street in Downtown Clearwater, joining “Going Green” by Jack Howard Potter which went up a week prior on August 27th. The sculptures are part of Sculpture 360: Season II. A third piece, coming soon, will fill out the series.

The 30th Anniversary of Clearwater’s Jazz Holiday begins this September 25th in real jazz style with the Clearwater Downtown Partnership kicking it off at their popular 4th Friday Clearwater Party on Cleveland Street event. Performances none other than local jazz celebrities, Level 10 and Jose Valentino, will infuse the crowd with their jazz inspirations. Two city blocks will be closed down in the Cleveland Street District to cater to the expected 1500-plus party-goers in attendance. The party is FREE and the details are as follows:

It is just after Labor Day, but in Downtown Clearwater it might as well be spring. It seems as if every day a new establishment is “springing” up, and blossoming in the Cleveland Street District.

On August 27th, the Clearwater Chamber of Commerce helped welcome the newest addition to the Cleveland Street District, Anytime Fitness, with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

Peter Gillham’s has undergone some major renovations and changes in the last year and this month they are taking their biggest step – expanding into a natural foods store.

When current Executive Director Shelley Jaffe began working at the store nearly a year ago, she surveyed the store’s customers to see if they were getting all of the products they wanted. She also surveyed people who didn’t shop at the store to find out why and what they wanted as well. The results of these surveys have inspired the greatest expansion Peter Gillham’s has seen since he opened his original Clearwater store in 1979.