Named as number one for Best Family Outing, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA) is the hit of the Tampa Bay area and beyond. Winter’s Dolphin Tale Adventure exhibit, hosted by the CMA and housed in Downtown Clearwater’s Harborview Center, opened to tremendous response in December 2011.  Visitors to the 55,000 square-foot exhibit can enjoy movie stills, live footage, props including Winter’s prosthetic tails, and movie sets that reflect the overall joy and triumph expressed through this hit film.   Winter, the star of the show, remains housed at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium’s main venue on Island Estates.  The Jolley Trolley is shuttling visitors between the two sites for free.  Admission to the Dolphin Tale exhibit is $12 for adults, $11 for seniors, and $10 for children.  Package deals are available for those wanting to visit both the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and Winter’s Dolphin Tale Adventure.

Also taking the number one spot, the Clearwater Jazz Holiday ranked as Best of Festivals in the Clearwater/St Pete area.  The Holiday, held annually in mid-October, draws jazz lovers to Downtown Clearwater’s Coachmen Park from around the United States and beyond.  This four-day, free festival features a lineup of top jazz greats that in the past have included Dave Brubeck, Stan Getz, the Count Basie Orchestra, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Al Dimeola, Kevin Mahogany, and the Rippingtons; as well as Spyro Gyra, Herbie Hancock, Branford Marsalis, Boney James, Kenny G, David Sanborn, Brian Culbertson, Maceo Parker, and Kevin Eubanks along with many, many others.  The Clearwater Jazz Holiday is over 30 years strong and continues to grow exponentially on an annual basis.

Finally, zooming up the charts is Downtown Clearwater itself.  Ranking number 3, only behind St Pete and Dunedin, Downtown Clearwater has claimed recognition from visitors and locals alike.  Large condo projects such as Water’s Edge and Station Square are boosting the number of feet on the street.  And, new retail venues and restaurants continue to pop up on a regular basis.  The revitalization of the Cleveland Street District; the reopening of the Capitol Theater; and, street events such as Casanova’s Blast Friday presented by Bright House Networks brings thousands of visitors to the Downtown Clearwater area to enjoy popular restaurants and entertainment.

Be a part of the surge to this Best of Downtowns in the Tampa Bay area.  If you’ve not visited Downtown Clearwater recently, come see what you’re missing!  Discover what brings visitors and locals back again and again to the emerging and exhilarating Downtown Clearwater.

Date:
Tuesday, February 28 – 3pm and 7pm

Tickets: $5

Details: Col. Robert Gould Shaw was an officer in the Federal Army during the American
Civil War who volunteered to lead the first company of black soldiers. Shaw was
forced to deal with the prejudices of both the enemy and of his own fellow
officers. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington and
Morgan Freeman and won three Academy Awards®.

Date: Saturday, February 25 – 8pm

Tickets: $57, $42.50

Details: Jane Monheit is an extraordinarily gifted jazz vocalist whose sincere and romantic interpretations of exceptional songs have made her a favorite in both the jazz
and cabaret worlds. Her warm, supple voice, flawless tone and perfect pitch are
evident on her recent CD Home, a collection of upbeat standards featuring
There’s A Small Hotel, Look For The Silver Lining, I’ll Be Around, Tonight You
Belong To Me and While We’re Young. Jane has emerged as a complete musician,
delivering vocals reflecting deep maturity, sincerity and versatility.

Date: Saturday, February 25 – 2pm

Ticket: 8

Details: Evening at the Murray moves to the Capitol Theatre in Downtown Clearwater for Grammy® Award-winning artist Terrance Simien. Offering an eclectic fusion of zydeco that is evolving yet remains true to its origins, Terrance is one of the most respected and
internationally recognized artists in roots music today and has been a major
contributor to the renaissance of a genre once in danger of disappearing.
Simien gives voice to our deepest human emotions.

Date: Saturday, March 24 – 8pm

Tickets: $45, $37

Details: Ms. Perlman has established herself as one of the most poetic and admired pianists of her generation. A Juilliard graduate, she has performed worldwide with leading
orchestras and is a member of the Perlman/Quint/Bailey Trio, known for its
energetic and passionate chamber music performances. She is also active in
educational outreach programs. Experience the lyrical eloquence of Navah
Perlman and the magnificence of Schumann, Beethoven, Corigliano and Chopin in
the intimacy of the historic Capitol Theatre. Ms. Perlman last appeared in
Clearwater as a soloist with the Prague Symphony Orchestra.

Date: Friday, February 24 – 5:30pm-10pm

Tickets: FREE

Details: Casanova’s Blast Friday presented by Bright House Networks returns with a live performance by Pablo Cruise on the Tampa Bay Times Cleveland Street Stage. This FREE family-friendly event takes place just outside the doors of the Capitol Theatre and will feature a variety of vendors, as well as food, beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages. Downtown restaurants will be open for business with outdoor dining available on Cleveland Street.

Date: Friday, February 24 – 8pm

Tickets: $25, $17.50

Details: Back by popular demand after joining Grammy® Award-winner Colbie Caillat at Ruth Eckerd Hall, S-Curves Records recording artist Andy Grammer returns to Clearwater. On tour in support of his self-titled debut album, the singer-songwriter will
headline his only Tampa Bay area stop at the Capitol Theatre in the Cleveland
Street District in Downtown Clearwater. Keep Your Head Up, Grammer’s upbeat top
10 single which he wrote to raise his own spirits after a trying day, has
captured audiences with its heartfelt lyrics and irresistible melody. Grammer,
who thrives on the communal spirit of a concert experience, has toured with the
Plain White Ts, Natasha Bedingfield and Colbie Caillat among others.

Date: Thursday, February 23 – 7:30pm

Ticket: $17, $12 with student ID

Details: Evening at the Murray moves to the Capitol Theatre in Downtown Clearwater for Grammy® Award-winning artist Terrance Simien. Offering an eclectic fusion of zydeco
that is evolving yet remains true to its origins, Terrance is one of the most
respected and internationally recognized artists in roots music today and has
been a major contributor to the renaissance of a genre once in danger of
disappearing. Simien gives voice to our deepest human emotions.

Date:
Tuesday, February 21 – 3pm and 7pm

Tickets: $5

Details: Based on Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize winning book To Kill A Mockingbird.  Gregory Peck stars as Atticus Finch a lawyer in a racially divided Alabama town in the 1930s. He agrees to defend a young black man who is accused of raping a white woman. Many of the townspeople try to get Atticus to pull out of the trial, but he decides to go ahead. The film won three Academy Awards® and is ranked number 34 on AFI’s 100 Greatest Films of All Time.

Date: Saturday, March 17 – 7:30pm

Tickets: $49, $39

Details: Jim McGuinn, later known as Roger, co-founded the group that would become the Byrds with Gene Clark and David Crosby in 1964. Their songs, Mr. Tambourine Man and Turn! Turn! Turn! (For Everything There Is a Season) went to #1 on the music charts
in 1965 and spoke to an entire generation. Eight Miles High is a guitar-line
classic. Roger McGuinn disbanded the Byrds in 1973 to pursue his dream of a
solo career. Arista records released Back From Rio in 1991, a rock album that
included his friends, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Elvis Costello, Chris
Hillman, David Crosby, Michael Penn and John Jorgensen. Roger continues to
record today with releases including 22 timeless tracks from the Folk Den
Project , Roger McGuinn’s Thunderbyrd-Rockpalast West Coast Legends Vol. 4.