On a cold but sunny February day under skies as blue as the stripes on the American flag, Clearwater Little League Baseball ushered in its 2010 season with a combination of hoopla and enthusiasm that would make P.T. Barnum proud. Families, participants, volunteers, spectators and ballplayers all gathered on February 13 at Sid Lickton Sports Complex to make it a day to remember.
The Knology Clearwater Sea Blues Festival drew an enthusiastic combination of blues fans and seafood fans to Coachman Park this past weekend, for a three-day celebration of both.
On February 6th, Harlem Nights Productions, the Mt. Carmel Community Development Corporation of Clearwater, Inc. and the North Greenwood Community Coalition came together to celebrate Black History Month with A Raisin in the Sun, the classic Loraine Hansberry play depicting an African American family about to receive an insurance check, and their struggle to agree how best to use this gift to improve their situation.
This will be a year of many elections. We will be deciding on a new US senator and a new governor, among other offices. But perhaps the most influential in our daily lives will be the elections for city council. The Clearwater races have been drawing a lot of attention recently, with four candidates for Seat 4, where Carlen Peterson has termed out, and two for Seat 5, where incumbent Paul Gibson is seeking re-election. Having met for their first debate on February 1st, here are the candidates:
Bizet’s Carmen presented by Teatro Lirico D’Europa with Symphony Orchestra will come to the Ruth Eckerd Hall January 30th at 8:00 p.m. The story of betrayal and jealousy will be presented in French with English subtitles. Carmen has been one of the most performed operas since 1880.
On January 18th, a Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration March was held in Clearwater to honor the late Dr. King’s nonviolent message of human rights and equality. The event was marked by the spirit of the day, with people of different races, cultures and faiths coming together to pay their respects to the man and his legacy.
Entertainment industry trade publication Pollstar announced that Ruth Eckerd Hall ranked #18 in the world in venues having 10,000 seats or less in their 2009 year end ticket sales for the top 100 worldwide theatre venues. Within that same ranking, Ruth Eckerd Hall is #2 in venues having 2,500 seats or less. This ranking is based on concert and event gross tickets sales from January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009 with performances during that period. Ruth Eckerd Hall ranked higher than such prestigious venues as the Fox Theatre in Detroit, Fabulous Fox Theatre in San Diego, Chicago Theatre, Royal Albert Hall in London and the Carol Morsani Hall in Tampa.
The mild waters off Florida’s sunny beaches are home to a variety of marine fauna, including our sea turtles, adapted to the sub-tropical climate. So when the recent cold snap hit, the sea turtles had trouble coping.
The search for Clearwater’s next Chief of Police came to an end on January 11th. Beating out over 100 other applicants for the position, Anthony “Tony” Holloway has been named as Clearwater’s next Chief of Police and retiring Chief Sid Klein’s successor.
The City of Clearwater recently earned a Green City certification from the Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC), a non-profit organization with the mission “to lead and promote sustainability with environmental, economic, and social benefits through regional education and certification programs,” according to their website.